Sussanna von Beenemünde
From Gineipaedia, the Legend of Galactic Heroes wiki
 Marquise Beenemünde (796 UC (487 IC / 3596 CE)) | |
| Gender: | Female |
| Affiliation: | Galactic Empire |
| Status: | Deceased (executed) |
| Died: | 796 UC (487 IC / 3596 CE) |
| Played by: | Fujita Toshiko |
Sussana von Beenemünde (Japanese: シュザンナ・フォン・ベーネミュンデ) was Imperial Consort to Kaiser Friedrich IV for several years, before he dismissed her in favour of Annerose von Grünewald. Unable to accept losing the emperor's favour, Beenemünde hatched several plots to win back Friedrich's favour. Mostly, these involved assassination attempts on Annerose's younger brother, Reinhard von Lohengramm. These ill-conceived attempts all failed, yet there was never sufficient proof to indict the Baroness.
As her last, desperate act, Lady Beenemünde decided to murder Annerose von Grünewald herself. Beenemünde's grief at having been stricken from Friedrich's sight was so great that she believed he would return to her, if only Annerose were dead. The plan failed, and at the order of the Kaiser, Beenemünde was forced to drink poison, thus committing suicide. It was announced to the public that she died of natural causes, and Kaiser Friedrich IV personally attended her funeral.
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Fall from Favour
Lady Beenemünde was rumored to have fallen from Friedrich's favour due to her inability to conceive a male heir. She is known to have been pregnant at least three times by the Kaiser. The first, which was a male, was a stillborn while the other two ended in miscarriages. Marquis Littenheim and Count Herxheimer speculated whether or not foul play, likely by the hand of Littenheim's rival, Duke Braunschweig, was to blame for the male child's fate. If he had survived, he would have had the strongest claim as successor to Friedrich IV, ahead of Duke Branschweig and Marquis Littenheim's daughters. This would suggest that a plot to keep Beenemünde from giving birth was indeed possible for a powerful noble to accomplish and would provide reason for the continued troubles experienced by Beenemünde, until she was eventually largely replaced by the younger Countess Grünewald.
Appendices
Appearances
- LOGH:
- 'The Actress Exits' (first appearance; death)
- SWV:
- 'Chapter I'
- 'Chapter IV'
Name variations
- Sussanna von Beenemünde (DVD subtitles)
- Susanna von Benemünde (LD subtitles)
- シュザンナ・フォン・ベーネミュンデ (LD/DVD subtitles — Japanese)
- Susanna Von Bennemunde (Japanese fan sources)
Background information
- Benemünde is a mistranslation of Peenemünde, a German city and island in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
- Marquise Beenemünde's plot to murder Annerose and her downfall is actually based on the events of the sixth chapter of the Gaiden (side story) novel Star Crusher and not from the main novel series. In the novel, her plot took place in May 795 UC (486 IC / 3595 CE) and not the latter half of 796 UC (487 IC / 3596 CE) as depicted in the animated adaptation.
