Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp (21 March 1678 – 17 July 1755) was

Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg This is a list of princess-abbesses of Quedlinburg Abbey. {{DEFAULTSORT:Quedlinburg, Princess-abbesses Lists of monarchs Lists of female office-holders Lists of clerics Lists of European people ...

from 1718 until her death. Duchess Marie Elisabeth was born in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

as the youngest child of

Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Christian Albert (, Gottorp – , Gottorp) was a duke of Holstein-Gottorp and bishop of Lübeck. Biography Christian Albert was a son of Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, and his wife Princess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony. He became du ...

, and his wife,

Princess Frederica Amalia of Denmark Princess Frederica Amalia of Denmark and Norway (11 April 1649 – 30 October 1704) was the second daughter of King Frederick III of Denmark and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp from 1667 to 1695 as the co ...

. She was considered for marriage to

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of ...

, but he declined. In 1718, she was elected Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg. However, the Kings in Prussia, who obtained the guardianship of the abbey-principality as electors of Brandenburg in 1698, tried to impose their authority over this small state of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

by attempting to influence the election of new princess-abbess in favour of their own relatives. Marie Elisabeth was elected several times during the

interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...

, while the abbey-principality was ruled by the provost

Maria Aurora von Königsmarck Countess Maria Aurora von Königsmarck (sv: ''Aurora Königsmarck'') (28 August 166216 February 1728) was a Swedish and German noblewoman of Brandenburg extraction and mistress of Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. Life ...

, but King

Frederick William I of Prussia Frederick William I (german: Friedrich Wilhelm I.; 14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740), known as the "Soldier King" (german: Soldatenkönig), was King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death in 1740, as well as Prince of Neu ...

refused to consent to each election and

Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI Charles VI (german: Karl; la, Carolus; 1 October 1685 – 20 October 1740) was Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of the Austrian Habsburg monarchy from 1711 until his death, succeeding his elder brother, Joseph I. He unsuccessfully claimed the thron ...

consequently refused to confirm the elections. The election, however, eventually went ahead but the selection of a duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp instead than a princess of Prussia caused quite a stir. Due to her territorial disputes with the King in Prussia, Marie Elisabeth turned to the Holy Roman Emperor, but without success. As the ruler, Princess-Abbess Marie Elisabeth restored the castle, the abbey and the Abbey Church of St. Servatius, where she was buried upon her death in Quedlinburg. After her death, a princess of Prussia was finally elected and Marie Elisabeth was succeeded by Princess Anna Amalia of Prussia.

Ancestry

Bibliography

* H. Lorenz: ''Werdegang von Stift und Stadt Quedlinburg.'' Quedlinburg 1922.

External links

guide2womenleaders
, - {{Authority control Abbesses of Quedlinburg Lutheran abbesses House of Holstein-Gottorp 1678 births 1755 deaths 18th-century women rulers Daughters of monarchs