Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg

Frederick Augustus II (16 November 1852 in Oldenburg – 24 February 1931 in Rastede) was the last ruling Grand Duke of Oldenburg. He married Princess Elisabeth Anna of Prussia, daughter of Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau and Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia. After her death, he married Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Frederick Augustus II
Grand Duke of Oldenburg
Reign13 June 1900 – 11 November 1918
PredecessorPeter II
SuccessorMonarchy abolished
Born(1852-11-16)16 November 1852
Oldenburg, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, German Confederation
Died24 February 1931(1931-02-24) (aged 78)
Rastede Palace, Rastede, Free State of Oldenburg, Weimar Republic
Burial
Ducal (Herzogliches) Mausoleum, Gertrudenfriedhof, Oldenburg
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1878; died 1895)​
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1896)​
    Issue
    HouseHouse of Holstein-Gottorp
    FatherPeter II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg
    MotherPrincess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg
    ReligionLutheranism

    Reign

    Frederick Augustus' reign began on 13 June 1900, when his father died. His reign came to an end on 11 November 1918, shortly before the German monarchy was abolished on 28 November 1918.

    Frederick was forced to abdicate his throne at the end of World War I, when the former Grand Duchy of the German Empire joined the post-war German Republic.[1] He and his family took up residence at Rastede Castle, where he took up farming and local industrial interests.[2] A year after his abdication, he asked the Oldenburg Diet for a yearly allowance of 150,000 marks, stating that his financial condition was "extremely precarious".[2]

    In 1931, Frederick died in Rastede.[1]

    Marriages and issue

    On 18 February 1878, Frederick Augustus married Princess Elisabeth Anna of Prussia, a daughter of Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia.[3] It was a double wedding, in which Princess Charlotte of Prussia (daughter of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Prussia) married Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Meiningen on the same day as Elisabeth Anna in Berlin.[4] The marriages were the first such occasions performed since Prussia had become the German Empire in 1870. Due to this increased status, the weddings were attended by many important personages, including King Leopold II of Belgium and his wife Queen Marie Henriette.[5] The Prince of Wales also attended, as one of the brides (Charlotte) was his niece.[6]

    Frederick Augustus and Elisabeth Anna had two children:

    NameBirthDeathNotes
    Duchess Sophia Charlotte2 February 187929 March 1964married Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia, a younger son of Wilhelm II of Germany.[2]
    Duchess Margaret13 October 188120 February 1882died in infancy.

    Elisabeth died on 28 August 1895, before he succeeded as Grand Duke.[7] Before her death, her husband had been building a new residential palace; once she died, Frederick named the new building the Elisabeth-Anna-Palais in her honor.

    On 24 October 1896, Frederick Augustus married Duchess Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, a daughter of Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg.[3][2] He succeeded as Grand Duke of Oldenburg in 1900.

    Frederick Augustus and Elisabeth had five children:

    NameBirthDeathNotes
    Nicolas Frederick William, Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg10 August 18973 April 1970married Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont.
    Duke Frederick Augustus25 March 190026 March 1900twin with Alexandrine, died in infancy.
    Duchess Alexandrine25 March 190026 March 1900twin with Frederick Augustus, died in infancy.
    Duchess Ingeborg Alix20 July 190110 January 1996married Prince Stephan Alexander of Schaumburg-Lippe, a younger son of Georg, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe.
    Duchess Altburg Marie Mathilde Olga19 May 190316 June 2001married Josias, Hereditary Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont.

    Honours

    Ancestry

    References
    1. "Duchess Elisabeth", The New York Times, Oldenburg, 5 September 1955
    2. "Former Grand Duke of Oldenburg Dies", The New York Times, Oldenburg, 25 February 1931
    3. Lundy, Darryl. "The Peerage: Elisabeth Anne Prinzessin von Preußen". Retrieved 26 December 2009.
    4. Radziwill, pp. 116–17.
    5. Radziwill, pp. 117–18.
    6. Radziwill, p. 118.
    7. "Princess Elizabeth of Prussia Dead", The New York Times, Berlin, 29 August 1895
    8. Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Großherzogtums Oldenburg: 1853. Schulze. 1853. p. 28.
    9. Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Großherzogtums Oldenburg: 1854. Schulze. 1854. p. 26.
    10. Braunschweig, Staat (Hg.) (1905): Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Herzogtums Braunschweig für 1905. In: Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Herzogtums Braunschweig 1905. p. 11
    11. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1907), "Königliche Orden" p. 28
    12. Staatshandbücher für das Herzogtum Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (1865), "Herzogliche Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden" p. 32
    13. "Schwarzer Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), vol. 1, Berlin, 1886, p. 8 – via hathitrust.org{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
    14. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen (1879), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" p. 12
    15. Almanach royal officiel: 1879. 1879. p. 51.
    16. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Herzogtum Anhalt (1894) "Herzoglicher Haus-orden Albrecht des Bären" p. 17
    17. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Bayern (1908), "Königliche Orden" p. 7
    18. Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1900), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 16 Archived 2020-09-06 at the Wayback Machine
    19. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1910), "Großherzogliche Orden" p. 40
    20. Sachsen (1901). "Königlich Orden". Staatshandbuch für den Königreich Sachsen: 1901. Dresden: Heinrich. p. 5 – via hathitrust.org.
    21. Italy. Ministero dell'interno (1920). Calendario generale del regno d'Italia. p. 57.
    22. The London Gazette, issue 28030, p. 4083
    23. "A Szent István Rend tagjai" Archived 22 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
    24. Bille-Hansen, A. C.; Holck, Harald, eds. (1912) [1st pub.:1801]. Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1912 [State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1912] (PDF). Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender (in Danish). Copenhagen: J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri. p. 5. Retrieved 16 September 2019 – via da:DIS Danmark.
    25. Sveriges Statskalender (in Swedish), 1915, p. 671, retrieved 20 February 2019 – via runeberg.org

    Bibliography
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