German princess, traveller, ethnologist and naturalist. Princess Theresa of Bavaria (officially Charlotte Marianne Auguste von Bayern Therese) was born to the Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria and his wife Auguste Ferdinande of Austria. Tutored by her mother, Therese showed a great interest in plants as a child and eagerly educated herself in the natural sciences and anthropology following her mother's death in 1864.

As a young woman she fell in love with her cousin, Otto, brother of King Ludwig II, but her plans to marry him were thwarted when he showed signs of insanity. Therese remained unmarried her whole life, devoting herself rather to exploration and studies. She set off on her first travels in the 1870s, journeying incognito with few attendants to the Mediterranean region (1875-1876), followed by Scandinavia (1881), Russia (1882) and the Near East (1883), familiarising herself with no fewer than 12 languages. She visited Brazil in 1888, the Balkans in 1890, North America and Mexico in 1893, and South America in 1898. Each excursion was approached in the manner of a scientific expedition and as well as returning with large collections of natural history and cultural objects, Therese earned a reputation as a travel writer for her subsequent articles and books.

Thanks to Therese's intrepid nature and inquiring mind, she was awarded many honours rarely bestowed on women of that era. In 1892 she was admitted as the first female member of the Bavarian Geographical Society, for example, and in 1897 was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Munich. It was in this year that she published an account of her travels in Brazil (Meine Reise in die Brasilianischen Tropen). Soon afterwards she was on the trail of adventure in South America once again, where her year-long trek of 1898 allowed her to make extensive collections of zoological, botanical and ethnological objects. Beginning in the Caribbean, Therese made her way to the mainland and explored Colombia before crossing the Andes to Ecuador and Peru. Continuing on to the Argentine Pampas, the Atacama Desert and Valparaiso, Chile. Her final destination before returning to Europe with more than 20 trunks full of specimens and objects was Buenos Aires. After her return she published several works dealing with the culture and natural history of South America, including one dedicated to the plants she had collected (Auf einer Reise in Westindien und Südamerika gesammelte Pflanzen, 1902). Most of her herbarium material was deposited at Munich.

This Humboldt-like voyage was Therese's last great expedition. She spent her later life promoting academic training for women and supporting charitable causes, and from her estate at Lindau continued to correspond with scholars around the world. At Lindau she also raised many rare trees. It was here that Germany's most scholarly princess died, aged 75. She was buried at the Theatine Church in Munich.

Sources:
M. Berger, 2003, Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchlexikon, 21: 1486-1493.