Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow
Encyclopedia
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
as the first spouse of the King Frederick IV of Denmark
Frederick IV of Denmark
Frederick IV was the king of Denmark and Norway from 1699 until his death. Frederick was the son of King Christian V of Denmark and Norway and Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel .-Foreign affairs:...
.
She was born in Güstrow
Güstrow
Güstrow is a town in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany the capital of the district of Güstrow. It has a population of 30,500 and is the seventh largest town in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Since 2006 Güstrow has the official suffix Barlachstadt.-Geography:The town of Güstrow is located...
in the family of Duke Gustav Adolph of Mecklenburg-Güstrow
Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow
Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg [-Güstrow] was the last ruler of Mecklenburg-Güstrow from 1636 until his death and last Lutheran Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Ratzeburg from 1636 to 1648.-Life:...
and Magdalene Sibylle of Holstein-Gottorp. Her maternal grandparents were Duke Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp
Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp was a Duke of Holstein-Gottorp.He was the elder son of Duke Johann Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp and Augusta of Denmark. His mother was a daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark....
and Marie Elisabeth of Saxony.
On 5 December 1695, Louise married Crown Prince Frederik and became Queen consort of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in 1699. Their only children who reached maturity were King Christian VI of Denmark
Christian VI of Denmark
Christian VI was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746.He was the son of King Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. He married Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and fathered Frederick V.-The reign and personality of Christian VI:To posterity Christian...
and Princess Charlotte Amalie of Denmark
Charlotte Amalie of Denmark
Charlotte Amalie of Danmark was a Danish princess, issue of King Frederick IV of Denmark and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow....
. She was chosen by Frederick as he expected her to accept his affairs without protests.
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. She was passive attitude did not give her any respect from the royal house. It is mentioned that she caused embarrassment at court during Frederick's affairs and that she had a bad temperament. Queen Louise suffered because of her husband's infidelity, which caused embarrassing scenes at the Court. Frederick even entered two morganatic marriages; in 1703, he committed bigamy
Bigamy
In cultures that practice marital monogamy, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. Bigamy is a crime in most western countries, and when it occurs in this context often neither the first nor second spouse is aware of the other...
with Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg
Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg
Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg was a Danish noble and lady in waiting. She was the royal mistress and later the first morganatic spouse of King Frederick IV of Denmark in a bigamous marriage....
, 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. Queen Louise was close to her son Christian. She was strongly influenced by Pietism
Pietism
Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late 17th century to the mid-18th century and later. It proved to be very influential throughout Protestantism and Anabaptism, inspiring not only Anglican priest John Wesley to begin the Methodist movement, but also Alexander Mack to...
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
Esther
Esther , born Hadassah, is the eponymous heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther.According to the Bible, she was a Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus...
. 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
Frederiksborg Palace
Frederiksborg castle is a castle in Hillerød, Denmark. It was built as a royal residence for King Christian IV, and is now known as The Museum of National History. The current building replaced a previous castle erected by Frederick II, and is the largest Renaissance palace in Scandinavia...
, began in 1699 and was ready for occupation in 1703.
She died in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
and was buried in the Roskilde Cathedral
Roskilde Cathedral
Roskilde Cathedral , in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Denmark. The first Gothic cathedral to be built of brick, it encouraged the spread of the Brick Gothic style throughout Northern Europe...
.
Children
- Christian (28 June 1697 – 1 October 1698)
- King Christian VI of DenmarkChristian VI of DenmarkChristian VI was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746.He was the son of King Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. He married Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and fathered Frederick V.-The reign and personality of Christian VI:To posterity Christian...
(10 December 1699 – 6 August 1746) - Frederik Charles (23 October 1701 – 7 January 1702)
- George (6 January 1703 – 12 March 1704)
- Princess Charlotte Amalie of DenmarkCharlotte Amalie of DenmarkCharlotte Amalie of Danmark was a Danish princess, issue of King Frederick IV of Denmark and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow....
(6 October 1706 – 28 October 1782)