Category Archives: German Royals

Friedrich Wilhelm I, King in Prussia

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Kingdom of Prussia: The Protestant Franconian branch of the House of Hohenzollern ruled as Margraves of Brandenburg, Dukes of Prussia, Electors of Brandenburg, Kings of Prussia from 1415 until 1918. In November 1700, in exchange for supporting the Holy Roman Empire in the Spanish War of Succession, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor agreed to allow Friedrich III, Duke of Prussia, Elector of Brandenburg to make Prussia a kingdom and become its first king. In the aftermath of World War I, Prussia had a revolution that resulted in the replacement of the monarchy with a republic. Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia abdicated on November 9, 1918.

The Kingdom of Prussia had territory that today is part of Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, and Switzerland. All or parts of the following states of today’s Germany were part of the Kingdom of Prussia: Brandenburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland, Saxony-Anhalt, and Schleswig-Holstein.

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Friedrich Wilhelm I, King in Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

Friedrich Wilhelm I, King in Prussia

Friedrich Wilhelm I was the second King in Prussia, reigning from 1713 until 1740. He was born at the Berlin City Palace in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg, on August 14, 1688, to Friedrich I, King in Prussia and his second wife, Sophie Charlotte of Hanover. He had one older brother:

  • Prince Friedrich August (1685-1686) – died in infancy

Friedrich Wilhelm also had one half-sister from his father’s first marriage to Elisabeth Henriette of Hesse-Kassel:

Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, c1701. source: Wikipedia

For the first few years of his life, he was raised in Hanover, at the court of his grandmother, the Electress Sophia of Hanover, along with his cousins – his future wife, Sophie Dorothea of Hanover, and her brother, the future King George II of Great Britain. He returned to Berlin in 1692 and was educated by a Huguenot governess who did not speak German. At just six years old, he was given command of his own infantry regiment, and at eight years old, began to study under the direction of a Prussian general. However, his mother soon intervened because he could neither read nor write by the age of nine. A new Huguenot tutor was brought in to teach him. From a very young age, Friedrich Wilhelm developed a strong sense of thrift and a love for all things related to the military. For his tenth birthday, he was given his own estate at Wusterhausen where he learned the basic fundamentals of economics and management, both skills which would serve him well during his reign.

Sophie Dorothea of Hanover. source: Wikipedia

On November 28, 1706, in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg, Friedrich Wilhelm married his first cousin, Princess Sophie Dorothea of Hanover. She was the daughter of the future King George I of Great Britain and Sophie Dorothea of Celle. Despite a relatively unhappy marriage, the couple had 14 children:

Friedrich Wilhelm came to the Prussian throne upon his father’s death in 1713. Unlike his father who viewed the treasury as his own money and lived a lavish lifestyle, the new king chose to go the opposite direction. He sold many of his father’s possessions and lived an austere life. While his father was focused more on his personal enjoyment, Friedrich Wilhelm focused on strengthening Prussia, particularly the economy and the military. He was involved in every detail of the management of the Kingdom, even personally establishing guidelines for all state officials to ensure that everyone was doing their jobs to the fullest extent. He promoted farming throughout Prussia and encouraged the farmers to plan accordingly for the possibility of lean years. He also focused greatly on the military – reforming their training and tactics and leaving the Prussian army as one of the most powerful in Europe.

A devout Calvinist, Friedrich Wilhelm invited the Salzburg Protestants to settle in East Prussia when they were permitted to emigrate from Salzburg to a Protestant state. He ensured that they made their way safely, and personally greeted the first group.

Garrison Church, Potsdam. source: Wikipedia

King Friedrich Wilhelm I died at the Potsdam City Palace in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg on May 31, 1740, and was interred at the Garrison Church in Potsdam. During World War I, his coffin was moved for safekeeping, first to Berlin and then to a salt mine near Berterode. After being recovered by American forces, he was re-interred at St. Elisabeth’s Church in Marburg, Germany in 1946. His coffin was moved again in 1953 to Hohenzollern Castle, and in 1991 his coffin was placed on the steps of the altar in the Kaiser Friedrich Mausoleum at the Church of Peace in Sanssouci Park in Potsdam, Germany.

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Prussia Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Sophie Luise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Queen in Prussia

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Sophie Luise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Queen in Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophie Luise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was the third wife of Friedrich I, King in Prussia. She was born at Grabow Castle in Grabow, Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on May 6, 1685, the only daughter of Friedrich, Duke of Mecklenburg-Grabow and Christine Wilhelmine of Hesse-Homburg. Sophie Luise had three older brothers:

Friedrich I, King in Prussia. source: Wikipedia

In Berlin on November 28, 1708, Sophie Luise married Friedrich I, King in Prussia, as his third wife. The couple had no children. Being so much younger than her husband, and close in age to his children, Sophie struggled to find acceptance at the Prussian court. It did not help that her predecessor Sophie Charlotte of Hanover was greatly loved and admired by the Prussian people, and many saw Sophie Luise as a poor replacement. The King surrounded her with courtiers who did not serve her best interests, and she avoided them as best she could, instead of spending most of her time with the lady-in-waiting who had accompanied her from Mecklenburg.

