Frederick Louis, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

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Frederick Louis
Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Frederick Francis I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Mother	Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Religion	Lutheranism

Frederick Louis of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (13 June 1778 – 29 November 1819) was a hereditary prince of the

.

Marriages and issue

Frederick Louis married three times, and all three of his marriages proved happy. At

. The couple had two children:

1. Princess Alexandrine of Prussia (1803-1892), daughter of Frederick William III of Prussia
2. Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1803-1862), who in 1825 married Georg, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, first cousin of her sister-in-law Alexandrine.

Elena died in 1803. Seven years later, in 1810, Frederick married

. They had three children:

1. Albert of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1812-1834)
2. Prince Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans (1810-1842) eldest son of Louis Philippe I, King of the French
3. Magnus of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1815-1816)

Caroline died in 1816 aged 29. On her deathbed, anxious for the future of her children, she enjoined her husband to marry her first cousin (her mother's sister's daughter) Princess Auguste, daughter of Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg. Not long after Caroline's death, Frederick's court made known the late Landgravine's expressed wishes to her near relatives, who acted upon the matter. Princess Auguste was forty years old, the same age as Frederick, and the prospect of mothering Caroline's infant children, as also of mentoring his teenage children by Elena, was deeply attractive to her. At the instance of her parents, she readily agreed to the proposal.

On 03 April 1818, Frederick was united in marriage to 41-year-old

. Both of these marriages, featuring middle-aged couples, proved childless but extremely happy.

Frederick and Auguste did not have children but were happy together during the nineteen months that providence granted them with each other. Frederick died in November 1819. It soon became evident that Caroline had judged her cousin well and had made an inspired choice. Auguste never remarried, remained in Mecklenburg-Schwerin for the rest of her life, and devoted herself to the care of her step-children. She had close and loving bonds with all four of them, but particularly with the youngest, Helene, who she raised from the age of four. Unfortunately, Landgravine Auguste was destined to outlive all four of her beloved step-children. She died in 1871 aged 94.

Frederich was buried at the Helena Paulovna Mausoleum. All three of his wives lie buried beside him.

Descendants

Among Friedrich Louis's descendants are:

• King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands;
• Queen
  Margrethe II of Denmark
  ;
• Queen Anne-Marie of Greece;
• King
  Felipe VI of Spain
  ;
• Queen Anne of Romania
  ;
• Jean, Count of Paris, pretender to the French throne;
• Carlos, Duke of Parma
  ;
• Gustav, 7th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg;
• Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia
  ;
• Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia
  ;
• Guglielmo Plüschow and Gunther Plüschow, descendants of Frederick's illegitimate son Carl Eduard Plüschow

Ancestry

Bibliography

• (in French) Hélène de Mecklembourg-Schwerin; Madame la duchesse d'Orléans; Nouvelle édition. Paris: Michel Lévy, 1859. DC 269 .O7 M34 1859

Notes