The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, The poor and seduced child (Part three)

Read part two here. 

Now a widow, Frederica moved into Schönhausen Palace, which was further away from her sister. The official period of mourning for her husband was set at three months, but it was extended after the death of Frederick the Great’s widow, Elisabeth Christine, in January 1797. Frederica was often visited by her family, and her grandmother came to Berlin for her birthday in March. And during this time, Louise gave birth to a second healthy son, the future Wilhelm I, German Emperor. She was reminded of her grief during the gun salute celebrating the birth of her nephew. She wrote, “My grief has almost taken over again today. Yesterday, it was striking when the cannons went off; that was another terrible moment.”¹ She joined her father-in-law on a trip to the water at Pyrmont in June.

Another Prussian prince, Louis Ferdinand, a nephew of Frederick the Great, had his eye on Frederica. He visited her often at Schönhausen, and apparently, Frederica was not opposed to marrying him. Louise was worried and wrote to her sister, “Let him know at every opportunity that you don’t want him courting you. Believe your Louise, he is not worth it… He’s a liar, a player, a gambler and deceitful. He is a terror to the King, unpleasant to our father…”² Then there was Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, the seventh son of King George III, who also pursued Frederica. Frederica required the permission of her brother-in-law, and he would not give it for Louis Ferdinand. He was more open to the Duke of Cambridge, but it was King George III who told his son to wait until the end of the war with France. Frederica also wouldn’t be allowed to take her children to England if she married the Duke, but talks of an engagement went ahead.

Her second son, Charles, became seriously ill in early 1798 and died on 6 April 1798. Frederica made up her mind and wrote, “No, I cannot abandon them, the poor children. God did not give them to me to make them orphans but to fulfil my duties as a mother.”³ Nevertheless, she continued to write to Adolphus well into the summer of 1798.

Frederica’s life became monotonous as she was no longer the centre of attention alongside her sister. She even went as far as calling her room her “cell.”⁴ However, Schönhausen Palace did have one significant advantage – it was very private. And so it happened that she had a regular visitor at her palace, a man she had danced with years ago. His name was Prince Frederick William of Solms-Braunfels. They had a passionate relationship, which resulted in Frederica becoming pregnant in the summer of 1798.

Prince Frederick William later wrote to Frederica’s father, “Deep, passionate adoration for the rare charms and virtues of Your Serene Highness’s daughter kindled in my soul a passion that I was too weak to overcome. My boundless love for her grew with each day, the more I got to know her and the more I convinced her that our sentiments and opinions were mutual.”⁵ Frederica also wrote to her father, “I can also assure you about the prince. Apart from this deed, he is a thoroughly honest man who cannot be accused of any ambiguous conduct.”⁶

Louise and her husband were shocked to find out that Frederica was pregnant. It was probably Louise who convinced her husband to allow them to marry rather than have them exiled. The Duke of Cambridge was told his engagement to Frederica was not happening after all. Frederica and Frederick William were married on 7 January 1799 in a wedding that was kept under wraps. Their daughter, Caroline, was born at the end of February 1799. Frederica’s father was horrified but eventually found a way to forgive his daughter.

He wrote, “My torn father’s heart bleeds, but it still demands forgiveness for my poor, seduced child. Also for you, my prince, as son-in-law, if you prove yourself worthy of this name in the future.”⁷ When Frederica left Berlin shortly after the wedding, her sister told her, “If you are happy, there will be no one who isn’t happier about it than I am. If, unfortunately, you don’t find what you desire… come back into my arms, which are never closed and which will receive you with the tenderness you know from me.”⁸

The marriage meant that Frederica had to leave her son, Frederick, behind. She managed to convince her brother-in-law to allow her to take her daughter from her first marriage with her, so little Frederica was allowed to join the newlyweds. Nevertheless, Frederica was devastated to be separated from her son. She wrote, “The moment I received the news that I wasn’t allowed to take him with me, it felt as if a piece of myself had been cut off, and when I held him to my chest for the last time, it felt as if my last breath had passed.”⁹

Louise was devastated to be parted from her sister as well. They had spent so much time together up to now. After their farewell, she wrote, “I am inconsolable that I am separated from Frederica… I have never been separated from my sister in my life; the longest was five weeks, and God knows what her future will hold.”¹⁰

Rumours still swirled around Berlin, and Frederica was condemned for her behaviour. Five years after triumphantly arriving in Berlin, her departure happened in secret. She was already eight months pregnant.

Read part four here. 

1. Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.75
2. Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.84-85
3. Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.87
4. Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.94
5. Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.98
6. Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.98
7. Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.108
8. Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.109
9. Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.111
10. Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.112