Charlotte Felicitas of Brunswick-Lüneburg (8 March 1671–29 September 1710) was a German princess. She was born into the House of Hanover and later married into the House of Este, which were both part of the House of Welf. She was thus the Duchess of Modena by marriage. She died in childbirth. Some sources refer to her simply as Charlotte.
Biography
Duchess Charlotte Felicitas of Brunswick-Lüneburg as Diana by Jean Michelin.
Charlotte Felicitas had an older sister, Princess Anna Sophie (who died in childhood), as well two younger sisters: Princess Henrietta (who died unmarried) and Princess Wilhelmina Amalia, who made a prestigious marriage in 1699 to the Holy Roman Emperor, Joseph I. After the death of her father in 1679, her mother returned to France, taking her three daughters with her. In France, Charlotte Felicitas and her sisters were given a Catholic education by her great-aunt Louise Hollandine at the convent of Maubuisson.
Charlotte Felicitas married Rinaldo d'Este in Modena on 11 February 1696. The youngest child of Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena and his third wife Lucrezia Barberini, Rinaldo had been created a cardinal in 1685, but he left the church in 1694 to succeed his nephew Francesco II as Duke of Modena. Rinaldo wanted to encourage relations between Modena and Brunswick, whose ruling house was the House of Hanover. The marriage was celebrated splendidly despite financial problems in Modena; the artist Marcantonio Franceschini was commissioned to paint a room, the Salone d'onore at the ducal palace in honour of the marriage.
Charlotte Felicitas fled Modena for Bologna in 1702 along with the rest of the Modenese royal family in order to avoid French troops in Italy due to the War of the Spanish Succession.
Charlotte Felicitas died at the Ducal Palace of Modena after giving birth to a daughter in September 1710. The child also died. She was buried at the Church of San Vincenzo in Modena. Her son succeeded as Duke of Modena in 1737.
