Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde


Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde was the Hungarian wife of Duke Alexander of Württemberg. Her son, Francis, Duke of Teck, was the father of Mary of Teck, queen consort to George V of the United Kingdom.

Life

The Countess was born in her family's estate, :File:RO_MS_Castelul_Rhedey_din_Sangeorgiu_de_Padure_.jpg|Rhédey castle in Sankt Georgen auf der Heide, Transylvania to Count László :hu:Rhédey család|Rhédey de Kis-Rhéde and his wife, Baroness Ágnes Inczédy de Nagy-Várad. Most notable member of her family was Ferenc Rhédey, the reigning Prince of Transylvania who ruled Principality of Transylvania between 1657 and 1658. At birth, she was styled as Countess Klaudina Rhédey de Kis-Rhéde.
In 1835, she married Duke Alexander of Württemberg, the son of Duke Louis of Württemberg, younger brother of King Frederick I of Württemberg. Due to the German laws relating to the line of succession, she was viewed as being of non-royal rank and the marriage was declared morganatic. She was denied the title of Duchess, but was created Countess von Hohenstein on 16 May 1835, shortly after her marriage.
in present-day Romania.
Claudine died in Austria in 1841 after being thrown from her horse and trampled to death in front of a cavalry charge at a military review; other sources say she died in a carriage accident.

Issue

Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde and Countess von Hohenstein had three children with Duke Alexander of Württemberg:
All children were initially styled as Count or Countess von Hohenstein, taking their titles from their mother. However, in 1863, the children were created Prince and Princesses of Teck, with the style Serene Highness in the Kingdom of Württemberg.

Descendants

Prince Francis of Teck was later created Duke of Teck. He married Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, a granddaughter of George III and became a member of the British Royal Family. His only daughter, Mary of Teck, married Prince George, Duke of York in July 1893, becoming queen consort on her husband's accession to the throne in May 1910. The current British monarch, Elizabeth II, is Mary's granddaughter and thus Claudine's great-great-granddaughter.

Ancestors

The has been known from the 13th century. It is one of the Hungarian noble families descending from the house of Aba. The most notable ancestor of the Aba noble house was Samuel Aba, the third king of Hungary between 1041 and 1044, married to a sister of St. Stephen I, the first Roman Catholic king of Hungary.