Frederick Francis II (original) (raw)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1842 to 1883

Frederick Francis II
Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Reign	7 March 1842 – 15 April 1883
Predecessor	Paul Frederick
Successor	Frederick Francis III
Born	28 February 1823 (1823-02-28)Ludwigslust Palace, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, German Confederation
Died	15 April 1883 (1883-04-16) (aged 60)Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany
Spouse	Princess Augusta Reuss of Köstritz ​ ​(m. 1849; died 1862)​ Princess Anna of Hesse and by Rhine ​ ​(m. 1864; died 1865)​ Princess Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt ​ ​(m. 1868)​
Issue	Frederick Francis III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-SchwerinDuke Paul FrederickGrand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of RussiaDuke NikolausDuke John AlbertDuke AlexanderDuchess AnnaElisabeth, Grand Duchess of OldenburgDuke Friedrich WilliamDuke Adolf FriedrichHenry, Prince Consort of the Netherlands
House	Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Father	Paul Frederick, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Mother	Princess Alexandrine of Prussia
Religion	Lutheran

Frederick Francis II (German: Friedrich Franz II; 28 February 1823 – 15 April 1883) was a Prussian officer and Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 7 March 1842 until 15 April 1883.

He was born in Schloss Ludwigslust, the eldest son of Hereditary Grand Duke Paul Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Princess Alexandrine of Prussia. He became heir apparent to the grand duchy following the death of his great-grandfather Frederick Francis I on 1 February 1837. Frederick Francis was privately educated until 1838. He then attended the Blochmann institute in Dresden before going to the University of Bonn.[1][2] Frederick Francis succeeded his father as Grand Duke on 7 March 1842.

During the Second Schleswig War, Frederick Francis served on the staff of Generalfeldmarschall Friedrich Graf von Wrangel, having refused a command in the fight against Denmark since Christian IX of Denmark was a close friend.[3] During the Austro-Prussian War he commanded the forces that occupied Leipzig and lay siege to Nuremberg. He also took part in the Franco-Prussian War, during which he was made Governor-General of Reims and commanded the German forces laying siege to Toul. He defended the Prussian forces during the Siege of Paris from attack by the Army of the Loire. He defeated French forces at the battles of Beaune-La-Rolande and Beaugency. He was the maternal first cousin of both German Emperor Frederick III and Russian Tsar Alexander II. He held the rank of Prussian general and was also a Russian General Field Marshal.[1]

Frederick Francis died on 15 April 1883 in Schwerin and was succeeded as Grand Duke by his eldest son, Frederick Francis III.

Marriages and children

[edit]

Frederick Francis was first married to Princess Augusta Reuss of Köstritz (26 May 1822 – 3 March 1862) on 3 November 1849 in Ludwigslust. They had six children:

• Frederick Francis III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (19 March 1851 – 10 April 1897) he married Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia on 24 January 1879. They had three children.
• Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (19 September 1852 – 17 May 1923) he married Princess Marie of Windisch-Graetz on 5 May 1881. They had five children.
• Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (14 May 1854 – 5 September 1920) she married Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia on 28 August 1874. They had five children.
• Duke Nikolaus of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (18 August 1855 – 23 January 1856) died at 5 months old.
• Duke Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (8 December 1857 – 16 February 1920) he married Princess Elisabeth Sybille of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (28 February 1854 – 10 July 1908) on 6 November 1886. He remarried Princess Elisabeth of Stolberg-Rossla on 15 December 1909.
• Duke Alexander of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (13 August 1859 – 13 August 1859)

Frederick Francis married for a second time in Darmstadt to Princess Anna of Hesse and by Rhine (25 May 1843 – 16 April 1865) on 4 July 1864. They had one daughter:

• Duchess Anna of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (7 April 1865 – 8 February 1882) died at the age of 16.

His third wife was Princess Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt on 4 July 1868. They had four children:

• Duchess Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (10 August 1869 – 3 September 1955) she married Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg on 24 October 1896. They had five children.
• Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (5 April 1871 – 22 September 1897) died at the age of 26.
• Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (10 October 1873 – 5 August 1969) he married Princess Viktoria Feodora of Reuss zu Schleiz (21 April 1889 – 18 December 1918) on 24 April 1917. They had one daughter Duchess Woizlawa Feodora of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1918–2019), later Princess Reuß zu Köstritz. After the death of his first wife, Adolf Friedrich remarried Princess Elisabeth of Stolberg-Rossla on 15 October 1924.
• Duke Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (19 April 1876 – 3 July 1934) he married Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands on 7 February 1901. They had one daughter: Queen Juliana.

