Karoline von Schlotheim (6 July 1766 - 7 January 1847) was a German noblewoman who was the third and final mistress of William I, Elector of Hesse from 1788 until 1811.
Karoline von Schlotheim (6 July 1766 - 7 January 1847) was a German noblewoman who was the third and final mistress of William I, Elector of Hesse from 1788 until 1811.
Karoline was the daughter of General Heinrich Christian Wilhelm von Schlotheim and his wife, Friederike Most von Wilhelmsthal (d. 1799). In 1788, she was kidnapped against her will by William I, Elector of Hesse, who made her his mistress, replacing Rosa Dorothea Ritter. Karoline fled, but she was returned to the elector by her parents and later agreed to the relationship.
On 14 May 1788, William made Karoline Countess of Schlotheim, after which she used the salutation "high and well-born", and built the Löwenstein Castle for her in 1793. William treated Karoline like his consort, and she had considerable influence, including political influence, on him and the development of the country. [1] In 1807, she followed her de facto husband into exile and lived with him in Itzehoe, where she gave birth to their last child.
On 2 May 1811, Karoline received the title Countess of Hessenstein, which all her surviving children with the elector also received after their legitimization.
With William I, Elector of Hesse, Karoline had 13 children, only five of whom lived to adulthood:
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