King Carl XVI Gustaf now longest-reigning Swedish monarch

Photo Credit – Wikipedia

On April 26, 2018, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden became the longest reigning monarch in Swedish history surpassing King Magnus IV who reigned for 44 years and 222 days from July 8, 1319 – February 15, 1364.

Carl Gustaf’s parents were Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten, He is a descendant of Queen Victoria through both of his parents.  His paternal grandmother was Princess Margaret of Connaught, daughter of Queen Victoria’s son Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught.  His maternal grandfather was Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the posthumous son of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, Queen Victoria’s youngest son.

Four Generations: The infant Prince Carl Gustaf held by his great-grandfather King Gustaf V. Seated on the left is the prince’s grandfather, Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf (the future King Gustaf VI Adolf), and standing is the prince’s father, Prince Gustaf Adolf; Photo: Swedish Royal Court


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On January 26, 1947, when Carl Gustaf was only nine months old, his father died in an airplane crash at Kastrup Airport near Copenhagen, Denmark.  At that time, Carl Gustaf became second in the line of succession behind his grandfather.  Carl Gustaf’s great-grandfather King Gustaf V died on October 29, 1950, and his grandfather became King Gustaf VI Adolf while four-year-old Carl Gustaf became Crown Prince. At the age of 27, King Carl XVI Gustaf succeeded his grandfather upon his death on September 15, 1973.

Unofficial Royalty: King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden

Learn more about the Swedish Royal Family at Unofficial Royalty: Swedish Index

Prince Louis of Wales

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Prince Louis of Wales, Christmas 2023

Prince Louis Arthur Charles of Wales is the second son of the two sons and the youngest of the three children of Prince William, The Prince of Wales and The Princess of Wales, the former Catherine Middleton. He was born at 11:01 AM London time on April 23, 2018, at the Lindo Wing, St. Mary’s Hospital in London.

 

Prince Louis had two older siblings:

The Succession to The Crown Act 2013, which formally went into effect on March 26, 2015, put in place absolute primogeniture, which means for those born after October 28, 2011, the eldest child born becomes the heir to his or her parent, regardless of gender. This means that at the time of his birth Prince Louis was fifth in the line of succession after his grandfather now King Charles III of the United Kingdom, his father The Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge, his elder brother Prince George of Cornwall and Cambridge, and his elder sister Princess Charlotte of Cornwall and Cambridge. With the birth of Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte became the first princess not to be overtaken in the line of succession by her younger brother.

Later on the day of Louis’ birth, Prince William brought Prince George and Princess Charlotte to the hospital to meet their new baby brother.  Just a few hours later, The Duke and Duchess and their newborn son left the hospital and returned home to Kensington Palace. Four days later, the couple announced their son’s name – Louis Arthur Charles.

 

More associated with French royalty, the name Louis (pronounced Lou-ee) has never been used as a first name for a British prince. King George I was named Georg Ludwig in German, George Louis in English. King George III’s father, the Prince of Wales who never became king because he predeceased his father, was named Frederick Lewis.

The uncle of Prince Philip, Prince Louis’ great-grandfather, was named Louis. Born Prince Louis of Battenberg and a great-grandson of Queen Victoria, Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma served in World War II and was the last Viceroy of India. He was assassinated by an Irish Republican Army bomb in 1979.

Also in Prince Louis’ ancestry from his great-grandfather Prince Philip’s side of the family is Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, the husband of Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Alice and Prince Ludwig of Battenberg, later Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven. the father of both Prince Philip’s mother Alice and Philip’s uncle Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma.

Prince Louis’ father, named William Arthur Philip Louis, has two of his son’s names, as does the baby’s paternal grandfather Charles Philip Arthur George. King Henry VII’s eldest son who predeceased him was Arthur, Prince of Wales and one of Queen Victoria’s sons was Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught.

 

Prince Louis was christened on July 9, 2018, at The Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace, London.  His parents asked the following people to be his godparents:

  • Mr. Nicholas van Cutsem (a friend of his father)
  • Mr. Guy Pelly (a friend of his father)
  • Mr. Harry Aubrey-Fletcher (an Eton College friend of his father)
  • Lady Laura Meade (friend of his father formerly Laura Marsham, daughter of Julian Marsham, 8th Earl of Romney; wife of James Meade who is a godfather of Princess Charlotte)
  • Mrs. Robert (Hannah) Carter (a school friend of his mother)
  • Miss Lucy Middleton  (paternal first cousin of his mother)

The week of his third birthday Prince Louis began attending the Willcocks Nursery School, close to her Kensington Palace home, the same nursery school his sister Charlotte attended.

Louis and his siblings ride in the Trooping the Colour carriage procession for the first time in 2022; Credit – By John Pannell from Watford, UK – Queen’s Platinum Jubilee 2022-0695, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=118639761

On June 2, 2022, during his great-grandmother’s Platinum Jubilee celebration weekend, Louis and his siblings made their debut in the Trooping the Colour carriage procession. All three Cambridge children then joined their parents, Queen Elizabeth II, and other working royals on the Buckingham Palace balcony.

William and Catherine with their children on the Buckingham Palace balcony during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022

On June 5, 2022, the three children also attended Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant where Prince Louis famously drew media coverage when he threw a tantrum, thumbing his nose and sticking out his tongue at his mother.

 

In the summer of 2022, Louis and his family moved to Adelaide Cottage, a four-bedroom house on the grounds of Windsor Castle in Berkshire, England. The move was made to give Louis and his siblings a more normal family life. In the fall of 2022, Louis and his siblings began attending Lambrook School, a prestigious fee-paying school in Winkfield, near Windsor. The school is described on its website as a “leading coeducational Prep School for 615 boys and girls aged 3 and 13, set in 52 acres of beautiful Berkshire countryside.” Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis will not be the first royals who attended Lambrook School. Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein and his brother Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein, grandsons of Queen Victoria and sons of Princess Helena and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, also attended Lambrook School.

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Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg, Duchess of Anhalt

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg, Duchess of Anhalt; source: Wikipedia

Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg was the wife of Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt. She was born Princess Antoinette Charlotte Marie Josephine Karoline Frida on April 17, 1838, in Bamberg, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany, to Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg and his first wife, Princess Amalie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. Antoinette had three full siblings:

Antoinette also had two half-siblings from her father’s second marriage to Princess Luise Caroline Reuss of Greiz:

Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt. source: Wikipedia

In Altenburg on April 22, 1854, Antoinette married the future Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt. He was the son of Leopold IV Friedrich, Duke of Anhalt and Princess Friederike of Prussia. The couple had six children:

Antoinette, Duchess of Anhalt. source: Wikipedia

At the age of 70, four years after the death of her husband, Antoinette, The Dowager Duchess of Anhalt died in Berchtesgaden, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria, on October 13, 1908, and was buried in the Ducal Mausoleum (link in German) in Dessau, Duchy of Anhalt, now in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. In 1958, the remains of members of the House of Anhalt were removed from the Ducal Mausoleum secretly by night for political reasons (Dessau was then in Communist East Germany) and reburied in the Ziebigker Cemetery in Dessau in a common grave, marked only by a simple wooden cross. In 2019, Antoinette’s remains were moved a second time and reinterred in the Marienkirche (link in German) in Dessau, the traditional burial site of the Dukes of Anhalt-Dessau dating back to the 15th century. The Marienkirche was destroyed during World War II and has since been rebuilt.

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.

Anhalt Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2018

Duchy of Anhalt: Leopold IV Friedrich, the first Duke of Anhalt inherited three duchies: the Duchy of Anhalt-Dessau from his grandfather, the Duchy of Anhalt-Köthen from a distant cousin, and the Duchy of Anhalt-Bernburg from another distant cousin. The three duchies were united as the Duchy of Anhalt on August 30, 1863.

