Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Adolf Friedrich II
Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Reign 1701 - 12 May 1708
Born October 19, 1658(1658-10-19)
Birthplace Grabow
Died May 12, 1708 (aged 49)
Predecessor Friedrich Wilhelm
Successor Adolf Friedrich III
Consort Maria of Mecklenburg-Gustrow
Johanna of Saxe-Gotha
Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Royal House Mecklenburg
Father Adolf Frederick
Mother Maria Katharina of Brunswick-Dannenberg

Adolf Friedrich II (19 October 1658 - 12 May 1708) was the first Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz reigning from 1701 to his death. His state was part of the Holy Roman Empire.

Contents

[edit] Biography

He was born in Grabow the posthumous son of Duke Adolf Frederick I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1588-1658) and his second wife Maria Katharina of Brunswick-Dannenberg (1616-1665).[1]

In 1695 the Mecklenburg-Güstrow branch of the House of Mecklenburg became extinct and Adolf Friedrich's nephew Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of Mecklenburg-Schwerin laid claim to the inheritance a move which Adolf Friedrich opposed.[2]

The dispute was settled in 1701 when Adolf Friedrich reached an agreement with his nephew Duke Friedrich Wilhelm to take as his inheritance the Principality of Ratzeburg and the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.[3]

Following his death he was succeeded as Duke by his son Adolf Friedrich.

[edit] Marriages and children

Adolf Friedrich II was first married to Princess Maria of Mecklenburg-Gustrow (19 July 1659 - 16 January 1701). They were parents to five children:[1]

On 20 June 1702, Adolf Friedrich II married secondly to Princess Johanna of Saxe-Gotha (1680-1704). Johanna was a daughter of Friedrich I, Prince of Saxe-Gotha (1646-1691) and Princess Magdalen Sybille of Saxe-Weissenfels (1648-1681). There were no children from this marriage.[1]

Adolf Friedrich was married on 10 June 1705 at Strelitz for a third and last time to Princess Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (1681-1751]. She was a daughter of Christian Wilhelm , Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (1647-1721) and Countess Antonie Sybille of Barby-Muhlingen (1641-1684). They were parents to two children:[1]

[edit] Ancestry

Adolf Friedrich was a fourth-generation descendant of Gustav Vasa, King of Sweden and his second Queen consort Margareta Leijonhufvud through their second child and first daughter Katharina of Sweden (1539 - 1610). Katharina was consort to Edzard II, Count of East Frisia (1532 - 1599). East Frisia played a prominent role at the spreading of Protestant Reformation in the Holy Roman Empire of the 16th century and was thus a natural ally for Protestant Sweden.

Their daughter Maria, Princess of East Frisia (1582 - 1616) became consort to Julius-Ernst, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1571 - 1636). They were the maternal grandparents of Adolf Friedrich II.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d House of Mecklenburg genealogy
  2. ^ Moore, John (1803). View of Society and Manners in France, Switzerland and Germany. A. Strahan and T. Cadell, 191. 
  3. ^ Ungewitter, Franz Heinrich (1850). Europe, Past and Present. Putnam, 411. 
Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Born: 19 October 1658 Died: 12 May 1708
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Friedrich Wilhelm
as Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin		 Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
1701–1708		 Succeeded by
Adolf Friedrich III
This article on a member of the German nobility is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.