Prince Paul of Württemberg

Prince Paul of Württemberg (Paul Heinrich Karl Friedrich August; 19 January 1785 – 16 April 1852) was the fourth child and second son of King Frederick I and his wife, Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

Early life Paul was born in St. Petersburg during a period when his father, not yet the ruler of Württemberg, was made governor of Old Finland by Catherine the Great in Russia. The couple had traveled to Russia to visit Frederick's sister Sophie, who was married to the heir to the Russian throne, the Tsesarevich Paul. Prince Paul's parents separated shortly after his birth. The marriage was unhappy, and there were allegations of abusive treatment of his mother. His mother was granted asylum by Catherine the Great and never returned to Württemberg. She died in exile in Koluvere, Estonia, in 1788. In 1797, Frederick married Charlotte, Princess Royal, eldest daughter of King George III of the United Kingdom, who supervised the education of Paul and his two surviving siblings, Wilhelm and Catharina. Charlotte regarded Paul as "a very comical boy and, in my partial eyes, his manners are like Adolphus [Charlotte's younger brother]."

As Paul grew up, her opinion changed. During the visit of the Allied sovereigns to London in 1814, Paul, along with many other princes, was taken to visit the Ascot races by the Prince Regent. He behaved badly and got the Prince of Orange blind drunk. "For thirteen years he has done nothing but offend his father with the improprieties of his conduct", his stepmother wrote. (16 November 1805, Frankfurt am Main - 13 February 1872, Frankfurt am Main). On 16 February 1836, in Augsburg, Karoline married Freiherr Karl Pfeffel von Kriegelstein (22 November 1811, Dresden - 25 January 1890, Munich). Through his daughter Karoline, Prince Paul is an ancestor of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Later life and second marriage In 1815 Paul moved from his home in Stuttgart to Paris, leaving his wife and two sons, but taking his daughters with him. There he led a relatively modest life, but was frequently in the company of intellectuals such as Georges Cuvier. Paul's family did not approve of this and ordered him to return to Württemberg, but he refused. While in Paris, he fathered two more illegitimate daughters by two different mistresses.

Shortly after the death of his wife in 1847, Paul went to England with his long-term mistress Magdalena Fausta Angela Creus y Soler, of Menorcan origin, the widow of Sir Sandford Whittingham KCB, and they were married in the Parish Church of St Nicholas, Brighton, Sussex, on 26 April 1848. She died in Paris, 27 December 1852. They had a daughter, born before their marriage:

Pauline Madeleine Ximenes (3 March 1825 – 24 February 1905), created Countess von Helfenstein in 1841. So far it has not been disclosed who had conferred upon her the aristocratic title of "von Helfenstein". She married Count Gustave de Monttessuy in Paris on 24 August 1843.

Paul died in Paris aged 67 on 16 April 1852.

Honours Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown Knight of the Military Merit Order French Empire: Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honour, 1805/06 Knight of St. Hubert, 1808 Kingdom of Prussia: Knight of the Black Eagle, 3 November 1812

Ancestry