Charles II (Charles Louis Frederick; 10 October 1741 – 6 November 1816) was ruler of the state of Mecklenburg-Strelitz from 1794 until his death. Originally ruling as

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

, he was raised to the rank of

grand duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approx ...

in 1815. Prior to succeeding to the throne, he served as Governor of

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

from 1776 to 1786.

Early life and service in Hanover

Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg was born in

Mirow Mirow () is a town in the district of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte in southern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Name (Etymology) "Mir" in Slavonic languages means "peace" or "glory". The name "Mirow" was derived from "villa mirowe", translating ...

, the second son of Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg and his wife

Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen Duchess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe- Hildburghausen (4 August 1713 – 29 June 1761) was a Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She served as regent for her son after the deaths in 1752–1753 of her husband and brother-in-law of, respectively, th ...

. On 11 December 1752 his uncle Adolphus Frederick III died and was succeeded by Charles's older brother, who became Adolphus Frederick IV. With his brother's accession Charles was taken with the rest of the family from Mirow to the capital Strelitz. From the age of four, Charles looked set for a career in Hanoverian service after being given a Captain's commission. His sister

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

married the Elector of Hanover, King

George III of the United Kingdom George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

on 8 September 1761. Charles made frequent visits to his sister in Great Britain and he ultimately entered the service of his brother-in-law the Elector of Hanover with a chief military appointment at

following service in Spain. In the autumn of 1776, Charles was appointed

governor-general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

of Hanover by his brother-in-law. As Governor of Hanover, Charles effectively held all the powers of a sovereign ruler. His brother-in-law had no wish to reside in Germany, being thoroughly English. Shortly after being widowed for a second time in December 1785, Charles requested permission to retire from his military employments in Hanover and resign the governorship. His brother-in-law granted his request, promoted Charles to the rank of

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

and granted him a pension. Charles then spent some time traveling before settling down in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the fourth largest city in the state of Hesse ...

, where he became President of the Imperial Credit Commission. Following the death of his childless older brother Adolf Friedrich IV on 2 June 1794, Charles succeeded him as the ruling Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Ruler of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

As ruler, Charles encouraged new agricultural trends, established a new

police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...

force, and implemented

compulsory education Compulsory education refers to a period of education that is required of all people and is imposed by the government. This education may take place at a registered school or at other places. Compulsory school attendance or compulsory schooling ...

. In 1806, his duchy joined the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine, also known as Napoleonic Germany, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria a ...

. Following the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon ...

, he was elevated to the rank of grand duke on 28 June 1815. In the summer of 1816 Charles went on a tour of Rebberg, Schwalbach and

Hildburghausen Hildburghausen ( IPA adapted from: ) is a town in Thuringia in central Germany, capital of the district Hildburghausen. Geography It is situated in the Franconian part of Thuringia south of the Thuringian Forest, in the valley of the Werra riv ...

. Shortly after returning he was taken ill with inflammation of the lungs. He died in

Neustrelitz Neustrelitz (; East Low German: ''Niegenstrelitz'') is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the shore of the Zierker See in the Mecklenburg Lake District. From 17 ...

after suffering a fit of

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

. He was succeeded by his eldest son

Georg Georg may refer to: * Georg (film), ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker See also

* George (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

Marriages and children

After unsuccessful attempts to marry a Princess of Denmark and a Princess of Saxe-Gotha, Charles married as his first wife Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt, a daughter of

Prince George William of Hesse-Darmstadt Prince George William of Hesse-Darmstadt (11 July 1722 – 21 June 1782) was a Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt. He was born in Darmstadt. He was the second son of Landgrave Louis VIII and Charlotte Christine Magdalene Johanna of Hanau-Lichtenberg ...

on 18 September 1768 in

. They had ten children together. Two of the daughters became German queens consort. * Duchess Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1769–1818) married

Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (29 April 1763 in Hildburghausen – 29 September 1834 in Altenburg), was duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1780–1826) and duke of Saxe-Altenburg (1826–1834). Biography He was the youngest child, but only ...

* Duchess Caroline Auguste of Mecklenburg (1771–1773) * Duke Georg Carl of Mecklenburg (1772–1773) * Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg (1773–1839) married

Karl Alexander, 5th Prince of Thurn and Taxis , title = Prince of Thurn and Taxis , image = Karl Alexander von Thurn und Taxis.jpg , caption = , reign = 13 November 1805 – 15 July 1827 , reign-type = Period , coronation = , predecessor = ...

* Duke Friedrich Georg of Mecklenburg (1774–1774) * Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg (1776–1810) married

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, w ...

* Duchess Frederica of Mecklenburg (1778–1841) married (1)

Prince Louis Charles of Prussia , house =Hohenzollern , father =Frederick William II of Prussia , mother =Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt , birth_date = , birth_place =Berlin, Prussia , death_date = , death_place ...

(2) Frederick William, Prince of Solms-Braunfels (3)

Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover Ernest Augustus (german: Ernst August; 5 June 177118 November 1851) was King of Hanover from 20 June 1837 until his death in 1851. As the fifth son of King George III of the United Kingdom and Hanover, he initially seemed unlikely to become a ...

George, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz George (german: Georg; 12 August 1779 – 6 September 1860) ruled the state of Mecklenburg-Strelitz as Grand Duke of Mecklenburg from 1816 until his death. Early life Duke George Frederick Charles Joseph of Mecklenburg was born in Hanover, the eig ...

(1779–1860) * Duke Friedrich Karl of Mecklenburg (1781–1783) * Duchess Auguste Albertine of Mecklenburg (1782–1782) After Friederike's death in 1782, Charles married her sister

Princess Charlotte of Hesse-Darmstadt Charlotte Wilhelmine Christiane Marie of Hesse-Darmstadt (5 November 1755, Darmstadt – 12 December 1785, Hanover), was by marriage Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Life Charlotte was a daughter of Prince George William of Hesse-Darmstadt ...

on 28 September 1784 in

. Charlotte died on 12 December 1785 shortly after giving birth to their son

Duke Charles of Mecklenburg Duke Charles of Mecklenburg (german: Herzog Carl zu Mecklenburg) (30 November 1785 – 21 September 1837) was a member of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and a Prussian soldier who served in the Napoleonic Wars. From 1827 until his death he was P ...

(1785–1837).

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles 02 Of Mecklenburg, Grand Duke 1741 births 1816 deaths Protestant monarchs Dukes of Mecklenburg-Strelitz House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz People from Mirow