Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (23 February 1708 – 5 June 1752) was a member of the Strelitz branch of the

House of Mecklenburg The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Slavic origin that ruled until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (1909–2004), ...

. He was the father to Charlotte, Queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover and

Adolphus Frederick IV, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Adolphus Frederick IV (5 May 1738 – 2 June 1794) was Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz from 1752 to his death in 1794. Biography He was born in Mirow to Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg and his wife Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe- ...

. He was styled as the Prince of

Mirow Mirow () is a town in the district of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte in southern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Name (Etymology) "Mir" in Slavonic languages means "peace" or "glory". The name "Mirow" was derived from "villa mirowe", translating ...

(). He was not a reigning Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, unlike his father and son.

Life

Charles was born in Strelitz, the second son and youngest child of Adolphus Frederick II, reigning Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. His mother, Princess Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, was the third wife of his father. Charles had one half-brother and one surviving half-sister, the children of his father's first marriage. He also had one full sister at the time of his birth, but she died as an infant when Charles was less than one year old. Charles's father died when he was only three months old. His half-brother succeeded their father as

Adolphus Frederick III, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Adolphus Frederick III (7 June 1686 – 11 December 1752) was a Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Biography He was born in Strelitz the son of Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg, and his wife Princess Maria of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (1659–17 ...

, whereas Charles, as the younger son, inherited the commandries of

and Nemerow. It was to the estate of Mirow that Charles's mother retired upon the death of her husband, and it was here that Charles was raised. He later attended the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pom ...

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

. In keeping with the custom of the times, Charles set out on a

Grand tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...

of Europe in 1726, aged 18. He played the

transverse flute A transverse flute or side-blown flute is a flute which is held horizontally when played. The player blows across the embouchure hole, in a direction perpendicular to the flute's body length. Transverse flutes include the Western concert flut ...

well, and made it one of the aims of the tour to improve his knowledge and skill in music. After visiting

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

, Italy and France he went to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and briefly entered the service of the Holy Roman Emperor as a Lieutenant Colonel before returning to Mirow. After leaving the Army, Charles lived with his family in the castle of

, spending most of his time managing his estates and attending to the education of his children. He lived at Mirow until his death there at the age of 44. When his older half-brother, Adolphus Frederick III, died in December 1752 without a male heir, Charles Louis Frederick's son Adolf Friedrich was made the next Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, reigning as Adolf Friedrich IV.

Family

Charles was married on 5 February 1735 in

Eisfeld Eisfeld is a town and a municipality in the district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Werra, 12 km east of Hildburghausen, and 19 km north of Coburg. The former municipality Sachsenbrunn was merge ...

Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen Duchess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe- Hildburghausen (4 August 1713 – 29 June 1761) was a Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She served as regent for her son after the deaths in 1752–1753 of her husband and brother-in-law of, respectively, th ...

, daughter of

Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (21 August 1681 in Gotha – 9 March 1724 in Hildburghausen), was a duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen. He was the eldest son of Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen and Countess Sophie Henriette of Wald ...

. She was regent to her son in 1752 and played a major part in the struggle for the throne at that time. They had ten children, six of whom survived into adulthood: Through his daughter Charlotte, Charles Louis Frederick is the ancestor of every British monarch beginning with

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

, who ascended the throne of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1820.

Ancestry

References

External links

Schloss Mirow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles Louis Frederick Of Mecklenburg, Duke House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz People from Mecklenburg-Strelitz 1708 births 1752 deaths People from Neustrelitz Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Military personnel from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania