Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg

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Duke Paul Frederick
Born(1852-09-19)19 September 1852
Ludwigslust
Died17 May 1923(1923-05-17) (aged 70)
Ludwigslust
SpousePrincess Marie of Windisch-Graetz
IssueDuke Paul Friedrich
Duchess Marie Louise
Duchess Marie Antoinette
Duke Henry Borwin
Duke Joseph of Mecklenburg
HouseHouse of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
FatherFrederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
MotherPrincess Augusta Reuss of Köstritz
ReligionLutheranism, after 1897 Roman Catholicism

Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg (German: Herzog Paul Friedrich zu Mecklenburg; 19 September 1852 – 17 May 1923) was a member of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and general of the Mecklenburg cavalry.[1]

Life[edit]

Duke Paul Frederick was born in Ludwigslust Castle as the second eldest son of Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and his first wife Princess Augusta Reuss of Köstritz, the daughter of Prince Henry LXIII Reuss of Köstritz.[2]

Duke Paul Frederick married in Schwerin on 5 May 1881 his cousin, the Austrian born Princess Marie of Windisch-Graetz, the daughter of Prince Hugo of Windisch-Graetz and his wife Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.[2] The couple who had five children who were all raised Roman Catholic, the religion of Princess Marie,[3] lived a quiet life in Venice. While in Venice the family befriended Cardinal Sarto (later Pope Pius X) who often visited the family and acted as a spiritual advisor for them.[4]

On 21 April 1884 Duke Paul Frederick renounced his and his sons rights of succession to Mecklenburg-Schwerin in favour of his younger brothers and their sons, so they would take precedence over him and his.[2][5] In 1887, Duke Paul Fredrick raised a Lutheran decided to convert to Roman Catholicism the religion of his wife and children.[6]

In 1906 after upsetting his nephew Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, over the amount of money that he was spending Duke Paul Frederick and his wife were ordered to submit to the controller of the royal household.[7]

Duke Paul Frederick died in Ludwigslust, where he and his wife are both buried in the Louisenkapelle.

Issue[edit]

  • HH Duke Paul Friedrich of Mecklenburg (1882–1904)
  • HH Duchess Maria Luise of Mecklenburg (1883–1883)
  • HH Duchess Marie Antoinette of Mecklenburg (1884–1944)
  • HH Duke Henry Borwin of Mecklenburg (1885–1942). Although his father had renounced his dynastic obligations, his right to marry a spouse of his choice (or a commoner) was not recognized and his two first marriages were unlawful (with no right to share his title) in Mecklenburg and the last one considered morganatic:
    • 1. Elizabeth Tibbits Pratt (1860–1928), widow of Amédée De Gasquet-James of New Orleans; married in Dover, on 15 June 1911[8] and divorced in April 1913;
    • 2. Natalie Oelrichs (1880–1931), widow of polo player Peter D. Martin of San Francisco,[9] daughter of Charles May Oelrichs and sister of Blanche Oelrichs; married in 1915 and divorced in 1921.[10] She was also known as the Duchess of Stargard.[11]
    • 3. Carola von Alers (1882–1974), daughter of Wilhelm von Alers and Adelaide von Chamisso de Boncourt; married in 1921.
  • HH Duke Joseph of Mecklenburg (1889–1889)

Title, style and honours[edit]

Title & style[edit]

  • 19 September 1852 – 17 May 1923: His Highness Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg[1]

Honours[edit]

German decorations[12]
Foreign decorations[12]

Ancestry[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Almanach de Gotha (160th ed.). Justus Perthes. 1923. p. 75.
  2. ^ a b c Huberty, Michel; Alain Giraud; F. B. Magdelaine (1945). L'Allemagne Dynastique, Tome VI : Bade-Mecklembourg. A. Giraud. pp. 233, 239. ISBN 978-2-901138-06-8.
  3. ^ "The Spirit of Roman Catholicism". The Toronto World. 27 October 1884. p. 2.
  4. ^ "The Pope as a Matchmaker". Yukon World. 12 February 1905. p. 4.
  5. ^ "News by the Mail". Bruce Herald. 3 June 1884. p. 3.
  6. ^ "Catholic News". New Zealand Tablet. 26 August 1887. p. 31.
  7. ^ "European Intelligence in News and Comment". The New York Times. 8 April 1906. p. SM7.
  8. ^ Times, Special Cable to The New York (12 October 1912). "WEDS GERMAN DUKE, HER CHILDREN SUE; Want Former Mrs. Pratt Tibbitts Removed as Executrix of Their Father's Will". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  9. ^ Times, Special to The New York (23 July 1902). "MARTIN-OELRICHS WEDDING". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  10. ^ "AMERICAN DUCHESS DIES OF PNEUMONIA'; Lily, Duchess of Mecklenburg, Former Natalie Oelrichs, Stricken in West" (PDF). The New York Times. 24 February 1931. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  11. ^ The Inquirer, Special Cable to (17 November 1923). "U.S. DUCHESS OF MYSTERY IS TO MARRY AGAIN". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 33. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  12. ^ a b Grossherzoglich Mecklenburg-Schwerinscher Staatskalendar, 1908, p. 2
  13. ^ "Königliche Orden", Hof- und – Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern (in German), Munich: Druck and Verlag, 1914, p. 10, retrieved 3 March 2021
  14. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen (1879), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" p. 11
  15. ^ Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1900), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 15 Archived 30 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ "Schwarzer Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), vol. 1, Berlin, 1886, p. 8 – via hathitrust.org{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  17. ^ "Ritter-Orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1918, p. 56, retrieved 2 November 2019
  18. ^ Bille-Hansen, A. C.; Holck, Harald, eds. (1920) [1st pub.:1801]. Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1920 [State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1920] (PDF). Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender (in Danish). Copenhagen: J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri. p. 39. Retrieved 4 July 2020 – via da:DIS Danmark.