Elizabeth Craven (née Berkeley), Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Bayreuth
(1750-1828), Dramatist; author; travellerSitter in 5 portraits
After the birth of her six child, Elizabeth Craven separated from her husband and set out on a long journey across Europe in 1783. She went on to publish her diary of this trip as A journey through the Crimea to Constantinople (1789). When she reached Ansbach she began an affair with Christian Frederick Charles Alexander, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Bayreuth. On the death of Elizabeth's first husband, in 1791, the Margrave sold his Prussian estates and they returned to London to live in Hammersmith at Brandenburg House, where she continued to write. The Margrave died in 1806 and Elizabeth travelled again, buying a villa in Naples in 1817, where she died.
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Julia Gasper
09 May 2017, 22:47
I don't think "socialite" is a fair description of Elizabeth Craven. You will have to read my book when it comes out, but for now :
"Beyreuth". I think the correct spelling is "Bayreuth"
"On Craven's death in 1791, she married the Margrave and they continued to live in Anspach," No they left Germany.
"where she translated plays and wrote her own, for which her husband composed the music." She did write plays but as far as I am aware, her husband never wrote music either for her plays or for any other occasion.
Julia Gasper
13 May 2019, 11:28
Elizabeth's Craven's first husband was Baron Craven, so she was a Baroness, not a Countess. (Her son was made an Earl which creates some confusion). She had seven children before separating from by Lord Craven.
The Margrave's domains in Prussia were not really estates, they were sovereign principalities, and he made them over to the next heir, the King of Prussia, rather than selling them.