FAMILY HISTORY
Childhood
Prince Frederick Henry Albrecht of Prussia was born in exile in Königsberg on October 4, 1809 as the fifth son and youngest of nine children of King Frederick William III and Queen Louise. He was the brother of the Prussian King Frederick William IV and the later Emperor William I.
MILITARY CAREER
Prince Albrecht joined the Prussian army as a second lieutenant in 1819, where he rose to the rank of cavalry general by 1852. In 1865, he was appointed inspector of the third army division. He took part in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War as a cavalry corps commander at the battles of Gitschin and Königgrätz. At the start of the war against France in 1870, he was given command of the divided 4th Division. Cavalry Division and took an active part in the Third Army's march from Weißenburg to Paris. He was also ordered to proceed toward Orléans to observe the French Loire Army. The division later successfully participated in the operations of General von der Tann, Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg, and Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia until the end of the Loire campaign. Prince Albrecht was appointed colonel general in 1871.
Prince Albrecht is commemorated by a statue on the central promenade in Berlin-Charlottenburg between today's Museum Berggruen and the Gerstenberg Collection.
A LOVE BEFITTING ITS CLASS
In the interests of the dynasty and in accordance with the Hohenzollern family rules, Prince Albrecht entered into his first marriage with Princess Marianne of the Netherlands, from whom he had three children – Charlotte (1831), Albrecht (1837), and Alexandrine (1842). According to sources, after an initially strong affection, their marriage was not very happy in the years following and subsequently ended in divorce in 1849.
His efforts to legalise his new love affair with the lady-in-waiting Rosalie von Rauch (1820-1879) by means of a marriage led to fierce resistance from the Hohenzollern family, particularly his brother, King Frederick William IV.
Prince Albrecht received an allowance of several million gold marks to create his new household and had the new residence built in Saxony since Rosalie von Rauch was denied access to Prussian-ruled lands upon her marriage.
NEW HAPPINESS IN DRESDEN
Apparently the second marriage in 1853 was happier and produced the children Count Wilhelm (1854-1930) and Count Friedrich (1857-1914) von Hohenau. Rosalie von Rauch, daughter of the Prussian Minister of War Gustav von Rauch (1774-1841) and sister of high-ranking generals and members of the Berlin court, had been elevated to the status of Countess von Hohenau before her marriage in order to be closer to her husband's aristocratic status.
The sons of the second marriage had no inheritance rights to the Hohenzollern title, but remained the Counts of Hohenau. Like their father, the sons served as Prussian guards in Berlin. Prince Albrecht von Preußen led a secluded life while in Dresden with his wife Rosalie Countess von Hohenau and their sons. Due to his military service, Prince Albrecht often spent time in Prussia and also left Dresden for numerous extended journeys through almost all of Europe, the Orient, and even Africa.
Little is known about his wife's life at Albrechtsberg Palace. Her birthday was celebrated with a lavish party every year. Nevertheless, she was otherwise not at the centre of society due to her lower status. The death of Prince Albrecht's eldest brother, King Frederick William IV, in 1861, was followed by a relaxation of the strict rules. Emperor Wilhelm I paid visits to Albrechtsberg Palace, where he welcomed Rosalie von Hohenau as his sister-in-law.
A NEW GENERATION
Prince Albrecht of Prussia died on October 14, 1872 as a result of the hardships of the Franco-Prussian War. He was buried in Berlin at Charlottenburg Palace in his parents' mausoleum. After the death of her husband (1872), Countess Hohenau lived a very secluded life at Albrechtsberg until she too died in 1879. Initially buried in the park of Albrechtsberg Palace, her mortal remains were later transferred to the Weißer Hirsch cemetery in Dresden-Loschwitz.
His two sons Wilhelm and Friedrich inherited the estate and the younger son Friedrich remained to live in the palace until his death in 1914. His brother Wilhelm then took up residence at Albrechtsberg Palace.
DEPARTURE FROM THE PALACE
Wilhelm sold the palace and land to the City of Dresden due to gambling debts. The Hohenaus moved into a house at Bautzner Straße 98, where they lived in modest circumstances. Wilhelm von Hohenau also died in 1930.