Frederick VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg

Frederick VI
Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
Reign20 January 1820 - 2 April 1829
PredecessorFrederick V
SuccessorLouis William
Born(1769-07-30)30 July 1769
Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Hesse[1]
Died2 April 1829(1829-04-02) (aged 59)
Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Hesse[1]
Burial10 April 1829
Mausoleum of the Landgraves, Homburg
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1818)​
HouseHesse-Homburg
FatherFrederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
MotherCaroline of Hesse-Darmstadt

Frederick VI (30 July 1769 – 2 April 1829) reigned as Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg from 1820 until his death in 1829.

Biography

Born in Homburg, Hesse, on 30 July 1769, Friedrich Joseph Ludwig Carl August[2] was the eldest son of the incumbent Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, Frederick V, and his wife Caroline of Hesse-Darmstadt, the eldest child of the then Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, Louis IX.

Frederick was appointed a captain of the Russian cavalry in 1783 and was made an Austrian general during the Great French War.[2] For his services in that conflict, he was created a Commander of the Austrian Military Order of Maria Theresa.[2]

Despite the vocal objections of her mother, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Frederick married Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom, the third daughter of King George III, in the Queen's House in the Mall (now integrated into Buckingham Palace) on 7 April 1818.[3] It was no love match: Elizabeth longed to be free from her domineering mother at any cost, while Frederick needed her sizeable dowry to improve the Landgraviate's strained finances.[4] As Elizabeth was over the age of 48 at the time of their marriage, this union produced no offspring.

Landgrave Frederick V died on 20 January 1820; Frederick succeeded him as monarch of the 221 km2 (85 sq mi) principality.[5] The new Landgrave struggled to repay his father's exorbitant debts.[6] Nine years into his reign, the Landgrave died of complications from a pre-existing leg wound.[7] He was succeeded by his brother, Louis William.

Ancestry

References

  • Fraser, Flora: Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III, John Murray, 2004, London, ISBN 0-7195-6108-6

Citations

  1. ^ a b Darryl Lundy (31 July 2005). "Friedrich VI Joseph Landgraf von Hessen-Homburg". thepeerage.com. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
  2. ^ a b c "Hesse-Homburg, Frederick Joseph Louis, Landgrave of Karl August.(Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950)" (PDF) (in German). Austrian Academy of Sciences. 1959. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
  3. ^ Fraser, p 306
  4. ^ Fraser, pp. 304 - 305
  5. ^ "Hesse-Homburg". webmap.geoinform.fh-mainz.de. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
  6. ^ Fraser, p 324
  7. ^ Fraser, p 351
Frederick VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
Born: 30 July 1769 Died: 2 April 1829
Regnal titles
Preceded by Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
1820–1829 		Succeeded by