Princess Josephine of Baden, grandmother of King Albert I of Belgium

On 21 October 1813 a very noble girl was born: Princess Josephine of Baden.
This happy event took place in Manheim at the Grand Duchy of Baden.

Family


Her parents were Charles, Grand Duke of Baden and Stéphanie de Beauharnais.
She was a member of the house of Zähringen.





Love and Marriage


On her B-Day in 1834 Princess Josephine of Baden married
Karl Anton Joachim Zephyrinus Friedrich Meinrad,
Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.





Children 


They would have 6 children and some of them and her grandchildren
became famous:

* Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern (22 September 1835 – 8 June 1905)
he married Infanta Antónia of Portugal on 12 September 1861.
They had three sons, including Ferdinand I of Romania.

* Princess Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (15 July 1837 –
17 July 1859) she married King Pedro V of Portugal on 18 May 1858,
without issue.

* Carol I of Romania (27 April 1839 – 10 October 1914) he married
Princess Elisabeth of Wied on 15 November 1869. They had one daughter.

* Prince Anton of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (7 October 1841 –
6 August 1866) killed in the Austro-Prussian War at the age of
twenty-four.

* Prince Frederick of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (25 June 1843 –
2 December 1904) he married Princess Louise of Thurn and Taxis
on 21 June 1879, without issue.

* Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (17 November 1845
– 26 November 1912) she married Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders on
25 April 1867. They had five children, including Albert I of Belgium.

Later Marie of Romania wrote about her:

"Quite the most fascinating member of the family, besides Fürst Leopold,
was his charming old mother, born a Princess of Baden. 

Small and frail, she had exquisite features framed in veils and laces
which heightened their delicacy. Her gowns and cloaks were just as
they should be... she always wore gloves much too long on the fingers,
which she had not the strength to pull on properly. Being stone-deaf
she had expressive little gestures indicating when she had understood
your pantomimic conversation; she liked a good joke and had a sweet
way of lifting her hand and covering her mouth when amused or
pleasantly shocked. 

Dear old Grandmamma Josephine had the most lovely nose I have ever
seen; it was one of God's perfections."





Death


She died at Sigmaringen on 19 June 1900. The Austrian court ordered
a 12-day mourning for her death, during which members of the Habsburg
dynasty were barred from participating in any festivities. 
This ensured that most members of the Habsburg imperial family were
prevented from attending the wedding of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
of Austria to Countess Sophie Chotek on 1 July.


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