louise and frederica of mecklenburg-strelitz
Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, A heavenly apparition (Part two)

Read part one here.  Despite his obvious reluctance to marry Frederica, Prince Louis wrote to her father, “The better I get to know Frederica, the more fortunate I feel to have such a wife, with whom, I am convinced, I will live happily and contentedly.” The official engagement took place on 24 April 1793. The [read more]

louise and frederica of mecklenburg-strelitz
Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, An Angel (Part one)

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 [read more]

alexandrine of prussia
Alexandrine of Prussia

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Alexandrine of Prussia, The Mother of Mecklenburg (Part three)

Read part two here. In the years between their marriage and accession, Alexandrine and Paul Frederick travelled extensively. Every January, they would go to Berlin and stay there for around two months, hosting their own balls and festivities. They then returned to Ludwigslust to see to their affairs before leaving again in the summer for [read more]

alexandrine of prussia
Alexandrine of Prussia

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Alexandrine of Prussia, The Mother of Mecklenburg (Part two)

Read part one here. Alexandrine was just seven years old when her mother died. She and her 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, [read more]

Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach – “None of that love for intrigue” (Part two)

Read part one here. Victoria had a point about Charles’s wicked expression. During the Revolution of 1848, he had tried to manoeuvre his older brothers out of the succession to establish himself as regent for the then-16-year-old Frederick. Augusta had already disliked her brother-in-law, but this had now turned into full-blown hatred. The relationship between [read more]