Charles Michael, Duke of Mecklenburg (; ; – 6 December 1934) was an officer in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

to the throne of

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) ...

and from 1918 head of the Grand Ducal House.

Life in Russia

He was born in Oranienbaum, Russia, a grandson of Grand Duke Georg of Mecklenburg-Strelitz via his second son Duke Georg August of Mecklenburg (1824–1876) and his wife Grand Duchess Catherine Mikhailovna of Russia, a granddaughter of Emperor

Paul I of Russia Paul I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination in 1801. Paul remained overshadowed by his mother, Catherine the Great, for most of his life. He adopted the Pauline Laws, laws of succession to the Russian throne—rules ...

. Charles Michael studied at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

and gained a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

. As he was born into the Russian branch of the Grand Ducal house of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Charles Michael and his older brother Duke George Alexander, both served in the Russian Imperial Army with Charles Michael achieving the rank of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

. When his brother died in 1909 Charles Michael was appointed the guardian of his children Katharina, Marie, Natalia and Georg by Adolf Friedrich V. From 1908 to 1910, he served as the head of artillery in the 1st Army Corps of the Russian Imperial Army. On 24 June 1914 two weeks after the death of his cousin Grand Duke Adolf Friedrich V, Charles Michael wrote to the new Grand Duke Adolf Friedrich VI informing him that he wished to renounce his rights to the throne of

. On 7 August shortly after 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 ...

he became a

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

Russian citizen. In March, 1917 Charles Michael was arrested and made to appear before the Russian parliament the

Duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...

. He later fled to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

region.

Heir to Strelitz

The Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Friedrich Franz IV wrote to Charles Michael informing him that his cousin Adolf Friedrich VI of Mecklenburg-Strelitz had died on 23 February 1918 and that as he was first in the line of succession he was being called to the throne. A petition to accept the throne was also sent to Charles Michael by the citizens of Mecklenburg-Strelitz as they wanted to maintain their independence and not be united with

Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin () was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Adolphus Frederick II divided ...

. However Charles Michael never received it so he wrote a private letter confirming his desire to renounce his rights to reign in Mecklenburg-Strelitz although the letter did not reach Friedrich Franz IV, who was acting as regent for Mecklenburg-Strelitz, until January 1919 after the fall of the German monarchies. As a result, the succession issue could not be resolved in time and the two Mecklenburg grand duchies became separate free states in the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

. Charles Michael eventually left Russia with his family arriving first in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

before going into exile in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. While there he served as Chairman of the Mutual Charitable Society for Russian Officers in Denmark. In 1921 he was paid five million

mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

s by the Mecklenburg government in return for renouncing his claim to the Strelitz throne. In April, 1930 he returned to Germany and took up residence at his estate, Remplin castle. Charles Michael adopted his nephew Georg, Count of Carlow who was the

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 ...

son of his older brother Duke George Alexander of Mecklenburg (1859–1909) on 11 September 1928 and confirmed in the courts of

Malchin Malchin () is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte (district), Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in north-eastern Germany. History The name of the town is of Slavic origin. It was granted town rights in ...

on 5 October 1928. Charles Michael died unmarried in Remplin,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and was succeeded as head of the Grand Ducal house by his nephew and adopted son the former Count of Carlow, Duke Georg of Mecklenburg.

Honours

He received the following awards:Russian Imperial Army - Duke Karl Michale of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
(In Russian)
Grossherzoglich Mecklenburg-Schwerinscher Staatskalendar
', 1908, p. 8 *

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

: Grand Cross of the House Order of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore, ''17 June 1880'' * : Grand Cross of the Order of the White Falcon, ''1884''
Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach
'' (1891), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 16 * : ** Knight of the Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir, 4th Class, ''1890''; 3rd Class, ''1898''; 2nd Class, ''1911'' ** Knight of the Imperial Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle the First-called, ''1904'' ** Knight of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky, ''1904'' ** Knight of the Imperial Order of the White Eagle, ''1904'' ** Knight of the Imperial

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hono ...

, 1st Class, ''1904'' ** Knight of the Imperial

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

, 1st Class, ''1904'' ** Knight of the

Order of Saint George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...

, 4th Class, ''1914'' ** St. George's Sword, ''1915'' *

Ernestine duchies The Ernestine duchies (), also known as the Saxon duchies (, although the Albertine appanage duchies of Weissenfels, Merseburg and Zeitz were also "Saxon duchies" and adjacent to several Ernestine ones), were a group of small states whose numb ...

: Grand Cross of the

Saxe-Ernestine House Order The Saxe-Ernestine House Order ()Hausorden
Herzogliche Haus Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha was a ...

Ancestry

References

* *

Literature

* ''Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Beiträge zur Geschichte einer Region.'' Friedland i. Meckl.: Steffen, ²2001 *

External links

Duke Carl Michael , House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles Michael Of Mecklenburg, Duke 1863 births 1934 deaths People from Lomonosov People from Petergofsky Uyezd House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Pretenders to the Mecklenburg thrones Military personnel of the Russian Empire University of Strasbourg alumni Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Denmark Heirs presumptive