Duchess Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
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| Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin | |
|---|---|
| Hereditary Princess of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg | |
| Spouse | Augustus |
| Issue | Louise, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld |
| House | House of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin |
| Father | Frederick Francis I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin |
| Mother | Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg |
Duchess Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (19 November 1779 – 4 January 1801) was the maternal grandmother of Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
Louise Charlotte was born a Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, her father being Friedrich Franz I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Her mother was Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and her sister Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1784 - 1840), who married King Christian VIII of Denmark.
In 1795, Louise Charlotte was engaged to King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden. The engagement was arranged by Reuterholm, the de facto regent of Sweden, who wished to keep his influence after the monarch were declared of legal majority. The king himself was initially positive; the engagement was celebrated in the courts of Sweden and Mecklenburg and Louise Charlotte was mentioned in the official church prayer in Sweden. Empress Catherine the great, however, whished her grand daughter Alexandra to be queen of Sweden, and displayed dislike of the engagent. Upon this many people told the king that Louise Charlotte, whom he had not seen, was not beautiful. When the king was declared of legal majority in 1797, he broke the engagement. Her father demanded compensation. In 1803, the matter was settled when the Swedish city of Wismar in Germany was turned over to Mecklenburg-Schwerin by a treaty in Malmö.
In 1797 she married Augustus, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, who came from the same family as her mother. Their common ancestor was Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1676-1732).
Louise Charlotte died 4 years later at the age of 22, before her husband assumed the throne of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. They had only one daughter: Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, who would marry Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and become mother to Prince Consort Albert.