Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Infobox Prussian Royalty|majesty|consort
name =Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
full name =Luisa Augusta Wilhelmina Amelia
title =Queen consort of Prussia; Electress consort of Bradenburg


caption =portrait by Joseph Grassi
reign =1797 – 1810
spouse =Frederick William III
issue =Frederick William IV
William I
Charlotte, Frederica, Charles, Alexandra, Empress of Russia
Princess Louise
Prince Albert
royal house =House of Nikloting
father =Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
mother =Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt
date of birth =birth date|1776|3|10|mf=y
place of birth =Hanover
date of death =death date and age|1810|7|19|1776|3|10|mf=y
place of death =Schloss Hohenzieritz
place of burial =Charlottenburg|

Luise Auguste Wilhelmine Amalie ("Luisa Augusta Wilhelmina Amelia") (March 10, 1776 – July 19, 1810), Queen of Prussia, was born in Hanover, where her father, Karl of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, was field marshal of the household brigade. Her mother was princess Friederike Caroline Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Her paternal grandparents were Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Elizabeth Albertine, Princess of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Queen Charlotte, royal consort of King George III of the United Kingdom, was her paternal aunt.

Her maternal grandparents were Georg Wilhelm of Hessen-Darmstadt and Maria of Leiningen-Dagsburg. Georg Wilhelm was a son of Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt.

In 1793, at Frankfurt, Luise met the crown prince of Prussia, afterwards King Frederick William III. Deeply impressed by her beauty and nobility of character, Frederick William asked her to become his wife. They were married on December 24 of the same year. As Queen of Prussia she commanded universal respect and affection, and nothing in Prussian history is more admired than the dignity and unflinching courage with which she bore the sufferings inflicted on her and her family during the war between Prussia and France.

After the battle of Jena she went with her husband to Königsberg, and when the battles of Eylau and Friedland had placed Prussia absolutely at the mercy of France, she made a personal appeal to Napoleon I of France at his headquarters in Tilsit, but without success. Early in 1808 she accompanied the king from Memel to Königsberg, whence, towards the end of the year, she visited Saint Petersburg, returning to Berlin on December 23 1809.

During the war Napoleon attempted to destroy the queen's reputation, but the only effect of his charges in Prussia was to make her more deeply beloved. On July 19, 1810 she died in her husband's arms, while visiting her father in Strelitz. She was buried in the garden of the palace at Charlottenburg, where a mausoleum, containing a fine recumbent statue by Rauch, was built over her grave. In 1840 her husband was buried by her side.

Husband and Issue

*Louise married King Frederick William III (August 3, 1770-June 7, 1840), on December 24, 1793.

Children

Other

The Louise Foundation ("Luisenstift") for the education of girls was established in her honour, and in 1814 Frederick William III instituted the Order of Louise ("Luisenorden"). In 1880 a statue of Queen Louise was erected in the Tiergarten in Berlin.

References

*Adami, F., "Luise, Konigin von Preussen" (7th ed., 1875),
*Engel, E., "Königin Luise" (1876);
*A. Kluckhohn, "Luise, Konigin von Preussen" (1876);
*Mommsen and Treitschke, "Königin Luise" (1876).
*Hudson, "Life and Times of Louisa, Queen of Prussia" (1874), (in English).
*Horn, G., "Das Buch von der Königin Luise" (Berlin, 1883).
*Lonke, A., "Königin Luise von Preussen" (Leipzig, 1903).
*H. von Petersdorff, "Königin Luise, Frauenleben", Bd. i., (Bielefeld, 1903; 2nd edition, 1904).
*Wright, Constance, "Louise, Queen of Prussia", (London, 1969), ISBN 0-584-10163-5
*1911

External links

* [http://www.fembio.org/english/biography.php/woman/biographie/luise-von-preussen/ FemBiography Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]
*http://www.batguano.com/Xqueenofprussia.html
*http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/Rulers/hohenzollern.html
* [http://libweb.princeton.edu/libraries/firestone/rbsc/aids/C0770/ex75.jpgLouise's death mask] , from the Laurence Hutton Collection
* [http://www.histoire-empire.org/persos/reine_louise.htm Online Biography of Louise von Mecklenburg-Strelitz (in French)]