Frederick Augustus II (16 November 1852 in Oldenburg – 24 February 1931 in Rastede) was the last ruling Grand Duke of Oldenburg. He married Princess Elisabeth Anna of Prussia, daughter of

Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau (14 September 1837, Dessau – 12 May 1906, Friedrichroda) was a princess from the House of Ascania. She was the third child of Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt and Princess Frederica of Prussia (1796–1850), Princ ...

and Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia. After her death, he married Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Reign

Frederick Augustus' reign began on 13 June 1900, when his father died. His reign came to an end on 11 November 1918, shortly before the German monarchy was abolished on 28 November 1918. Frederick was forced to abdicate his throne at the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when the former Grand Duchy of the German Empire joined the post-war German Republic. He and his family took up residence at

Rastede Castle Rastede Palace (German: ''Schloss Rastede'') is a country estate at Rastede near Oldenburg, Germany. The town of Rastede is about 12km (7,4 miles) north of Oldenburg. In the Middle Ages Rastede was the house monastery of the House of Oldenbur ...

, where he took up farming and local industrial interests. A year after his abdication, he asked the Oldenburg Diet for a yearly allowance of 150,000

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel ...

, stating that his financial condition was "extremely precarious". In 1931, Frederick died in Rastede.

Marriages and issue

On 18 February 1878, Frederick Augustus married Princess Elisabeth Anna of Prussia, a daughter of Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia. It was a double wedding, in which

Princess Charlotte of Prussia English: Victoria Elizabeth Augusta Charlotte , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , birth_date = , birth_place = New Palace, Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia , death_date = , death_ ...

(daughter of the

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 is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...

and

Crown Princess 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 is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wife ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

) married Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Meiningen on the same day as Elisabeth Anna in Berlin. The marriages were the first such occasions performed since Prussia had become the German Empire in 1870. Due to this increased status, the weddings were attended by many important personages, including King

Leopold II of Belgium * german: link=no, Leopold Ludwig Philipp Maria Viktor , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father = Leopold I of Belgium , mother = Louise of Orléans , birth_date = , birth_place = Brussels, Belgium , death_date = ...

and his wife Queen Marie Henriette. The

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

also attended, as one of the brides (Charlotte) was his niece.Radziwill, p. 118. Frederick Augustus and Elisabeth Anna had two children: Elisabeth died on 28 August 1895, before he succeeded as Grand Duke. Before her death, her husband had been building a new residential palace; once she died, Frederick named the new building the

Elisabeth-Anna-Palais The Elisabeth-Anna-Palais is a secular red-brick building in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, Germany, located at the northeast of the Schlossgarten Oldenburg, close to the Schloss Oldenburg. History Usually the ducal family resided in Schloss Oldenbur ...

in her honor. On 24 October 1896, Frederick Augustus married Duchess Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, a daughter of

Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Frederick Francis II (German: ''Friedrich Franz II;'' 28 February 1823 – 15 April 1883) was a Prussian officer and Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 7 March 1842 until 15 April 1883. Biography He was born in Schloss Ludwigslust, the e ...

. He succeeded as Grand Duke of Oldenburg in 1900. Frederick Augustus and Elisabeth had five children:

Honours

Ancestry

References

Bibliography

* , - {{Authority control 1852 births 1931 deaths Grand Dukes of Oldenburg People from Oldenburg (city) Admirals of the Imperial German Navy Generals of Cavalry (Prussia) Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Burials at the Ducal Mausoleum, Gertrudenfriedhof (Oldenburg)