Joachim Ernst was the last Duke of Anhalt. He came to the throne in September 1918 when he was 17-years-old. As he was underage, his father’s brother Prince Aribert of Anhalt served as Regent. With the German Empire crumbling at the end of World War I, Aribert abdicated on Joachim Ernst’s behalf on November 12, 1918. Today the territory that encompassed the Duchy of Anhalt is in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.

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Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt. source: Wikipedia

Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt was born in Dessau, Duchy of Anhalt-Dessau, now in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, on April 29, 1831. Named Leopold Friedrich Franz Nikolaus, he was born a Prince of Anhalt-Dessau to the future Leopold IV Friedrich, Duke of Anhalt and Princess Friederike of Prussia. Friedrich had three sisters:

After his initial education at home, Friedrich studied in Bonn and Geneva. In 1851, he became a First Lieutenant in the 1st Foot Guard Regiment in the Prussian Army, serving in Potsdam and then in Dessau.

Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg. source: Wikipedia

On April 22, 1854, Friedrich married Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg, the daughter of Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg and Princess Amalie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. The couple had six children:

By the time of his marriage, Friedrich’s title was Prince of Anhalt-Dessau-Köthen, as the duchies of Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Köthen had been merged together in 1853. Ten years later, after his father also inherited the Duchy of Anhalt-Bernburg, the duchies were united as the Duchy of Anhalt.

Throughout this time, Friedrich continued with his military career. In 1864, he served on the staff of his brother-in-law, Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia, during the Second Schleswig War. He served during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870-1871, taking part in the Siege of Toul and battles at Beaumont and Sedan. In January 1871, he was present at the Palace of Versailles for the proclamation of King Wilhelm I of Prussia as the German Emperor.

Four months later, Friedrich became the reigning Duke of Anhalt following his father’s death. Still influential within the Prussian military, he was promoted to General of Infantry in 1873 and then Chief of the No. 93 Infantry Regiment in 1876.

The Dessau Mausoleum. photo: by M_H.DE – Own Work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11824559

The day after suffering a stroke, Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt died, aged 73, in Ballenstedt, Duchy of Anhalt, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, on January 24, 1904.  Friedrich was buried in the Ducal Mausoleum (link in German) in Dessau, Duchy of Anhalt, now in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. In 1958, the remains of members of the House of Anhalt were removed from the Ducal Mausoleum secretly by night for political reasons (Dessau was then in Communist East Germany) and reburied in the Ziebigker Cemetery in Dessau in a common grave, marked only by a simple wooden cross. In 2019, Friedrich’s remains were moved a second time and reinterred in the Marienkirche (link in German) in Dessau, the traditional burial site of the Dukes of Anhalt-Dessau dating back to the 15th century. The Marienkirche was destroyed during World War II and has since been rebuilt.

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.

Anhalt Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Friederike of Prussia, Duchess of Anhalt-Dessau

by Scott Mehl    © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Friederike of Prussia, Duchess of Anhalt-Dessau; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Friederike Luise Wilhelmine Amalie of Prussia was the wife of the future Leopold IV Friedrich, Duke of Anhalt. She was born in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg, on September 30, 1796 to Prince Ludwig Karl of Prussia and Duchess Friederike of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and had two older siblings:

  • Prince Friedrich of Prussia (1794-1863) – married Princess Luise of Anhalt-Bernburg, had issue
  • Prince Karl of Prussia (1795-1798) – died in childhood

Friederike’s father died when she was just three months old. His father King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia provided the family with an income and a residence at Schönhausen Palace outside of Berlin. Two years later, in December 1798, Friederike’s mother remarried to Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Solms-Braunfels, with whom she was already expecting a child. From this marriage Friederike had six half-siblings:

