Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein: In November 1863, Prince Friedrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg claimed the twin duchies as Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein after the death without a male heir of King Frederick VII of Denmark, who was also the Duke of Schleswig and the Duke of Holstein.  In 1864, following the Second Schleswig War, the Duchy of Holstein and the Duchy of Schleswig became occupied territories of the German Confederation and two years later, following the Austro-Prussian War, part of the new Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein. However, Prussia recognized the head of the House of  Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg as the *mediatized duke of these two duchies, with the rank and all the titles. The Duchy of Schleswig and the Duchy of Holstein are now the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.

*mediatize – to annex (a principality) to another state, while allowing certain rights to its former sovereign

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Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein; Credit – Wikipedia

Born Prince Friedrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, Friedrich VIII was the pretender Duke of Schleswig-Holstein from 1863 until he died in 1880. He was born on July 6, 1829, at Augustenborg Palace in Denmark, the eldest son of Christian August II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg and Countess Louise Sophie of Danneskiold-Samsøe, and he had six siblings:

Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 11, 1856, in Langenburg, Kingdom of Württemberg, now in Baden-Württemberg, Friedrich married Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. She was the daughter of Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Feodora of Leiningen, the half-sister of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

Together they had seven children:

Some of Friedrich’s children in1869. (l-r: Caroline Mathilde, Auguste Viktoria, Louise Sophie, and Ernst Gunther)

In November 1863, following the death of King Frederik VII of Denmark, Friedrich proclaimed himself reigning Duke of Schleswig and Holstein. His claim was formally recognized by many of the smaller German states and the Federation, but Prussia and Austria adamantly refused. They tried, unsuccessfully, to force the German Confederation to disavow Friedrich’s claim and the sovereignty of Schleswig and Holstein.

This soon led to the Second Schleswig War which began in February 1864. Just nine months later, the war was over and under the Treaty of Vienna, the two duchies were ceded to Prussia and Austria. Less than two years later, as a result of the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, Schleswig and Holstein were formally annexed by Prussia, becoming the Province of Schleswig-Holstein. Friedrich was permitted to keep his title and later served on the staff of the Prussian Crown Prince (later Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia) during the Franco-Prussian War.

At just 50 years old, Friedrich VIII died in Wiesbaden, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Hesse, Germany on January 14, 1880. He is buried in the Ducal Graveyard in Primkenau, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Przemków, Poland.

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Schleswig-Holstein Resources at Unofficial Royalty