Duke Wilhelm of Birkenfeld long survived him, and it now devolved upon the new King, Ludwig the First, to carry out the family compact. Meanwhile Wilhelm’s son, Duke Pius, had also died, leaving one son, Duke Max. Almost from the birth of this prince it had been decided that he should marry King Maximilian’s youngest daughter Ludovica, who was born the same year, and on the ninth of September, 1828, the marriage was duly celebrated, three months before the bridegroom had reached his twentieth year. Although dictated by family reasons, this marriage proved a remarkably happy one. The two young people had grown up together, knowing that they were to be united for life, and were sincerely attached to each other. Their honeymoon was spent in the Bavarian Alps with Ludovica’s mother, the widowed Queen Caroline, at her Summer home at Tegernsee. At the time of the King’s death, two of the daughters were still unmarried and the constant companions of their mother, to whom they were devoted, and Ludovica’s marriage made no change in their life except that a son-in-law was added to the family circle. Duke Max at that time was called the handsomest prince in Europe. He was slender and well built, with a distinguished ease of manner and a graciousness that won the hearts of all with whom he came in contact, regardless of class or station. Naturally gay and light-hearted, fond of pleasure and society, an accomplished musician and composer, with a passion for nature and out-of-door life, it is small wonder that he was universally adored. Even his mother-in-law, to whose age and habits his lack of seriousness did not at first especially appeal, was completely won by his devotion to her and her daughter, and his constant efforts to divert and entertain them. When the famous violinist, Paganini, came to Munich, Max invited him to visit the castle at Tegernsee and sent one of the royal carriages to meet him. He often arranged amateur concerts, to which all the neighboring families were invited, and whiled away the long Autumn evenings playing and singing with his friend Petzmacher, the zither-player.