Over time, Sophie Luise became deeply religious, spending the majority of her time in prayer and listening to sermons, and often avoiding her duties as Queen Consort. As time progressed, her devotion became almost obsessive and manic. This caused distance between her and her husband, particularly because of her overzealous attempts to get him to convert from Calvinism to Lutheranism. This led to her husband Friedrich removing her closest confidantes and courtiers, and soon Sophie Luise became even more deeply entrenched in what is described as her obsession with religion, resulting in depression and mental derangement.

Friedrich was mostly unaware of Sophie Luise’s mental decline, until several months before his own death. Deeply ill, he awoke to find his wife standing before him, covered in blood and screaming at him. She had crashed through a glass door while running from her apartments to his, apparently to confront him in a fit of hysteria. Sophie Luise had no recollection of the event afterward, and Friedrich soon sent her back to Mecklenburg to be with her family. He would die just months later in 1713.

Sophie Luise, Queen in Prussia, lived the rest of her life with her widowed mother and died on July 29, 1735, at Schwerin Castle in Mecklenburg, Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. She is buried in the Schelfkirche St. Nikolai in Schwerin.

Sophienkirche, Berlin. photo: By A.Savin (Wikimedia Commons · WikiPhotoSpace) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25766110

The Sophienkirche in Berlin is named for Sophie Luise. Construction began during the reign of her husband Friedrich I, but he died just months before it was completed in 1713. His successor Friedrich Wilhelm I, the son of his second wife Sophie Charlotte of Hanover, refused to name the church after his stepmother Sophie Luise as had been intended, consecrating it as the Spandauischekirche (Spandau Church). Later, when Friedrich Wilhelm I’s son  Friedrich II (the Great) came to the throne, he renamed it the Sophienkirche (Sophie Church), which remains the name to this day.

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Prussia Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Sophie Charlotte of Hanover, Queen in Prussia

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Sophie Charlotte of Hanover, Queen in Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophie Charlotte of Hanover was the second wife of King Friedrich I in Prussia, and the first Queen in Prussia. She was born at Iburg Castle in Osnabrück, Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, later in the Electorate of Hanover, now in Lower Saxony, Germany, on October 30, 1668, the only daughter of Ernst August, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Sophia of the Palatinate. Her mother was named heiress-presumptive to the British throne under the Act of Settlement 1701, and it would be Sophie Charlotte’s eldest brother who would become King George I of Great Britain in 1714. She had six brothers:

Raised initially at Iburg Castle, the family moved to Osnabrück Castle in 1673 and later to Hanover in 1679. Given a well-rounded education, she was proposed as a potential bride for Louis, the Grand Dauphin of France, son of King Louis XIV, and then even considered as a bride for the King himself following the death of his wife in 1683. Neither of these alliances panned out.

Friedrich I, King in Prussia. source: Wikipedia

Instead, on October 8, 1684, she married Friedrich of Hohenzollern, the future King Friedrich I in Prussia. He was the son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg and Luise Henriette of Orange-Nassau. Friedrich had been widowed in 1683 and had one young daughter. Sophie Charlotte and Friedrich had two sons:

Upon marriage, Sophie Charlotte became Electress of Brandenburg, and would later become the first Queen in Prussia in 1701. The marriage – arranged purely for political purposes – was not a happy one. Several years after giving birth to her children, Sophie Charlotte retired to private life. In 1696, she had received an estate – Lietzow – just outside of Berlin, and soon began construction on a summer residence. The new home – called Lietzenburg – was completed in July 1699, and became Sophie Charlotte’s primary residence. Here, she lived separately from her husband and maintained her own court. After her husband became King in Prussia in 1701, the residence was expanded, with new wings and courtyards, becoming the palace that exists today. Following Sophie Charlotte’s death, her husband renamed the palace in her honor – Charlottenburg Palace.

Charlottenburg Palace. source: Wikipedia

At Lietzenburg, the Electress – and then Queen – indulged in her love of the arts, philosophy, and theology. She surrounded herself with some of the leading minds of the day, including Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a prominent German mathematician and philosopher she had known since childhood. With Leibniz, she was instrumental in the founding of the Prussian Academy of Sciences.

Sadly, at just 36 years of age, Sophie Charlotte died of pneumonia on January 21, 1705, while visiting her mother in the Electorate of Hanover. She was buried in the crypt at the Berlin Cathedral in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany.

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Prussia Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Elizabeth Henriette of Hesse-Kassel, Electoral Princess of Brandenburg

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Elizabeth Henriette of Hesse-Kassel, Electoral Princess of Brandenburg – source: Wikipedia

Elisabeth Henriette of Hesse-Kassel was the first wife of the future Friedrich I, King in Prussia. She was born in Kassel on November 18, 1661, the youngest child of Wilhelm VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and Hedwig Sophie of Brandenburg. Elisabeth Henriette had six older siblings:

Friedrich, Electoral Prince of Brandenburg (future King in Prussia). source: Wikipedia

On August 13, 1679, in Berlin, Elisabeth Henriette married Friedrich, Electoral Prince of Brandenburg. The two were first cousins and had known each other for most of their lives. I Elisabeth Henriette’s mother encouraged and promoted the marriage, which was a love match. They became officially engaged in 1676 but had secretly been engaged three years earlier. Following their marriage, they took up residence at Köpenick Palace in Berlin, and had one daughter:

Köpenick Palace. photo: By A.Savin (Wikimedia Commons · WikiPhotoSpace) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33316525

Sadly, Elisabeth Henriette contracted smallpox and died on July 7, 1683, just weeks before her 4th wedding anniversary.  She is buried at Berlin Cathedral. Eighteen years later, in 1701, her husband would become King in Prussia, reigning until he died in 1713.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Friedrich I, King in Prussia

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

Kingdom of Prussia: The Protestant Franconian branch of the House of Hohenzollern ruled as Margraves of Brandenburg, Dukes of Prussia, Electors of Brandenburg, Kings of Prussia from 1415 until 1918. In November 1700, in exchange for supporting the Holy Roman Empire in the Spanish War of Succession, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor agreed to allow Friedrich III, Duke of Prussia, Elector of Brandenburg to make Prussia a kingdom and become its first king. In the aftermath of World War I, Prussia had a revolution that resulted in the replacement of the monarchy with a republic. Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia abdicated on November 9, 1918.

The Kingdom of Prussia had territory that today is part of Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, and Switzerland. All or parts of the following states of today’s Germany were part of the Kingdom of Prussia: Brandenburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland, Saxony-Anhalt, and Schleswig-Holstein.

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Friedrich I, King in Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

Friedrich I was the founder of the Kingdom of Prussia and its first King, reigning from 1701 until 1713. He was born on July 11, 1657, at Königsberg Castle in Königsberg, Electorate of Brandenburg, now Kaliningrad, Russia,  the third son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg and Countess Louise Henriette of Orange-Nassau. Friedrich had five siblings:

  • Wilhelm Heinrich, Electoral Prince of Brandenburg (1648-1649) – died in infancy
  • Karl Emil, Electoral Prince of Brandenburg (1655-1674) – unmarried
  • Amalia (1664-1665) – died in childhood
  • Heinrich (born and died 1664) – died in infancy
  • Ludwig (16661687) – married Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł, no issue

He also had seven half-siblings from his father’s second marriage, to Sophie Dorothea of Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg:

While still an infant, Friedrich’s shoulder was injured when his nurse accidentally dropped him. This physical impairment caused him problems for the rest of his life but also resulted in being particularly doted upon by his mother. His formal education began in 1662, under the supervision of Otto von Schwerin, First Minister of Brandenburg. Friedrich studied religion, history, and geography, and learned French, Polish, and Latin. As a younger son, he was not expected to succeed as the Elector, so in 1664, his father gave him the Principality of Halberstadt. In 1670, he was appointed Captain of a cavalry unit but did not actually serve due to his shoulder injury. Four years later, in 1674, his older brother Karl Emil died, and Friedrich became the heir.

Elisabeth Henriette of Hesse-Kassel. source: Wikipedia

Friedrich married three times. On August 13, 1679, he married Elisabeth Henriette of Hesse-Kassel, the daughter of Wilhelm VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and Hedwig Sophie of Brandenburg. Soon after their marriage, they took up residence at Schloss Köpenick in Berlin. Elisabeth Henriette died of smallpox four years later, but the couple did have one daughter:

Sophie Charlotte of Hanover. source: Wikipedia

On October 8, 1684, Friedrich married Sophie Charlotte of Hanover, daughter of Ernst August, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Sophia of the Palatinate. The couple had two sons:

Sophie Luise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. source: Wikipedia

Three years after his second wife died, Friedrich married for the third time. His bride was Sophie Luise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, daughter of Friedrich, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Grabow and Christine Wilhelmine of Hesse-Homburg. They had no children.

Upon his father’s death in April 1688, Friedrich succeeded him as Friedrich III, Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia. The Electorate was part of the Holy Roman Empire, while the Duchy of Prussia, formerly a fief of the Crown of Poland, lay outside the Empire’s borders. The Duchy had been inherited by the Hohenzollern prince-electors of Brandenburg in 1618 and was ruled in personal union. In November 1700, in exchange for supporting the Holy Roman Empire in the Spanish War of Succession, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor agreed to allow Friedrich to make Prussia a kingdom and become its first king. However, there were several concessions. Because the Hohenzollerns’ sovereignty over the Duchy of Prussia was dependent upon succession in the male line, it would return to the Polish crown if there were no male heirs to succeed. Friedrich also had to agree to style himself King IN Prussia and pay large amounts of money to the Holy Roman Emperor and the German clergy.

The coronation of Friedrich I, King in Prussia. source: Wikipedia

On January 18, 1701, Friedrich crowned himself King (as Friedrich I) in the castle church at Königsberg Castle. He also remained Elector of Brandenburg and added several other titles over the next few years. In 1702, he inherited the counties of Lingen and Moers following the death of King William III of England (later incorporated into the County of Tecklenburg) and was elected Prince of Neuchâtel in 1707, which was recognized by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. He and his heirs bore the title ‘Sovereign Prince of Orange, Neuchâtel, and Valangin’.  A huge supporter of the arts and education, Friedrich founded the Academy of Arts in 1696 and the Academy of Sciences in 1700.

King Friedrich I was in ill health for some time. He died in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany, on February 25, 1713, and was buried at the Berliner Dom in Berlin. His son, Friedrich Wilhelm I succeeded him.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Prussia Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Amélie of Leuchtenberg, Empress of Brazil

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Amélie of Leuchtenberg, Empress of Brazil; Credit – Wikipedia

Amélie Auguste Eugénie Napoléonne was the third of the five daughters and the fourth of the seven children of Eugène de Beauharnais and Princess Augusta of Bavaria. Her paternal grandparents were Joséphine Tascher de la Pagerie, Empress Jospéhine, the first wife of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, and Joséphine’s first husband Alexandre de Beauharnais, Vicomte de Beauharnais who was guillotined during the French Revolution. Amélie’s maternal grandparents were King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his first wife Princess Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt. Amélie was born on July 31, 1812, in Milan in the Kingdom of Italy while her father was serving as Viceroy of Italy.

Amélie had six siblings:

After Napoleon lost power in 1814, Amélie’s family settled at the Palais Leuchtenberg in Munich, the capital of the Kingdom of Bavaria, where her maternal grandfather reigned. In 1817, King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria created Amélie’s father Duke of Leuchtenberg and Prince of Eichstätt. Amélie’s parents downplayed their connection to the defeated Napoleon. They knew that the connection might hurt their children’s marriage prospects. Their plan worked. In 1823, their eldest child Joséphine married the future King Oscar I of Sweden, and in 1835 their son Auguste, who had become the 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg upon the death of his father in 1824, married Queen Maria II of Portugal. However, Auguste died two months after the marriage.

Emperor Pedro I of Brazil in 1830; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1826, Maria Leopoldina of Austria, wife of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil, died from puerperal fever (childbed fever) after the miscarriage of her eighth child. Pedro had flaunted his affair with his mistress. He was increasingly rude and disrespectful to Leopoldina, left her short of money, prohibited her from leaving the palace, and forced her to endure his mistress as her lady-in-waiting. After Leopoldina’s death, Pedro had remorse for how he had treated her, decided to become a better person, and remarry. However, eight European princesses refused his marriage proposals because of his bad reputation. Amélie’s mother knew that if she played her cards right, Amélie could be Empress of Brazil.

However, Leopoldina’s father Emperor Franz I of Austria tried to stop the search for a new bride for Pedro. Franz wanted to prevent possible sons from the second marriage of his former son-in-law from inheriting the Brazilian throne. After lengthy negotiations, the marriage contract was finally signed on May 30, 1829, in Canterbury, England, and Amélie’s guardian King Ludwig I of Bavaria ratified the marriage contract on July 25, 1829, in Munich.

A proxy wedding was held in the chapel of the Palais Leuchtenberg on August 2, 1829. The groom was represented by Amélie’s favorite uncle Prince Karl Theodor of Bavaria. Two days after the proxy wedding, Amélie left Bavaria to travel to her husband in South America. She was accompanied by her brother Auguste. During the journey, Amélie was prepared for life in Brazil by the scientist Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, an expert on Brazil. von Martius taught Amélie interesting facts about Brazil, its customs, and traditions. Ana Romana de Aragão Calmon, Countess of Itapagipe familiarized Amélie with her husband’s personality and the customs of the Brazilian court and began to teach her Portuguese. 17-year-old Amélie arrived in Rio de Janeiro on October 15, 1829. Pedro and Amélie were married in person two days later at the Old Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro. They had a happy marriage and Amélie’s relationship with her stepchildren was very positive.

