Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz from 1816 to 1860
George
(
German
:
Georg
; 12 August 1779 ? 6 September 1860) ruled the state of
Mecklenburg-Strelitz
as Grand Duke of Mecklenburg from 1816 until his death.
Early life
[
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]
Duke George Frederick Charles Joseph of Mecklenburg was born in
Hanover
, the eighth child of
Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
, and his first wife
Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt
. Following the death of his mother in 1782 his father married her sister
Charlotte
two years later in 1784 and the family moved from Hanover to
Darmstadt
. George remained in Darmstadt until 1794, when his father succeeded as the ruling Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and George accompanied his father to
Neustrelitz
.
[1]
Heir apparent
[
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]
Soon after arriving in Neustrelitz, George enrolled at the
University of Rostock
, where he studied until 1799.
[2]
After leaving university, George went to
Berlin
, where he lived at the
Prussian court
. George's sister
Louise
was married to the Prussian king,
Frederick William III
.
[1]
In 1802 he went to
Italy
, where he lived until 1804, He then returned to Germany and settled in Darmstadt.
[3]
Following the
Battle of Jena-Auerstedt
in 1806, George travelled to
Paris
, where he negotiated the entry of Mecklenburg-Strelitz into the
Confederation of the Rhine
. He also attended the
Congress of Vienna
in 1814, where Mecklenburg-Strelitz was raised to the status of a
grand duchy
.
[1]
Grand Duke
[
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]
When George succeeded his father on 6 November 1816, he found the grand duchy in a bad state. He set about raising the standard of education of his subjects by building schools. By the end of his reign, the majority of his subjects could read and write.
[3]
He also improved agriculture in the grand duchy and abolished
serfdom
.
[1]
George died on 6 September 1860 at Neustrelitz and was succeeded by his eldest son
Friedrich Wilhelm
.
Marriage and children
[
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]
On 12 August 1817 in
Kassel
, George married
Princess Marie of Hesse-Cassel
, the daughter of
Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel
and his wife,
Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen
.
[4]
Together they had four children:
Ancestry
[
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]
Ancestors of George, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
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References
[
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]
George, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Born:
12 August 1779
Died:
6 September 1860
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Regnal titles
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Preceded by
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Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
1816–1860
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Succeeded by
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