Duke Ernest Gottlob of Mecklenburg

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Duke Ernest Gottlob of Mecklenburg
Johann Zoffany, c. 1772
Born(1742-08-27)27 August 1742
Mirow, Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Died27 January 1814(1814-01-27) (aged 71)
HouseMecklenburg-Strelitz
FatherDuke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg
MotherPrincess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen

Duke Ernest Gottlob Albert of Mecklenburg (27 August 1742 – 27 January 1814) was a member of the

Mary Eleanor Bowes
.

Enormous debt would later lead Ernest to attempt another marriage with a princess from the

George IV
.

Life

Johann Zoffany, c. 1771–72.[1]

Ernest Gottlob Albert was the seventh child and third son of

George III of the United Kingdom in 1761, and Ernest followed her to London.[2]

Ernest was described by novelist

Adolphus Frederick IV, Duke of Mecklenburg. However, King George III disallowed the marriage, as he disapproved of his brother-in-law marrying someone not of royal blood.[2] Charlotte Papendiek, Queen Charlotte's wardrobe keeper, wrote many years later that the match would "have made him a Prince indeed; but as he was a younger brother, it might have disturbed the harmony of the house of Mecklenburg-Strelitz."[4][5] Ernest does not appear in Mary's letters, and it does not seem likely that his affection was reciprocated.[6]

Extract from Observations on the Transit of Venus, a manuscript notebook from the collections of George III, showing Charlotte, Ernest and George among the observers.

In late 1768 at Queen's House (now

Charles, Ernest benefited from Charlotte's marriage and gained promotion within the Hanoverian Army, of which George III was the head.[10] Ernest eventually became the military governor of Celle, in Hanover, where he welcomed George III's exiled sister Queen Caroline Matilda upon the end of her marriage to Christian VII of Denmark.[9][11][12]

In 1782 Ernest attempted to enter into a marriage with a princess from the

House of Holstein-Gottorp in an effort to pay his numerous debts. However, both the fact that he was a third son and the uncle of a male heir limited his appeal to potential dynastic alliances. Charlotte advised her brother to drop the match, as the dowry of the princess in question would not be enough to settle his debts; furthermore, neither she nor her husband would be able to help with his finances. She hoped that Christian VII of Denmark would provide a large dowry, as the princess was a member of his house, but concluded that no one would blame Ernest if he stopped pursuing the marriage. This frank advice was later praised by their brother Charles,[13] and Ernest never married.[10]
He died on 27 January 1814 at the age of 71.

Honours

Ancestry

Sources

  • Grewolls, Grete (2011). Wer war wer in Mecklenburg und Vorpommern. Das Personenlexikon (in German). Rostock: Hinstorff Verlag. p. 2580.
    ISBN 978-3-356-01301-6
    .

References

  1. ^ "Queen Charlotte with her children and brothers". Royal Collection. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d Moore, p. 38.
  3. ^ Moore, p. 30.
  4. ^ Papendick, p. 75.
  5. ^ Moore, pp. 38–39.
  6. ^ Moore, p. 39.
  7. ^ Papendick, p. 41.
  8. ^ Urban, p. 85.
  9. ^ a b Black, p. 312.
  10. ^ a b Campbell Orr, p. 369.
  11. ^ Campbell Orr, p. 381.
  12. ^ Wilkins, pp. 229, 242-243, 245.
  13. ^ Campbell Orr, p. 376.
  14. ISBN 0-7200-0344-X
    .
  15. ^ Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 84.

Bibliography

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