Princess Louise Eleanore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Princess Louise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (11 August 1763 in Langenburg – 30 April 1837 in Meiningen) was a German regent. She was duchess of Saxe-Meiningen by marriage to George I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, and Regent of Saxe-Meiningen during the minority of her son from 1803 to 1821.

Life Born into the Hohenlohe-Langenburg line of the House of Hohenlohe, Louise Eleonore was the eldest daughter of Prince Christian Albert Louis of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1726-1789) and his wife, Princess Caroline of Stolberg-Gedern (1732–1796).

On 27 November 1782, in Langenburg, she married George I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen.

Regency

When her husband died on 24 December 1803, she took over as regent of the duchy for their son Bernhard II. She ruled with energy, courage, and good sense during the Napoleonic Wars, which for the next decade ravaged the Saxon states.

The duchy was forced to join the Confederation of the Rhine during these Wars and provide it with troops; afterwards the duchy was struck with famine, which Luise sought to prevent by importing wheat. French armies, and later those of Russia, marched back and forth across the country, but Luise refused to flee; she stayed with her infant son and two daughters inside their castle. Ida (25 June 1794 – 4 April 1852), married Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Stillborn daughter (16 October 1796). Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, (17 December 1800 – 3 December 1882), married Princess Marie Frederica of Hesse-Kassel (1804–1888).

Ancestry