COUNT OF PHILIPP CHRISTOPH

See also:

• KONIGSMARK, MARIA AURORA, COUNTESS OF (1662–1728)
• COUNT OF PHILIPP CHRISTOPH KONIGSMARK (1665-1694)

KONIGSMARK (1665-1694)  , was a member of a noble Swedish family, and is chiefly known as the lover of Sophia Dorothea, wife of the English king George I. then electoral prince of Hanover . Born on the 14th of March 1665, Konigsmark was a brother of the countess noticed above . After wandering and fighting in various parts of Europe he entered the service of Ernest Augustus, elector of Hanover . Here he made the acquaintance of Sophia Dorothea, and assisted her in one or two futile attempts to escape from Hanover . Regarded, rightly or wrongly, as the lover of the princess, he was seized, and disappeared from history, probably by assassination, on the 1st of July 1694 . One authority states that George". was accustomed to boast about this deed; but this statement is doubted, and the Hanoverian court resolutely opposed all efforts to clear up the mystery . It is not absolutely certain that Sophia Dorothea was guilty of a criminal intrigue with Konigsmark, as it is probable that the letters which purport to have passed between the pair are forgeries . The question of her guilt or innocence, however, has been and still remains a fruitful and popular subject for romance and speculation . See Briefwechsel des Grafen Konigsmark and der Prinzessin Sophie Dorothea von Celle, edited by W . F . Palmblad (Leipzig, 1847.); A . Kocher, " Die Prinzessin von Ahlden," in the Historische Zestschrift (Munich, 1882); and W .

H .

Wilkins, The Love of an Uncrowned Queen (London, 1900) .