Adolphus Frederick VI (; 17 June 1882 – 23 February 1918) was the last reigning

Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly: * in ...

Mecklenburg-Strelitz The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a duchy in Northern Germany consisting of the eastern fifth of the historic Mecklenburg region, roughly corresponding with the present-day Mecklenburg-Strelitz district (the former Lordship of Stargard) ...

Early life

Adolphus Frederick George Ernest Albert Edward of Mecklenburg was born in

Neustrelitz Neustrelitz (; ) 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 1738 until 1918 it was the capital o ...

, the third child and eldest son of Adolphus Frederick V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and his wife, the former Princess Elisabeth of Anhalt. He attended a gymnasium school in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

and later studied

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and served in the Prussian army. Adolphus Frederick became

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

to the Grand Duchy, with the title of Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, following the death of his grandfather Grand Duke Frederick William on 30 May 1904. Adolphus Frederick and his younger brother Duke Karl Borwin are said to have agreed that Adolphus Frederick could devote his life to painting, while Karl Borwin would marry and continue the dynasty; but this agreement could never be realised, as Karl Borwin was killed during a duel with Count George Jametel in 1908. Adolphus Frederick was subsequently reported to be engaged to various European princesses, including Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, the only daughter of the German Emperor William II and his consort, Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. He succeeded as Grand Duke on the death of his father on 11 June 1914, just a few weeks before the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Adolphus Frederick was reported to have married morganatically with attempts made to force him to divorce his wife and conduct an equal marriage, but he was reported to have refused. Recent research has disproven claims that he was the father of the children of

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

Mafalda Salvatini. An Italian by birth but raised mainly in Paris, and a star at the

Berlin State Opera The Staatsoper Unter den Linden ( State Opera under the Lime Trees), also known as the Berlin State Opera (), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of P ...

and the

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the ...

, Salvatini had been his mistress from 1908 until his suicide in 1918. Her two sons, Charles E. (Horst) Gérard and the theatre production designer and painter Rolf Gérard, were shown not to be illegitimate children of the Grand Duke, though this had been suspected.

Succession crisis and a possible marriage

With Adolf Friedrich having come to the throne while unmarried and without a male heir there was an issue surrounding the succession as his cousin and heir, Russian based Duke Charles Michael of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1863–1934) had indicated just before

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

broke out that he wished to renounce his succession rights. If there was no male heir to Mecklenburg-Strelitz the

grand duchy A grand duchy is a country or territory whose official head of state or ruler is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess. Prior to the early 1800s, the only Grand duchy in Europe was located in what is now Italy: Tuscany ( ...

would merge with the neighboring

Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin () was a territory in Northern Germany held by the House of Mecklenburg residing at Schwerin. It was a sovereign member state of the German Confederation and became a federated state of the North German C ...

. During the war the topic of marriage was discussed by Adolf Friedrich and his friend

Daisy, Princess of Pless Daisy, Princess of Pless (Mary Theresa Olivia; ''née'' Cornwallis-West; 28 June 1873 – 29 June 1943) was a noted society beauty in the Edwardian period. Daisy and her husband Prince Hans Heinrich XV von Hochberg were the owners of large estate ...

, however in wartime it was very difficult to arrange a meeting with an eligible princess. Eventually, Daisy identified her husband's relative, Princess ''Benigna'' Karoline Elisabeth Charlotte Reuss of Köstritz (1892–1983) as a suitable bride. She was third child and the only daughter of Prince Heinrich XXVIII Reuss of Köstritz (1859–1924) by his first wife, Countess Magdalene of Solms-Laubach (1863–1925). As Adolf Friedrich was agreeable to the match his Minister-President Heinrich Bossart (1857-1930) started negotiations with the future bride's family to bring about the marriage. However, before the engagement could be announced there was the complication of a connection to a woman whom Adolf Friedrich needed to be freed from. Rumor has it that the woman in question was Margrit Höllrigl, Countess Bubna of Litic with whom he had a relationship while he was based in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

. Because of this, the previously arranged marriage to Princess Benigna never materialized and after that she never married.

Death

On 23 February 1918 at

, Adolphus Frederick committed suicide. This left Mecklenburg-Strelitz facing a succession crisis, as the only surviving member of the Strelitz line,

Duke Charles Michael of Mecklenburg Charles Michael, Duke of Mecklenburg (; ; – 6 December 1934) was an officer in the Imperial Russian Army, heir presumptive to the throne of Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Mecklenburg-Strelitz and from 1918 head of the House of Mecklenburg, ...

, had served in the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n military (in opposition to German and allied forces) and had indicated in 1914 that he wished to renounce his rights to the throne of Mecklenburg-Strelitz;Lines of Succession by Jiri Louda, p.222 at Adolphus Frederick's request, Charles Michael later agreed to defer any renunciation until the matter arose. There was also a

morganatic 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 ...

male-line relative, Duke Charles Michael's nephew George, Count of Carlow. Because Charles Michael was in Russia, Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin became

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

for Mecklenburg-Strelitz and remained such until the end of the German monarchies in 1918, when the government in Strelitz declared the end of the regency. Friedrich Franz IV received confirmation from Charles Michael that he wished to renounce his succession rights, although this only arrived in 1919, after the abolition of the monarchies and the establishment of the Free State of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Adolphus's fortune had been amassed by his grandfather and was estimated at 30 million marks (€ million in ). In his will, he left his entire fortune to Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin's second son, Duke Christian Ludwig (1912–1996). He did this on the condition that Christian agree to become Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and take up residence in

; otherwise the inheritance would be reduced to 3 million

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...

.House laws of Mecklenburg
/ref>

Titles, styles and honours

Titles and styles

*17 June 1882 – 30 May 1904: ''His Highness'' Duke Adolphus Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz *30 May 1904 – 11 June 1914: ''His Royal Highness'' The Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz *11 June 1914 – 23 February 1918: ''His Royal Highness'' The Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Honours

He received the following awards:

Ancestors

References

Books

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adolphus Frederick 04 Of Mecklenburg, Grand Duke 1882 births 1918 suicides 1918 deaths Dukes of Mecklenburg-Strelitz House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz People from Neustrelitz Hereditary grand dukes of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Grand dukes of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Major generals of Prussia German people of English descent German people of French descent Annulled Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class 20th-century German landowners Suicides in Germany Royalty who died by suicide