  • Princess Caroline of Solms-Braunfels (born and died 1799)
  • Prince Wilhelm of Solms-Braunfels (1801–1868), married Countess Maria Anna Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau, had nine children
  • Princess Sophie of Solms-Braunfels (born and died 1803)
  • Princess Auguste Luise of Solms-Braunfels (1804–1865), married Prince Albert of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, had four children
  • Prince Friedrich of Solms-Braunfels (1807–1867), married Baroness Louise of Landsberg-Velen, had one child
  • Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels (1812–1875), married (1) morganatically Louise Beyrich, had three children  (2) Princess Sophie of Loewenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, had five children

The family moved once again, in 1815. Having been widowed the previous year, Friederike’s mother married a third time. This time, her husband was her first cousin, Prince Ernst August of the United Kingdom, Duke of Cumberland. The family lived in Hanover, and Friederike gained one more half-sibling:

Leopold IV Friedrich, Duke of Anhalt; Credit – Wikipedia

In Berlin on April 18, 1818, Friederike married Leopold IV Friedrich, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau. The Prussian court had arranged the marriage, and they had been formally engaged since May 1816. In addition to two stillborn sons, Friederike and Leopold had four children:

Having become Duchess of Anhalt-Dessau at the time of her marriage, Friederike also became Duchess of Anhalt-Köthen in November 1847 when her husband inherited that duchy.

Friederike, the Duchess of Anhalt-Dessau and Duchess of Anhalt-Köthen, died in Dessau, Duchy of Anhalt, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany on January 1, 1850, and was buried in the Marienkirche (link in German) in Dessau. When the church was destroyed by bombing during World War II, the Duchess’s remains were moved to the Berenhorst crypt in the Historical Cemetery in Dessau.

Three years after her death, the Dessau and Köthen duchies were joined as one – the Duchy of Anhalt-Dessau-Köthen, and in 1863, were merged with the last remaining Anhalt duchy – Anhalt-Bernburg – becoming the unified Duchy of Anhalt, with her husband becoming the first reigning Duke.

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Anhalt Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Leopold IV Friedrich, Duke of Anhalt

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Duchy of Anhalt: Leopold IV Friedrich, the first Duke of Anhalt inherited three duchies: the Duchy of Anhalt-Dessau from his grandfather, the Duchy of Anhalt-Köthen from a distant cousin, and the Duchy of Anhalt-Bernburg from another distant cousin. The three duchies were united as the Duchy of Anhalt on August 30, 1863.

Joachim Ernst was the last Duke of Anhalt. He came to the throne in September 1918 when he was 17-years-old. As he was underage, his father’s brother Prince Aribert of Anhalt served as Regent. With the German Empire crumbling at the end of World War I, Aribert abdicated on Joachim Ernst’s behalf on November 12, 1918. Today the territory that encompassed the Duchy of Anhalt is in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.

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Leopold IV Friedrich, Duke of Anhalt; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold IV Friedrich was the first Duke of Anhalt, reigning from 1863 until 1871. He was born Prince Leopold Friedrich of Anhalt-Dessau on October 1, 1794, in Dessau, Duchy of Anhalt-Dessau, now in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the eldest son of Friedrich, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Dessau and Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Homburg. Leopold Friedrich had six siblings:

At the time of his birth, his grandfather was the reigning Duke of Anhalt-Dessau. Leopold Friedrich became heir-apparent upon his father’s death in 1814, and became the reigning Duke of Anhalt-Dessau upon his grandfather’s death three years later, on August 9, 1817.

Friederike Wilhelmine of Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

The following year, on April 18, 1818, Leopold Friedrich married Princess Friederike of Prussia. She was the daughter of Prince Friedrich Ludwig Karl of Prussia and Duchess Friederike of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

The couple had four children:

On November 27, 1847, Leopold IV Friedrich inherited the Duchy of Anhalt-Köthen upon the death of a distant cousin. After nearly six years as the reigning Duke of two separate duchies, they were united in May 1853 as the Duchy of Anhalt-Dessau-Köthen. Ten years later, he also inherited the Duchy of Anhalt-Bernburg from another distant cousin. With all of the Anhalt duchies back under one ruler, they were united as the Duchy of Anhalt on August 30, 1863.

