Geiger, Constance, princess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha |
| ACTRESS, COMPOSER, SINGER (AUSTRIA) |
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BORN 16 Oct 1835, Wien - DIED 24 Aug 1890, Dieppe, Seine-Maritime BIRTH NAME Geiger, Constance GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Cimetière de Montmartre, 20 Avenue Rachel (division 33) |
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Constance Geiger was the daughter of the composer Joseph Geiger (1810-1861) and his wife Theresia Rziha (1804-1865). Simon Sechter and probably J.W.V. Tomaschek were her piano teachers and she publicly played the piano when she was six years old. In 1845 Johann Strauss the Elder dedicated his "Flora Quadille" to her. She also composed music from an early age. She entered the stage to sing in operas in 1848. She only took guest appearances and never held a permanent engagement. In the late 1850s she met Leopold von Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha and on 12 October 1860 she gave birth to his son Franz. On 23 April 1861 they married morganatically in Vienna and she received the title Freifrau von Ruttenstein. She retired from her career after the wedding and they lived at Castle Radmeric. After Leopold died in 1884 she moved to Paris. She died in 1890 in Dieppe. |
| Images |
 The grave of Constance Geiger, princess of Saxe-Courg-Gotha at the Montmartre Cimetière, Paris. Picture by Androom (05 Nov 2017) |
