Private life
A special part of Leopold Eberhard's biography was his scandalous family life.
Married since 1 June 1695 with the Silesian lady-in-waiting Anne Sabine Hedwiger, this union according to the family laws of the House of Württemberg was morganatic; for this, Leopold Eberhard urged the Emperor to give his wife a noble title. In order to obtain this, he showed proofs that the Hedwiger family had noble origins and served the Empire with loyalty and dedication during generations; even a genealogy was constructed to support the claim. However, the case remained in suspense for the next six years. In the meanwhile, Leopold Eberhard and Anne Sabine had four children, of whom only two survive infancy:
Leopold Eberhard (b. 30 March 1695 – d. 7 March 1709), born before their parents' marriage, was legitimized; Count of Sponeck since 1701.
Leopoldine Eberhardine (baptized 15 February 1697 – d. 1786), Countess of Sponeck since 1701; married on 31 August 1719 with her adopted (and reputed biological) half-brother Karl Leopold von Sandersleben.
George Leopold (baptized 12 December 1697 – d. ca. 1750); Count of Sponeck since 1701; married on 22 February 1719 with his adopted (and reputed biological) half-sister Eleonore Charlotte von Sandersleben.
Charlotte Leopoldine (b. 1700 – d. 3 February 1703), Countess of Sponeck since 1701.
However, soon the marriage failed, mostly because of Leopold Eberhard's unfaithfulness. During his campaigns against the Turks, the prince developed a friendship with Richard Curie, also known as "l'Espérance" (the Hope, a war nickname), Captain of the Imperial army and son of a sergeant of justice in Montbéliard. Richard had five children, one son and four daughters; the Curie sisters (Sébastienne, Polixène, Henriette Edwige and Élisabeth Charlotte) were able to seduce Leopold Eberhard, and at one point all became his mistresses; however, at the end only Henriette Edwige and Élisabeth Charlotte were able to kept the interest of the prince.
After their return to Montbéliard in 1697, Leopold Eberhard persuaded his wife to take the two Curie sisters as ladies-in-waiting. Without any care of the mockery of his subjects, Leopold Eberhard lived with his wife and mistresses until 1700, when Anne Sabine, found this situation unbearable, and finally separated from her husband (but without divorcing him) and moved to the castle of Héricourt, where she remained for the rest of her days.
Finally, on 1 August 1701 Anne Sabine Hedwiger was created Countess of Sponeck (with the title of "Hoch- und Wohlgeboren") by the Emperor with the same title awarded to her children. The castle chosen by the title was a small Burg situated in the banks of the Rhine, and belonged to the House of Württemberg for generations. Despite the estrangement between him and Anne Sabine, Leopold Eberhard obtained for his brothers-in-law Georg Wilhelm Hedwiger (who continue to serve as the Duke's governor in the castle of Montbéliard) and Johann Rudolf Hedwiger the title of Count of Sponeck for each of them.
At first, was Henriette Edwige Curie who obtain the supremacy over the Leopold Eberhard's heart, and she became in his official mistress. However, the Duke marry her in 1697 with Johann Ludwig von Sandersleben, who appeared as the legal father of Henriette Edwige's first three children:
Karl Leopold von Sandersleben (b. 1698 – d. after 19 October 1759), Baron de l'Esperance since 1700, Count of Coligny since 1716; married on 31 August 1719 with his (reputed biological) half-sister Countess Leopoldine Eberhardine of Sponeck.
Ferdinand Eberhard von Sandersleben (b. 31 August 1699 – d. after 19 October 1759), Baron de l'Esperance since 1700, Count of Coligny since 1716; married on 16 July 1737 with Baroness Franziska Benigna Waldner von Freundstein (b. 8 February 1716 – d. 21 February 1750).
Eleonore Charlotte von Sandersleben (b. 14 October 1700 – d. 11 November 1773), Baroness de l'Esperance since 1700, Countess of Coligny since 1716; married on 22 February 1719 with her (reputed biological) half-brother Count George Leopold of Sponeck.
In order to improve the status of his mistress, on 11 September 1700 Leopold Eberhard managed to obtain from the Emperor the title of Baroness de l'Esperance for Henriette Edwige and her children; in addition, the title was extended to Henriette's surviving siblings (including Élisabeth Charlotte, who also was another mistress of the Duke) and their issue. After a short-lived union, on 1 March 1701 Henriette Edwige obtained the divorce from her husband, and from this point she and her children began to live at the Montbéliard court. The real paternity of the Sandersleben children was questioned, but in all probability all were fathered by Leopold Eberhard.
Henriette Edwige and Leopold Eberhard had five children, of whom only two survived infancy:
Baroness Elisabeth de l'Esperance (b. 1 May 1702 – d. 12 March 1703).
Baroness Eberhardine de l'Esperance (b. 18 May 1703 – d. after 1756).
Baron Leopold Eberhard de l'Esperance (b. 13 August 1704 – d. 15 May 1705).
Baroness Leopoldine Eberhardine de l'Esperance (b. 15 September 1705 – d. after 1756).
Baroness Henriette Hedwig de l'Esperance (b. 27 May 1707 – d. May 1709).
Henriette Edwige Curie died on 7 November 1707, six months after her last childbirth. In 1714, Leopold Eberhard legally adopted the three Sandersleben children. On 6 October of that year, the marriage between Leopold Eberhard and Anne Sabine Hedwiger was finally dissolved by the consistorium of Montbéliard under the grounds of "incompatibilité d'humeur" (incompatibility of characters), under the condition that neither of them remarry; however, Anne Sabine contracted a second marriage in 1719 with Roger de Langheac (d. 1746), 6th Marquis de Coligny 2nd Comte de Dalet and descendant of Charles de Coligny. She died on 9 November 1735.
On 10 August 1716, Leopold Eberhard gave to his Sandersleben adoptive children the County of Coligny, jointly with his own biological legally surviving offspring; from them they were called Count/Countess of Sandersleben-Coligny. The official French recognition of this cession was confirmed on 5 February 1718 in Paris; six months later (15 August), the Duke contracted a second married with Élisabeth Charlotte Curie, sister of Henriette and also another of his mistresses.
They had six children (some of them born before the wedding and subsequently legitimized), of whom only two survived to adulthood:
Baroness Henriette Hedwig de l'Esperance (b. 22 April 1711 – d. 1728), born before their parents' marriage, was legitimized.
Baron Leopold Eberhard de l'Esperance (b. 28 July 1712 – d. Ostheim, 13 September 1730), born before their parents' marriage, was legitimized.
Baron George de l'Esperance (b. 8 November 1714 – d. 12 January 1715), born and died before their parents' marriage.
Baron Karl Leopold de l'Esperance (b. 1716 – d. 25 July 1793), born before their parents' marriage, was legitimized; Imperial Count of Horneburg since 1761. Married three times: firstly on 16 May 1741 with Maria Jose de Fuentes de Toledo de Castilla (b. 1718/19 – d. 30 June 1752), secondly with Baroness Elisabeth Charlotte von Malsen-Tilborch, and thirdly on 15 July 1783 with Marie Judith de la Riviere (b. 4 January 1748 – d. Orléans, 28 May 1834).
Baroness Elisabeth Charlotte de l'Esperance (b. 31 December 1717 – d. 1729), born before their parents' marriage, was legitimized
Baron George Frederick de l'Esperance (b. Montbéliard, 16 August 1722 – d. Graz, 20 January 1760), married Countess Therese von Hartig (b. 1 September 1728 – 23 March 1797).
