Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Adolf Friedrich II
Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Reign	1701 - 12 May 1708
Born	October 19 1658(1658-10-19)
	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.

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.

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]

• Adolf Friedrich III (1686-1752)
• Magdalena (1689-1689)
• Maria (1690-1690)
• Eleonore (1691-1691)
• Gustave (1694-1748) she married Christian Ludwig II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

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]

• Sophia (1706-1708)
• Charles Louis Frederick, (1707-1752). He was the father of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen consort of George III of the United Kingdom.

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.

References