Duke Georg of Mecklenburg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Georg, Duke of Mecklenburg
Born 5 October [O.S. 22 September] 1899
Oranienbaum, Russia
Died July 6, 1962 (aged 62)
Sigmaringen, Germany
Title Duke of Mecklenburg
Count of Carlow
Doctor of Economics and Social Sciences[1]
Spouse Irina Raievskya,
Archduchess Charlotte of Austria
Parents Duke George Alexander of Mecklenburg and
Natalia Vanljarskaya, Countess of Carlow

Georg, Duke of Mecklenburg (Georg Alexander Michael Friedrich Wilhelm Albert Theodor Franz zu Mecklenburg) (5 October [O.S. 22 September] 1899 - 6 July 1962) was the head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz from 1934 until his death.

Contents

[edit] Early life

He was born in Oranienbaum, Russia as Count Georg of Carlow the morganatic son of Duke George Alexander of Mecklenburg (1859-1909) and his wife Natalia Vanljarskaya (1858-1921). His mother was created Countess of Carlow on 18 March 1890 by her husbands uncle Grand Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.[2] After the 1917 October Revolution Georg and his family fled Russia heading first to France before later moving to Germany.[3]

On 11 September 1928 he was adopted by his uncle Duke Charles Michael of Mecklenburg.[4] The adoption was confirmed in the courts in Malchin on 5 October 1928[4] and as a result he took his uncle and adopted father's surname of Mecklenburg.[5] Following his adoption Georg assumed the title Duke of Mecklenburg with the style Serene Highness.[4] This was confirmed by the head of the Imperial House of Russia, Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich on 18 July 1929 and recognised on 23 December by Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.[4]

[edit] Head of the House

On 6 December 1934 his uncle Duke Charles Michael died and Georg succeeded him as head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.[6] He lived with his family at Schloss Remplin until April 1940 when the main part of the palace was burnt down. The Grand Ducal family then moved to Grunewald where they lived until their home was destroyed in a bombing raid in February 1944.[7] In August 1944 Georg was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp by the Nazi government where he remained until February 1945.[7] After his release he and his family moved to Sigmaringen in March 1945 at the invitation of Princess Margarethe of Hohenzollern.[7]

Styles of
Georg, Duke of Mecklenburg
Reference style His Highness
Spoken style Your Highness
Alternative style Sir

On 18 December 1950 the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin confirmed Georg's title and he was also granted the style of Highness.[4] Georg died on 6 July 1962 in Sigmaringen, Germany of a heart attack.[8] He was succeeded as head of the Grand Ducal House by his eldest son Duke Georg Alexander.

[edit] Marriages and children

Duke Georg was married firstly in Geneva, Switzerland on 7 October 1920 to Irina Raievskya, Countess Tolstoy (1892-1955) the widow of Alexander, Count Tolstoy and daughter of Mikhail Nicolaevich Raievsky (1893-1921) and Princes Maria Georgievna Garagina (1851-1940).[4] They had four children though one son Alexander born in August 1922 died at the age of just eighteen days.[9] The children who survived into adulthood were.

In May 1956 Georg became engaged to Archduchess Charlotte of Austria (1921-1989),[10] a daughter of the last Austrian Emperor, Charles I and Zita of Bourbon-Parma. They were married in a civil ceremony on 21 July 1956 in Pöcking, Germany followed by a religious ceremony four days later.[5]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Kahlenberg, Friedrich P; Hartmut Weber. Die Kabinettsprotokolle der Bundesregierung. Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 149. ISBN 3486562819. 
  2. ^ L'Allemagne Dynastique, Tome VI : Bade-Mecklembourg, 230. 
  3. ^ "Duke Succumbs", The Capital Times, 1963-07-08, p. 4. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f L'Allemagne Dynastique, Tome VI : Bade-Mecklembourg, 235. 
  5. ^ a b Lundy, Darryl. Georg Alexander Herzog von Mecklenburg. The Peerage. Retrieved on 2008-03-04.
  6. ^ Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Beiträge zur Geschichte einer Region, 188-189. “....Herzog Carl Michael verstarb am 6. Dezember 1934 in Remplin. Neues Oberhaupt des Strelitzer Fürstenhaus wurde sein neffe Herzog Georg....” 
  7. ^ a b c Oster, Uwe. "Musik und Literatur als roter Faden", Hohenzollerische Zeitung, 2008-03-14. Retrieved on 2008-04-08. 
  8. ^ "Georg of Mecklenburg Dies", New York Times, 1963-07-08, p. 29. 
  9. ^ Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Beiträge zur Geschichte einer Region, 188. 
  10. ^ "Archduchess to Marry", New York Times, 1956-05-16, p. 31. 

[edit] Sources

  • Erstling, Frank; Frank Saß, Eberhard Schulze (April 2001). "Das Fürstenhaus von Mecklenburg-Strelitz", Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Beiträge zur Geschichte einer Region (in German). Friedland: Steffen. ISBN 3980753204. 
  • Huberty, Michel; Alain Giraud, F. et B. Magdelaine. L'Allemagne Dynastique, Tome VI : Bade-Mecklembourg. ISBN 9782901138068.