Born Ellen Franz, the successful pianist and actress became the third wife of Duke Georg II of Saxe-Meiningen after being ennobled.
The rejection of their union by their princely peers did not diminish great love between the couple. They retreated from the taunts to their country castles, such as Altenstein and Heldburg. These became meeting places for artists and intellectuals such as Johannes Brahms, Franz von Lenbach and Ernst Haeckel.
