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| Ernst August of Hanover |
(1629-1698)
Elector of Hanover
1682-1698
Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg
1692-169
Son of Georg von Braunschweig-Luneburg & Anna Eleonore von Hessen-Darmstadt
Husband of Sophia of the Palatinate, mar 1658
His lover was:
1) Klara Elisabeth von Meissenbach (1648-1700)
German noblewoman & royal mistress
Daughter of: Georg Philipp von Meisenburg & Anna Elisabeth von Meisenburg
Wife of: Franz Ernst Graf von Platen-Hallermund, married in 1673.
Natural offspring:
1. Ernst August (1674-1726)
2, Sophia von Kielmansegg (1675-1717), mistress of George I of England
"Clara Elizabeth and Catherine Marie were of noble birth. Their father, Count Philip von Meissenburg, was a needy military adventurer, and their faces were their only fortune. Their good looks, combined with much impudence, a lively wit, and an utter absence of principle, sufficed to form a very attractive pair in those days. When they were only in their teens Count von Meissenburg took his daughters to Paris with the hope of seeing them shine at the Court of Louis XIV, a sort of Mecca to which all these worldly pilgrims were then bound. But the established Royal favourites there did not view the fair intruders with favour, and gave them a hint that it would be better to decamp, or Paris would soon be too hot to hold them. The Meissenburgs, who were poor and therefore powerless, needed no second warning. Fear lent them their wings; they packed up with all despatch, and, looking about for a likely spot to push their fortunes, they hit upon the little Court of Ernest Augustus, and set out thither with all speed. . . The Court was then at Osnabruck. . . Having made so favourable an impression, the sisters remained at Osnabruck to follow up their advantage. . . But meantime the Meissenburgs made the best of their opportunities. Platen and Busche were both rising men, and enjoyed the confidence of the Court. Failing higher game, the sisters resolved on making a conquest of them, and they unmasked their batteries with such success that before long they were comfortably settled in life, Clara Elizabeth as the wife of Platen, and Catherine Marie as the wife of Busche." (The Love of An Uncrowned Queen, Sophie Dorothea: 42)
"Of the two sisters, Clara Elizabeth, now Madame Platen, was immeasurably the superior, if not in youth and beauty, in cleverness and audacity. This woman is one of the worst instances in history of the evil influence of the Court mistress. She had no redeeming qualities; she was unscrupulous, ambitious, and shamelessly corrupt. She was possessed of the immense power of one who has a fixed purpose in life, and who will stick at nothing to obtain it. Having obtained the first object of her ambition, a safe and respectable position, she was wise enough to recognise an identity of interest with her husband, and to see that as he advanced she would advance with him. To this end she sought to obtain influence over Ernest Augustus. Platen, after his marriage, was promoted to a confidential position, and when the Court went to Hanover he was raised to the responsible post of Minister. His wife thus found herself within the charmed circle and within touch of what she most desired---power. A masterful disposition gave her complete sway over her husband; she dictated to Platen, who, in turn, advised Ernest Augustus. But this was too round about a method for Madame Platen, who wished to be next the Duke himself. Before long a post was found for her in the service of the Duchess Sophia, and thus she came frequently before the notice of Ernest Augustus. She played her cards very discreetly, and, with the connivance of her husband, brought all her arts, flatteries, and fascinations to bear upon the Duke; so that Ernest Augustus was first astonished at her cleverness, next flattered by her pretended admiration for himself, and then fascinated by her good looks. In a short time her influence over him was supreme. Not content with having won the Duke, Madame Platen determined also to bring the son under her influence. When Prince George Louis returned from his military service she threw her sister, Madame Busche, in his way. Her sister was younger and prettier than Madame Platen, but much less clever and wholly under the influence of this imperious woman. The precocious young Prince fell captive to the charms of Madame Busche, who also had a complaisant husband. Thus Madame Platen became all powerful at the Court of Hanover. It is an ugly chapter in the history of the Hanoverian HOuse, yet one that cannot be ignored." (The Love of An Uncrowned Queen, Sophie Dorothea: 43)
" . . . One of the mistresses of George's father, Ernest Augustus (1629-1698), was Clara von Meisenbuch (1648-1700), later countess von Platen. Clara had some children fathered by Ernest Augustus, and one of them, Baroness Sophia Charlotte von Kielmannsegge, became mistress of George I. . . ." (The English Royal Family of America, from Jamestown to the American Revolution: 115)
" . . . Clara Elizabeth of Meissenbach married Baron Franz von Platen. She became the mistress of the first Elector of Hanover, the father of George I. The husband, for accommodating the Elector with his wife, was created a Count of the Empire, and the post-office was made hereditary in his family.The son of Countess Platen---whether the Elector or the Count was the father nobody knows---married a daughter of General von Uffeln, and she became a mistress of George I, but was deposed for the sister of Count Platen, married to Baron von Kielmansegg, created by the king Countess of Arlington. . . ." (Baring-Gould. Germany, Present and Past, Vol 1: 26)
"Naturally there were other mistresses, though none troubled her as much. The most notorious was Clara von Meissenburg, whom Ernest Augustus met and brought home from Paris and for whom he arranged a marriage with the amenable Freiherr von Platen. Sophia was careful not to let show her jealousy of 'that woman', and more than a little relieved when Madame von Platen's good looks coarsened while those of Sophia herself never did." (Van der Kiste. Georgian Princesses)
2) Suzanne de la Mansiliere.
"Most of her [Sophia's] husband's mistresses passed like ships in the night, but occasionally one might give Sophia cause for concern. After she had been married for seven years, the pretty and well-mannered Suzanne de la Mansiliere began to attract Ernest Augustus's attention. A respectable, pious young woman, she suffered regular fits of conscience lest her 'friendship' with the Duke might be misconstrued. Though anxious that a young woman of such virtue could be a definite threat, Sophia treated the girl kindly, befriending her and providing a shoulder to cry on. At length Mansiliere felt she could no longer stay at court and declared tearfully that she would have to leave in order to protect her honour. Sophia wa lying in bed after the birth of Sophia Charlotte when the young woman came to apologize for having unwittingly caused such unhappiness and protesting her innocence. Sophia treated her to a few kindly but firm words on the theme of Caesar's wife, while assuring her of her friendship. The more she did so, the more overwrought Masiliere became, until she was so hysterical that Sophia had to get out of bed and call for servants to carry her away. The young woman departed, according to malicious gossips, to bear the Duke's child. In Sophia's opinion it was 'the greatest lie in the world', and she blamed her mischievous sister-in-law Eleonore for spreading stories. She never liked Eleonore d'Olbreuse, an impoverished member of the French Huguenot nobility, who had made a 'marriage of conscience' with her husband's elder brother George William. Unable to resist her, yet forbidden to marry by the convention of 1658, he had entered what Sophia called contemptuously an 'anti-marriage contract' and sworn lifelong fidelity to Eleonore, who was accorded the title Madame de Harbourg." (Van der Kiste. Georgian Princesses)
Ernest Augustus
Crown Prince of Hanover
3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale
His lover was:
Mata Hari
" . . . She had intended in November 1916 to meet her former lover, the Duke of Cumberland. The duke had renounced the throne of Hanover, but she had intended to persuade him to reclaim his rightful inheritance. This scheme had been thwarted by her arrest by the English, but on her return to Spain she had tried to find out great secrets of Ladoux. . . ." (A Tangled Web: Dancer, Courtesan, Spy)
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