Burial Roskilde Cathedral House House of Mecklenburg | Religion Lutheran | |
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Reign 25 August 1699 - 15 March 1721 Born 28 August 1667
Güstrow ( 1667-08-28 ) Issue Christian VI of Denmark
Princess Charlotte Amalie Father Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow Mother Magdalene Sibylle of Holstein-Gottorp Died 15 March 1721, Copenhagen, Denmark Spouse Frederick IV of Denmark (m. 1695) Children Christian VI of Denmark, Princess Charlotte Amalie of Denmark Parents Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Magdalene Sibylle of Holstein-Gottorp Similar Charlotte Amalie of Hesse‑Kassel, Sophie Magdalene of Brande, Anne Sophie Reventlow, Louise of Great Britain, Marie of Hesse‑Kassel | ||
Louise of mecklenburg g strow queen of denmark and norway
Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (28 August 1667 – 15 March 1721) was Queen consort of Denmark and Norway as the first spouse of the King Frederick IV of Denmark.
Contents
Life
She was born in Güstrow in the family of Duke Gustav Adolph of Mecklenburg-Güstrow and Magdalene Sibylle of Holstein-Gottorp as a great-great-granddaughter of Frederick II of Denmark. Her maternal grandparents were Duke Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp and Marie Elisabeth of Saxony. Louise grew up into a tiny court characterized by pietistic feelings and rigid religiosity led by her father who wrote religious songs in pietistic spirit. When Louise was chosen as consort to the Danish-heir it received wholehearted acceptance from the royal house, while the Crown Prince himself, despite the promise of greater choice, in fact, had no other choice than the Duke's daughters, Louise was the one chosen by Frederick as he expected her to accept his affairs without protests.
On 5 December 1695, Louise married Crown Prince Frederik at Copenhagen Castle and became Queen consort of Denmark in 1699. Their only children who reached maturity were King Christian VI of Denmark and Princess Charlotte Amalie of Denmark.
Louise lived quietly at the Danish Court. Unlike Frederick IV she never gained popularity with the population. Louise figured in her role as queen at official ceremonies, but was otherwise ignored at court, and her isolated and quiet life has made her less known in history. Her passive attitude did not gain her any respect from the royal house. It is mentioned that she caused embarrassing scenes at court during Frederick's affairs and that she had a bad temperament.
Queen Louise suffered because of her husband's infidelity. Frederick even entered two morganatic marriages; in 1703, he committed bigamy with Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg, and in 1712 with Anna Sophie Reventlow. The day after Queen Louise's funeral Frederick IV married Anna Sophie Reventlow again and less than two months later he raised her to the status of Queen. Despite his bigamous relationships, the queen, ever mindful of duty, continued to bear him children, the children Frederick had with his morganatic wives all died after one year of life. Queen Louise was close to her son Christian, who would later increase the cause of his mother into the Danish court. She was strongly influenced by Pietism and she sought solace in religion. Her main interest was reading religious books. After her death, her interest in religion was praised by the clergy, who compared her with the legendary Queen Esther. Her collection of 400 books, which was donated to the royal library after her death, was mainly composed of ascetic religious literature in German. In 1708–09, she was regent during her husband's trip to Italy.
Rosenborg was completely abandoned as a Royal residence while Louise was Queen. The building of a new summer residence, Frederiksborg Palace, began in 1699 and was ready for occupation in 1703.
She died in Copenhagen and was buried in the Roskilde Cathedral.