The Emperor’s Second Marriage, painted by Jean-Baptiste Debret; Credit – Wikipedia

Amélie and Pedro had one daughter:

Amélie and her daughter Maria Amélie in 1840; Credit – Wikipedia 

On April 7, 1831, after a political crisis that ended with the resignation of his ministers and in the middle of an economic crisis, Pedro abdicated the throne of Brazil in favor of his six-year-old son who reigned as Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. Pedro and his pregnant wife Amélie left for Europe. In Portugal, Pedro’s brother Miguel had been serving as Regent for Pedro’s daughter Queen Maria II. Maria had been sent to Vienna to continue her education. It was on this journey that Maria learned her uncle Miguel had deposed her and then declared himself King of Portugal on June 23, 1828. At that time Emperor Pedro had insisted that his daughter was the rightful Queen and demanded that she be treated as such. Maria traveled to the United Kingdom, hoping to garner the support of the British government, but they instead supported Miguel. She met up with her father in France, where they stayed with King Louis Philippe I, and Maria received her education. For several years, forces loyal to Maria and her father would try to force Miguel from the throne. Finally, on May 26, 1834, Miguel was forced to abdicate, and Maria was returned to the Portuguese throne.

On September 24, 1834, at the age of 35, Pedro died from tuberculosis at his birthplace, the Royal Palace of Queluz in Lisbon, Portugal. Amélie was left a widow at the age of twenty-two with a three-year-old daughter. Amélie never remarried. She then retreated to the Palace of Janelas Verde in Lisbon, Portugal, and devoted herself exclusively to the care and education of her daughter Maria Amélie. In the mid-1840s, with the purpose of refining her education, Maria Amélie moved with her mother to Munich in the Kingdom of Bavaria, where many of her relatives lived. In 1850, Maria Amélie and her mother returned to Portugal and again lived in the Palace of Janelas Verdes.

Princess Maria Amélia, circa 1849; Credit – Wikipedia

Amélie made arrangements to betroth her twenty-year-old daughter to Archduke Maximilian of Austria, the brother of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria. However, the official betrothal never took place. Maria Amélie was ill with tuberculosis, the same disease that had killed her father. In August 1852, Amélie and her daughter moved to the island of Madeira in Portugal because of the mild climate. Maria Amélie died on February 4, 1853, at the age of twenty-one. She was first buried in the Braganza Pantheon, located in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal. In 1982, Maria Amélie’s remains were transferred to Brazil and buried in the Convento de Santo Antônio (Convent of Saint Anthony) in Rio de Janeiro, where other Brazilian royals are also interred.

Maria Amélie’s last moments with her mother at the bedside; Credit – Wikipedia

Amélie visited her daughter’s tomb on every anniversary of her death until her death. She financed the construction of a hospital to treat patients with lung diseases in Funchal on the island of Madeira called the Hospício da Princesa Dona Maria Amélie which is still in existence. When Amélie died, the Hospício da Princesa Dona Maria Amélia was handed over to her sister Queen Joséphine of Sweden, and according to the terms of Amélie’s will, it is owned and administered by the Swedish Royal Family. King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden have visited the hospital.

Amélie in her later years; Credit – Wikipedia

After her daughter’s death, Amélie returned to the Palace of Janelas Verdes in Lisbon, Portugal. Toward the end of her life, she was confined to the palace because of heart disease. One of the few distractions in the last years of her life was the 1871 reunion with her stepson Emperor Pedro II of Brazil who was on a European tour with his wife Teresa Maria Cristina of Naples-Sicily.

On January 26, 1873, Amélie died at the age of 60 in Lisbon, Portugal. Under the terms of her will, her sister Queen Joséphine of Sweden was her primary heir. She received, among other things, the Braganza Tiara which is still in the possession of the Swedish royal family and is often worn by Queen Silvia, wife of King Carl XVI Gustaf. Amélie arranged fo documents pertaining to her husband Emperor Pedro I of Brazil to be willed to Brazil, where they are kept in the archives of the Imperial Museum of Brazil.

Amélie was first buried in the Braganza Pantheon, located in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal. In 1982, her remains were transferred to Brazil and placed in the Brazilian Imperial Crypt and Chapel under the Monument of the Ipiranga (Monument to the Independence of Brazil) in São Paulo, Brazil next to her husband Emperor Pedro I and his first wife Maria Leopoldina of Austria.

Tombs of Pedro I and Amélia in the Imperial Chapel in São Paulo, Brazil: Credit – Wikipedia

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Portugal Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Amélie von Leuchtenberg. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Am%C3%A9lie_von_Leuchtenberg [Accessed 20 Oct. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Amélie of Leuchtenberg. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Am%C3%A9lie_of_Leuchtenberg [Accessed 20 Oct. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Princess Maria Amélia of Brazil. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Maria_Am%C3%A9lia_of_Brazil [Accessed 20 Oct. 2018].
  • Flantzer, S. (2018). Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil/Pedro IV, King of Portugal. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/pedro-iv-king-of-portugal-pedro-i-emperor-of-brazil/ [Accessed 20 Oct. 2018].
  • Pt.wikipedia.org. (2018). Amélia de Leuchtenberg. [online] Available at: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Am%C3%A9lia_de_Leuchtenberg [Accessed 20 Oct. 2018].

