Constantine, Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg

Constantine of Hessen-Rotenburg (May 24, 1716 in Rotenburg – December 30, 1778 in Schloss Wildeck) was Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg from 1749 until his death.

Constantine
Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg
Born(1716-05-24)24 May 1716
Rotenburg, Germany
Died30 December 1778(1778-12-30) (aged 62)
Schloss Wildeck, Germany
SpouseCountess Sophia von Starhemberg
Comtesse Jeanne de Bombelles
Issue
HouseHesse-Rotenburg
FatherErnest Leopold, Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg
MotherEleonore of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort

Early life

Constantine was the son of Landgrave Ernest Leopold, Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg and his wife, Princess Eleonore of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort.[1]

First marriage

Constantine married in 1745 with Countess Marie Sophia Theresia Hedwigis Eva von Starhemberg (1722-1773), daughter of the Imperial envoy Count Konrad Sigmund von Starhemberg (1689–1727) and his wife, Princess Leopoldine von Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort (1689-1763). She was sister of Georg Adam, Prince of Starhemberg and widow of William Hyacinth, Prince of Nassau-Siegen.

He had 8 children from his first marriage, including :

  • Clementina (1747–1801).
  • Hedwig (1748–1801), married Jacques Léopold de La Tour d'Auvergne, Duke of Bouillon.
  • Christian (1750–1782), Canon of Cologne and Strasbourg.
  • Charles Constantine (1752-1821), a supporter of the French Revolution, better known as Citoyen Hesse.
  • Antonia (1753–1823), a nun.
  • Wilhelmina Maria (1755–1816), married George William von Strauss.
  • Ernst (1758–1784), married Christine Wilhelmina Henriette Sophia von Bardeleben (1765-1835).
    • Ernst Viktor von Hesse-Rotenburg (1782-1785), died young

Second marriage

When his first wife died in 1773, on 17 May 1775 he remarried with the French Countess Johanna Henriette de Bombelles (1751-1822), sister of Marc Marie, Marquis de Bombelles. She was born as daughter of Count François Henri de Bombelles (1681-1760), guardian of the Duke of Orleans, and his wife, Genevieve Charlotte de Bradins de la Moisiere. As her family didn't belong to the small circle of reigning of former reigning families, their marriage was treated as morganatic and upon marriage she received the title of Countess von Reichenberg. They had no children. After becoming a widow, she married again to Louis Le Tellier de Souvre, Marquis de Louvois (d. 1785). They also didn't have children.[2]

Reign

Under Constantine, Hesse-Wanfried was in 1755 returned to Hesse-Rotenburg after the death of Christian of Hesse-Wanfried. Hesse-Rotenburg, which had been divided in 1648, was now again reunited and remained so until the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801.

He became a knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1759.

References
  1. Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 64.
  2. https://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00051016&tree=LEO
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