by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2018
Friederike of Württemberg, Princess of Holstein-Gottorp
Friederike of Württemberg was the wife of the future Grand Duke Peter I of Oldenburg. She was born Duchess Friederike Elisabeth Amalie Auguste on July 27, 1765, in Treptow an der Rega, Pomerania, now Trzebiatów, Poland, the daughter of Friedrich II Eugen, Duke of Württemberg and Friederike Dorothea of Brandenburg-Schwedt. Friederike had 11 siblings:
- Friedrich I, King of Württemberg (1754-1816) – married (1) Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, had issue; (2) Charlotte, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom, no issue
- Ludwig Friedrich (1756-1817) – married (1) Maria Czartoryska, had issue; (2) Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg, had issue
- Eugen Friedrich (1758-1822) – married Louise of Stolberg-Gedern, had issue
- Sophie Dorothea (1759-1828) – married Paul I, Emperor of All Russia, had issue
- Wilhelm Friedrich (1761-1830) – married Wilhelmine von Tunderfeld-Rhodis, had issue
- Ferdinand Friedrich (1763-1834) – unmarried
- Elisabeth (1767-1790) – married Archduke Franz of Austria (later Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor), died in childbirth along with her baby
- Friederike Wilhelmine (born and died 1768) – died in infancy
- Carl Friedrich (1770-1791) – unmarried
- Alexander Friedrich (1771-1833) – married Antoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, had issue
- Carl Heinrich (1772-1833) – married Christianne-Caroline Alexeï, Countess of Urach, had issue
Peter of Holstein-Gottorp, later Peter I of Oldenburg
At just 15 years old, Friederike married Prince Peter of Holstein-Gottorp (later Duke Peter I of Oldenburg) on June 6, 1781. The marriage was promoted by her sister Sophie, who was married to the future Paul I, Emperor of All Russia, and was intended to help strengthen the relationship between Württemberg and Russia. Friederike and Peter had two surviving children:
- August I, Grand Duke of Oldenburg (1783-1853) – married (1) Adelheid of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym, had issue; (2) Ida of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym, had issue; (3) Cecilia of Sweden, had issue
- Duke Georg (1784-1812) – married Ekaterina Pavlovna of Russia, had issue
Ducal Mausoleum, Saint Gertrude’s Cemetery in Oldenburg. photo: by Corradox – Own Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12178691
Friederike died in Vienna, Austria on November 24, 1785, several weeks after having given birth to a stillborn son. She was just twenty years old. Some reports imply that she never recovered from childbirth, while others suggest that she died from breast cancer. Friederike was initially interred in the chapel at Eutin Castle in Eutin, Duchy of Oldenburg, now in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. In 1790, her remains were moved to the newly built Ducal Mausoleum in Saint Gertrude’s Cemetery in Oldenburg, Duchy of Oldenburg, now in the German state of Lower Saxony, Germany.
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Oldenburg Resources at Unofficial Royalty