Birth and Early Life
Louise was born in Mons, Hainaut, in the Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium), the eldest daughter of Prince Gustav Adolf of Stolberg-Gedern and of his wife Princess Elisabeth of Hornes, the daughter of Maximilian, Prince of Hornes. When she was only four years old, her father was killed at the Battle of Leuthen. When she was seven, she was sent to be educated at the school attached to the convent of St. Waudru in Mons. The mission of this convent was to provide a home for young ladies of the nobility who had insufficient financial means to live unmarried in the world. In 1766 the Empress Maria Theresa arranged for the convent to give to Louise one of its endowed prebends. Although technically Louise was a canoness (a type of nun), she was not required to stay in the convent cloister and was still allowed to travel in society. Indeed, for most of the canonesses, the acceptance of a prebend was merely a temporary stage until they found appropriate noble husbands.
Read more about this topic: Princess Louise Of Stolberg-Gedern
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