germanaustriannoblesandroyals:Minor Nobles (08/?): Sophie Botta aka The Dark Countess of Hildburghau

germanaustriannoblesandroyals:Minor Nobles (08/?): Sophie Botta aka The Dark Countess of HildburghausenOn February 1807, a veiled woman and a man arrived in Hildburghausen, Saxony. They would live there for the next three years until they moved to Eishausen Castle, outside of town. Not much is known about this mysterious woman who the locals called Dunkelgräfin [Dark Duchess]. She never ventured outside without a veil or hidden inside a carriage where no one would see her face. The man who had arrived was later indentified as the Dutch secretary Leonardus Cornelius van der Valck. He had worked at the Dutch embassy in Paris fromJuly 1798 to April 1799. In the time of their presence in Hildburghausen, he called himself Count Vavel de Versayand states that they were neither married nor lovers.After the Countess’ death in 1837, he said her name was Sophia Botta, a single woman from Westphalia. However, no such name could be found in birth registers of the area. So her identity still remains a secret until this day.For a long time, it had been speculated that she was actually MarieThérèse of France, the daughter of Marie Antoinette and granddaughter of Empress Maria Theresia. The girl pretending to be Marie was, according to this theory, actually her adopted sisterErnestine Lambriquet. However this theory has been disproven since 2013. DNA analysis of the exhumed body and a study of her reconstructed facial features clearly confirmed thatthe Dark Duchess was not the French Princess.This mysterious story has been the basis of many stories and essays ever since. Works include for example a trilogy of theater plays. Even a German metal band was inspired to name themselves after the Dunkelgrafen couple.// Felicitas Breest as Dunkelgräfin in Geschichte Mitteldeutschlands - Episode 47 “Die vertauschte Prinzessin - Die Dunkelgräfin von Hildburghausen”(2007) -- source link

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