Adolphus Frederick VI

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Adolphus Frederick VI, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
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Adolphus Frederick VI
Lutheran

Adolphus Frederick VI (17 June 1882 – 23 February 1918) was the last reigning grand duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Early life

Adolphus Frederick George Ernest Albert Edward of Mecklenburg was born in

Grand Duke Frederick William
on 30 May 1904.

Adolphus Frederick and his younger brother Duke Karl Borwin are said to have agreed that Adolphus Frederick could devote his life to painting, while Karl Borwin would marry and continue the dynasty;

German Emperor William II and his consort, Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein.[4]

He succeeded as Grand Duke on the death of his father on 11 June 1914, just a few weeks before the outbreak of

morganatically with attempts made to force him to divorce his wife and conduct an equal marriage, but he was reported to have refused.[2] Recent research has disproven claims that he was the father of the children of operatic soprano Mafalda Salvatini. An Italian by birth but raised mainly in Paris, and a star at the Berlin State Opera and the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Salvatini had been his mistress from 1908 until his suicide in 1918. Her two sons, Charles E. (Horst) Gérard and the theatre production designer and painter Rolf Gérard, were shown not to be illegitimate children of the Grand Duke, though this had been suspected.[5][6]

Succession crisis and a possible marriage

With Adolf Friedrich having come to the throne while unmarried and without a male heir there was an issue surrounding the succession as his cousin and heir, Russian based

Bubna of Litic with whom he had a relationship while he was based in Potsdam. Because of this, the previously arranged marriage to Princess Benigna never materialized and after that she never married.[7]

Death

On 23 February 1918 at

George, Count of Carlow
.

Because Charles Michael was in Russia,

Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin became regent for Mecklenburg-Strelitz and remained such until the end of the German monarchies in 1918, when the government in Strelitz declared the end of the regency.[8] Friedrich Franz IV received confirmation from Charles Michael that he wished to renounce his succession rights, although this only arrived in 1919, after the abolition of the monarchies and the establishment of the Free State of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.[9]

Adolphus's fortune had been amassed by his grandfather and was estimated at 30 million marks (€54 million in 2021). In his will, he left his entire fortune to Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin's second son,

marks.[9]

Titles, styles and honours

Titles and styles

Honours

He received the following awards:[13]

Ancestors

References

  1. ^ The Last Courts of Europe by Jeffrey Finestone, p.144
  2. ^ a b "Duke a suicide, fearing divorce" (PDF). The New York Times. 1918-03-08. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
  3. ^ "Sign of Royal engagement". The New York Times. 1912-01-20. p. 3.
  4. ^ "Princess Pat engaged?; Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Said to be Her Fiance". The New York Times. 1913-06-30. p. 4.
  5. ^ Andreas Frost (2009). Neue Details zum Tod von Großherzog Adolf Friedrich VI. Mecklenburgische Jahrbücher, herausgegeben im Auftrag des Vereins für mecklenburgische Geschichte und Altertumskunde e.V. von Andreas Röpcke, 124. Jahrgang 2009, Schwerin, p. 239-282
  6. ^ Matthias Frehner and Diana Mirolo: Rolf Gérard, A ninety-year visual diary, Benteli Verlags AG, Bern and the Fondazione Rolf Gérard, Ascona, 2007
  7. ^ "Grand Dukes of Mecklenburg-Strelitz".
  8. ^ a b Lines of Succession by Jiri Louda, p.222
  9. ^ a b c House laws of Mecklenburg
  10. ^ "The London Gazette, Supplement 27316, Page 3555". 22 May 1901.
  11. ^ "The London Gazette, Issue 28535, Page 7078". 26 September 1911.
  12. ^ "The London Gazette, Issue 28853, Page 5865". 28 July 1914.
  13. ^ "Adolf Friedrich VI, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg". mecklenburg-strelitz.org. Retrieved 17 December 2019.

Books

Adolphus Frederick VI
Cadet branch of the House of Mecklenburg
Born: 17 June 1882 Died: 23 February 1918
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Adolf Friedrich V
Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

1914–1918 		Vacant
Regency of
Friedrich Franz IV
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