Frederick VI (30 July 1769 – 2 April 1829) reigned as Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg from 1820 until his death in 1829.

Biography

Born in Homburg,

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

, on 30 July 1769, Friedrich Joseph Ludwig Carl August was the eldest son of the incumbent

Landgrave Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' (" margrave"), ...

Hesse-Homburg Hesse-Homburg was formed into a separate landgraviate in 1622 by the landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt; it was to be ruled by his son, although it did not become independent of Hesse-Darmstadt until 1668. It was briefly divided into Hesse-Homburg and ...

Frederick V Frederick V or Friedrich V may refer to: * Frederick V, Duke of Swabia (1164–1170) *Frederick V, Count of Zollern (d.1289) *Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg (c. 1333–1398), German noble *Frederick V of Austria (1415–1493), or Frederick III ...

, and his wife Caroline of Hesse-Darmstadt, the eldest child of the then Landgrave of

Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse betwee ...

, Louis IX. Frederick was appointed a captain of the Russian cavalry in 1783 and was made an Austrian general during the

Great French War The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, sometimes called the Great French War, were a series of conflicts between the French and several European monarchies between 1792 and 1815. They encompass first the French Revolutionary Wars agains ...

. For his services in that conflict, he was created a Commander of the Austrian Military Order of Maria Theresa. Despite the vocal objections of her mother,

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...

, Frederick married Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom, the third daughter of King

George III 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 ...

, in the Queen's House in the Mall (now integrated into Buckingham Palace) on 7 April 1818. It was no love match: Elizabeth longed to be free from her domineering mother at any cost, while Frederick needed her sizeable dowry to improve the Landgraviate's strained finances. As Elizabeth was over the age of 48 at the time of their marriage, this union produced no offspring. Landgrave Frederick V died on 20 January 1820; Frederick succeeded him as monarch of the principality. The new Landgrave struggled to repay his father's exorbitant debts. Nine years into his reign, the Landgrave died of complications from a pre-existing leg wound.Fraser, p 351 He was succeeded by his brother, Louis William.

Ancestry

References

*Fraser, Flora: ''Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III'', John Murray, 2004, London,

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hesse-Homburg, Frederick VI Landgrave Of 1769 births 1829 deaths Frederick VI Austrian generals Austrian Empire commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Commanders Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa