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| Grand Duke of Baden Leopold |
Who ruled Baden?
The short answer is the Margrave of Baden or the Duke of Baden or the Grand Duke of Baden. In 1818 Grand Duke of Baden Charles granted a constitution to the nation, the liberality of which made it popular with the people of Baden and which included a clause securing the succession rights of the offspring of Luise Karoline Geyer von Geyersberg of whom Leoopold was her first son. Luise was a morganic wife meaning she was of lower birth and had no right to rank, title or possessions.
To further improve the status of Prince Leopold, Leopold’s half-brother the new Grand Duke Louis I arranged for him to marry his great-niece, Sophie, daughter of former King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden by Grand Duke Charles's sister, Frederica. Since Sophie was a granddaughter of Leopold's oldest half-brother, Charles Louis, this marriage united the descendants of his father's (Grand Duke Charles Frederick's) two wives. Sophie's undoubted royal blood would help to offset the stigma of Leopold's morganatic birth.
Leopold Grand Duke of Baden succeeded in 1830 as the Grand Duke of Baden, reigning until his death in 1852. He and Sophie of Sweden had seven children. They all married Dukes and Princesses.
How did Leopold rule?
Leopold was interested in the liberal ideas of his time, granted concessions to his subjects in 1848, and in the spring of 1849 declined to oppose the Revolution of 1848 in the German states. This act broke down all barriers and forced him to flee from the country on the night of 13 May. In August, he was reinstated by the troops of Prussia and the German Confederation. He acted with the greatest forbearance after regaining his power. During the last years of his reign, he admitted his son Frederick, who later succeeded him, to a share in the government. Frederick died in Karlsruhe. (Wikipedia)
Leopold married Princess Sofia of Sweden – the granddaughter of his elder half-brother Karl Ludwig – on July 25, 1819. They had eight children:
- Alexandrine (1820) – married Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, no issue
- Ludwig (1822) – died in infancy
- Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Baden (1824) – unmarried
- Friedrich I, Grand Duke of Baden (1826) – married Luise of Prussia, had issue
- Wilhelm (1829) – married Maria Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg, had issue
- Karl (1832) – married Rosalie von Beust, had issue
- Marie (1834) – married Ernst Leopold, 4th Prince of Leiningen, had issue
- Cecilie 1839 – married Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich of Russia, had issue
Documents related to Leopold Duke of Baden:
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| Sophia of Sweden |