In September 1771 the peace and tranquility that normally prevailed in the small country town of Kirchheim unter Teck was abruptly interrupted for several weeks. Duke Carl Eugen of Württemberg, with his joy for life, had decided to pursue his fall hunting pleasure in the forests around Kirchheim.
The stay of the Duke's royal retinue, which consisted of 411 people, required top organizational talent of the town officials. A week before his arrival, the Duke had already had a list of those who would accompany him sent ahead to Kirchheim so that their accommodations in the palace and in the town could be promptly prepared.
The entourage of Carl Eugen included a man who had not often been seen before at the court. It was the rather unsightly, short Baron of Leutrum from Pforzheim, who had been appointed to the position of Württemberg chamberlain two years before. On the express order of Carl Eugen, he had to perform his duty as chamberlain and pay the Duke a courtesy visit for one week beginning on 29 September.
There was a special reason for the Duke's sudden interest in the company of the Baron of Leutrum. Carl Eugen had fallen in love with the chamberlain's young wife, the then twenty-three year old Franziska Theresia of Leutrum. The stay in Kirchheim was a good opportunity for him to become better acquainted with the lady. Actually, the Duke had arrived in the accompaniment of his official mistress, the opera singer Catharina Bonafini. However, the affair had begun to cool down.
The duke allowed several days to pass without organizing any hunting parties and provided for other diversions, which were probably more in tune with the softer heart of his new love. In addition to excursions in the immediate vicinity, there were other amusements for the royal retinue. For example, the Stuttgart theater company put on an opera almost every evening in the opera house built for this purpose in the Kirchheim palace garden.
On 28 October 1771 the Duke left Kirchheim unter Teck again with his entourage. Just two months later, Franziska became the Duke's official mistress. She lived at Carl Eugen's side for over 20 years. After the death of his first wife, he even married her, making her the Duchess of Württemberg. Franziska ultimately returned to Kirchheim Palace as a dowager. She lived there, where her love affair with the Duke had once begun, until the end of her life.