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

Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of Prussia, was close to all of her siblings, and her brother Georg was no exception.

Georg was born on 12 August 1779 as the eighth child, but the eldest surviving son of the future Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and his first wife, Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt. His full siblings included Louise, Therese, Frederica and Charlotte. He had a younger half-brother, Charles, from his father’s second marriage to Princess Charlotte of Hesse-Darmstadt. His mother, Princess Friederike, died during the birth of her 10th child. She was still only 29 years old. His father remarried a year and a half later to a woman the children already knew well, their maternal aunt Charlotte.

The year 1785 was one of goodbyes: Georg’s eldest sister married Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen, at the age of 15. A more tragic goodbye came in December when his stepmother died 14 days after giving birth to her first child. Her child, a son named Charles, survived. His father chose not to remarry, and his daughters were placed with their grandmother, Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg. Georg and Charles stayed in Hanover while the sisters moved to Darmstadt. Georg’s father served as Governor-General in Hanover for his brother-in-law, King George, but he resigned this post in 1787. He and the two brothers then moved to Darmstadt as well, but the family remained living in separate residences. Despite the separation, Georg was particularly close to Louise and was said to resemble her greatly.¹

Therese was married to Karl Alexander, 5th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, in 1789. The siblings continued to write to each other, and they sent each other gifts. In 1790, Georg, Louise, Frederica and their grandmother attended the imperial coronation of Emperor Leopold II.² They also attended the 1792 coronation of Emperor Francis II.³ During 1790, the siblings were briefly housed in the residence of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s mother, and Georg would meet Goethe several times over the years.⁴

Troubled times were coming, and soon the French revolutionary troops were advancing towards Mainz. Frankfurt was captured in October 1792, closely followed by Darmstadt. Louise wrote to Therese, “All of this can make one die of fear, and my fear-filled heart was close to bursting. We don’t know yet what the hordes of robbers are after; they are about a 12-hour walk from us. If they march towards Darmstadt and if there is the slightest hint of danger, we will flee. God knows where and when.”⁵ The family initially sought refuge in Hildburghausen with Charlotte.

During these times, Georg’s sisters, Louise and Frederica, married Prussian brothers, the future King William III and Prince Louis. Georg was with them as they were married. After the wedding, Georg spent some time with Louise, and they often talked about books and literature. After this long visit, Georg headed to the University of Rostock with a tutor.⁶ Louise asked for the syllabus of his studies and asked for the name of a teacher in Berlin, who could help her study history. She wanted to learn more and was embarrassed by her lack of knowledge. She wrote to Georg, “Soon I won’t know whether London is in England or in Germany.⁷ At the end of his course, he attended lectures in Berlin to finish up.⁸

When Louise became Queen of Prussia in 1797, she wrote to Georg, “I was not born to be queen, believe me, but I am happy to be the sacrifice if only something good can be done in the future as a result.”⁹ Georg later described her task as Queen “to influence millions through our example, to make millions happy, and to be adored by millions for it.”¹⁰

In 1799, Georg had fallen in love with an “older lady” from Rostock, and he was eventually talked out of the relationship by his sister, Louise.¹¹ It was around this time that Frederica had fallen pregnant and married the father. This has caused a temporary rift between the siblings.

Georg spent several years at the court of his sister and brother-in-law in Berlin before spending three years in Italy. He settled in Darmstadt for the time being. Frederica had to remind him to write at least once every two weeks, but preferably more often.¹²

He lived alongside Louise during her time of trials under Napoleon. Their father wrote to him, “… with the constant mobilisation and demobilisation, arming and disarming, even the best of kings reveals instability, I hesitate to say weakness, and he [King Frederick William III] is, by God,  a ball that Napoleon plays with, hitting back and forth.”¹³

He was with her for a while in Königsberg in 1809, and she wrote, “Georg undertook the long journey solely to see me again after my many trials. We are inconceivably happy in being together.”¹⁴ This wasn’t entirely true, as Georg had travelled to propose an alliance with Austria against France to his brother-in-law.¹⁵ Louise’s sudden passing in 1810 was devastating. Georg wrote in his diary, “God, who formerly gave me such great happiness, has also given me the strength to endure great misfortune – the greatest that he could prepare for me. Nor do I grumble and have not grumbled. I have even remained calm in the most unspeakable moments, and for that I have thanked him profusely. I also often and gladly proclaim, ‘Lord, Thy will be done…’ But my happiness is gone forever. My heart is like a sacrificial offering full of resignation, which, only half-struck by the knife, cannot die. It twitches in all parts, and though without complaint, only with pain.”¹⁶ For the rest of his life, he would spend the anniversary of her death in seclusion.¹⁷

In 1814, Georg was part of the negotiations of the Congress of Vienna, and afterwards he travelled to England, where his sister, Frederica, was now the Duchess of Cumberland and Teviotdale. Georg had unfortunately been unable to attend his sister’s third wedding, but she wrote to him in great detail.¹⁸

Read part two here.

1. Beautiful enemy: a biography of Queen Louise of Prussia by Constance Wright p.42
2. Queen Louisa of Prussia by Mary Maxwell Moffat p.30
3. Queen Louisa of Prussia by Mary Maxwell Moffat p.32
4. Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.29-30
5. Luise, die Königin und ihre Geschwister by Carolin Philipps p.69
6. Beautiful enemy: a biography of Queen Louise of Prussia by Constance Wright p.43
7. Beautiful enemy: a biography of Queen Louise of Prussia by Constance Wright, p.44
8. Beautiful enemy: a biography of Queen Louise of Prussia by Constance Wright p.55
9. Luise von Preußen by Daniel Schönpflug p.134
10. Luise von Preußen by Daniel Schönpflug p.158
11. Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.155
12. Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.120
13. Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.179
14. Queen Louisa of Prussia by Mary Maxwell Moffat p.277
15. Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.229
16. Luise, die Königin und ihre Geschwister by Carolin Philipps p.206-207
17. Luise, die Königin und ihre Geschwister by Carolin Philipps p.207
18. Friederike von Preußen by Carolin Philipps p.256