Danish: ''Charlotte Frederikke''
, spouse =
, issue =
Frederick VII of Denmark
Frederick VII (Frederik Carl Christian; 6 October 1808 – 15 November 1863) was King of Denmark from 1848 to 1863. He was the last Danish monarch of the older Royal branch of the House of Oldenburg and the last king of Denmark to rule as a ...
, house =
Mecklenburg-Schwerin
The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II divided the Duchy of Mecklenburg between Schwerin and Strelitz. Ruled by the successors of the Nikloting Hous ...
, father =
Frederick Francis I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Frederick Francis I (10 December 1756 – 1 February 1837) ruled over the German state of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, first as duke (1785–1815), and then as grand duke (1815–1837).
Biography
He was born in Schwerin, Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, ...
, mother =
Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
, religion =
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
,
''prev.'' Lutheranism
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
Duchess Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (4 December 1784 – 13 July 1840), was the first wife of
Christian VIII from 1806 until 1810, before he became King of Norway and later King of Denmark. She was a daughter of
Frederick Francis I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Frederick Francis I (10 December 1756 – 1 February 1837) ruled over the German state of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, first as duke (1785–1815), and then as grand duke (1815–1837).
Biography
He was born in Schwerin, Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, ...
, and
Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.
Life
Early life

Duchess Charlotte Frederica was born on 4 December 1784 in
Ludwigslust
Ludwigslust () is a central castle town of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, 40 km south of Schwerin. Since 2011 it has been part of the Ludwigslust-Parchim district.
Ludwigslust is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. The former royal re ...
in
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) 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, Schwer ...
as the seventh and youngest surviving child of the later
Grand Duke Frederick Francis I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and
Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.
Duchess Charlotte Frederikke grew up with her siblings at her parents' court in Mecklenburg. She was a lively child, who was never bothered by strict educators, did what suited her regardless of formalities, found friends among the servants, and dressed in variegated clothing, contrary to the customs of the times.
Marriage

During a long voyage to Germany in
1804
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Haiti gains independence from France, and becomes the first black republic, having the only successful slave revolt ever.
* February 4 – The Sokoto Caliphate is founded in West Africa.
* Februar ...
, her cousin, the
Danish Prince Christian Frederick of Denmark (later
King Christian VIII
Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) was King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814.
Christian Frederick was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick, a younger son of King Frederic ...
), stayed for a longer time at his uncle's court in
Schwerin
Schwerin (; Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the capital and second-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as of the region of Mecklenburg, after Rostock. ...
, where he fell in love with the two year older cousin, Duchess Charlotte Frederica. They married two years later, on 21 June 1806 in
Ludwigslust
Ludwigslust () is a central castle town of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, 40 km south of Schwerin. Since 2011 it has been part of the Ludwigslust-Parchim district.
Ludwigslust is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. The former royal re ...
in
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) 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, Schwer ...
.

