Frederick Charles, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön

Frederick Charles of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (August 4, 1706, Sønderborg – the night of October 18-19, 1761, Traventhal), also known as "Friedrich Karl" or "Friedrik Carl"of Holstein-Plön, was a member of a cadet branch of the Danish royal family and the last duke of the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (or Holstein-Plön), a Danish royal prince, and a knight of the Order of the Elephant. When he died without male heirs born of his marriage to Christine Armgard von Reventlow, rule of the Duchy of Holstein-Plön returned to the Danish crown.

Early life

Frederick Charles was born on August 4, 1706, at Sønderborg castle, the posthumous son and sole child of Christian Charles (1674-1706), a brother of Duke Joachim Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön. That duke died in 1722 without closer male heirs than his nephew, who in time succeeded his uncle as ruler of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön, a small but prosperous duchy, one of the last quasi-independent sections of the condominium ruled partly by the Danish king and partly by cadet branches of the Danish royal family. Frederick Charles's succession to power was delayed until 1729 because his father had contracted an unequal marriage with his mother, the non-royal noblewoman Dorothea Christine von Aichelburg, who only years after his father's untimely death was at last created a princess of Denmark.

The Baroque Ruler

Plön enjoyed a vibrant cultural life under Frederick Charles's rule and artistic patronage. The duke designed, built, and rebuilt ducal residences and gardens in the baroque and rococo styles, some of which still stand (the ducal palace and so-called "Princes' House" in Plön among them), others of which have, regrettably, been destroyed (of particular note is the ducal summer residence in Traventhal, demolished in the nineteenth century).

As no surviving sons were born of Frederick Charles's marriage, he in 1756 concluded a family pact with the king of Denmark, naming the king the successor to the duchy of Plön. The provisions were reified just five years later, when Frederick Charles died, at his little palace in Traventhal, in the night of October 18-19, 1761.

Family

Frederick Charles had five children from his marriage with Christine Armgard von Reventlow, who, as his mother, had been born into a nonroyal noble family. The couple's only son died in infancy; their four daughters were

• Sophia Christine Luise, Princess of Holstein-Plön (born at Plön on November 5, 1732; died, unmarried, at Quedlinburg on March 18, 1757, a canoness of Quedlinburg Abbey)
• Friederike Sophie Charlotte, Princess of Holstein-Plön (1736–1769); married Georg Ludwig II of Erbach-Schönberg
• Charlotte Amelie Wilhelmine, Princess of Holstein-Plön (1744–1770); married Frederick Christian I of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg; great-great-grandmother of the last German empress
• Luise Albertine, Princess of Holstein-Plön (1748–1769); married Frederick Albert of Anhalt-Bernburg

Additionally, Frederick Charles had children by two mistresses: from Sophie Agnes Olearius, with whom he conducted a six-year liaison, six daughters; and from his maîtress en titre, Maria Catharina Bein, sister of the court chamberlain, three sons (two of whom died in childhood) and two daughters (one of whom died in childhood), all of whom the duke recognized and legitimated, and on whom (or their mothers) he bestowed lands, titles, and money.

Ancestry

Bibliography

• This article parallels one in the German Wikipedia, in which sources are cited.

Additional sources include:

• Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen, Elke Imberger, Dieter Lohmeier, & Ingwer Momsen, Die Fürsten des Landes: Herzöge und Grafen von Schleswig, Holstein und Lauenburg; Neumünster, Germany: Wachholtz Verlag, 2008.
• Traugott Schulze & Gerd Stolz, Die Herzogszeit in Plön, 1564-1761; Husum, Germany: Husum Verlag, 1983.
• Dirck W. Storm, The Holstein Steinholzes: Their Origin and Descent; privately published monograph [2008].

Websites

• Family line of Schleswig-Holstein-Plön
• Plön Castle at www.geschichte-s-h.de