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

On 23 February 1803, Queen Louise gave birth to her seventh child and fourth daughter, Alexandrine, at the Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin.

On 19 May, Louise wrote to her brother George, “Now a few words from me; I am as well and as happy after these weeks as one can be. My little daughter, Alexandrine Helene, is so pretty, so fat, and so plump as I could wish for, and the smallpox, which she has now happily overcome, now gives me the comfort of not worrying about her survival for a while.”¹ Alexandrine had been inoculated by the court physician, which was still highly experimental at the time.

She received the name Alexandrine in honour of Emperor Alexander I of Russia, who also stood as godfather to the little girl. The name Helene came from the Emperor’s sister, Elena, who had been godmother to Alexandrine’s brother, Charles, who had been born in 1801.

Not long after Alexandrine’s birth, Elena caught a cold while visiting her godson, which she could not shake. While dreadfully ill, Elena asked for Queen Louise’s picture to hold as she lay in bed. Louise wrote to her, “Angel of my heart, you must come to us. I’ll make you a bed of pears and grapes.”² She even sent her doctor to bring Elena to Sans Souci, but it was too late. She died on 24 September 1803 at the age of 18.

Alexandrine’s early years were described as “quietly domestic.”³ They could be an ordinary family at Paretz. Louise’s husband, Frederick William, did not have a mistress, which made the court seem rather uninteresting to some. Louise and Frederick William were devoted to each other and their children. Alexandrine and her siblings were also in the care of a nursery governess, but Louise demanded at least two hours with her children each day. Alexandrine’s elder brother, the future King, was taken from the nursery at the age of five and was appointed a tutor. Louise was a loving mother who personally taught her children somersaults and refused to curb their noise.

The fate of the family was tied to that of the conquering Napoleon Bonaparte for the early years of Alexandrine’s life. Napoleon occupied Berlin in October 1806, and Alexandrine and her family were forced to flee. Alexandrine and her siblings travelled together with her aunt, Frederica, and her four children. At Stettin, Louise, who had caught up with them later, and the younger children stayed with Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Frederick William’s father’s first wife. Louise described the day that Napoleon won the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt as “the most unhappy day of my entire life.”⁴ Louise left the children with Elisabeth Christine and asked them to go to Danzig, which was considered to be safer, as she went to join her husband.

At Danzig, the children were delighted by the sea, but they were soon all quite ill with diarrhoea. Countess Voss, one of Louise’s ladies-in-waiting, had trouble finding enough food for the children. The court physician, Dr Hufeland, was called to care for them. Alexandrine had been so weakened that she had to stay behind while the other went to Königsberg when Danzig was no longer considered safe.⁵ She was eventually out of danger and able to join her siblings at Königsberg. Worries about the children continued as Charles was the next to fall ill. Her worried mother wrote, “This is a time of trial… but God, perhaps, will give us better days.”⁶ When Louise was able to return to the children, she was ill as well. As she fought off typhoid, the French army came closer to Königsberg and the children were sent to Memel. A determined Louise preferred to be in the hands of God, rather than the hands of Napoleon and travelled with her children to Memel. Despite the conditions, Louise’s health improved.

At Memel, the children lived in one house while Countess Voss and the other ladies-in-waiting were housed in another, which led to a constant stream of traffic. According to Countess Voss, the children were “good, but noisy.”⁷ Louise would have to leave the children once more, as she joined her husband for the talks surrounding the Peace of Tilsit in 1807. During this time, Alexandrine was ill again – this time she had mumps followed by a bout of pneumonia. Luckily, she recovered again.

On 1 February 1808, another sibling joined the nursery—a daughter named Louise. At the end of the year, the elder Louise and her husband travelled to St. Petersburg at the invitation of Emperor Alexander I of Russia. They remained there until early 1809. On 4 October 1809, Louise gave birth to her final child, Prince Albert. She was still in Königsberg, and her recovery was slow. At the end of the year, the family could finally return to Berlin. A grand entrance was made into Berlin on 23 December 1809, which was also the 16th anniversary of Louise’s first appearance as Frederick William’s bride. In addition to the Prussian royal family, Louise’s family from Mecklenburg was also there to welcome her to Berlin. Louise’s health had been severely affected, but her normal cure – a visit to the spas at Pyrmont was not possible. So she suggested a visit to Mecklenburg, which was approved. She left first, shortly followed by her husband a few days later.

Louise soon became feverish, and she was bled by the doctors. The news became increasingly urgent, and Frederick William decided to go to her at once, taking their two eldest sons with him. Louise died on 19 July 1810 at the age of 34, leaving behind her husband and seven young children. After their mother’s death, the children were sent out into the garden to pick flowers for a wreath.⁸

Read part two here.

1. Briefe by Königin Luise p.78
2. Queen Louise of Prussia by Constance Wright p.64
3. Queen Louise of Prussia by Constance Wright p.36
4. Queen Louise of Prussia by Constance Wright p.129
5. Queen Louise of Prussia by Constance Wright p.137
6. Queen Louise of Prussia by Constance Wright p.140
7. Queen Louise of Prussia by Constance Wright p.148
8. Queen Louise of Prussia by Constance Wright p.231