Karl Leopold of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (26 November 1678 – 28 November 1747) was Duke of

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 ...

from 1713 to 1747.

Early life

He was the second son of Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg-Grabow (1638–1688), and his wife,

Landgravine Landgrave (, , , ; , ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title, rank of nobility used in the Holy Roman Empire, and its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), and ' ("count palatine") are of roughly equal rank, subordinate to ' ("du ...

Christine Wilhelmine of Hesse-Homburg (1653–1722). He succeeded his brother

Frederick William, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Frederick William (28 March 1675 – 31 July 1713) was the reigning duke of Mecklenburg in the Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin () was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William, Duke of Mec ...

, in 1713.

Biography

Mecklenburg-Schwerin began its existence during a series of constitutional struggles between the duke and the nobles. The heavy debt incurred by Karl Leopold, who had joined

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in a war against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, brought matters to a head; Charles VI interfered, and in 1728 the Imperial

Aulic Council The Aulic Council (; ; literally "Court Council of the Empire", sometimes abbreviated in academic writing as "RHR") was one of the two supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire, the other being the ''Reichskammergericht'' (Imperial Chamber Court). ...

declared the duke incapable of governing. His brother, Christian Ludwig II, was appointed administrator of the duchy.

Personal life

Karl Leopold married three times. His first wife was Princess Sophia Hedwig of Nassau-Dietz (1690–1734), daughter of Henry Casimir II, Prince of Nassau-Dietz, and his wife Henriëtte Amalia van Anhalt-Dessau. They married on 27 May 1709 in

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...

and divorced in 1710. There were no children from this marriage. His second wife was Christine von Lepel (1692–1728), daughter of Nicolaus Friedrich von Lepel (1633-1705) and his wife, Leveka von Plessen (1664-1732). They married on 7 June 1710 at Doberau and divorced on 2 October 1711. There were no children from this marriage, either. His third wife was the Grand Duchess Catherine Ivanovna of Russia, daughter of Tsar

Ivan V of Russia Ivan V Alekseyevich (; – ) was Tsar of all Russia between 1682 and 1696, jointly ruling with his younger half-brother Peter I. Ivan was the youngest son of Alexis I of Russia by his first wife, Maria Miloslavskaya, while Peter was t ...

and his wife Praskovia Saltykova. They married on 19 April 1716 in Danzig. There was one daughter born of this marriage, the Grand Duchess Anna Leopoldovna of Russia. She married Duke Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick and had 5 children. She served as

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for her son Ivan VI from 1740 to 1741.

Ancestry

References

* * Gerhard Heitz (1991) (in German). ''Herzog Carl Leopold von Mecklenburg-Schwerin.'' In ''Kaiser. König. Kardinal – Deutsche Fürsten 1500–1800'', edited by Rolf Straubel and Ulman Weiss. Leipzig-Jena-Berlin: Urania-Verlag. . * Valentina Grijorian (1987) (in German). ''Zarenschicksale – Glanz und Skandale am Hofe der Zarendynastie Romanow/Holstein-Gottorp'', 1st edition. Leipzig: LeiV Buchhandels- und Verlagsanstalt GmbH. . * Henry Vallotton (1978) (in German). ''Peter der Große – Russlands Aufstieg zur Großmacht'', 2nd edition. Munich:

Callwey Verlag The Callwey Verlag is a German publishing house with the main focus on structural engineering and architecture. History The publishing house was founded in 1884 in Munich by Georg D.W. Callwey. Callwey published books based on the subjects of ...

. . 1678 births 1747 deaths People from Grabow House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 18th-century German landowners {{Germany-noble-stub