Princess Karoline Amalie Of Hesse-Kassel

Karoline Amalie of Hesse-Kassel (11 July 1771 – 22 February 1848) was a German princess, born in Hanau, and a member of the House of Hesse-Kassel. She was the second daughter of Landgrave William I of Hesse, who later held the title of Prince, and Princess Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark and Norway, the latter being the daughter of King Frederick V of Denmark.

Her early personal engagements included a betrothal to her double first-cousin Prince Frederik of Hesse. This engagement was dissolved in 1799 following allegations of an affair between Karoline Amalie and chamberlain Count Ludwig von Taube, who was dismissed from service and expelled from court. In 1801, she met Hereditary Prince Augustus of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg during a court visit in Kassel. The following year, in January 1802, Duke Ernest II of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, on behalf of his son, requested her hand in marriage. The marriage ceremony was held in Kassel on 24 April 1802.

The marriage did not produce children, but Karoline Amalie served as stepmother to her husband's daughter from his previous marriage, Princess Louise. In 1804, she became Duchess consort of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg upon the death of her father-in-law. A court painter, Caroline Louise Seidler, described her in 1811 as "good, benevolent, but not just an excellent lady" and noted her enthusiastic love for her husband, Hereditary Prince August. Over time, their relationship became strained, with reports indicating they grew estranged after a few years of marriage, particularly due to differences in their outlooks on life. Karoline Amalie increasingly withdrew from court life, beginning around 1810, partly influenced by her disapproval of her husband's enthusiasm for Napoleon, which contrasted with her own experiences of exile following the French occupation of Hesse-Kassel in 1806.

Following her husband's death in 1822, Karoline Amalie retired to the Winter Palace in Gotha, which was renamed the Widow’s Palace by local residents. Her summer residence was Schloss Friedrichsthal, where she hosted notable visitors including Queen Victoria and Prince Albert during their 1845 visit to Germany. Prince Albert, her step-grandson and the youngest son of her stepdaughter Princess Louise, maintained a close relationship with her, spending several weeks annually at the Winter Palace from 1822 to 1835 and corresponding with her until her death, addressing her as "Beloved Grandmother."

Her stepson, Duke Ernest II of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, also held her in high regard, recalling her as having "hardly an enemy" and enjoying popular esteem until her death.

Karoline Amalie died on 22 February 1848 at the age of 76, in the Winter Palace in Gotha, after suffering from a chest illness. She was buried on 27 February 1848 in the Parkinsel in Gotha, next to her husband. Her funeral was conducted without pomp and her grave lacked a permanent marker; no gravestone exists today, and the exact location of her remains is unknown.

She was the last duchess consort from the line founded by Ernest I the Pious in Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. The male line of her house became extinct in 1825 following the death of her brother-in-law, Duke Frederick IV.