Adolphus Frederick II | |
Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz | |
Succession: | Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz |
Reign: | 8 March 1701 – 12 May 1708 |
Predecessor: | Friedrich Wilhelm |
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House: | Mecklenburg-Strelitz |
Father: | Adolf Frederick I |
Mother: | Maria Katharina of Brunswick-Dannenberg |
Birth Date: | 19 October 1658 |
Birth Place: | Grabow |
Religion: | Lutheranism |
Adolphus Frederick II (German: Adolf Friedrich II; 19 October 1658 – 12 May 1708), Duke of Mecklenburg, was the first Duke of the Mecklenburg-Strelitz, reigning from 1701 until his death. Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a part of the Holy Roman Empire.
He was born in Grabow as the posthumous son of Duke Adolf Frederick I of Mecklenburg and his second wife, Maria Katharina of Brunswick-Dannenberg (1616–1665).[1]
In 1695, the Mecklenburg-Güstrow branch of the House of Mecklenburg became extinct and Adolphus Frederick's nephew, Frederick William, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, laid claim to the inheritance, a move which Adolphus Frederick opposed.[2]
The dispute was settled in 1701 by dividing Mecklenburg-Güstrow between the two claimants. Frederick William took the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and Adolphus obtained the Principality of Ratzeburg and the Lordship of Stargard with the commanderies of Mirow and Nemerow, of which he formed the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.[3]
Following his death in 1708, Adolphus Frederick was succeeded as Duke by his son, Adolphus Frederick III.
In 1684 Adolphus Frederick II married firstly to Marie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (19 July 1659 – 16 January 1701), daughter of Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. They had five children:[4]
On 20 June 1702, Adolphus Frederick II married secondly to Princess Johanna of Saxe-Gotha (1 October 1680 – 9 July 1704), a daughter of Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, and Magdalena Sybille of Saxe-Weissenfels, who was his half-niece. There were no children from this marriage.[4]
On 10 June 1705 at Neustrelitz, Adolphus Frederick II married thirdly to Princess Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (13 March 1681 – 1 November 1751), a daughter of Christian William I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen and Countess Antonie Sybille of Barby-Mühlingen (1641–1684). They had two children:[4]
Through his granddaughter Charlotte, Adolphus Frederick is the ancestor of every British monarch beginning with George IV, who ascended the throne of the United Kingdom in 1820.