I know there are an old thread about Philippe d´Orleans, Minette and Liselotte. I enjoyed it so much and while I was reading it, I became deeply interested in Liselotte, so I was determined to start a thread focused in this uncommon woman...
1.-Childhood and Early Youth
Elisabeth Charlotte -Liselotte- was born in 27th May 1652 in Heidelberg, capital of the Palatinate, regained by her father, Karl Ludwig (a son of Frederick V by Elizabeth Stuart, the Winter Queen...) after the Thirty Years War. I´m very intriguing about Liselotte´s mother, Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel. I haven´t found portraits or info about Charlotte, who borne three children to her husband: Charles in 1751, Liselotte in 1752 and Frederick in 1753. The marriage between Karl Ludwig and Charlotte was not a happy one. At the end, Karl Ludwig fell in love with a servant in their household, Marie Susanna Loysa von Degenfeld, named Louisa von Degenfeld. Louisa was a red-haired girl, seventeen years younger than Karl Ludwig. The Palatine divorced unilaterally his wife Charlotte in the last months of 1757 and married (bigamously) Louisa in january 1758.
Liselotte was only five years old, but I wonder how was she impressed for the situation. So quickly, her father sent her to Herrenhausen, in Hannover, where a paternal aunt of the children, Sophie, was Electress since her marriage with Ernst August. Electress Sophie, heir presumptive of the british throne, took care of her little niece´s upbringing during the next four years. Sophie was very fond of Liselotte, and Liselotte remained always devoted to Sophie.
In 1663, Liselotte, aged eleven, returned to Heidelberg. She found not only her elder brother Charles, but also two half-brothers and three half-sisters. I suppose Liselotte felt some tenderness to her half-sisters, Karoline, Louise and Amalie Elisabeth, because a lot of years after, she wrotte a great number of letters to the half-sister Louise von der Pfalz.
2.-Marriage
Of course, Liselotte was a pawn of her father´s politics. She was bethroted in 1671 with Philippe, duke of Orleans, the younger brother of the powerful king Louis XIV of France. Philippe was eighteen years older than Liselotte. She had been chose to marry a widower with two little daughters from the first wife, Henriette of England, surnamed Minette. There was a gossip about the death of Minette aged twenty six: it was said she had been poisoned by her husband Philippe or maybe for the favourite of Philippe, the chevalier of Lorraine. The second marriage of the homosexual Philippe of Orleans with Liselotte was arranged by Anne of Gonzaga, a friend of the duke who was at the same time aunt of the palatinate girl.
So, Liselotte converted from Lutheranism to Catholicism, and she endured a miserable journey along bumpy roads from Heidelberg to Strasbourg. In Strasbourg, in a tearful day, Liselotte bade farewell to her father and her beloved aunt Sophie of Hannover. She was under the care of Anne of Gonzaga until she reached the french´s court.
At this time, Liselotte was a nineteen years old woman, intelligent, with a lively curiosity and sense of humour, with few pretentions to beauty and none to elegance. She managed well a very difficult marriage, since her husband needed to force himself to make love a woman and always had his male favourites around. But Liselotte was a good step-mother to Minette´daughters, and gave two sons (Alexandre and Philippe) and one daughter to the dinasty (Elisabeth Charlotte Philippine).
She never had fun "making babies", so, after the birth of Elisabeth, Monsieur and Madame had separate lives, although they treated with great courtesy each other.
More info will be welcomed!!
