Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was born on 2 March 1778 in the Old Palace in Hanover as the fifth daughter of Charles II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt. She was just two years younger than her sister Louise, who would become Queen of Prussia. In addition to Louise, there were two more surviving sisters: Charlotte and Therese. Of her four brothers, only one, her younger brother, survived to adulthood; his name was Georg. Her paternal aunt was Queen Charlotte, and her father served as Governor-General in Hanover for his brother-in-law, King George.
Frederica lost her mother on 22 May 1782 when she died during the birth of her 10th child. She was still only 29 years old. Her father remarried a year and a half later to a woman the children already knew well, their maternal aunt Charlotte. The year 1785 was one of goodbyes – Frederica’s eldest sister, yet another Charlotte, was married to Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen, at the age of 15. A more tragic goodbye came in December when her stepmother died in childbirth as well. Her child, a son named Charles, survived. This time, her father chose not to remarry, but the children still had to be cared for. This fell to Countess Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg, the children’s grandmother, who took in her granddaughters. The two boys stayed in Hanover while the girls moved to Darmstadt.
Frederica missed Georg terribly and wrote to him often from Darmstadt. In her first letter, she wrote, “Young brother, I want to devour you. I hope you’ll always remember me, and you won’t have to forget me at all.”1 They would never have a normal family life again, despite her father’s resignation from his post in Hanover in 1787. He and the two boys moved to Darmstadt, but the family lived in separate residences. Frederica grew very fond of her grandmother and after addressed her as “Chère Maman” in her letters. The years in Darmstadt were happy, though Frederica also wrote about wishing to be reunited with her two dead mothers.2
Louise, Therese and Frederica’s education focused on the French language, which was the language of royalty. Their teacher was Salomé de Gélieu. They also took classes in reading, writing, religion, music, art and literature. Frederica loved reading adventurous and chivalric novels, which her grandmother merely tolerated. Her favourite book was Hermann von Unna.3 Louise and Frederica often travelled with their grandmother, and Frederica vividly described a trip to the Netherlands.
In 1789, Therese married Karl Alexander, 5th Prince of Thurn and Taxis and left Darmstadt. Mrs von Vrints wrote to Therese, “They are charming children, both equally pretty, intelligent and good, but I don’t know why; my heart speaks more for Frederica.”4 Their happy childhood came to an abrupt end when the French National Assembly declared war on Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, on 20 April 1792. However, their grandmother tried to keep a normal family life going.
Frederica and Louise were confirmed together in the City Church in Darmstadt on 15 June 1792, and one month later, the family travelled to Frankfurt for the imperial coronation of Francis. They were only meant to stay one day, but they managed to prolong their stay to attend several festivities. Frederica most likely had Prince Frederick William of Solms-Braunfels among her dance partners. He would eventually become her second husband, and many years later, she would write, “Although I had loved this man for 14 years, I only saw him in social circles at balls, not alone, of course. We were unhappy about the impossibility of a union due to financial circumstances. I said at the time, if it depended on me, I wouldn’t marry anyone else.”5
Troubled times were coming, and soon the French revolutionary troops were advancing towards Mainz. Frankfurt was captured in October 1792, closely followed by Darmstadt. The family initially sought refuge in Hildburghausen with Charlotte. Despite the war, Frederica and Louise travelled to Frankfurt in March 1793 when it became clear that the Prussian King, who was stationed there, was looking for two brides for his two sons, Crown Prince Frederick William and Prince Louis. The girls’ father was not enthusiastic about the match, but King Frederick William II of Prussia was delighted with the sisters. He wrote, “When I first saw the two angels, I was so struck by their beauty that I was completely beside myself when the grandmother presented them to me.”6 The King left the choice between the two princesses to his eldest son. The Crown Prince found it challenging to decide and consulted Louis, who showed no interest in either of the girls. He had a mistress in Berlin whom he intended to keep. In the end, the Crown Prince settled on Louise, leaving Frederica for Louis.
She knew nothing of the mistress in Berlin at first and hoped for a happy marriage. She wrote to her father on 20 March 1793, “The prince has an excellent heart, from everything I’ve heard of him, a great deal of reason, and he is handsome. Do you doubt, dear father, if I will be happy?”7 The Crown Prince had noticed his brother’s behaviour towards his bride and wrote, “My brother was and remains very cold towards his bride.”8 He became very protective of Frederica.
Frederica was perhaps most delighted that a marriage with Louis would allow her to remain by her sister’s side. She wrote to her father, “Also think how happy we are about the fulfilment of our wishes, that we, sisters and best friends, can sweeten our lives for each other every day.”9
- Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.24
- Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.26-27
- Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.27
- Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.29
- Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.31
- Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.33
- Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.33
- Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.35
- Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.35
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