| Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe | |||||
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| Margravine consort of Brandenburg-Ansbach | |||||
| Tenure | 4 November 1681 – 22 March 1686 | ||||
| Electress consort of Saxony | |||||
| Tenure | 17 April 1692 – 27 April 1694 | ||||
| Born | 13 April 1662 Friedewald, County of Sayn-Altenkirchen, Holy Roman Empire | ||||
| Died | 9 September 1696 (aged 34) Pretzsch, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire | ||||
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| Spouse | |||||
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| House | Wettin | ||||
| Father | John George I, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach | ||||
| Mother | Countess Johanna of Sayn-Wittgenstein | ||||
Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe Louise of Saxe-Eisenach (13 April 1662 – 9 September 1696) was a member of the House of Wettin and through her two marriages became Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach (from 1681 to 1686) and Electress of Saxony (from 1692 to 1694).
Eleonore Erdmuthe Louise was the eldest child of John George I, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach, and Countess Johannetta of Sayn-Wittgenstein. Of her seven younger siblings, only four survived to adulthood: Frederick August, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Eisenach, John George II, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach, John William III, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach and Fredericka Elisabeth (by marriage Duchess of Saxe-Weisselfels).
In Eisenach on 4 November 1681, Eleonore married firstly John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach as his second wife.
After the death of her husband (22 March 1686), the government of Brandenburg-Ansbach passed to her stepson Christian Albert (eldest surviving son of her husband's first marriage), who being a minor ruled under a regency. Because her relationship with her stepchildren was not good since the beginning, Eleonore and her children moved to Crailsheim, where they lived in poverty; shortly after, she returned alone to her homeland Eisenach,[1][2] while her children were sent to Berlin, where they became companions of Frederick William, Electoral Prince of Brandenburg. In November 1691 Eleonore also arrived in Berlin to actively participate in the negotiations of her second marriage.[3]
In Leipzig on 17 April 1692, Eleonore married secondly John George IV, Elector of Saxony[4][5] and moved with her children to Dresden, where the Saxon court was established. The wedding was concluded at the insistence of Frederick III, Elector of Brandenburg (who wanted to secure an alliance with Saxony)[a][6] and the Dowager Electress Anna Sophie of Denmark, ostensibly to produce legitimate heirs to the Electorate of Saxony but truly to end the liaison between her son and his mistress, Magdalene Sibylle "Billa" of Neidschutz.
The union proved to be unsuccessful;[2] John George IV lived openly with Billa, and she became the first ever Official Mistress (Favoritin) of an Elector of Saxony; while Eleonore was relegated to the Hofe (the official residence of the Elector).[1] In addition, the Electress suffered two miscarriages during their marriage, in August 1692[4] and February 1693,[7] and a phantom pregnancy in December 1693.[8] In March 1693 began rumors at the Saxon court that Eleonore was not the lawful wife of John George IV, because at the time of their marriage, he was already married with Billa;[9] There was even found a document confirming the conclusion of a marriage contract between the Elector of Saxony and his mistress, but John George IV (probably fearing the anger of the Hohenzollerns) said that he did not consider this contract as a formal marriage, and that it was only made for the purpose of legitimizing his offspring with Billa.[7] Nevertheless, throughout his marriage, John George IV desperately wanted to legitimize the relationship with his mistress and tried to get rid of his wife and her children; fearing for her and her children's lives, Eleonore left the Hofe and settled in Pretzsch.[10] During this time, Eleonore confided in the English diplomat George Stepney, who wrote extensively about her and the Saxon court.
John George IV died on 27 April 1694 from smallpox after being infected by the dying Billa.[10][11] The new Elector, Frederick Augustus I allowed the Dowager Electress and her children to remain in Pretzsch, where they lived until Eleonore's death two years later, on 9 September 1696.[10][11][12] She was buried at Freiberg Cathedral.
After her death, Eleonore's children were sent back to Ansbach to the court of their older half-brother George Frederick II,[5] who became in the new Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach after Christian Albert's death in 1692. George Frederick II, as well as his predecessor, was a minor and ruled under a regency, who had little interest in the education of the children. William Frederick stayed in Ansbach and in 1703 after the death of his brother inherited the Margraviate; Caroline went to Berlin at Charlottenburg Palace under the care of Frederick III, Elector of Brandenburg, and his wife, Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, who was a friend of Eleonore.[2][10][13]
She had three children:[14]
