Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde

Who was Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde?

Countess Claudine Rhédey de Kis-Rhéde was the wife of Duke Alexander of Württemberg. Her son, Francis, Duke of Teck, was the father of Mary of Teck, queen consort to George V of the United Kingdom.

She was born, as a Hungarian Countess in Erdőszentgyörgy, Transylvania to Count László Rhédey de Kis-Rhéde and his wife, Baroness Ágnes Inczédy de Nagy-Várad, as a direct descendant of Ferenc Rhédey, the Hungarian prince of Transylvania between 1657 and 1658. At birth, she was styled as Countess Klaudina Rhédey de Kis-Rhéde.

In 1835, she married Duke Alexander of Württemberg, the son of Duke Louis of Württemberg, younger brother of King Frederick I of Württemberg. Due to the German laws relating to the line of succession, she was viewed as being of non-royal rank and the marriage was declared morganatic. She was denied the title of Duchess, but was created Countess von Hohenstein on 16 May 1835, shortly after her marriage.

Claudine died in Austria in 1841 after being thrown from her horse and trampled to death in front of a cavalry charge at a military review; other sources say she died in a carriage accident.