Caroline Mariane of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Crown Princess of Denmark

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Credit – Wikipedia

Caroline Mariane was the second wife of the future King Frederik VII of Denmark. Born in Neustrelitz in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, on January 10, 1821, she was the second of the two daughters and the third of the four children of Georg, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Marie of Hesse-Kassel.

Caroline Mariane had three siblings:

In 1839, King Christian VIII of Denmark succeeded to the Danish throne. His son Frederik, who had divorced his first wife, was now Crown Prince and needed to marry again. He heard about Caroline Mariane who had been taught Danish by a Danish poet and thought she might make a good wife. 33-year-old Frederik and 20-year-old Caroline Mariane were married in Neustrelitz in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz on June 10, 1841. On June 21, they arrived in Denmark and made a festive entrance in Copenhagen.

The marriage was childless and unhappy. Frederik’s bad temperament, excessive drinking, and shameless womanizing put a great strain on Caroline Mariane. She was young, inexperienced, shy, and nervous, and no match for Frederik’s boisterous personality. In 1844, Caroline Mariane went to visit her parents and refused to return to Denmark. The couple divorced on September 30, 1846. The divorce documents stated: “The divorce was due to the inherited morbidity and broken health of the Princess.” The truth was that Caroline Mariane had been completely run down by her husband’s wild and unbearable life and that Frederik was pleased to reconnect with his mistress Louise Rasmussen who became his morganatic third wife in 1850.

Carolinepalais in Neustrelitz; Credit – Von Concord – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31904684

Caroline Mariane lived quietly in Neustrelitz where her parents built the Carolinenpalais for her in 1850. She retained her Danish titles after her divorce and never remarried. Nor did Caroline Mariane ever speak about her former husband except when she described him to Danish visitors as “He was much too bizarre!” In 1860, Caroline Mariane donated funds for the construction of the Carolinenstift, a hospital in Neustrelitz.

Caroline Mariane died in Neustrelitz on June 1, 1876, at the age of 55. She was buried at the traditional burial site of the Grand Ducal Family of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the Johanniterkirche (Church of St. John) (in German) in Mirow, now in Germany.

The Johanniterkirche in Mirow; Credit – Thomas Kohler – originally posted to Flickr as Kirche Mirow, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12084832

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Da.wikipedia.org. (2018). Mariane af Mecklenburg-Strelitz. [online] Available at: https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariane_af_Mecklenburg-Strelitz [Accessed 20 Sep. 2018].
  • De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Caroline zu Mecklenburg. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_zu_Mecklenburg [Accessed 20 Sep. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Duchess Caroline Mariane of Mecklenburg. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchess_Caroline_Mariane_of_Mecklenburg [Accessed 20 Sep. 2018].
  • Flantzer, S. (2018). King Frederik VII of Denmark. [online]. Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-frederik-vii-of-denmark/ [Accessed 19 Sep. 2018].

Vilhelmine Marie of Denmark, Princess Frederik of Denmark, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Princess Vilhelmine Marie of Denmark; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Vilhelmine Marie of Denmark was the first wife of the future King Frederik VII of Denmark, the wife of Karl, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, and the younger of the two surviving daughters of King Frederik VI of Denmark and his wife Marie of Hesse-Kassel. She was born on January 18, 1808, in Kiel Castle in Kiel, Duchy of Holstein, now in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

Vilhelmine Marie had seven siblings but unfortunately, six of them died in infancy:

  • Christian (born and died September 1791), died in infancy
  • Marie Louise (1792 – 1793), died in infancy
  • Caroline (1793 – 1881), married her father’s first cousin Ferdinand, Hereditary Prince of Denmark, no children
  • Louise (August 1795 – December 1795), died in infancy
  • Christian (born and died September 1797), died in infancy
  • Juliana Louise (born and died February 1802), died in infancy
  • Frederikke Marie (June 1805 – July 1805), died in infancy

King Frederik VI and Queen Marie with their daughters Vilhelmine Maria and Caroline by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, 1821; Credit – Wikipedia

Vilhelmine Marie had several prospects for marriage including the future King Oscar I of Sweden of the new Bernadotte dynasty but an internal Danish marriage was arranged for her to Prince Frederik of Denmark (the future King Frederik VII), the only surviving child of King Christian VIII and his first wife Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Vilhelmine Marie and Frederik were half-second cousins, both descended from King Frederik V of Denmark. Vilhelmine Marie was a great-grandchild of King Frederik V of Denmark and his first queen Louisa of Great Britain. Frederik was a great-grandchild of King Frederik V and his second queen Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

The future King Frederik VII, Vilhelmine Marie’s first husband; Credit – Wikipedia

This marriage arrangement was mainly due to the desirability of a union of the two branches of the Danish royal family whose relationship was strained. Frederik and Vilhelmine Marie’s wishes and needs were not considered at all. Vilhelmine Marie and Frederick were engaged on May 28, 1826. The wedding was postponed for two years while Frederik was sent on an educational trip to Switzerland, France, and Italy. Frederik and Vilhelmine Marie were married on November 1, 1828, at the Christiansborg Castle Church in Copenhagen, Denmark. The wedding was very popular with the Danish people who participated in the many wedding festivities.

