The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, A Princess in love (Part one)

On 5 April 1773, Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was born in Hanover as the daughter of Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt and the future Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg. She was their fourth child, but an elder brother and sister would die in infancy in the same year as her birth. Her elder sister was Charlotte, who had been born on 17 November 1769. Her younger surviving siblings were Louise (born 1776), Frederica (born 1778) and Georg (born 1779 – their father’s heir). Her father’s sister was Queen Charlotte, and Charles was appointed governor-general of Hanover by his brother-in-law, King George III.

Therese lost her mother on 22 May 1782 when she died during the birth of her 10th child. She was still only 29 years old, and Therese was only nine 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 – Therese’s elder sister, 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. They would never have an everyday 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. 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.

Therese was still only 15 years old when her aunt Queen Charlotte wrote, “She can only utter the great word [Yes] that will decide her fate for the rest of her life once.”¹ Queen Charlotte was referring to the possible match with Karl Alexander, Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis. The trouble was that Karl Alexander was a Catholic while Therese and her family were protestants. Usually, it would have been required of her to raise her children as Catholics or even convert to Catholicism herself. This was not an option for Therese’s father. But for Karl Alexander, it had been love at first sight.²

They had met sometime in 1786, as he was studying at the University of Mainz, and he visited the court at Darmstadt several times. His first proposal of marriage came in the early months of 1787, but was rejected. During this time, there was a second suitor for Therese’s hand, Prince Christian of Hesse-Darmstadt, the youngest son of Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. They knew each other well, and Christian’s elder brother was married to Therese’s aunt, Princess Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt. Karl Alexander wasn’t about to give up just yet, and he was said to have “loved the beautiful princess beyond all expression.”³ And he may have been of a slightly lower rank, but he was very wealthy. Therese’s father sought Queen Charlotte’s opinion on the match, even though he had initially rejected Karl Alexander.

It is unclear if it was Queen Charlotte’s doing, but Therese’s father changed his mind and decided to let his daughter choose. In January 1788, he wrote to Karl Alexander’s father that he would be “favourable” towards the match.⁴ Therese explained to her father that she had not felt “the slightest inclination” towards Karl Alexander, but she did not want to reject him outright.⁵ Prince Christian also did not sit by silently, and he wrote to the King of Prussia asking for a pension, so that he would be able to maintain Therese. Meanwhile, Karl Alexander headed to England to be appraised by Queen Charlotte.

He was received very well in England, and Charlotte wrote to her brother that a match with Karl Alexander was not “an alliance that is disgraceful, and it is a house very old among the princes of the Empire.” She added that she wished that her niece would be “as happy as she deserved.”⁶ Therese was given a 14-day ultimatum to decide between her two suitors, and she read the letter from her aunt. The 15-year-old Therese was filled with indecision and ultimately decided that she would marry whomever her father chose for her. He settled on Karl Alexander, who was delighted. He wrote to Therese, while still in England, “With a delight surpassed only by the vitality of my passion, which is aroused by your charm, I have learned that Your Highness has placed my fate in the care of your Most Serene Father.” He hoped that she would soon be able to “embrace the most fervent love and the most constant fidelity that ever existed.”⁷

However, the problem of their different religions remained and would take several months of negotiating to be resolved. Karl Alexander even threatened his father that he would never marry if he could not marry Therese.⁸ Therese was not well during this time, and she spent a lot of time with Prince Christian. Of course, people noticed their closeness, and Therese wrote to her father, “Trembling, I take up my pen, my very dear father, fearing to upset you by confessing my constant discomfort caused by the impending union I must enter into. […] You know only too well, dear father, who the other is. He is a good man whom I know and whose thousand outstanding qualities make me both appreciate and love. It is Prince Christian. […] My health is suffering, and I will surely die from it. Therefore, save me, pull me from the abyss into which this marriage will plunge me. I beg you.”⁹

Read part two here.

1. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.29
2. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.29-30
3. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.31
4. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.32
5. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.33
6. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.36
7. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.39
8. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.42
9. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.44-45