by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2018
Luise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Luise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was the wife of the future Grand Duke Friedrich Franz I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. She was born on March 9, 1756 in Roda in the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, now in Thuringia, Germany, the younger daughter of Prince Johann August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Countess Luise Reuss of Schleiz. Luise had one older sister:
- Auguste Luise Friederike (1752-1805) – married Friedrich Karl, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, no issue
Upon the death of their mother, Luise and her sister became co-Countesses of Limpurg-Gaildorf, a title that their mother had inherited from her own mother in 1734. Luise and Auguste later sold their shares of the Limpurg-Gaildorf inheritance to Karl Eugen, Duke of Württemberg in 1780.
Friedrich Franz of Mecklenburg-Schwerin; Credit – Wikipedia
On June 1, 1775, Luise married Friedrich Franz, then the Hereditary Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, at Friedenstein Palace in Gotha, Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg now in the German state of Thuringia. They went on to have six children:
- Friedrich Ludwig, Hereditary Grand Duke (1778-1819) – married Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia, had issue
- Luise Charlotte (1779-1801) – married Emil Leopold, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, had one daughter Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, mother of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Queen Victoria’s husband
- Gustav Wilhelm (1781-1851) – unmarried
- Karl (1782-1833) – unmarried
- Charlotte Friederike (1784-1840) – married the future King Christian VIII of Denmark, had issue
- Adolf (1785-1821) – unmarried
The Luise Mausoleum at Ludwigslust Palace. photo: Von Niteshift – Selbst fotografiert, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3359830
She became the Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin upon her husband’s accession in 1785. The Duchess died at Ludwigslust Palace in Ludwigslust, then in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany on January 1, 1808, and is buried in the Luise Mausoleum (link in German) which was built for her at Ludwigslust Palace.
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Mecklenburg-Schwerin Resources at Unofficial Royalty