by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2018
Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Grand Duchess of Oldenburg
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:
- Duke Friedrich Wilhelm (1871-1897) – unmarried
- Duke Adolf Friedrich (1873-1969) – married (1) Princess Viktoria Feodora of Reuss-Schleiz, had issue; (2) Princess Elisabeth of Stolberg-Rossla, had issue
- Duke Heinrich (1876-1934) – married Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, had one child, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, the Dutch royal family descends from this marriage
Elisabeth Alexandrine had six half-siblings through her father’s first marriage with his first wife was Princess Auguste of Reuss-Köstritz:
- Friedrich Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1851-1897) – married Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia, had issue
- Duke Paul Friedrich (1852-1923) – married Princess Marie of Windisch-Grätz, had issue
- Duchess Marie (1854-1920) – married Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia, had issue
- Duke Nikolaus (1855-1856) – died in infancy
- Duke Johann Albrecht (1857-1920) – married (1) Princess Elisabeth Sybille of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, no issue; (2) Princess Elisabeth of Stolberg-Rossla, no issue
- Duke Alexander (born and died 1859) – died in infancy
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
Friedrich August II of Oldenburg
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:
- Nikolaus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg (1897-1970) – married (1) Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont, had issue; (2) Anne-Marie von Schutzbar gennant Milchling, no issue
- Duke Friedrich August (born and died 1900) – died in infancy, twin of Alexandrine
- Duchess Alexandrine (born and d ied1900) – died in infancy, twin of Friedrich August
- Duchess Ingeborg Alix (1901-1996) – married Prince Stephan of Schaumburg-Lippe, had issue
- Duchess Altburg Marie (1903-2001) – married Josias, Hereditary Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, had issue
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