The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, A royal bride (Part two)

Read part one here.

Therese’s father did not want to be “his daughter’s unhappiness “, but he could not give her an answer right away.¹ Nevertheless, the negotiations around the wedding contract continued, and it was agreed that any female descendants would also be raised Catholic. Therese’s father went to his daughter one more time, asking her to reconsider, but she would not agree. And so, on 24 September 1788, he officially ended the negotiations. The jilted groom reacted very sensibly and in a manner worthy of “a German prince and his wounded feelings.”²

A new wedding contract was drawn up for Therese and Prince Christian, and he awaited the final results anxiously. Therese’s father tried to use the former groom’s enormous wealth, which Therese had now rejected, to up the stakes. When Christian and Therese met each other again for the first time since the broken engagement, Therese acted strangely towards him. She was already regretting her decision. In early January 1789, she wrote, “Ah, from how many errors have I returned since last summer, how badly have I been treated, the jealousy of my relatives has thwarted a happiness I once aspired to. My God, if only everything could repeat itself, but I don’t deserve it. Could it be possible that the Prince still wanted me, as I have been assured, but I cannot believe it.”³

In fact, Therese had learned at the end of the year that Prince Christian was not in love with her, but with her elder, married sister, Charlotte. He had once written to his sister, “If I love Princess Therese at the moment, it is only a continuation of the feeling I have for the older one.”⁴ He had finally confessed these feelings to Therese, and she immediately decided to end things. She wrote to her father about what had happened and that she wished to rekindle the negotiations with Karl Alexander – if that was at all possible.

Karl Alexander was certainly very forgiving, and he wrote to his father after being told of what had happened, “A princess who rectifies her wrongs, as she has done, certainly deserves to be united with her heart and soul. I cannot express myself other than to say that I love her more now than ever.”⁵ The mournful Therese was forgiven, and negotiations for the wedding contract restarted. She wrote to her father, “Be assured, dear father, that I will not subject you to any more embarrassments and accept my sincere apologies for all past torments.”⁶ On 21 March 1789, Karl Alexander and Therese were finally allowed to meet in person again. It was a “touching scene.”⁷ Marriage negotiations eventually concluded, and Therese was allowed to keep her religion, but any children would need to be raised as Catholics. Their official betrothal took place on 5 April 1789. The following month, on 25 May 1789, they were married at the court of Therese’s grandfather in Neustrelitz. They had both a Catholic and a protestant ceremony.

Soon, Therese would have to leave her home, and the first destination for the newlyweds was Trugenhofen Castle, the Thurn and Taxis summer residence. She was received with theatre performances, balls and banquets. Therese tried to make up for the mistakes of the past, and luckily, she was succeeding. She wrote home to her father about her father-in-law’s kindness and her husband’s love. In October, the court moved to Regensburg for the winter months, but Therese would always prefer their summer residence. From early on in their marriage, Karl Alexander and Therese were to perform ceremonial duties as Karl Alexander’s health became worse.

Nine months after the wedding, Therese gave birth to her first child. On 24 March 1790, a daughter named Charlotte Louise Frederica, and Queen Charlotte was asked to be the child’s godmother. The little girl died just six months later, devastating her parents. There was a lot of pressure on Therese to become pregnant again, as a son was needed to continue the family line. Her father-in-law began to grumble about her ill-health, and Therese began to fear she could no longer have children, as she hadn’t been pregnant in a year. She grieved for her daughter and even forgot to send her brother a birthday card. Around the first anniversary of her daughter’s death, she wrote, “My dear Charlotte was still with me, and my arms were around her.”⁸

She hadn’t realised that she was two months pregnant at the time. On 22 March 1792, she gave birth to a son who was named Georg Karl. Her father-in-law was overjoyed that an heir had been born, but the recovery from the birth prevented Therese from attending the imperial coronation, where she would have seen some of her family. Georg Karl was a lively child at first, and he was rarely ill. At the age of two, he had the whooping cough, which had been going around. On 6 July 1794, Therese gave birth to her third child. It was a daughter named Marie Therese, nicknamed “little rose” by her mother.⁹ In January 1795, little Georg Karl suddenly fell ill with a chill and a cough. He continued to deteriorate and died in the early hours of 20 January 1795.

Therese’s sister Louise, who had also just lost a child, wrote to her, “Oh my angelic, beloved Therese, if you knew how deeply I share in your pain, how much I mourn for you, and how clearly I see and recognise the extent of your loss, You would not have written to me, asking me to shed a few tears for your angel. […] Alas! My tears, my pain, all this can do you no good; it will not revive the object of your happiness.”

Read part three here.

1. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.47
2. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.50
3. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.52
4. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.55
5. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.56
6. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.59
7. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.62
8. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.97
9. Therese von Thurn und Taxis by Carolin Philipps p.100