Ohhhh! Do we have any letters from Wilhelmine about what she thought about that? (I assume from your use of "parents" that Wilhelmine was still alive at the time?)
She was. Actually daughter Friederike left her husband twice. The first time her parents and Uncle Fritz persuaded her to go back and give it another try, but the second time - September of 1756 - she remained in Bayreuth. (That the war had just broken out helped in this regard.) Now, the reason that the entire Würtemberg match came to be was because Würtemberg was one of the biggest German duchies, and Fritz was trying to build an anti-Habsburg league within the HRE.
Wilhelmine was never keen on her son-in-law; she already had the impression directly after the wedding that he was, while apparantly at this point passionately in love (well, in lust - according to Casanova, Wilhelmine's daughter was the most beautiful princess of Europe), way too jealous and possessive. We do have a letter from her to Fritz about this. Fritz being Fritz, he wrote back that hey, a passionately interested husband was a GOOD thing, surely? Also it would cool down in time anyway.
Sure enough, Carl Eugen lost interest. He and Friederike then travelled together to Italy (this was before Wilhelmine herself went) in order to save the marriage. This did not work. After their one and only daughter died as a baby, Friederike grew melancholy. He started to have lots of mistresses. Then Friedrike left for the first time and went home to Bayreuth. Cue parental attempt to mediate between husband and wife. But Uwe Oster doesn't quote any letters on this, so I can't, either. After the second time, they didn't bother anymore. (Also if I understood Lehndorff's diaries correctly Carl Eugen actually sided with MT in the 7 Years War.) This why Friederike was with her mother when she died (along with the Margrave, of course). She herself died in 1780. Carl Eugen's main claim to fame is being notorious for being the tyrannical Duke young Schiller went up against (and wrote that biting scene in Kabale und Liebe" where Lady Milford gets the jewelry and the servant tells her how the Duke sells regiments to Amerika to pay for his high life about), before hightailing it out of Würtemberg for good.
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Husband-leaving
Re: Husband-leaving
Wilhelmine was never keen on her son-in-law; she already had the impression directly after the wedding that he was, while apparantly at this point passionately in love (well, in lust - according to Casanova, Wilhelmine's daughter was the most beautiful princess of Europe), way too jealous and possessive. We do have a letter from her to Fritz about this. Fritz being Fritz, he wrote back that hey, a passionately interested husband was a GOOD thing, surely? Also it would cool down in time anyway.
Sure enough, Carl Eugen lost interest. He and Friederike then travelled together to Italy (this was before Wilhelmine herself went) in order to save the marriage. This did not work. After their one and only daughter died as a baby, Friederike grew melancholy. He started to have lots of mistresses. Then Friedrike left for the first time and went home to Bayreuth. Cue parental attempt to mediate between husband and wife. But Uwe Oster doesn't quote any letters on this, so I can't, either. After the second time, they didn't bother anymore. (Also if I understood Lehndorff's diaries correctly Carl Eugen actually sided with MT in the 7 Years War.) This why Friederike was with her mother when she died (along with the Margrave, of course). She herself died in 1780. Carl Eugen's main claim to fame is being notorious for being the tyrannical Duke young Schiller went up against (and wrote that biting scene in Kabale und Liebe" where Lady Milford gets the jewelry and the servant tells her how the Duke sells regiments to Amerika to pay for his high life about), before hightailing it out of Würtemberg for good.
Re: Husband-leaving
Well, good for Friedrike, anyway :P
Oh, I knew I'd heard Carl Eugen's name before! Thanks for reminding me :D