However, the marriage was childless and unhappy. Not only was Frederik a heavy drinker, but he was also unfaithful. Vilhelmine Marie, who had a kind-hearted and mild personality, was unable to have any influence on her husband who frequently hurt her feelings. Even Vilhelmine Marie’s parents, the reigning King Frederik VI and his wife Queen Marie, felt sorry for their daughter. The couple separated in 1834 and divorced in 1837.

Vilhelmine Marie’s second husband, Karl, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg; Credit – Wikipedia

One year later, on May 19, 1838, at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Vilhelmine Marie married her first cousin Karl, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, the eldest son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel. Karl was also the elder brother of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, the future King Christian IX of Denmark who would succeed King Frederik VII, Vilhelmine Marie’s thrice-married but childless first husband. The marriage was a happy one but Vilhelmine and Karl had no children. It is believed that Vilhelmine Marie was unable to have children as there are no records of any miscarriages or stillbirths.

During the First Schleswig War (1848–1851), which Denmark won, Karl served as commander of a Schleswig-Holstein brigade fighting against Denmark. This caused Vilhelmine Marie’s relations with her Danish family to be cut off for a period of time. In 1852, Vilhelmine Marie reconciled with her Danish relatives. From then on, Vilhelmine Marie and her husband Karl lived mainly in Kiel Castle and Louisenlund Castle in Schleswig-Holstein

In 1864, after the Second Schleswig War, which Denmark lost, Karl’s duchy was annexed by Prussia and Karl lost his ducal title. Vilhelmine Marie and Karl were able to live at the family ancestral home, Schloss Glücksburg, which Wilhelm I, German Emperor allowed the former ducal family to keep. On October 24, 1878, Karl died at Schloss Glücksburg.

Vilhelmine Marie’s charitable work made her popular in Glücksburg. She was sad about Denmark’s loss of the Schleswig-Holstein duchies but the new Danish dynasty founded by her brother-in-law King Christian IX gave her much joy. Eventually, she became more and more isolated as her hearing loss made it difficult to communicate. Vilhelmine Marie survived her husband Karl for thirteen years, dying on May 30, 1891, at the age of 83 at Schloss Glücksburg in Schleswig-Holstein, Prussia, German Empire. She was buried next to her husband in the Ducal Mausoleum in the Neuer Friedhof Glücksburg (New Cemetery Glücksburg).

Entrance to the royal section at the Neuer Friedhof Glücksburg; Credit – www.findagrave.com

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Da.wikipedia.org. (2018). Vilhelmine af Danmark. [online] Available at: https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilhelmine_af_Danmark [Accessed 20 Sep. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Karl, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl,_Duke_of_Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Gl%C3%BCcksburg [Accessed 20 Sep. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Princess Vilhelmine Marie of Denmark. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Vilhelmine_Marie_of_Denmark [Accessed 20 Sep. 2018].
  • Flantzer, S. (2018). King Frederik VII of Denmark. [online]. Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-frederik-vii-of-denmark/ [Accessed 19 Sep. 2018].

Caroline Amalie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, Queen of Denmark

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Caroline Amalie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, Queen of Denmark; Credit – Wikipedia

Caroline Amalie was the second wife of King Christian VIII of Denmark and was his Queen Consort from 1839 – 1848. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark on June 28, 1796, she was the eldest of the three children and the only daughter of Friedrich Christian II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, and Princess Louise Auguste of Denmark. Caroline Amalie’s mother was the only daughter of King Christian VII of Denmark and Caroline Matilda of Wales, the sister of King George III of the United Kingdom. There is strong evidence that Louise Auguste’s father was her mother’s lover Johann Friedrich Struensee.

Caroline Amalie had two younger brothers:

Princess Caroline Amalie; Credit – Wikipedia

Caroline Amalie spent most of her childhood in Denmark, moving with her family to Augustenborg Palace in her father’s duchy in 1807. In 1808, Prince Christian of Denmark, the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederik of Denmark, became the heir presumptive to the Danish throne when his half-uncle King Christian VII died. King Frederik VI, the new king, the only son of King Christian VII, had no surviving sons. Prince Christian had divorced his first wife and needed a new wife. His half-aunt Princess Louise Auguste of Denmark, also the sister of King Frederik VI, suggested her only daughter Caroline Amalie.

In December 1814, Caroline Amalie became engaged to Christian, now the Hereditary Prince of Denmark. The couple was married on May 22, 1815, at Augustenborg Palace.  After having no success conceiving a child, Christian and Caroline Amalie visited many spas throughout Europe from 1818 – 1822 seeking a cure for their inability to have children. Sadly, the couple remained childless.

