Friedrich VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Friedrich VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg; Credit – Wikipedia

Friedrich VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg was a reigning Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg and the husband of Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom, daughter of King George III of the United Kingdom. Friedrich Joseph Ludwig Carl August was born on July 30, 1769, in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg, now in Hesse, Germany. He was the eldest child of Friedrich V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg and Caroline of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Friedrich had fifteen siblings but only eleven survived childhood:

Friedrich was educated with his brother Ludwig Wilhelm. They studied together in Geneva, and in 1788, they joined the Prussian army together. Friedrich then served in the Austrian army during the Napoleonic Wars reaching the rank of Field Marshal. He was injured several times and was created a Commander of the Austrian Military Order of Maria Theresa.

While Friedrich was in the military, he showed no inclination to marry. In 1814, 45-year-old Friedrich had met 44-year-old Princess Elizabeth, the third daughter and seventh of the fifteen children of King George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, at a ball held at the British court. None of George III’s six daughters had been allowed to marry at the age when most princesses would marry. The daughters were very sheltered and spent most of their time with their parents and sisters. The living conditions of King George’s daughters came to be known as “the Nunnery.”

Perhaps this over-protection of King George III’s daughters was due to what happened to his sister Caroline Matilda when she married King Christian VII of Denmark. Christian’s mental illness led to Caroline Matilda having an affair, being caught, the execution of her lover, and her exile. Two of King George III’s daughters managed to get married: In 1797, Charlotte, Princess Royal married the future King Friedrich I of Württemberg at the age of 31 and had one stillborn daughter. In 1816, 40-year-old Princess Mary married her cousin Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester, and had no children. Princess Elizabeth was the last of the daughters to finally escape from “the Nunnery.”  Augusta, Sophia, and Amelia never married.

Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom, Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1818, Elizabeth read a letter from 48-year-old Friedrich, then Hereditary Prince of Hesse-Homburg to her mother asking to marry Elizabeth and she finally saw the way to exit “the Nunnery.” Elizabeth was nearly 48 years old and was hardly likely to provide heirs for Hesse-Homburg but her dowry would go a long way in helping tiny Hesse-Homburg out of its debts and would provide funds for needed building renovations. Elizabeth would have her own household to administer, a husband, and freedom from her mother. Queen Charlotte was not easily persuaded to agree to the marriage and after heated discussions and interventions from several of Elizabeth’s siblings, the Queen agreed to the marriage.

On April 7, 1818, in the Private Chapel at the Queen’s House (now Buckingham Palace), Princess Elizabeth married her prince and gained her freedom. The bride wore a dress of silver tissue and Brussels lace with ostrich feathers on her head. Friedrich was not handsome but he was very kindhearted and a war hero who had been wounded at the Battle of Leipzig. The couple spent their honeymoon at the Royal Lodge at Windsor. The marriage was not a love match but through mutual understanding and respect, it was a happy marriage that met the needs of both Elizabeth and Friedrich.

Elizabeth of the United Kingdom and Frederick VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg; Credit – royalcollection.org.uk

On January 20, 1820, Friedrich’s father died and he succeeded him as Landgrave of the 85 square mile/ 221 km2 Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg. Using Elizabeth’s dowry and annual allowance, the couple built new roads, restored the castles in Bad Homburg and Meisenheim, and became involved in the care of the poor. Using seeds and seedlings from England, they created an English garden at Bad Homburg Castle.

Bad Homburg Castle; Credit – By ziegelbrenner – Private photo, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1324918

Friedrich VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg died in Bad Homburg in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg, now in Hesse, Germany, at the age of 59 on April 2, 1829, due to influenza and complications from an old leg wound. He was buried in the Ducal Crypt in the castle church at Bad Homburg Castle.  Elizabeth wrote, “No woman was ever more happy than I was for eleven years and they will often be lived over again in the memory of the heart.”  She survived Friedrich by nearly eleven years, dying on January 10, 1840, at the age of 69, and was buried next to Friedrich.

As Friedrich had no children, his brother Ludwig Wilhelm succeeded him. Three other brothers succeeded as the reigning Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg. Only one of Friedrich’s five brothers had children. Gustav had one son and two daughters but his son died at the age of eighteen.

  • Ludwig Wilhelm: reigned 1829-1839, no children
  • Philip V: reigned 1839-1846, no children
  • Gustav: reigned 1846-1848, no surviving male children
  • Ferdinand: reigned 1848-1866, unmarried

After the death of Ferdinand in 1866, the Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg was briefly added to the territory of Ludwig III, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine before being annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia later in 1866.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Friedrich VI. (Hessen-Homburg). [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_VI._(Hessen-Homburg) [Accessed 11 Sep. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Frederick VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_VI,_Landgrave_of_Hesse-Homburg [Accessed 11 Sep. 2018].
  • Flantzer, S. (2014). Princess Elizabeth, Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/january-10-1840-death-of-princess-elizabeth-of-the-united-kingdom-daughter-of-king-george-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/ [Accessed 11 Sep. 2018].
  • Fraser, Flora. Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III. (2004). New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
  • Van Der Kiste, John (2013). George III’s Children. New York: The History Press.
  • Van Der Kiste, John. (2000). The Georgian Princesses. Phoenix Mill: Sutton Publishing.

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