Anna Karolina Orzelska

Anna Karolina Orzelska (23 November 1707 – 27 September 1769) was a Polish szlachcianka (noblewoman) and an adventuress. Born as an illegitimate daughter of August II the Strong, Elector of Saxony, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, by Henriette Rénard she became Hereditary Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck by marriage.

Life

Anna Orzelska in the gardens of the Blue Palace at Warsaw, by Antoine Pesne. The King-Elector August II the Strong met Henriette Rénard in Warsaw in 1706, where her father André Rénard, a wine merchant from Lyon, had a salon. Most historians agree that at first, Henriette didn't know the true identity of her lover. As a result of the liaison, in November 1707 a daughter was born, Anna Karolina. August did not learn of her existence until a year and a half later. Henriette married the Paris businessman François Drian shortly after Anna Karolina's birth and moved to France, where she grew up.

For a long time, the girl lived in Paris with her mother in complete obscurity without the support of her father. However, in 1723, her half-brother, the later Count Frederick Augustus Rutowsky, found her.

Anna Karolina became one of Augustus's most beloved children due to her beauty and resemblance to her father. Without formal intellectual training, she nevertheless proved to be useful in court life.

The court of August the Strong had the worst reputation in Europe and encouraged the Countess's behavior, which was considered scandalous according to the official moral of the time. Contemporaries noted her tendency to drink, smoke tobacco, and have numerous affairs. Anna excelled in riding, hunting, and dancing. The Countess frequently appeared in men's clothing and even in military uniform. Some sources alleged that August the Strong made his own daughter his mistress; however, this cannot be proved.

In 1728, while King Frederick Wilhelm I of Prussia was visiting Dresden, the Countess Orzelska met his son, the sixteen-year-old Crown Prince Frederick (the future Frederick II the Great). Some have claimed that she became the first (and, probably, the only) mistress of Frederick's life - claims based more on the wishful thinking of his sister Wilhelmine who didn't like her brother's homosexual liaisons with young pages. The Crown Prince dedicated verses and musical works of his own composition to her. However, when Augustus and the Countess, who was now married and pregnant, paid a return visit to the Prussian court, Frederick was frustrated and turned to unspecified other forms of dissipation. Some have even suggested that Orzelska, during her alleged liaison with Frederick, attempted to gather intelligence on him and Prussia.