German decorations[4]

• Mecklenburg:
  • Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore and Collar
  • Founder of the Military Merit Cross, 5 August 1848 (Schwerin)
• Anhalt: Grand Cross of the Order of Albert the Bear, with Swords, 19 September 1864[5]
• Baden:
  • Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, 1844[6]
  • Grand Cross of the Zähringer Lion, 1844[6]
  • Grand Cross of the Military Karl-Friedrich Merit Order, 1871[7]
• Bavaria:
  • Knight of St. Hubert, 1856[8]
  • Grand Cross of the Military Order of Max Joseph
• Brunswick: Grand Cross of the Order of Henry the Lion
• Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order, May 1840[9]
• Hanover:[10]
  • Knight of St. George, 1842
  • Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order, 1842
• Hesse-Darmstadt: Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, 25 December 1843[11]
• Hesse-Kassel: Knight of the Golden Lion, 14 March 1864[12]
• Nassau: Knight of the Gold Lion of Nassau, July 1858[13]
• Oldenburg: Grand Cross of the Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Golden Crown, 8 October 1843; with Swords, 31 December 1870[14]
• Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Grand Cross of the White Falcon, 16 February 1840;[15] with Swords, 1871[16]
• Saxony: Knight of the Rue Crown, 1842[17]
• Prussia:
  • Knight of the Black Eagle, 9 January 1840; with Collar, 1851[18]
  • Knight of the Red Eagle, 1st Class, 9 January 1840; with Swords, 1864[18]
  • Commander of Honour of the Johanniter Order, 1863[18]
  • Grand Commander's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, 9 December 1865; with Swords, 1871[18]
  • Pour le Mérite (military), 9 August 1866; with Oak Leaves, 5 December 1870[19]
  • Grand Cross of the Iron Cross, 4 December 1871[19]
• Württemberg:[20]
  • Grand Cross of the Military Merit Order, 30 December 1870
  • Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown, 1871

Foreign decorations[4]

1. ^ a b "Obituary - Friedrich Franz II" (PDF). New York Times. 1883-04-16. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
2. ^ Garlington, JC (1852). The Men of the Time, Or, Sketches of Living Notables. Redfield. p. 349.
3. ^ "Friedrich Franz II. Großherzog von Mecklenburg-Schwerin". prussianmachine.com. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
4. ^ a b Grossherzoglich Mecklenburg-Schwerinscher Staatskalendar (1880) pp. 1-2
5. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Herzogtum Anhalt (1867) "Herzoglicher Haus-orden Albrecht des Bären" p. 18
6. ^ a b Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1880), "Großherzogliche Orden" pp. 33[_permanent dead link_‍], 49
7. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1880), "Großherzogliche Orden" p. 63
8. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Bayern (1873), "Königliche Orden" p. 8
9. ^ Adreß-Handbuch des Herzogthums Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (1843), "Herzogliche Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden" p. 6
10. ^ Staat Hannover (1865). Hof- und Staatshandbuch für das Königreich Hannover: 1865. Berenberg. pp. 37, 75.
11. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen (1879), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" p. 10
12. ^ Hessen-Kassel (1866). Kurfürstlich Hessisches Hof- und Staatshandbuch: 1866. Waisenhaus. p. 16.
13. ^ Staats- und Adreß-Handbuch des Herzogthums Nassau (1866), "Herzogliche Orden" p. 8
14. ^ Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Großherzogtums Oldenburg0: 1879. Schulze. 1879. p. 31.
15. ^ Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1843), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 8 Archived 2020-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
16. ^ Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1880), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 13 Archived 2019-11-15 at the Wayback Machine
17. ^ Staatshandbuch für den Freistaat Sachsen: 1865/66. Heinrich. 1866. p. 4.
18. ^ a b c d "Königlich Preussische Ordensliste", Preussische Ordens-Liste (in German), 1, Berlin: 9, 37, 923, 964, 1877 – via hathitrust.org
19. ^ a b "Friedrich Franz II. Großherzog von Mecklenburg-Schwerin". the Prussian Machine. Archived from the original on 2017-10-23. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
20. ^ Württemberg (1873). Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreichs Württemberg: 1873. pp. 32, 71.
21. ^ "A Szent István Rend tagjai" Archived 22 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
22. ^ Bille-Hansen, A. C.; Holck, Harald, eds. (1881) [1st pub.:1801]. Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1881 [_State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1881_] (PDF). Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender (in Danish). Copenhagen: J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri. p. 3. Retrieved 4 July 2020 – via da:DIS Danmark.
23. ^ Italia : Ministero dell'interno (1878). Calendario generale del Regno d'Italia. Unione tipografico-editrice. p. 38.
24. ^ "Real y distinguida orden de Carlos III". Guía Oficial de España (in Spanish). 1881. p. 145. Retrieved 4 July 2020.

Media related to Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin at Wikimedia Commons

Categories:

• 1823 births
• 1883 deaths
• Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
• House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
• 19th-century German landowners
• German Protestants
• German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War
• Field marshals of the Russian Empire
• University of Bonn alumni
• Burials at Schwerin Cathedral
• Hereditary grand dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
• Grand dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
• People from Ludwigslust
• Colonel generals of Prussia
• 19th-century Prussian military personnel
• Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Max Joseph
• Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)
• Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary
• Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross
• Military personnel from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania