Using a nom-de-plume, the Marquise de Fontenoy, the American writer, Marguerite Cunliffe-Owen, wrote a gossip column that was published in American newspapers, including the Washington Post. Her article about the death of Duchess Pauline includes a tidbit that I had not noticed before:
She "had lived to a great extent in Italy, since a few years ago, she contracted a morganatic marriage with her chamberlain." She continued to be styled as grand duchess, "only by courtesy, and it is not probable that she will be mourned to any extent by her son's dominions, for she was quite the reverse of popular." According the marquise, Pauline "contributed even from a distance, to create the difficulties which rendered the position of her daughter-in-law, the present grand duchess, so extremely difficult during the first few months of marriage."
Pauline was "extraordinarily fat, and one of the most plain-featured princesses of Germany, her homeliness being of the crabbed and sour order rather than of a genial nature."
The morganatic marriage did not appear in the Almanach de Gotha, and had not been approved her Pauline's son, the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar. Thus, the marriage was not sanctioned by the Saxe-Weimar government.
The article did not mention the name of the chamberlain.
can you tell us the chamberlain's name ?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your question. The article did not give the chamberlain's name. This was the only article that mentioned the marriage.
ReplyDeleteok,marlene.thank you.
ReplyDeleteMarlene, is there any other prove of this marriage with a Chamberlain?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the articles!!! I just read in a royalty magazine about the Saxe-Weimar Family. It did not mention the second marriage, but showed the "fatness" of Pauline
where did you read the Saxe-Weimar article? This is the first time that I've seen mention of a marriage -but the de Fontenoy columm was rather good for the time period ... one assumes that there were reports of such a marriage in other papers, perhaps in German papers.
ReplyDeleteIn the Royalty Digest has a series by Charlotte Zeepvat about Royal Families called A Family Album; The issue 2 of 2008 has theseries about The Saxe-Weimars; mostly photos, but nothing about this second marriage of Pauline
ReplyDeletethat is what I thought you were going to say - Charlotte rarely tackles scandal --
ReplyDeleteyes all too loyal indeed
ReplyDeletewell it is not scandal, but rather be honest....it depends hoy one presents it....-)