The young couple initially settled at
Plön Castle in the
Duchy of Holstein
The Duchy of Holstein (german: Herzogtum Holstein, da, Hertugdømmet Holsten) was the northernmost state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It originated when King Christian I of Denmark had his ...
. It was here, that Charlotte Frederica gave birth to their first-born son, Prince ''Christian Frederick'', who was born and died on 8 April 1807. From 1808 the couple lived in Copenhagen, where they took residence at
Levetzau's Palace, an 18th-century
town house
A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...
which forms part of the
Amalienborg Palace
Amalienborg () is the official residence for the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Queen Magrethe ll lives here in winter and autumn. It consists of four identical classical palace façades with rococo interiors aroun ...
complex in the district
Frederiksstaden
Frederiksstaden is a district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Constructed during the reign of Frederick V in the second half of the 18th century, it is considered to be one of the most important rococo complexes in Europe and was included in the 2006 Dan ...
in central
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
.
[ As their country residence they used ]Sorgenfri Palace
Sorgenfri Palace ( da, Sorgenfri Slot; lit. "Sorrow free", a direct calque of Sans Souci) is a royal residence of the Danish monarch, located in Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality, on the east side of Lyngby Kongevej, in the northern suburbs of Copenhag ...
, located on the shores of the small river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...
Mølleåen in Kongens Lyngby
Kongens Lyngby (, Danish for "the King's Heather Town"; short form Lyngby) is the seat and commercial centre of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Lyngby Hovedgade is a busy shopping street and the site ...
north of Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
.
Nonetheless, their married life was problematic. Princess Charlotte Frederica was very preoccupied with the ideas that originated in the French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
and embraced the idea of individual freedom at a time of absolutism
Absolutism may refer to:
Government
* Absolute monarchy, in which a monarch rules free of laws or legally organized opposition
* Absolutism (European history), period c. 1610 – c. 1789 in Europe
** Enlightened absolutism, influenced by the E ...
's assertion of hierarchical society. Her character was thought to be capricious, frivolous and mythomaniac. The lifestyle at court was rigid and traditional, and it did not suit her as she was used to a freer lifestyle from home and did her best to change that. One winter evening during a party that presumably bored her, she let the servants bring up snow and set about throwing snowballs.[
She was wasteful and constantly in want of money despite an ample ]apanage
An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much ...
, forcing her husband to step in. If he protested, she overpowered him in front of the servants. Prince Christian Frederick also often had to apologize to the Crown Prince Regent for his wife's behavior. In a letter, he writes that he has had a serious conversation with her and that she has "realized her mistakes and promised improvement and that with a sincere heart, I am convinced of that."[
On 6 October 1808, Charlotte Frederica gave birth to their second son and only surviving child, Prince ''Frederick Carl Christian'', the future King ]Frederick VII of Denmark
Frederick VII (Frederik Carl Christian; 6 October 1808 – 15 November 1863) was King of Denmark from 1848 to 1863. He was the last Danish monarch of the older Royal branch of the House of Oldenburg and the last king of Denmark to rule as a ...
, who was called ''Fritz'' by his mother throughout his life.[ Her joy at motherhood was great, but did not change her behavior.
]
Divorce and banishment
In 1809, her alleged affair with her singing teacher, Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
*Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internati ...
-born singer and composer Édouard Du Puy
Jean Baptiste Édouard Louis Camille Du Puy (17703 April 1822) was a Principality of Neuchâtel-born singer, composer, director, and violinist. He lived and worked in Copenhagen and Stockholm from 1793 until his death in 1822.
Early years
Éd ...
, led to her removal from the court. For this reason, her husband divorced her in 1810, banished her from court, sent her into internal exile, and prohibited her from ever seeing her son again.
After her divorce, Charlotte Frederica spent the next years of her life in a palace in Horsens
Horsens () is a city on the east coast of Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 61,074 (1 January 2022) and the municipality's population is 94,443 (), making it the 8th largest city in D ...
, in Jutland
Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
and partly in Aarhus
Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwes ...
, where she cultivated social circles among the local bourgeoisie and had affairs with officers.
Later life
In 1829 she moved from Denmark to Karlsbad Karlsbad may refer to:
*Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic (formerly known by its German name Karlsbad, and known as Carlsbad in English)
*Karlsbad (Baden)
Karlsbad (; South Franconian: ''Kallsbad'') is a municipality in the district of Karlsruhe, in ...
under the name "Mrs. von Gothen." In 1830 she traveled to Italy, finally settling in Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
and later converted to the Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
faith.
Charlotte Frederica died in Rome in 1840. Her death was described as a relief to the court in Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
as she dreamed of someday returning as the King's mother. Frederik VII, who was only one year old when she had to leave him, showed great reverence towards the memory of his late mother: he collected portraits of her in his rooms at Jægerspris Castle
Jægerspris Castle ( da, Jægerspris Slot), in Jægerspris on the Hornsherred peninsula west of Copenhagen, is a Danish manor house. It has belonged to the Danish monarchs for most of its history which dates back to the 13th century. In the 185 ...
, and when he visited Horsens on Sept. 1857 he officially thanked the city "for the love and kindness that was shown to her."
She was allegedly buried in the Teutonic Cemetery in Vatican City
Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—'
* german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ')
* pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—'
* pt, Cidade do Vati ...
. Her tomb was opened on 11 July 2019 due to investigations related to the disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi
Emanuela Orlandi (born 14 January 1968) was a Vatican teenager who mysteriously disappeared while returning home from a flute lesson in Rome on 22 June 1983. Sightings of Orlandi in various places have been reported over the years, including ins ...
case, but was found to be empty.
Ancestry
References
Citations
Bibliography
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External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlotte Frederica Of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Duchess
Danish princesses
Norwegian princesses
1784 births
1840 deaths
House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
House of Oldenburg in Denmark
People from Ludwigslust
Duchesses of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Burials at the Teutonic Cemetery