Georg, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Infobox Monarch
name =George
title =Grand Duke of Mecklenburg


reign =6 November 1816 - 6 September 1860
predecessor =Charles II
successor =Friedrich Wilhelm
consort =Princess Marie of Hesse
royal house =Mecklenburg
father =Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
mother =Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt
date of birth =Birth date|1779|8|12
place of birth =Hanover
date of death =Death date and age|1860|9|6|1779|8|12
place of death =Neustrelitz|

George, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg ( _de. Georg Großherzog von Mecklenburg; 12 August 1779 ndash 6 September 1860) ruled the state of Mecklenburg-Strelitz from 1816 until his death.

Early life

Duke George Frederick Charles Joseph of Mecklenburg was born in Hanover the eighth child of Duke Charles of Mecklenburg and his first wife Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt. Following the death of his mother in 1782 his father married her sister Charlotte two years later in 1784 and the family moved from Hanover to Darmstadt. George remained in Darmstadt until 1794 when his father succeeded as the ruling Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and George accompanied his father to Neustrelitz.cite book |last= Bogue|first= David| title =The Men of the Time in 1852, Or, Sketches of Living Notables | publisher =G. Barclay| date =1852| pages =287]

Heir apparent

Soon after arriving in Neustrelitz George enrolled at the University of Rostock where he studied until 1799. After leaving University George went to Berlin where he lived at the Prussian court, his sister Louise was married to the Prussian King, Frederick William III. In 1802 he went to Italy where he lived until 1804 when he returned to Germany and settled in Darmstadt.cite news | title =The Gentleman's Magazine | publisher =F. Jefferies| date =1860| pages =430]

Following the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt George travelled to Paris where he negotiated Mecklenburg-Strelitz's entry into the Confederation of the Rhine. He also attended the Congress of Vienna in 1814 where Mecklenburg-Strelitz was raised to a grand duchy.

Grand Duke

When George succeeded his father on 6 November 1816 he found the Grand Duchy in a bad state. He set about raising the standard of education of his subjects by building schools where by at the of his reign the majority of his subjects could read and write. Also during his reign he improved agriculture in the grand duchy and abolished serfdom.

George died on 6 September 1860 at Neustrelitz and was succeeded by his eldest son Friedrich Wilhelm.

Marriage and children

On 12 August 1817 in Kassel George married Princess Marie of Hesse (1796-1880) the daughter of Prince Frederick of Hesse.cite book |last= Huberty |first= Michel |coauthors= Alain Giraud, F. et B. Magdelaine |title= L'Allemagne Dynastique, Tome VI : Bade-Mecklembourg |isbn= 9782901138068 |pages=218 ] Together they had four children.

*Duchess Luise of Mecklenburg (1818-1842)
*Friedrich Wilhelm, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1819-1904)
*Duchess Caroline of Mecklenburg (1821-1876) married Frederick VII of Denmark
*Duke George of Mecklenburg (1824-1876) married Grand Duchess Catherine Mikhailovna of Russia father of Duke Charles Michael of Mecklenburg

Ancestry

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1= 1. George, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg
2= 2. Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
3= 3. Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt
4= 4. Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg, Prince of Mirow
5= 5. Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen
6= 6. Landgrave George William of Hesse-Darmstadt
7= 7. Countess Marie Luise Albertine of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Heidesheim
8= 8. Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
9= 9. Princess Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
10= 10. Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen
11= 11. Countess Sophie Albertine of Erbach-Erbach
12= 12. Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
13= 13. Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg
14= 14. Count Christian Karl Reinhard of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Heidesheim
15= 15. Countess Catharine Polyxene of Solms-Rödelheim and Assenheim
16= 16. Adolf Frederick I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
17= 17. Duchess Marie Katharina of Brunswick-Dannenberg
18= 18. Christian Wilhelm, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
19= 19. Countess Antonie Sibylle of Barby-Muhlingen
20= 20. Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen
21= 21. Countess Sophie of Waldeck
22= 22. Count Georg Ludwig of Erbach-Erbach
23= 23. Countess Amalia Katharina of Waldeck
24= 24. Ernest Louis, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
25= 25. Margravine Dorothea Charlotte von Brandenburg-Ansbach
26= 26. Johann Reinhard III, Prince of Hanau
27= 27. Margravine Dorothea Friederike of Brandenburg-Ansbach
28= 28. Count Johann Carl August zu Leiningen-Dagsburg-Heidesheim
29= 29. Countess Johanne Magdalene of Hanau-Lichtenberg
30= 30. Count Ludwig of Solms-Rödelheim
31= 31. Countess Charlotte Sibylla of Ahlefeld ahnentafel bottom

References