King Frederik VI died on December 3, 1839, and Christian inherited the throne as King Christian VIII and Caroline Amalie became Queen. On June 28, 1849, Caroline Amalie attended Christian VIII’s anointing at the Frederiksborg Castle Church. He was the last Danish monarch to be anointed.

Anointing of King Christian VIII and Queen Caroline Amalie by Joseph-Désiré Court, 1841; Credit – Wikipedia

Caroline Amalie was a composer of piano music and founded and supported several orphanages. She also was instrumental in opening a school for disadvantaged children and establishing the Women’s Care Association, whose purpose was to provide maternity nursing care for needy women.

On January 20, 1848, at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, 61-year-old King Christian VIII died of blood poisoning after a blood-letting. After her husband’s death, Caroline Amalie spent the winters at Amalienborg Palace and the summers at Sorgenfri Castle north of Copenhagen. Caroline Amalie continued her charitable projects. When Queen Marie, wife of King Frederik VI died in 1852, she took over as patron of the charitable women’s society Det Kvindelige Velgørende Selskab, which remained in existence until 2004.

Caroline Amalie, 1879; Credit -Wikipedia

Caroline Amalie outlived her stepson King Frederik VII and in 1863, saw the resolution of the Danish succession crisis with the establishment of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg when King Christian IX, born Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, became the King of Denmark.

Queen Caroline Amalie survived her husband by 33 years, dying at Sorgenfri Castle north of Copenhagen, Denmark on March 9, 1881, surrounded by the Danish royal family, at the age of 84. She was buried next to her husband at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark in the Frederik V Chapel.

Tomb of Caroline Amalie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg – Photo by Susan Flantzer

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Kingdom of Denmark Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • Da.wikipedia.org. (2018). Caroline Amalie. [online] Available at: https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Amalie [Accessed 19 Sep. 2018].
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Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Hereditary Princess of Denmark

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Hereditary Princess of Denmark; Credit – Wikipedia

The first wife of the future King Christian VIII of Denmark, Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, was born December 4, 1784, in Ludwigslust Palace in Ludwigslust, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. She was fifth of the six children and the youngest of the two daughters of Friedrich Franz I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.

Charlotte Frederica in 1791; Credit – Wikipedia

Charlotte Frederica had five siblings:

During a visit to the court of his maternal uncle Friedrich Franz I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Prince Christian of Denmark (the future King Christian VIII), the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederik of Denmark and Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin fell in love with his first cousin Charlotte Frederica, who was two years younger. Christian and Charlotte Frederica were married at Ludwigslust Palace in Ludwigslust, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, on June 21, 1806.

Christian in 1813; Credit – Wikipedia

Christian and Charlotte Frederica had two sons:

Christian and Charlotte Frederica’s marriage soon became unhappy. Charlotte Frederica had an affair with her singing teacher Édouard Du Puy. In 1809, when Christian found out, Charlotte Frederica was sent into exile in Horsens, Denmark while Du Puy was banished from Denmark. The marriage officially ended with a divorce in 1810 and Charlotte Frederica never saw her son again.

While in Horsens and later in Aarhus, both in Denmark, Charlotte Frederica cultivated friendships with the local gentry and allegedly had affairs with army officers. In 1829, she was allowed to travel out of Denmark and moved to Carlsbad, a spa town, then in Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic. She made one last move in 1830 to Rome, Italy where she lived in the Palazzo Bernini on Rome’s main street and converted to Roman Catholicism.

Charlotte Frederica had been exiled when her son, now King Frederik VI of Denmark, was only one year old. She had hoped to once again see her son but she soon became ill. Charlotte Frederica died in Rome on July 13, 1840, at the age of 55. She was buried in a tomb paid for by her son and created by the Danish sculptor Jens Adolf Jerichau at the Teutonic Cemetery, a burial site adjacent to St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City that had been dedicated to the German-speaking residents of Rome.

On July 11, 2019, the tomb of Charlotte Frederica and the adjacent tomb of Princess Sophia of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Bartenstein were opened to search for the remains of Emanuela Orlandi, a 15-year-old who disappeared in 1983. Not only was there no sign of Emanuela’s remains, but the remains of Princess Sophia and Duchess Charlotte Frederica were missing. Vatican officials said they would research the burial records to try to discover what happened to their remains. It is possible that their remains were moved due to renovations at the end of the 1800s and again in the 1960s and 1970s. For more information see Unofficial Royalty: The Strange Case of the Tombs of Two 19th Century Princesses and a 20th Century 15-Year-Old Missing Girl.

Tomb of Charlotte Frederica; Credit – By Altera levatur – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59545772

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Da.wikipedia.org. (2018). Charlotte Frederikke af Mecklenburg-Schwerin. [online] Available at: https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Frederikke_af_Mecklenburg-Schwerin [Accessed 17 Sep. 2018].
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