Frederick Charles of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (August 4, 1706,

Sønderborg (; german: Sonderburg ) is a Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 27,766 (1 January 2022),Traventhal), known as ''Friedrich Karl'' or ''Friedrik Carl'' of Holstein-Plön, was a member of a

cadet branch In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, tit ...

of the

Danish royal family The Danish royal family is the dynastic family of the monarch. All members of the Danish royal family except Queen Margrethe II hold the title of ''Prince/Princess of Denmark''. Dynastic children of the monarch and of the heir apparent are accor ...

and the last duke of the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (or Holstein-Plön), a Danish

royal prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

, and a knight of the Order of the Elephant. When he died without a male heir born of his marriage to Countess Christine Armgard von

Reventlow Reventlow is the name of a Holstein and Mecklenburg Dano-German noble family, which belongs to the Equites Originarii Schleswig-Holstein. Alternate spellings include Revetlo, Reventlo, Reventlau, Reventlou, Reventlow, Refendtlof and Reffentloff ...

, 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 (; german: Sonderburg ) is a Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 27,766 (1 January 2022),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

partitioned-off duke thumb , upright , John II was the first of the partitioned-off dukes. After his death his territory was divided into several partitioned off microstates In the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, the term "partitioned-off duke" (''German'': Abg ...

of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön. Frederick Charles's accession was delayed until 1729 because his father had contracted a

morganatic marriage Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

with his mother, Dorothea Christina von Aichelberg, who was recognised as a Danish princess by the King only years after her husband's death.

The Baroque ruler

Plön Plön (; Holsatian: ''Plöön'') is the district seat of the Plön district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and has about 8,700 inhabitants. It lies right on the shores of Schleswig-Holstein's biggest lake, the Great Plön Lake, as well as o ...

enjoyed a vibrant cultural life under Frederick Charles's rule and artistic patronage. The duke designed, built, and rebuilt residences and gardens in the baroque and

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

styles, some of which still stand (the ducal

Plön Castle Plön Castle (german: Plöner Schloss) in Plön is one of the largest castles in the north German state of Schleswig-Holstein and the only one located on a hill.

and the so-called "Princes' House" in Plön among them). Others no longer exist (of particular note is the ducal summer residence in Traventhal, demolished in the nineteenth century). As no son born of Frederick Charles's marriage survived, in 1756 he concluded a family pact with Frederick V of Denmark, naming the king his 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 six children from his marriage with Christine Ermegaard Reventlow (1711-1779, a daughter of the Danish general Christian Detlev, Count von Reventlow, and niece of the Danish queen consort Anne Sophie Reventlow), who, as his mother, had been born into a

non-dynastic A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A d ...

noble family: * Princess Sophia Christine Luise of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (November 5, 1732, Plön – March 18, 1757,

Quedlinburg Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became a center of in ...

), a

canoness Canoness is a member of a religious community of women living a simple life. Many communities observe the monastic Rule of St. Augustine. The name corresponds to the male equivalent, a canon. The origin and Rule are common to both. As with the ...

Quedlinburg Abbey Quedlinburg Abbey (german: Stift Quedlinburg or ) was a house of secular canonesses ''(Frauenstift)'' in Quedlinburg in what is now Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was founded in 936 on the initiative of Saint Mathilda, the widow of the East Frankis ...

. * Princess Fredericka Sophie Charlotte of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (November 18, 1736, Plön – January 4, 1769, Schönberg), who married Georg Ludwig II of Erbach-Schönberg. * Prince Christian Charles of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (November 2, 1738, Plön – February 27, 1740, Plön), who died in infancy. * Stillborn child (March 1741, Plön). * Princess Charlotte Amalie Wilhelmine of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (April 23, 1744, Plön – October 11, 1770, Augustenburg), who married Frederick Christian I of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg and who became a great-great-grandmother of the last German empress. * Princess Louise Albertine of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (July 21, 1748, Plön – March 2, 1770, Ballenstedt), who married Frederick Albert of Anhalt-Bernburg. Additionally, Frederick Charles had children by two mistresses: by Sophie Agnes Olearius, with whom he conducted a six-year liaison, six daughters; and by his ''

maîtresse-en-titre ''maîtresse-en-titre'' () was the chief royal mistress of the King of France. The title came into use during the reign of Henry IV and continued through the reign of Louis XV. It was a semi-official position which came with its own apartme ...

'', Maria Catharina Bein, sister of the court chamberlain, three sons (two of whom died childless) 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.Heide Besse, "Willst du dein Herz mir schenken -- Friedrich Carl von Sonderburg-Plön und die Frauen", in ''Jahrbuch fuer Heimatkunde im Kreis Plön''; Plön, Germany: Arbeitsgemeinschaft fuer Heimatkunde im Kreis Plön e.V.; Volume 30 (2000), pages 47-64. Dirck W. Storm, ''The Holstein Steinholzes: Their Origin and Descent''; privately published monograph 008 ''passim''.

Ancestry

References and notes

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 008 * William Addams Reitwiesner, "The Ancestry of Duke Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein (1829-1880)" (, accessed August 9, 2018).

Websites

Family line of Schleswig-Holstein-Plön

{{Authority control Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Norburg Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön Danish princes Ordre de l'Union Parfaite Noble Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog 1706 births 1761 deaths