Augusta of Saxe-Weimar

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: “Her life closed in a merciful way” (Part eight)

Read part seven here. Augusta continued to do what she could, from her wheelchair or even from her sickbed. Her lady-in-waiting wrote, “Her mind is more active than ever.” Her son, Fritz, also became ill. In 1887, he was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer. The growth was at first believed to be harmless, but he could [read more]
Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – The life and death of King Frederick William IV of Prussia (Part two)

Read part one here. Frederick William’s father’s health began to decline after his 60th birthday. In the end, a prolonged fever caused his death on 7 June 1840. He died at the palace at Unter den Linden, surrounded by his family. In his will he wrote, “The position that Prussia occupies in the general system [read more]
Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – The life and death of King Frederick William IV of Prussia (Part one)

On 15 October 1795, Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Crown Princess of Prussia, gave birth to her second child, the future King Frederick William IV of Prussia. Louise’s first child had tragically been stillborn. As such, Frederick William was their eldest surviving child. His younger brother, the future William I, German Emperor, was only 18 months younger [read more]
Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – The short life of Frederica of Prussia

In the early hours of 14 October 1799, Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of Prussia, gave birth to a daughter named Frederica. The little girl was their fifth child, although their eldest daughter had been stillborn. Louise had given birth in Potsdam. Frederica was baptised on 8 November and given the additional names Augusta Carolina Amelia. [read more]
Mecklenburg-Strelitz

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – The life and death of Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Part two)

Read part one here. Friederike would not survive her tenth childbirth. She gave birth to a girl on 19 May 1782, and the little girl died the following day. Friederike died three days after the birth on 22 May 1782; she was still only 29 years old. Her daughter, Louise, later wrote, “My dear first [read more]