Duchess Mathilde Ludovika in Bavaria

Mathilde Ludovika arrived on 30 September 1843, daughter of Maximilian, Duke in Bavaria, and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. Her mother carried royal blood through her own father, King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, and his second wife, Margravine Karoline of Baden. She grew up in the long shadow of dynasty, a middle daughter in a world that counted sons and scrutinized marriages. She lived through the slow crumbling of the old European order, dying on 18 June 1925 in a century that no longer belonged to duchesses.