Charlotte Amalie Wilhelmine of (Schleswig-)Holstein-Plön (''Charlotte Amalie Vilhelmine af Slesvig-Holsten-Pløn'' in Danish) (23 April 1744 – 11 October 1770), was a princess of the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (or Holstein-Plön), a

cadet branch 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, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of the Danish royal family. She was born at

Plön Plön (; ) 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 on several smaller lakes, ...

to Frederick Charles, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön and his wife Countess Christiane Armgard von

Reventlow The Reventlow family is a Holstein and Mecklenburg Danish nobility, Dano-German noble family, which belongs to the :De:Equites Originarii, Equites Originarii Schleswig-Holstein. Alternate spellings include Revetlo, Reventlo, Reventlau, Reventlou, ...

, the fourth of their five children.

Life

As her only brother died an infant in 1740 the small, partitioned-off Danish duchy of Plön was destined to revert to the royal domain of the King of Denmark on their father's death. Thus her parents were freed from the custom of stinting their daughters' dowries to maximize the patrimony of a male heir. Consequently and unusually only one of the four sisters was enrolled in a nunnery: the eldest, Sophie (1732-1757), became

canoness A canoness is a member of a religious community of women, historically a stable community dedicated to the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours in a particular church. The name corresponds to a canon, the male equivalent, and both roles share a ...

in 1753, and a year later

deaconess The ministry of a deaconess is a ministry for women in some Protestant, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox churches to provide pastoral care, especially for other women, and which may carry a liturgical role. The word comes from the Greek ...

Quedlinburg Abbey Quedlinburg Abbey ( or ) is a former abbey of secular canonesses ''( Frauenstift)'' in Quedlinburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was founded in 936 on the initiative of Saint Matilda, the widow of the East Frankish King Henry the Fowler, as h ...

, while the other three princesses were all allowed to marry. Charlotte Amalie was the first of her sisters to wed, marrying at Reinfeld on 26 May 1762 her cousin, Frederick Christian I, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. Two years later, as a near,

agnatic Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...

kinsman of his father-in-law, Frederick Christian renounced any claim he might have had to the Plön duchy and in return received from the Danish crown the castle of Sonderburg, the domain of Gammelgaard with Gundestrup and the fiefs of Ronhave, Langenvorwerk, Kekinisgaard and Maibullgaard, all located on the isle of Ahlsen or nearby on that of

Sundeved Sundeved ( German: ''Sundewitt'') is a peninsula on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in south Denmark. It lies between Åbenrå Fjord and Als Fjord to the north, Alssund to the east and Flensborg Fjord to the south. The westernmost par ...

in the Sonderburg region. They had seven children: * Louise Christine Caroline (16 February 1763 – 27 January 1764). * Louise Christine Caroline (17 February 1764 – 2 August 1815). * Frederick Christian II (28 September 1765 – 14 June 1814), married Princess Louise Auguste of Denmark. * Frederick Charles Emil (8 March 1767 – 14 June 1841), Danish general, married in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

29 September 1801 without the consent or recognition of either the Duke or the King, Sofie Eleonora Fredericka von Scheel (1776–1836), daughter of Jürgen Eric von Scheel and Anna Drothea von Ahlefeldt. * Christian August (9 July 1768 – 28 May 1810), Danish general, and later selected

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

of Sweden as ''Karl August'', however, he died before inheriting the throne. * Sophie Amelie (10 August 1769 – 6 October 1769). * Charles William (4 October 1770 – 22 February 1771). The couple spent some of her wealth to build the new Augustenburg Palace. Charlotte Amalie died in Augustenburg aged 26, seven days after the birth of her last child.

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlotte Amalie Wilhelmine of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plon 1744 births 1770 deaths People from Schleswig-Flensburg House of Augustenburg