frederick william iii
Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

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

On 24 December 1793, Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz married the future King Frederick William III of Prussia. He had been born on 3 August 1770 as the eldest son of the future King Frederick William II of Prussia and Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt. He was born during the reign of his great-uncle, Frederick II, who was [read more]
Charlotte of Prussia

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Charlotte of Prussia: “A great lady” (Part seven)

Read part six here. In 1853, the Crimean War broke out. By September 1854, the war was not going well, much to Nicholas’s frustration. Nicholas and Charlotte both fell ill, and one courtier wrote, “Lately, he seems more dejected every day; his face is worried, his gaze dull. His beautiful, majestic figure has bowed under [read more]
Charlotte of Prussia

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Charlotte of Prussia: “Crushed hopes” (Part six)

Read part five here. Once back in Russia, the focus returned to the upcoming nuptials of Charlotte’s eldest son, Alexander, and Marie of Hesse and by Rhine. On 12 December 1840, Marie was accepted into the Russian Orthodox Church with the name Maria Alexandrovna. She and Alexander could now be officially betrothed. The wedding took [read more]
Charlotte of Prussia

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Charlotte of Prussia: “A quiet melancholy” (Part five)

Read part four here. The Austrian diplomat Karl Ludwig von Ficquelmont and his wife, Dolli, were invited to the Peterhof. Dolli later wrote, “But there, too, was Sophie Urusova, this enigmatic figure, with her dazzling white and dispassionate beauty, at the sight of which the Empress’s friends’ hearts ached, and who occupied a place in [read more]