Anna Karolina Orzelska

Anna Karolina Orzelska (23 November 1707 – 27 September 1769) was a Polish szlachcianka (noblewoman) and an adventuress. Born as an illegitimate daughter of August II the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, by Henriette Rénard she became Hereditary Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck by marriage. Life The King-Elector August II the Strong met Henriette Rénard in Warsaw in 1706, where her father André Rénard, a wine merchant from Lyon, had a salon. Most historians agree that at first, Henriette didn't know the true identity of her lover. As a result of the liaison, in November 1707 a daughter was born, Anna Karolina. August did not learn of her existence until a year and half later. Henriette married the Paris businessman François Drian shortly after Anna Karolina's birth and moved to France, where she grew up. For a long time, the girl lived in Paris with her mother in complete obscurity without the support of her father. However, in 1723, her half-brother, the later Count Frederick Augustus Rutowsky, found her. Anna Karolina followed him on his return to the Dresden court, where the sixteen-year-old beauty was presented to the King. On 19 September 1724, August the Strong officially acknowledged Anna Karolina as his daughter and gave her the title of Countess Orzelska (Polish: Hrabina Orzelska, German: Gräfin Orzelska). The first time that she appears in a document was on 21 November 1726 during the Diet of Grodno, at which the King personally signed the donation of the Blue Palace to her, which became Anna Karolina's official residence.