Diana Rabe von Pappenheim

Diana Rabe von Pappenheim ( Freiin Waldner von Freundstein; 25 January 1788–18 December 1844) was the royal mistress of Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia, from 1810 until 1813, by whom she most likely had a daughter in 1811. Early life Diana was born at Château Ollwiller in Wuenheim, Alsace, France, to Baron Gottfried Waldner von Freundstein and his wife, Friederike (von Stein zu Nord-und Ostheim). Her father, the son of Count Franz Ludwig Waldner von Freundstein (1710–1788) and his wife, Wilhelmine Auguste Sophie Eleonore (von Berckheim zu Rappoltsweiler), was a member of the General Council of the Upper Rhine knighthood and the imperial knights in the Ortenau and the Wetterau. Her mother was the daughter of Baron Dietrich Philipp August von Stein zu Nord-und Ostheim (1741–1803) and his wife, Maria Susanne Wilhelmine Elisabeth (von und zu der Thann). Her aunt, Henriette Louise de Waldner de Freundstein, Baronne d'Oberkirch, was the author of a series of Mémoires about court society. Diana grew up with two brothers Eduard (1786–1864) and Theodor (1789–1880), and three sisters Isabelle, Cecile, and Adele. Her eldest brother Eduard Waldner von Freundstein (Edouard de Waldner Freundstein) later served in Napoleon III's imperial French army, then became a senator of the Second French Empire. As a result of the French Revolution, the family lost most of their possessions and income. To ensure their future financial security, their parents decided to find positions for their daughters as ladies' maids in noble houses after they had reached an appropriate age. Diana and her sister Isabelle went to Kassel in 1802, then to Weimar two years later. Isabelle was lady-in-waiting to the Landgravine Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt, while the now 16-year-old Diana served the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia.