Carola of Vasa (Caroline Friederike Franziska Stephanie Amalie Cäcilie; 5 August 1833 – 15 December 1907) was a titular princess of Sweden by birth and styled Princess of Vasa as member of the House of Holstein-Gottorp. By marriage to Albert, King of Saxony, she was the last Queen of Saxony.
At the side of her husband, Carola dedicated herself to the charitable development of new social institutions in the Kingdom of Saxony. With the founding of the Albert Association (German: Albertverein) in 1867 and other nursing and training institutions, she set impulses in the areas of charity, poor and sick care as well as the care of the wounded. In addition, she was involved in aid, children's and women's associations for the support of the disadvantaged. She was a recipient of the Order of Sidonia and gave her name to the Carola Medal for charity, which was named after her. Numerous places are named after her, especially in Dresden.
Princess Carola of Vasa was born on 5 August 1833 in the Kaiserstöckl, an annex of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, as the second child and only daughter of the former crown prince of Sweden and Austrian field marshal Prince Gustav of Vasa and his wife Princess Louise Amelie of Baden. Her only sibling, Prince Louis, was born and died in 1832, so Carola remained the only surviving offspring from her parents' marriage.
Carola did not come from the Vasa dynasty, as her name might suggest. Rather, she owed the suffix to her father, who, as a member of the deposed Swedish House of Holstein-Gottorp, was no longer allowed to call himself a prince of Sweden. Instead, he gave himself the nicknames Vasa and (to further affirm his claim to the throne) Holstein-Gottorp, hence Vasa-Holstein-Gottorp. Consequently, Carola also received this surname.
Carola's evangelical baptism took place on 7 August 1833 at Schönbrunn Palace with the full name of Caroline Friederike Franziska Stephanie Amalie Cäcilie, but her mother called her "Carola". Her godparents were, among other royal representatives, Emperor Francis I of Austria and his third wife Empress Caroline Augusta (born a Princess of Bavaria), Stephanie, Dowager Grand Duchess of Baden (born Beauharnais) and Cecilia, Grand Duchess of Oldenburg (born a Princess of Sweden and Carola's paternal aunt); she received her names after her godparents, her paternal grandmother, Frederica of Baden (former Queen of Sweden) and another paternal aunt, Princess Amalia of Sweden. Until the divorce of her parents in the summer of 1844, Carola spent most of her childhood in the couple's summer residence in South Moravia, Veveří Castle. The princess, who was considered shy and reserved, was raised and instructed in a strict manner, but marked by parental love.
After the separation of her parents, Carola and her mother settled in Moravec Castle in August 1846. Amalie von Ungern-Sternberg took over the instruction of the princess: she developed a preference for drawing, painting and chess, but not for making music. Carola enjoyed performing her own plays. Apart from larger gatherings, rural life in Moravec was quiet and tranquil. During this time, the young princess developed great compassion for underprivileged children and the infirm, to whom she donated food and clothing financed by her mother. In doing so, she laid the foundation for her later involvement in the field of charitable care for the poor and sick. The stay was mostly interrupted for spa trips by her mother, who was suffering from asthma and a heart defect, or for visits to her father or relatives in Mannheim or Karlsruhe.
During the First Italian War of Independence in 1848–1849, Carola supported Hungarian wounded by submitting gifts. In the years that followed, her mother's health continued to deteriorate, which made it necessary for her and Carola to have long visits to the spas in Merano, Venice, Bolzano and Baden. In the years leading up to 1851, the now 18-year-old Carola, who was considered the most beautiful princess in Europe at the time, devoted herself intensively to oil painting.
Carola, like her mother, converted to Catholicism in 1852, despite strong opposition from her father. He only gave his consent on the condition that his daughter separated from her mother for a long time in order to take religious instruction with his sister Sophie, Grand Duchess of Baden in Karlsruhe. The princess returned to her mother after graduation and professed her Catholic faith on 4 November of the same year in the parish church in Moravec.
In November 1852, in Moravec, Carola and her mother received an unexpected visit from Princes Albert and George of Saxony, who were on a hunting trip. In truth, however, this was only a pretext, since Prince Albert had been looking for a bride since 1850, which had not been successful until then. Firstly, plans were made for a marriage with Amélie of Leuchtenberg (widow of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil), but Albert did not like her; then, other potential candidates were Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria (widow of Archduke Ferdinand Karl Viktor of Austria-Este) and of course Carola. During the banquet for the princes and other royals, Albert introduced himself to Carola and was struck by her grace and witty conversation. In later notes, Albert described meeting Carola as "love at first sight". A little later, Albert's father, Prince John of Saxony (who wanted his heir to marry someone who shared their religious beliefs), asked Carola's hand for his son in a letter to the princess' mother. Albert had feared that Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, who had also courted Carola, might forestall him. Another proposed suitor for Carola was Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia. After a second meeting, Carola accepted Albert's proposal on 5 December 1852, and the official engagement was celebrated in the same day. The couple spent that New Year together in Moravec.
The imminent wedding of Albert and Carola initially met with little approval in Saxony. This was less because of Carola's lack of wealth, and not because of the prevailing bad reputation of her divorced parents. Rather, the reason was that Carola had only converted to the Catholic faith shortly before the engagement. However, Prince John was more concerned about his son's happiness than any animosity towards the bride and did his best to promote the relationship that had developed. He also rejected arguments for or against the wedding for purely financial reasons.
In January 1853, Carola and her mother moved to Brno. There, Albert often visited his fiancée in the coming months. The couple appeared together at balls, theater visits and other festivities, with Carola using the social appearances to prepare for her future position in the Saxon royal family, where the strict Spanish ceremonial applied. Prince John in particular was keen that his future daughter-in-law should demonstrate a high level of confidence in conversation and in the court environment, which Carola fulfilled without hesitation. Meanwhile, her mother's health continued to deteriorate.
For the wedding scheduled for June 1853, Carola traveled from Brno to Prague and from there to Děčín. There she met Albert, with whom she continued in a decorated special train to Pirna, where the couple inspected a troop parade. They arrived with a mounted and horse-drawn escort at Pillnitz Castle, where the Saxon court received the couple and invited them to the family dinner. The procession then traveled on to Dresden, where the wedding took place around noon on 18 June in the Palace in the Great Garden (German: Palais im Großen Garten). After the wedding ceremony, the newlyweds drove in a covered golden gala carriage to the Old Town Hall (German: Altstädter Rathaus), where the Lord Mayor (German: Oberbürgermeister) Wilhelm Pfotenhauergave a reception. Bishop Joseph Dittrich performed the catholic wedding ceremony at Dresden Cathedral. The festivities continued through 2 July. The couple then moved into a spacious apartment in the Taschenbergpalais. Adolf Senfft von Pilsach took over the management of their household. Carola's new Chief Court Mistress (German: Oberhofmeisterin) came from the Werther noble family and instructed her in the court protocol.