Princess Wilhelmina of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

Wilhelmina was born on January 22, 1751 in Rudolstadt. She was the third child and third daughter in the family of Prince Johann Friedrich of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and his wife Princess Bernardina Christina Sophia of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. She had two older sisters, Frederika Sophia Schwartzburg-Rudolstadt and Sophia Ernestina. The family lived in the Heidecksburg Palace.

She lost her mother at the age of 6. Her father never married again.

At the age of 15, Wilhelmina was given to the 21-year-old Crown Prince Ludwig of Nassau-Saarbrücken in marriage. The wedding took place on October 30, 1766 in Schwarzburg Castle. She was unhappy in her marriage and Wihelmina retreated to Halberg Castle, where she raised their son:

• Heinrich Ludwig (1768–1797), who married Maria Francisca von Montbarey during the occupation of the country by the French. They had no children.^[1]

The married life of the ruling couple turned out to be unhappy, and Wilhelmina and her son settled in the Montplaisir palace on the Halberg mountain.^[2]

The princess died young on June 17, 1780 at the age of 29. After her death, in a morganaticly married Katharina Kest, a commoner who Louis created Countess of Ottweiler. In 1787, the Emperor legitimized their marriage. In 1789, Louis XVI of France conferred upon Katharina the title Duchess of Dillange. Following the death of Louis in March 1794, her son became reigning Prince of Nassau-Saarbrücken from 1794 until his death in 1797. A typical representative of enlightened absolutism, he carried out contemporary reforms. Embodying the policy of austerity, however, he allocated money for construction.