Alexandrine of Prussia, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Alexandrine of Prussia
Princess Alexandrine painted by Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow
Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Tenure	1 February 1837 – 7 March 1842
Born	(1803-02-23)23 February 1803 Berlin, Prussia
Died	21 April 1892(1892-04-21) (aged 89) Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Spouse	Paul Frederick, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Issue	Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Duchess Louise Duke Wilhelm
Names Friederike Wilhelmine Alexandrine Marie Helene
House	Hohenzollern
Father	Frederick William III of Prussia
Mother	Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Princess Alexandrine of Prussia (23 February 1803 – 21 April 1892) was Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin by marriage to Paul Frederick, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. She was the daughter of Frederick William III of Prussia and Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Life

Alexandrine was the seventh child and fourth daughter of Frederick William III of Prussia and his wife Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She was a younger sister of Frederick William IV of Prussia, Wilhelm I of Prussia, and Charlotte, Empress of Russia.

Her mother was a niece of Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom and a sister of Queen Frederica of Hanover.

On 25 May 1822, she married Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He succeeded his grandfather as Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1837.

Her marriage was generally considered unhappy; Paul Frederick was a military man who had little time for or interest in his wife and family. Alexandrine, by contrast, was a devoted mother who tenderly raised her children and actively cultivated their cultural pursuits. Alexandrine herself was very cultured but was also described as a stereotypically-remote German princess. She was not considered an intellectual but attended scholarly lectures and read many books.

At the time of her death, she was the last surviving grandchild of Frederick William II of Prussia.

Issue

• Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg (1823–1883)
• Luise (1824–1859) married Hugo, Prince of Windisch-Grätz and had issue (Princess Marie of Windisch-Graetz)
• Wilhelm (1827–1879) married Princess Alexandrine of Prussia, daughter of Prince Albert of Prussia

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles

Monument in Schwerin, by Hugo Berwald

• Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandrine of Prussia (1803–1822)
• Her Royal Highness The Hereditary Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1822–1837)
• Her Royal Highness The Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1837–1842)
• Her Royal Highness The Dowager Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1842–1892)

Honours

• Dame of the Order of Louise

Ancestry

Alexandrine's ancestors in three generations

16. Frederick William I of Prussia

8. Prince Augustus William of Prussia

17. Sophia Dorothea of Hanover

4. Frederick William II of Prussia

18. Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

9. Duchess Louise Amalie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

19. Duchess Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

2. Frederick William III of Prussia

20. Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt

10. Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt

21. Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg

5. Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt

22. Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken

11. Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken

23. Countess Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken

1. Princess Alexandrine of Prussia

24. Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

12. Charles Louis Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg-Mirow

25. Princess Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen

6. Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

26. Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen

13. Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen

27. Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach

3. Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

28. Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (= 20)

14. Landgrave George William of Hesse-Darmstadt

29. Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg (= 21)

7. Landgravine Friederike Caroline Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt

30. Count Christian Karl Reinhard of Leiningen-Dachsburg-Falkenburg-Heidesheim

15. Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Falkenburg-Dagsburg

31. Countess Katharina Polyxena of Solms-Rödelheim