Countess Louise Sophie of Danneskiold-Samsøe


Countess Louise Sophie af Danneskiold-Samsøe was a member of a Danish noble family descended illegitimately from Christian V of Denmark, and the wife of Christian August II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. She was the grandmother of German Empress Auguste Victoria, wife of the last German Emperor Wilhelm II.

Early life

Countess Louise Sophie af Danneskiold-Samsøe was born on 22 September 1796 in Gisselfeld, Denmark to Christian Conrad, Count af Danneskiold-Samsøe and his wife Johanne Henriette Valentine Kaas, daughter of the Danish Admiral Frederik Christian Kaas and a descendant of the war hero Jørgen Kaas. The House of Danneskiold-Samsøe is a non-dynastic branch of the House of Oldenburg, descended from Christian Gyldenløve, Count of Samsø, an illegitimate son of Christian V of Denmark by his mistress Sophie Amalie Moth.

Marriage and issue

On 18 September 1820 she married her second cousin Christian August II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg at the Church of Braaby, Gisselfeld. They had seven children:
Louise Sophie died on 11 March 1867 in Primkenau in the Kingdom of Prussia, aged 70 and was buried in the Lutheran church of Primkenau.

Descendants

Her descendants include: Auguste Viktoria, German Empress, Queen Frederica of the Hellenes, Constantine II of Greece, Queen Sofía of Spain, Felipe VI of Spain and Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

Ancestry