Luise, Königin v. Preussen, 1776-1810 Gemahlin Friedrich Wilhelms III. / T. Dep. No 5228a

Title

Luise, Königin v. Preussen, 1776-1810 Gemahlin Friedrich Wilhelms III. / T. Dep. No 5228a

Description

Portrait of Queen Luise of Prussia (born 10.03.1776 in Hanover, died 19.07.1810 at Hohenzieritz Castle), she was the wife of King Frederick William III of Prussia. Portrait framed with a golden border, on the left the coat of arms of Prussia and on the right crown and sceptre.

ca. 1850

Artist

Anonymus

Historical Description

Luise Duchess of Mecklenburg 1776- 1810 ),was the wife of King Frederick William III of Prussia. Contemporaries described her as beautiful and graceful, and her informal manners seemed more bourgeois than aristocratic. Her life was closely linked to the dramatic events in Prussia's struggle against Napoleon Bonaparte. Luise's family background was the result of expedient connections of the high nobility across the borders of the small German states. Life at the Prussian court demanded of Luise a high degree of adaptation to unfamiliar people, rules and duties. Her unconstrained nature sometimes stood in the way. It was helpful for Luise's adjustment to the new situation that Frederick William rejected any kind of traditional formality in private life. The couple cultivated simple manners that were unusual in these circles. As a mother, Luise fulfilled all the expectations placed on her. In just under 17 years of marriage, she gave birth to ten children, seven of whom reached adulthood - an above-average rate for the medical and hygienic conditions of the time - and some of whom reached the highest positions. Her eldest son Frederick William was King of Prussia from 1840 to 1861, and the next-born William succeeded his brother on the throne and became German Emperor in 1871. Their daughter Friederike Charlotte married the heir to the throne Nicholas of Russia in 1817 and thus became Russian tsarina in 1825 under the name Alexandra Fedorovna.