Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (german: Friedrich Franz Erbgroßherzog von Mecklenburg-Schwerin; 22 April 1910 – 31 July 2001) was the

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to the throne of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and a member of the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

Early life

Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, by Fritz Heuschkel

He was born in

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the capital and second-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as of the region of Mecklenburg, after Rostock. It ...

, the eldest child of the reigning Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Frederick Francis IV, and his wife Princess Alexandra of Hanover, a daughter of Crown Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover (a first-cousin once removed of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

) and

Princess Thyra of Denmark Princess Thyra of Denmark, , (Thyra Amalie Caroline Charlotte Anna; 29 September 1853 – 26 February 1933) was the youngest daughter and fifth child of Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel. In 1878, she married Ernest Augustus, ...

, the youngest daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark. Following the defeat of the German Empire in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, his father abdicated on 14 November 1918. He did not succeed to the throne, as the Grand Duchy was replaced with the Free State of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Upon the promulgation of the Weimar Constitution on 11 August 1919, altogether then abolished were titles of sovereigns, such as emperor/empress, king/queen, grand duke/grand duchess, etc. However, former titles shared and inherited by all members of the family were retained but incorporated into the surname. He therefore became known as Friedrich Franz ''Herzog'' von Mecklenburg-Schwerin (or Friedrich Franz, The Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin) ''de facto'' since the establishment of the Free State of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Post monarchy

In May 1931 against the will of his father, Friedrich Franz joined the SS and by 1936 he had been promoted to the rank of

Hauptsturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Hstuf'') was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organizations such as the SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Hauptsturmführer'' was a mid-level commander and had equivalent seniority to a ...

(Captain). He was posted to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

where he worked at the German embassy as a personal aide to

Werner Best Karl Rudolf Werner Best (10 July 1903 – 23 June 1989) was a German jurist, police chief, SS-''Obergruppenführer'', Nazi Party leader, and theoretician from Darmstadt. He was the first chief of Department 1 of the Gestapo, Nazi Germany's secret ...

. He spent the summer months of 1944 serving with the

tank corps. In May 1943, a family council was called by the Grand Ducal family and Friedrich Franz was passed over as heir in favour of his younger brother Duke Christian Louis, who would instead inherit the family property. Friedrich Franz married Karin Elisabeth von Schaper (1920–2012), the daughter of Walter von Schaper and his wife Baroness Louise von Münchhausen, on 11 June 1941 at Schloß Wiligrad, near the Lake Schwerin. They divorced on 22 September 1967, but remarried a decade later in Glücksburg on 27 April 1977.

Ancestry

Notes

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Friedrich Franz Of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Hereditary Grand Duke 1910 births 2001 deaths SS-Sturmbannführer Hereditary Grand Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin People from Schwerin Heirs apparent who never acceded Waffen-SS personnel Military personnel from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Sons of monarchs