Duke Georg of Mecklenburg

Infobox Prince
name = Georg, Duke of Mecklenburg


caption =
othertitles =Count of Carlow
full name =Georg Alexander Michael Friedrich Wilhelm Albert Theodor Franz
spouse 1 =Irina Raievskya
spouse 2 =Archduchess Charlotte of Austria
offspring =Georg Alexander, Alexander, Helene, Carl Gregor
royal house =Mecklenburg
father =Duke George Alexander of Mecklenburg
mother =Natalia Vanljarskaya, Countess of Carlow
date of birth =OldStyleDate|5 October|1899|22 September
place of birth = Oranienbaum, Russia
date of death =death date and age|1962|7|6|1899|10|5
place of death = Sigmaringen, Germany|

Georg, Duke of Mecklenburg ( _de. Georg Herzog zu Mecklenburg; OldStyleDate|5 October|1899|22 September ndash 6 July 1962) was the head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz from 1934 until his death.

Early life

He was born in Oranienbaum, Russia as Count Georg of Carlow the youngest child and only son of Duke George Alexander of Mecklenburg (1859-1909) and his morganatic wife Natalia Vanljarskaya (1858-1921). Because his parents marriage was morganatic, at birth he was denied the title Duke of Mecklenburg instead his title came from his mother who had been created Countess of Carlow on 18 March 1890 by her husbands uncle Grand Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. [cite book |title= L'Allemagne Dynastique, Tome VI : Bade-Mecklembourg |pages=230] When his father died in 1909 his uncle Duke Charles Michael was appointed guardian of Georg and his sisters Katharina, Marie and Natalia by Grand Duke Adolf Friedrich V of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. [cite book |title=Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Beiträge zur Geschichte einer Region |pages=187 ] After the 1917 October Revolution Georg and his family fled Russia heading first to France before later moving to Germany. [cite news | title =Duke Succumbs | page =4 | publisher =The Capital Times | date =1963-07-08]

On 11 September 1928 Georg was adopted by the head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and his uncle Duke Charles Michael.cite book |title= L'Allemagne Dynastique, Tome VI : Bade-Mecklembourg |pages=235] The adoption was confirmed in the courts in Malchin on 5 October 1928 and as a result he took his uncle and adopted father's surname of Mecklenburg.cite web |url=http://www.thepeerage.com/p11168.htm#i111672 |title=Georg Alexander Herzog von Mecklenburg |accessdate=2008-03-04 |last=Lundy |first=Darryl |publisher=The Peerage ] Following his adoption Georg assumed the title Duke of Mecklenburg with the style Serene Highness. This was confirmed by the head of the Imperial House of Russia, Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich on 18 July 1929 and recognised on 23 December by Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Duke Georg studied political science at the University of Freiburg and became a Doctor of Economics and Social Sciences.cite book |last=Kahlenberg |first=Friedrich P |coauthors=Hartmut Weber |title=Die Kabinettsprotokolle der Bundesregierung |publisher=Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag |isbn=3486562819 |pages=149 ]

Head of the House

On 6 December 1934 his uncle Duke Charles Michael died and Georg succeeded him as head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. [cite book |title=Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Beiträge zur Geschichte einer Region |pages=188-189 |quote=....Herzog Carl Michael verstarb am 6. Dezember 1934 in Remplin. Neues Oberhaupt des Strelitzer Fürstenhaus wurde sein neffe Herzog Georg.... ] He lived with his family at Schloss Remplin until April 1940 when the main part of the palace was burnt down. The Grand Ducal family then moved to Grunewald where they lived until their home was destroyed in a bombing raid in February 1944. In August 1944 Georg was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp by the Nazi government where he remained until February 1945. Following his release Duke Georg and his family moved to Sigmaringen at the invitation of Princess Margarethe of Hohenzollern in March 1945.cite news | last = Oster | first = Uwe | title = Musik und Literatur als roter Faden | publisher = Hohenzollerische Zeitung
date = 2008-03-14 | url =http://www.suedwest-aktiv.de/region/hohenzollerischezeitung/hechingen/3454433/artikel.php?SWAID=5f430366042d6e48f2a0578ed00d480d; | accessdate =2008-04-08 ]

On 18 December 1950 the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin confirmed the decisions made in 1929 regarding Georg's title and he assumed the style of Highness. At the same time the Count of Carlow title was abolished. Georg died in Sigmaringen, Germany of a heart attack. [cite news | title =Georg of Mecklenburg Dies | page =29 | publisher =New York Times | date =1963-07-08 ] He was succeeded as head of the Grand Ducal House by his eldest son Duke Georg Alexander.

Marriages and children

Duke Georg was married firstly in Geneva, Switzerland on 7 October 1920 to Irina Raievskya, Countess Tolstoy (1892-1955) the widow of Alexander, Count Tolstoy and daughter of Mikhail Nicolaevich Raievsky (1893-1921) and Princes Maria Georgievna Garagina (1851-1940). They had four children though one son Alexander born on 3 August 1922 died at the age of just eighteen days. [cite book |title=Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Beiträge zur Geschichte einer Region |pages=188 ] The children who survived into adulthood were.
*HH Georg Alexander, Duke of Mecklenburg (1921-1996)
*HH Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg (1924-1962) m. Hassan Sayed Kamil (b. 1918). She was killed in a plane crash.
*HH Duke Carl Gregor of Mecklenburg (b. 1933) m. HSH Princess Maria Margarethe of Hohenzollern (1928-2006)

In May 1956 Georg became engaged to Archduchess Charlotte of Austria, [cite news | title =Archduchess to Marry | page =31 | publisher =New York Times | date =1956-05-16 ] a daughter of the last Austrian Emperor, Charles I and Zita of Bourbon-Parma. They were married in a civil ceremony on 21 July 1956 in Pöcking, Germany followed by a religious ceremony four days later.

Titles and styles

*5 October 1899 ndash 11 September 1928: "His Serene Highness" Count Georg of Carlow
*11 September 1928 ndash 18 December 1950: "His Serene Highness" Duke Georg of Mecklenburg, Count of Carlow
*18 December 1950 ndash 6 July 1962: "His Highness" Duke Georg of Mecklenburg

Ancestry

ahnentafel top|Ancestors of Georg, Duke of Mecklenburg|width=100%ahnentafel-compact5
style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
border=1
boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
1=1. Georg, Duke of Mecklenburg
2=2. Duke George Alexander of Mecklenburg
3=3. Natalia Vanljarskaya, Countess of Carlow
4=4. Duke Georg August of Mecklenburg
5=5. Grand Duchess Catherine Mikhailovna of Russia
6=6. Feodor Vanjlarsky
7=7. Maria Feodorovna Uwarow
8=8. Georg, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
9=9. Princess Marie of Hesse-Kassel
10=10. Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia
11=11. Princess Charlotte of Württemberg
16=16. Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
17=17. Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt
18=18. Landgrave Frederick of Hesse-Cassel
19=19. Princess Caroline Polyxene of Nassau-Usingen
20=20. Paul I of Russia
21=21. Duchess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg
22=22. Prince Paul of Württemberg
23=23. Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausenahnentafel bottom

References

*
*cite book |last= Huberty |first= Michel |coauthors= Alain Giraud, F. et B. Magdelaine |title= L'Allemagne Dynastique, Tome VI : Bade-Mecklembourg |isbn= 9782901138068