Royal Celle

A particularly colourful personality was the last Duchess of Celle, Éléonore Desmier d’Olbreuse. She was born in January 1639 in a castle near Usseau, about 50 kilometers from La Rochelle. The noble, well-respected but not particularly wealthy family had belonged to the Reformed French religious community, the Huguenots, for generations.

In the winter of 1663 she travelled to Kassel. Here she met the Guelph ruler George William (1624-1705) for the first time, 15 years older and who ruled in an absolutist manner based on the French model. Until then he had been considered a firm bachelor. When the Duke of Celle, George William, met the lovely Eléonore, he was hooked.  However, for a man from the highest European imperial nobility, this young lady was not considered as quite befitting of his position.

In addition, George William was supposed to marry Sophie, Princess of the Palatinate, the daughter of the Bohemian "Winter King", Elector Friedrich V of the Palatinate - and a descendant of the Stuarts. But the Guelph heir merely clicked his fingers at convention and ceded his intended bride to his younger brother. This so-called bridal exchange wrote European history and went down in the Guelph annals. She had to wait ten long years for a proper marriage. During that time she gave birth to her daughter Sophie Dorothea. The marriage was considered extremely happy.

The "exchanged bride" meanwhile,  in Hanover, had now advanced to First Lady in the Principality of Braunschweig-Lüneburg and proceeded to make Éléonore's life hell; however being more at the side of her husband, she could only exert influence in Celle where the opportunity existed.

As early as 1686, the Duchess founded a French Reformed parish in Celle. She also contributed to the building of the rectory and to the pastor's wages. Many of the peasantry also found a new home in Celle. Under the aegis of the Ducal couple, the Celle Palace was redesigned: the old four-wing complex was expanded into a contemporary baroque Royal Residence, given new facades, a gable wreath made up of dormer windows and domed towers.

Particularly noteworthy is the construction of the baroque theatre. The court theatre was built from 1670 to 1675 on the site of the former keep on the north wing. Éléonore and George William had their own court orchestra and engaged numerous actors. The castle become a cultural highlight - the charisma of which can be felt to this day. At Éléonore’s instigation and as early as 1670, a garden area was converted into a baroque pleasure and kitchen garden, based on the French model. Under her direction, an area was designed in the manner of a traditional garden at court - with geometrically laid out beds, paths, watercourses and an orangery built in 1677.

In 1722, 17 years after the death of  George William, the last Duchess of Celle died. Éléonore was buried in the Ducal crypt in the church of St. Mary in Celle and an avenue of trees is named after her.

A marriage arranged for political reasons, the loss of a lover and lifelong exile - these are the three great dramas in the life of Sophie Dorothea, the only child of the last Duke and Duchess of Celle, George William and Éléonore d’Olbreuse.  During the baroque period, the Celle Princess was considered one of the prettiest marriage candidates in the country - and was one of the best matches in Europe. The young nobility formed a queue in front of the Palace.  However, through a bridal ‘arrangement’, negotiated by her father Duke George William and her uncle, the Hanoverian Elector Ernst August, years earlier, she was forced into an unhappy marriage with her cousin Georg Ludwig, who would later ascend the English throne as George I. The young Princess, however, submitted to her fate - a marriage that would guarantee the House of Hanover properties in Celle, after her father's death.

After a few years, Sophie Dorothea dutifully gave birth to two children, including the heir to the throne, but not long thereafter, fell in love with Count Philipp Christoph von Königsmarck, an officer in the service of the Prince of Hanover. After two years of secrecy, the lovers planned to escape, but were thwarted. The count was killed; he is officially missing to this day and his disappearance still poses unsolved mysteries. Sophie Dorothea was divorced through a humiliating divorce proceeding, alone, culpable and responsible.  The guilty verdict was: exile. Ex-husband George Ludwig confiscated her entire fortune, her name was removed from all official documents and her titles were revoked.

From then on she lived strictly imprisoned in Ahlden - a half-timbered building that was rather hastily cleaned up and representative of a castle, remote and very lonely – and guarded around the clock. Her mail was checked. Excursions were only allowed up to a distance of two kilometers. Occasionally she was allowed to see her mother. But she was never allowed to see her children again, Sophie Dorothea and Georg August, who were only seven and eleven years old at the time of the divorce.

Sophie Dorothea, the exiled "Princess of Ahlden", as she was later called, lived for 32 years and died on November 13, 1726. There was a lot of infighting over her funeral: she did not find her final resting place until May 1727 – when, secretly and at night, Sophie Dorothea, like her mother, was buried in the Guelph crypt in Celle.

The young English Princess Caroline Mathilde of Denmark (1751-1775) was married to the Danish king when she was only 15 years old. Her future husband, Christian VII of Denmark, was her cousin. But from an early age, the Dane showed signs of mental illness, which would now be interpreted in various ways, from autism to schizophrenia. But Denmark was far away, what could they know about it in England? Therefore the marriage was decided "per procurationem" in London and the wedding was celebrated in Denmark in November.

Far from family and home, Caroline was now the wife of a man who largely ignored and scorned her. Nevertheless, 2 years after the marriage, she gave birth to the longed-for heir to the throne, Frederick the VI. Not long afterwards, returning from his travels, the king brought with him  Johann Friedrich Struensee, a doctor for the poor from Altona, in whom he had developed a particular trust and had chosen to be his personal physician. But not only the king - Caroline was also fascinated by the man and he with her! They fell in love, a ménage à trois (three way relationship) began - incidentally with the blessing of the king – and who from then on, under Struensee's influence, was a little more affectionate towards his wife. In July 1771, Caroline gave birth to her daughter Louise Augusta, whose father, it is rumored today, was still more than a personal physician.

Struensee was appointed minister by the king and used his influence (and incidentally, also led Denmark into the Enlightenment) – which was an immense threat to the nobility. Plots were forged that weighed heavily upon him and Caroline was used as the pawn of his opponents. In March 1772 she admitted to the affair that had long been a thorn in the courtiers’ side.

Struensee was placed under arrest, but only then was the warrant presented to the king for signature and with the recommendation to have the doctor from Altona executed - and swiftly. Said and done. The execution took place in April 1772. The young Queen Caroline Mathilde, not even twenty-one years old, was exiled to Celle. Here she lived miserably and only hoped that she would soon see her children again. She ate a lot, read a lot, took care of the needy and enjoyed socialising with the citizens of Celle on walks in the town. Only three years later she died of a fever and was buried in the Royal crypt in Celle.  Today, a monument to Queen Caroline can be discovered in the French garden in Celle, a street also bears her name as does an hotel.