The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – The life and death of Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Part one)

Charles II, future Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, was the father of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of Prussia.

Charles was born on 10 October 1741 as the sixth but third surviving child and second son of Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg and Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Another three siblings would survive to adulthood, including Charlotte, Queen of the United Kingdom. All the siblings were born in the Ducal Palace in Mirow.¹

At the time of Charles’s birth, the Grand Duchy did not exist yet, and the ruler of the lands was Adolphus Frederick III, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He had no children and was succeeded by his nephew, Adolphus Frederick IV, in December 1752, who was Charles’s elder brother. Their father had died in June 1752 at the age of 44 after a long time of ill-health.² Adolphus Frederick was still a minor, and their mother acted as regent.³ Following the death of his father, Charles and his family moved from Mirow to Strelitz for a quieter life.⁴

At the age of four, Charles had been given a captain’s commission in the Hanoverian army.⁵ He received the rank and pay of a major 10 years later.⁶ Charles and his siblings were placed under the tutelage of Reverend Genzmer, a Lutheran minister. He was an enthusiastic teacher of several subjects, from mathematics to botany, and he passed that enthusiasm on to his pupils.⁷ When he came of age, Charles went on a tour of most of the courts in Germany. He reportedly declined to marry a princess who had “expressed light notions on religious subjects.” ⁸

In 1761, Charles’s sister, Charlotte, married King George III of the United Kingdom, but Charlotte continued to follow his and their brothers’ military careers. Charlotte’s husband was also King of Hanover, which gave Charles more substantial opportunities in Hanover.⁹ When he was 20 years old, Charles visited Charlotte in England. Briefly, he took part in a British expedition against the French and the Spanish in Portugal. He returned home as a major general and a field marshal.¹⁰

In 1766, Charles was considering a Danish match, and he received permission from King George to leave his regiment and visit the court. However, Charlotte warned him that George would not be able to help with a marriage settlement. The identity of the intended bride remained unclear, but by July it became apparent that she was engaged to someone else. Charlotte wrote to Charles, “Courage! There are hundreds of other princesses!” ¹¹

Another match fell through the following year, but just a few months after that, Charles became engaged to Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt.¹² They were married on 18 September 1768 in Darmstadt. Upon their engagement, Queen Charlotte wrote to her brother, “My happiness exists only in yours.” ¹³ After their wedding, she wrote to congratulate her brother on finding “an object worthy of you.” ¹⁴

They were known for writing playful love letters to each other, using endearments such as “my darling angel” and “my enchanting little husband.” ¹⁵ The couple settled in the Old Palace in Hanover, where Charles was serving in the army. He would be appointed governor-general of Hanover in 1776. Friederike did not enjoy life in Hanover and seized every opportunity to escape the city. She spent a lot of time with her parents in Darmstadt.¹⁶

At the time of their first wedding anniversary, Friederike was seven months pregnant with their first child. She and Charles exchanged letters daily, as the couple had separate bedrooms in their Hanover residence. If Charles was away for a longer time, she wrote him letters with hearts drawn on them.¹⁷ On one occasion, she wrote, “I dream of you and spent all day thinking of nothing but you.” ¹⁸ Charles’s letters to Friederike have not survived.¹⁹

On 17 November 1769, Friederike gave birth to her first child. It was a daughter who was named Charlotte. Queen Charlotte was asked to be the godmother of “la petite Lolo.” ²⁰ When their second child proved to be another daughter, the short-lived Karoline, instead of the long-awaited male heir, Queen Charlotte shared St Thomas à Kempis’s words of wisdom with her brother, “Man proposes, and God disposes.” ²¹ Upon the birth of Louise in 1776, Charlotte wrote, “I had hoped that it might be a son, but God directs in all things, and that pleasure is reserved for another time.” ²²

When Friederike gave birth to a son in 1779, Charlotte wrote, “Nothing in the world could give me such pleasure and cause me such joy.” ²³ She hoped Charles would find in his son “all the joy and satisfaction I find in mine.” ²⁴ Friederike went on to have ten children, of whom only five survived to adulthood. Her eighth child, Georg, would be her only surviving son and her husband’s eventual successor as Grand Duke.

In 1771, Charles wanted to visit his sister in England, but Charlotte told him that Friederike could not come too. She wrote, “Our etiquette here is not the most favourable for princesses.” ²⁵ Charles went regardless, and he was painted with Charlotte by Johann Zoffany.

Part two coming soon.

1. Memoirs Of Her Most Excellent Majesty Sophia Charlotte Queen Of Great Britain by John Watkins p.30
2. Queens of Georgian Britain by Catherine Curzon p.105
3. Uebersicht der mecklenburgischen Geschichte by Paschen Heinrich Hane p.645
4. Queens of Georgian Britain by Catherine Curzon p.105
5. Queenship in Europe 1660-1815 by Clarissa Campbell Orr p.375
6. Louise, Queen of Prussia by Constance Wright p.7
7. Queens of Georgian Britain by Catherine Curzon p.104
8. Memoirs Of Her Most Excellent Majesty Sophia Charlotte Queen Of Great Britain by John Watkins p.51
9. Queenship in Europe 1660-1815 by Clarissa Campbell Orr p.375
10. Louise, Queen of Prussia by Constance Wright p.8
11. Queenship in Europe 1660-1815 by Clarissa Campbell Orr p.375
12. Queenship in Europe 1660-1815 by Clarissa Campbell Orr p.376
13. Queen Charlotte by Natalee Garret p.82
14. Queen Charlotte by Olwen Gedley p.110
15. Louise, Queen of Prussia by Constance Wright p.7
16. Luise, Die Königin und ihre Geschwister by Carolin Philipps p.24
17. Luise, Die Königin und ihre Geschwister by Carolin Philipps p.17
18. Luise, Die Königin und ihre Geschwister by Carolin Philipps p.17-18
19. Luise, Die Königin und ihre Geschwister by Carolin Philipps p.18
20. Queen Charlotte by Olwen Gedley p.110
21. Queen Charlotte by Olwen Gedley p.110
22. The strangest family by Janice Hadlow p.189
23. The strangest family by Janice Hadlow p.189
24. The strangest family by Janice Hadlow p.189
25. Queen Charlotte by Olwen Gedley p.110