Frederick_Francis_II,_Grand_Duke_of_Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Frederick Francis II

Frederick Francis II

Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1842 to 1883

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.

Quick Facts Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Reign ...

Biography

He was born in Schloss Ludwigslust, the eldest son of Hereditary Grand Duke Paul Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and his wife 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 a 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. He was succeeded as Grand Duke by his eldest son Frederick Francis III.

Marriages and children

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 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 sixteen.

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

Honours

German decorations[4]
Foreign decorations[4]

Ancestors

More information Ancestors of Frederick Francis II ...

References

  1. [1]
    "Obituary - Friedrich Franz II" (PDF). New York Times. 1883-04-16. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
  2. [2]
    Garlington, JC (1852). The Men of the Time, Or, Sketches of Living Notables. Redfield. p. 349.
  3. [3]
    "Friedrich Franz II. Großherzog von Mecklenburg-Schwerin". prussianmachine.com. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  4. [4]
    Grossherzoglich Mecklenburg-Schwerinscher Staatskalendar (1880) pp. 1-2
  5. [5]
    Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Herzogtum Anhalt (1867) "Herzoglicher Haus-orden Albrecht des Bären" p. 18
  6. [6]
    Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1880), "Großherzogliche Orden" pp. 33, 49
  7. [7]
    Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1880), "Großherzogliche Orden" p. 63
  8. [8]
    Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Bayern (1873), "Königliche Orden" p. 8
  9. [9]
    Adreß-Handbuch des Herzogthums Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (1843), "Herzogliche Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden" p. 6
  10. [10]
    Staat Hannover (1865). Hof- und Staatshandbuch für das Königreich Hannover: 1865. Berenberg. pp. 37, 75.
  11. [11]
    Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen (1879), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" p. 10
  12. [12]
    Hessen-Kassel (1866). Kurfürstlich Hessisches Hof- und Staatshandbuch: 1866. Waisenhaus. p. 16.
  13. [13]
    Staats- und Adreß-Handbuch des Herzogthums Nassau (1866), "Herzogliche Orden" p. 8
  14. [14]
    Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Großherzogtums Oldenburg0: 1879. Schulze. 1879. p. 31.
  15. [15]
    Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1843), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 8
  16. [16]
    Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1880), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 13
  17. [17]
    Staatshandbuch für den Freistaat Sachsen: 1865/66. Heinrich. 1866. p. 4.
  18. [18]
    "Königlich Preussische Ordensliste", Preussische Ordens-Liste (in German), 1, Berlin: 9, 37, 923, 964, 1877 – via hathitrust.org
  19. [19]
    "Friedrich Franz II. Großherzog von Mecklenburg-Schwerin". the Prussian Machine. Archived from the original on 2017-10-23. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  20. [20]
    Württemberg (1873). Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreichs Württemberg: 1873. pp. 32, 71.
  21. [21]
    "A Szent István Rend tagjai" Archived 22 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  22. [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. [23]
    Italia : Ministero dell'interno (1878). Calendario generale del Regno d'Italia. Unione tipografico-editrice. p. 38.
  24. [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

More information Regnal titles ...
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Frederick_Francis_II,_Grand_Duke_of_Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.