by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2018
Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt, first wife of Grand Duke Carl II
Friederike Karoline Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt was the first wife of the future Grand Duke Carl II of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She was born in Darmstadt, Landgravaite of Hesse-Darmstadt, now in Hesse, Gemany, on August 20, 1752, the eldest daughter of Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hesse-Darmstadt and Countess Maria Luise Albertine of Leiningen-Falkenburg-Dagsburg. Friederike had eight siblings:
- Ludwig Georg (1749-1823) – married Friederike Schmidt (morganatic), no issue
- Georg Friedrich (born and died 1750) – died in infancy
- Georg Karl (1754-1830) – unmarried
- Charlotte Wilhelmine (1755-1785) – married Carl II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz as his second wife, had issue
- Karl Wilhelm Georg (1757-1797) – unmarried
- Friedrich Georg August (1759-1808) – married Karoline Luise Seitz (morganatic), had issue
- Luise Henriette Karoline (17611829) – married Ludwig I, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, had issue
- Auguste Wilhelmine (1765-1796) – married the future King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, had issue
Carl of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; Credit – Wikipedia
On September 18, 1768, in Darmstadt, Friederike married Carl of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. At the time, he was heir-presumptive to his brother, the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Friederike and Carl had ten children:
- Charlotte Georgine (1769-1818) – married the future Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, had issue
- Karoline Auguste (1771-1773) – died in childhood
- Georg Karl (1772-1773) – died in infancy
- Therese Mathilde (1773-1839) – married Karl Alexander, Prince of Thurn und Taxis, had issue
- Friedrich Georg (born and died 1774) – died in infancy
- Luise Auguste (1776-1810) – married King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, had issue
- Friederike Luise (1778-1841) – married (1) Ludwig Karl of Prussia, had issue; married (2) Friedrich Wilhelm of Solms-Braunfels, had issue; married (3) King Ernst August I of Hanover, had issue
- Georg Friedrich, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1779-1860) – married Marie of Hesse-Kassel, had issue
- Friedrich Karl (1781-1783) – died in chilhood
- Auguste Albertine (born and died 1782) – died in infancy
The New Crypt at the Johanniterkirche. photo: Von Peter Schmelzle – Eigenes Werk (Eigenes Foto), CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4816015
On May 22, 1782, three days after giving birth to her last child, Friederike died from complications of childbirth in the Electorate of Hanover, now in Lower Saxony, Germany. She is buried in the New Crypt at the Johanniterkirche in Mirow, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, now in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Two years later, her husband married her younger sister, Charlotte, who also died in childbirth. He later became the first Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in 1815.
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