Peter II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg explained

Peter II
Succession:Grand Duke of Oldenburg
Reign:27 February 1853 – 13 June 1900
Predecessor:Augustus
Successor:Frederick Augustus II
Spouse:Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg
Full Name:German: Nikolaus Friedrich Peter
Issue:Frederick Augustus II
Duke Georg Ludwig
House:House of Holstein-Gottorp
Father:Augustus
Mother:Princess Ida of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym
Birth Date:1827 7, df=yes
Birth Place:Oldenburg
Death Date: (aged 72)
Death Place:Rastede
Place Of Burial:Ducal Mausoleum, Gertrudenfriedhof, Oldenburg
Religion:Lutheranism

Peter II (German: Nikolaus Friedrich Peter) (8 July 1827 – 13 June 1900) was the reigning Grand Duke of Oldenburg from 1853 to 1900. He claimed hereditary parts of Duchy of Holstein after the Second Schleswig War in 1864. After signing a treaty on 23 February 1867 in Kiel, he renounced his claims. In return, he received the district of Ahrensbök, the Prussian parts of the former Principality of Lübeck other than the village of Travenhorst, and was given a million taler as compensation from Prussia. Thus the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg gained access to the Baltic Sea.

Birth and family

Duke Nikolaus Friedrich Peter was the only son of Augustus, Grand Duke of Oldenburg by his second wife Princess Ida of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym. He was born on 8 July 1827 in Oldenburg.

Early life

In his youth, he served as a General of Cavalry in the Prussian army. He also served as General of Infantry in the Hanoverian Army.

Marriage

On 10 February 1852, Peter married Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg. She was the fourth daughter of Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg and Amelia of Württemberg, and was a sister of Queen Marie of Hanover and Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna of Russia.

They had two sons, Frederick Augustus (born in 1852) and George (born in 1855). Peter II may have had an illegitimate son, Peter Altmann (Rastede 1857-Brighton 1934), married and had issue.

Reign

He succeeded his father as Grand Duke in 1853. Peter ruled over a population of roughly 800,000.

Peter's family had ties to the Russian imperial family (both were descendants of Christian Albrecht of Holstein-Gottorp), so that he sided with Russia against Austria during the Crimean War. During the First Schleswig-Holstein War, he laid claim to part of the territories seized by Prussia, but in 1866 ceded his claim to the duchies. The following year, he created a military compact with Prussia, in which his troops were incorporated into the corps of Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia during the Franco-Prussian War.

In 1896, his wife Elisabeth died. She died a year after their daughter-in-law Elisabeth Anna.

After he suffered from heart trouble resulting from overwork, Peter's physicians recommended he have a long trip abroad. He died the following year, on 13 June 1900 at his summer residence in Rastede. He was succeeded as Grand Duke by his eldest son, Frederick Augustus.

Ancestry and descent

Issue

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NameBirthDeathNotes
16 November 1852 24 February 1931married firstly Princess Elisabeth Anna of Prussia and secondly Duchess Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
Duke Georg Ludwig of Oldenburg 27 June 1855 30 November 1939