The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Charlotte of Prussia: “The eldest daughter of the ideal, revered Queen” (Part two)

Read part one here.

The siblings were placed in the care of Princess Maria Anna of Hesse-Homburg, who was married to their uncle, Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, and who became the senior lady of the Prussian court after their mother’s death. Maria Anna, also known as Marianne, was affectionately called Aunt Minnetrost. The guardianship of the children was given to Countess Voss, who had been Louise’s mistress of the robes.¹

At the time of her mother’s death, Charlotte had just turned 12 years old. The year after her mother’s death, Charlotte took on the patronage of the Luisenstiftung (Louise Foundation), which was an educational institute for governesses.

In 1813, Charlotte and her siblings had to flee Berlin once again due to Napoleon. They settled in Breslau, and Charlotte eagerly awaited news of her father and eldest brother. In October 1813, the Battle of Leipzig took place and finally brought some victory. Two weeks later, Charlotte’s father spoke to Countess Voss, who later recounted, “The King came to me early, stayed for over two hours, and spoke to me about all his affairs, including the idea of a Russian marriage for Princess Charlotte.”² Charlotte surprised Countess Voss when she started learning Russian on her own. Her father later wrote to congratulate her on her progress.

In January 1814, the siblings were able to return to Berlin, and they were soon expecting a Russian visitor, Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna, who was the wife of Emperor Alexander I of Russia, Nicholas’s (much) older brother. On 22 January, “Princess Charlotte looked very well and behaved impeccably…” during the Empress’s arrival.³ In March, the Emperor’s younger brothers, Nicholas and Michael, arrived in Berlin. They managed to impress Countess Voss.

Charlotte met them for the first time at a dinner given by Princess Augustus Ferdinand (Princess Anna Elisabeth Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt – the widow of Frederick the Great’s youngest brother). Charlotte later wrote to her brother about the two Grand Dukes and that she sat next to Nicholas, and “we had a very good time together.”⁴ Nicholas later recounted, “Here I saw for the first time the one who, by my choice and at first sight, awakened in me the desire to belong to her for life.”⁵ The brothers’ trip continued to Weimar, where their sister was married to the Hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

The Grand Dukes and Charlotte’s older brothers witnessed the Treaty of France, which ended the war between France and the Sixth Coalition (of which Prussia was a part), in May 1814. The Grand Dukes returned home without visiting Berlin again. Charlotte’s father finally returned home in August. The following month, Countess Voss had a serious conversation with Charlotte about her father’s wish that she marry Nicholas. Countess Voss recounted, “She didn’t say no, only that it would be difficult for her to be so far away from her father; she then wept bitterly.”⁶ Just as Charlotte was learning how to be the perfect hostess, Countess Voss died at the age of 85. Her death very much affected Charlotte.

On 1 March 1815, Napoleon, who had escaped from his place of exile, landed near Cannes, and once again Prussia went to war against him. This also meant the return of the Grand Duke to Berlin in June. Charlotte met Nicholas again and later wrote, “I received a little Russian comedy from Nicholas, but of course I don’t understand a word, it was just a joke…”⁷ The following Battle of Waterloo brought Napoleon to his knees once and for all.

An engagement to Nicholas still seemed far off, and Charlotte reported in September that she knew “not much more than I did at this time last year…”⁸ At the end of September, the Grand Dukes were back in Berlin, and a decision had been made. Nevertheless, Nicholas waited until 31 October to propose to Charlotte on Peacock Island. It was officially announced on 4 November at a family dinner in the City Palace. Charlotte had signed a declaration saying she was willing to join the Russian Orthodox Church, and the wedding was to take place in 1817 when Nicholas came of age.

In early 1816, the Russian Emperor sent an archpriest to Berlin to teach her about the Russian Orthodox Faith and Russian. Meanwhile, Nicholas was being sent on an educational tour. At the end of September 1816, Nicholas visited Berlin for several weeks on his way to England. On 25 October, he and Charlotte attended a Russian service together for the first time. He also began calling her Sasha, as it had been decided that her name would be Alexandra after she joined the Russian Orthodox Church.⁹

On 29 January 1817, the marriage contract was signed while Nicholas was still in England. When he made the return journey, he spent another two weeks in Berlin. The wedding date was set, and in early June, a grand farewell reception was held in her honour. During her final days in Berlin, Charlotte visited the family of the sculptor who had made her mother’s sarcophagus. His daughter later wrote, “We had a visit from Princess Charlotte, which was very pleasant for us, but she was very sad the whole time she was here and never stopped crying…”¹⁰

A lady-in-waiting wrote, “Princess Charlotte’s marriage and departure were events that were met with widespread sympathy. The separation was extremely difficult for her, and seeing the eldest daughter of the ideal, revered Queen move to that inhospitable, cold and semi-civilised country almost felt like exile.”¹¹

Read part three here.

1. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.39
2. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.40
3. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.41
4. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.44
5. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.45
6. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.47
7. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.48
8. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.52
9. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.55
10. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.59
11. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.59