Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen (4 August 1713 – 29 June 1761) was a Duchess of

Mecklenburg-Strelitz The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a duchy in Northern Germany consisting of the eastern fifth of the historic Mecklenburg region, roughly corresponding with the present-day Mecklenburg-Strelitz district (the former Lordship of Stargard) ...

. She served as regent for her son after the deaths in 1752–1753 of her husband and brother-in-law of, respectively, the ducal

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...

of Mirow and of the

Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a duchy in Northern Germany consisting of the eastern fifth of the historic Mecklenburg region, roughly corresponding with the present-day Mecklenburg-Strelitz district (the former Lordship of Stargard) ...

Biography

Elisabeth Albertine was a daughter of Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1681–1724), and his wife, Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach (1683–1742). On 5 February 1735, Elisabeth married Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Mirow (23 February 1707 – 5 June 1752) at Eisfeld, the youngest son of

Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg Adolphus Frederick II (; 19 October 1658 – 12 May 1708), Duke of Mecklenburg, was the first Duke of the Mecklenburg-Strelitz, reigning from 1701 until his death. Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Biography He was born in ...

-Strelitz, and half-brother to Adolphus Frederick III. They became the parents of ten children. The death of her childless brother-in-law on 11 December 1752, six months after she was widowed, left Albertine as regent of both men's duchies on behalf of her eldest son, Adolphus Frederick IV, until he attained his majority at the age of 14 on 17 January 1753. During that brief period she ruled the Strelitz duchies under the protection of

George II of Great Britain George II (George Augustus; ; 30 October / 9 November 1683 – 25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Electorate of Hanover, Hanover) and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Em ...

, warding off encroachments from Duke Christian Ludwig II, ruler of the

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch dialect, Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch Low German: ''Swerin''; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Zwierzyn''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germ ...

branch of the

House of Mecklenburg The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Polabian Slavs, Polabian origin that ruled German revolution, until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana o ...

. She died in 1761, shortly before the marriage of her daughter Sophia Charlotte to King George III of Great Britain, and was buried at the ducal crypt in Mirow.

Issue

Elisabeth had ten children, including the future

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her death in 1818. The Acts of Un ...

, consort to King

George III of the United Kingdom George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great ...

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elisabeth Albertine Of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Princess 1713 births 1761 deaths House of Saxe-Hildburghausen House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz People from Hildburghausen Duchesses of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Princesses of Saxe-Hildburghausen 18th-century women rulers Daughters of dukes Mothers of German monarchs