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 Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

, 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. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly: * in ...

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

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

from 1776 to 1786.

Early life and service in Hanover

Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg was born in Mirow on 10 October 1741, the second son of Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg and Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen. 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 4, Charles looked set for a career in Hanoverian service after being given a Captain's commission. His sister Charlotte 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 Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great ...

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 under Count Lippe. 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 official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

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, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

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

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

, 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 Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

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 home or other places. Compulsory school attendance or compulsory sc ...

. In 1806, his duchy joined the

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

. 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, Napol ...

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

on 6 November 1816 after suffering a fit of

apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...

. He was succeeded by his eldest son Georg.

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, daughter of Prince George William of Hesse-Darmstadt, on 18 September 1768 in

. They had ten children together, five of which survived to adulthood. Two of the daughters became German queen consorts. * Duchess Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1769–1818) married Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg * Duchess Caroline Auguste of Mecklenburg (1771–1773), died in infancy * Duke Georg Carl of Mecklenburg (1772–1773), died in infancy * Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg (1773–1839) married

Karl Alexander, 5th Prince of Thurn and Taxis Karl Alexander, 5th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full German language, German name: ''Karl Alexander Fürst von Thurn und Taxis'' (22 February 1770 – 15 July 1827) was the fifth Thurn und Taxis, Prince of Thurn and Taxis, head of the Thurn-und-Ta ...

* Duke Friedrich Georg of Mecklenburg (1774–1774), died at the age of two months * Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg (1776–1810) married

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William 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, when the empire was dissolved ...

* Duchess Frederica of Mecklenburg (1778–1841) married (1) Prince Louis Charles of Prussia (2) Frederick William, Prince of Solms-Braunfels (3) Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover * George, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1779–1860) * Duke Friedrich Karl of Mecklenburg (1781–1783), died in infancy * Duchess Auguste Albertine of Mecklenburg (1782–1782), lived one day After Friederike's death in complications of the birth of their tenth child in 1782, Charles married her sister Princess Charlotte 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 (1785–1837).

Ancestry

References

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