The Marienkirche, before World War II. photo: Von Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R98992 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5368827

Leopold IV Friedrich, Duke of Anhalt, died in Dessau, Duchy of Anhalt, now in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, on May 22, 1871, and was buried in the Marienkirche (link in German) in Dessau. When the church was destroyed by bombing during World War II, the Duke’s remains were moved to the Berenhorst crypt in the Historical Cemetery in Dessau.

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Anhalt Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Grand Duchess of Oldenburg

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Grand Duchess of Oldenburg; Credit – Wikipedia

Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was the last Grand Duchess of Oldenburg through her marriage to Grand Duke Friedrich August II. She was born in Schwerin in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, on August 10, 1869, the daughter of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and his third wife, Princess Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.

Elisabeth Alexandrine had three younger brothers:

Elisabeth Alexandrine had six half-siblings through her father’s first marriage with his first wife Princess Auguste of Reuss-Köstritz:

Elisabeth Alexandrine had one half-sibling through her father’s second marriage with Princess Anna of Hesse and by Rhine:

  • Duchess Anne (1865-1882) – unmarried, died in her teens

Elisabeth Alexandrine’s husband the future Grand Duke Friedrich August II of Oldenburg; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 24, 1896, Elisabeth Alexandrine married Friedrich August, Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg, as his second wife. He was the son of Peter II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg and Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg. Elisabeth Alexandrine and Friedrich August had five children:

After her husband was forced to abdicate on November 11, 1918, when the German Empire fell, the couple took up residence at Rastede Castle in Rastede near Oldenburg, Germany. Elisabeth Alexandrine remained close to her large family, often spending time with her brother, Heinrich, in the Netherlands. Friedrich August died in 1931, and Elisabeth Alexandrine survived him by 24 years.

Schloss Schaumburg. photo: By Johannes Robalotoff – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7536575

Elisabeth Alexandrine died on September 3, 1955, at Schloss Schaumburg in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, the home of her son-in-law Josias, Hereditary Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and her daughter Altburg Marie. The last Grand Duchess of Oldenburg is buried in the Ducal Mausoleum in St. Gertrude’s Cemetery in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, Germany.

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Oldenburg Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Elisabeth Anna of Prussia, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Oldenburg

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Elisabeth Anna of Prussia, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Oldenburg; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Elisabeth Anna of Prussia was the first wife of the future Friedrich August II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg. She was born in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany, on February 8, 1857, the daughter of Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia and Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau, and had four siblings:

Friedrich August II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg

On February 18, 1878, in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg, Elisabeth Anne married Friedrich August, Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg. He was the son of Peter II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg and Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg. The couple was married in a double wedding, along with Princess Charlotte of Prussia and Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Meiningen. Elisabeth Anne and Friedrich had two daughters:

Hereditary Grand Duchess Elisabeth Anna died in Fulda, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Hesse, on August 28, 1895, nearly five years before her husband became the last reigning Grand Duke of Oldenburg. She is buried in the Ducal Mausoleum in St. Gertrude’s Cemetery in Oldenburg, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, now in the German state of Lower Saxony.

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Oldenburg Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Friedrich August II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Grand Duchy of Oldenburg: The Counts of Oldenburg died out in 1667, after which Oldenburg became a duchy until 1810, when it was annexed by the First French Empire under Napoleon, Emperor of the French. After the final defeat of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna elevated the Duchy of Oldenburg to a Grand Duchy in 1815. The Grand Duchy of Oldenburg consisted of three widely separated territories – Oldenburg, Eutin, and Birkenfeld – now in the German states of Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, and Rhineland-Palatinate. With the fall of the German Empire at the end of World War I, Friedrich August II, the last Grand Duke of Oldenburg was forced to abdicate his throne on November 11, 1918.

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Friedrich August II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg

Friedrich August II was the last reigning Grand Duke of Oldenburg. He was born in Oldenburg, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, now in Lower Saxony, Germany, on November 16, 1852, the elder son of Peter II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg and Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg. He had one younger brother:

  • Duke Georg Ludwig (1855-1939) – unmarried

Along with his brother, Friedrich August was educated under the direction of the famed Bavarian General Otto von Parseval and then studied at the Universities of Bonn, Strasbourg, and Leipzig before embarking on a world tour.

Elisabeth Anna of Prussia. photo: Wikipedia

Friedrich August married Princess Elisabeth Anna of Prussia, in Berlin, on February 18, 1878. She was the daughter of Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia and Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau. The couple had two daughters:

Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. photo: Wikipedia

After his first wife died in August 1895, Friedrich August, needing a male heir and a mother for his surviving daughter, remarried. His second wife was Duchess Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the daughter of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Princess Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. They married on October 24, 1896, and had five children:

Friedrich August became Grand Duke of Oldenburg upon his father’s death on June 13, 1900. His reign saw the development of waterways and the expansion of ports along the Weser River to allow for increased trade and economic power for the Grand Duchy. An avid sailor, he received his captain’s license at a young age and was recognized for his skill and efforts after making several water rescues. He was also recognized by the German Kaiser Wilhelm II, who appointed him Admiral of the Imperial Navy – the only German prince to be given this status. Also possessing a brilliant technical mind, Friedrich August made several inventions, including a ship propeller which received numerous foreign patents. He served as honorary chairman of the Shipbuilding Technical Society and was one of the founders of the German Training Ship Association, which promoted expanded training for the German merchant navy.

Friedrich August II (left) with the Duke and Duchess of Brunswick, 1915. photo: Wikipedia

With the fall of the German Empire at the end of World War I, Friedrich August was forced to abdicate his throne on November 11, 1918. He retired to Schloss Rastede where he took up farming. Claiming an “extremely precarious” financial situation, he petitioned the Oldenburg government for an annual allowance the year after his abdication.

Rastede Palace. photo: By N9713 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63250514

Friedrich August II, the last Grand Duke of Oldenburg, died at Schloss Rastede in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, Germany, on February 24, 1931. He is buried in the Ducal Mausoleum in St. Gertrude’s Cemetery in Oldenburg.

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Oldenburg Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg, Grand Duchess of Oldenburg

by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg, Grand Duchess of Oldenburg; source: Wikipedia

Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg, Grand Duchess of Oldenburg

Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg (born a Princess of Saxe-Hildburghausen) was Grand Duchess of Oldenburg by her marriage to Peter II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg. She was born Princess Elisabeth Pauline Alexandrine of Saxe-Hildburghausen, in Hildburghausen, on March 26, 1826, the fourth of six daughters of Joseph, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Hildburghausen (later the Duke of Saxe-Altenburg) and Duchess Amelia of Württemberg. Elisabeth’s sisters were:

Peter II of Oldenburg. source: Wikipedia

Elisabeth married the then Hereditary Grand Duke Peter of Oldenburg on February 10, 1852. They were second cousins through their mutual descent from Friedrich II Eugen, Duke of Württemberg. Elisabeth and Peter had two sons:

Elisabeth became Grand Duchess of Oldenburg upon her husband’s accession in 1853. As Grand Duchess, she oversaw the establishment of the Elisabeth Children’s Hospital and served as the patron of numerous charities and organizations focused on the well-being of children and the less fortunate. Much of this was done through her Elisabeth Foundation, established at the time of her marriage using funds given by her father.

Grand Duchess Elisabeth (left) photographed with Queen Amalie of Greece in the 1860s. source: Wikipedia

Grand Duchess Elisabeth died on February 2, 1896, in Oldenburg, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, now in Lower Saxony, Germany. She was buried in the Ducal Mausoleum in Saint Gertrude’s Cemetery in Oldenburg.

Oldenburg Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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