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Frederick Charles, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön
Frederick Charles, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön
	Frederick Charles of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön, mid-18th-century engraving
Born	4 August 1706; Sønderborg castle
Died	19 October 1761 (aged 55); Traventhal
Spouse	Christine Ermegaard Reventlow
Issue	Charlotte Amalie Wilhelmine, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg
House	House of Oldenburg
Father	Prince Christian Charles of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön-Norburg
Mother	Dorothea Christina von Aichelberg

Frederick Charles of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (4 August 1706, in Sønderborg – 18–19 October 1761, in Traventhal), known as Friedrich Karl or Friedrik Carl of Holstein-Plön, was a member of a cadet branch of the Danish royal family and the last duke of the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (or Holstein-Plön), a Danish royal prince, and a knight of the Order of the Elephant. When he died without a male heir born of his marriage to Countess Christine Armgard von Reventlow, rule of the Duchy of Holstein-Plön returned to the Danish crown.

Early life

Frederick Charles was born on August 4, 1706, at Sønderborg castle, the posthumous and only son of Christian Charles (1674–1706), a brother of Duke Joachim Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön. That duke died in 1722 without closer male heirs than his nephew, who in time succeeded his uncle as partitioned-off duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön.

Frederick Charles's accession was delayed until 1729 because his father had contracted a morganatic marriage with his mother, Dorothea Christina von Aichelberg, who was recognised as a Danish princess by the King only years after her husband's death.^[1]

The Baroque ruler

Plön enjoyed a vibrant cultural life under Frederick Charles's rule and artistic patronage. The duke designed, built, and rebuilt residences and gardens in the baroque and rococo styles, some of which still stand (the ducal Plön Castle and the so-called "Princes' House" in Plön among them). Others no longer exist (of particular note is the ducal summer residence in Traventhal, demolished in the nineteenth century).

As no son born of Frederick Charles's marriage survived, in 1756 he concluded a family pact with Frederick V of Denmark, naming the king his successor to the duchy of Plön. The provisions were fulfilled just five years later, when Frederick Charles died, at his little palace in Traventhal, in the night of October 18–19, 1761.

Family

Frederick Charles, his wife, his three younger daughters, his mother, and a servant in the garden of Schloss Traventhal, 1759.

Frederick Charles had six children from his marriage with Countess Christine Armgard von Reventlow (1711–1779), a daughter of the Danish general Christian Detlev, Count von Reventlow, and niece of the Danish queen consort Anne Sophie von Reventlow, who, as had his mother, had been born into a non-dynastic noble family:^[2]

Princess Sophia Christine Luise of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (November 5, 1732, Plön – March 18, 1757, Quedlinburg), a canoness of Quedlinburg Abbey.
Princess Fredericka Sophie Charlotte of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (November 18, 1736, Plön – January 4, 1769, Schönberg), who married Georg Ludwig II of Erbach-Schönberg.
Prince Christian Charles of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (November 2, 1738, Plön – February 27, 1740, Plön), who died in infancy.
Stillborn child (March 1741, Plön).
Princess Charlotte Amalie Wilhelmine of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (April 23, 1744, Plön – October 11, 1770, Augustenburg), who married Frederick Christian I of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg and who became a great-great-grandmother of the last German empress.
Princess Louise Albertine of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (July 21, 1748, Plön – March 2, 1770, Ballenstedt), who married Frederick Albert of Anhalt-Bernburg.

Additionally, Frederick Charles had children by two mistresses: by Sophie Agnes Olearius, with whom he conducted a six-year liaison, six daughters; and by his maîtresse-en-titre, Maria Catharina Bein, sister of the court chamberlain, three sons (two of whom died childless) and two daughters (one of whom died in childhood), all of whom the duke recognized and legitimated, and on whom (or their mothers) he bestowed lands, titles, and money.^[3] On the 30 January 2024 episode of Finding Your Roots, it was shown that Frederick Charles is a sixth-great-grandfather of American actor Bob Odenkirk, through his mistress Maria Catharina Bein and his last surviving son, Friedrich Carl Steinholz.^[4]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Frederick Charles, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön

8. Joachim Ernest, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön

4. Augustus, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön-Norburg

9. Duchess Dorothea Auguste of Holstein-Gottorp

2. Prince Christian Charles of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön-Norburg

10. Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode

5. Elisabeth Charlotte, Princess of Anhalt-Harzgerode

11. Princess Johanna Elisabeth of Nassau-Hadamar

1. Frederick Charles, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön

12. Christoph von Aichelburg

6. Johann Franz von Aichelburg

13. Helene Marie Klenke

3. Dorothea Christina von Aichelberg

14. Karl von Trautenburg

7. Anne Sophie von Trautenburg

15. Sophie von Ahlefeldt

References

^ Huberty, Michel; Giraud, Alain; Magdelaine, F. et B. (1994). L'Allemagne Dynastique, Tome VII, Oldenbourg. France: Laballery. pp. 85, 110, 125, 151–153. ISBN 2-901138-07-1.
^ Huberty, Michel; Giraud, Alain; Magdelaine, F. et B. (1994). L'Allemagne Dynastique, Tome VII, Oldenbourg. France: Laballery. pp. 85, 110, 151–153, 169. ISBN 2-901138-07-1.
^ Heide Besse, "Willst du dein Herz mir schenken -- Friedrich Carl von Sonderburg-Plön und die Frauen", in Jahrbuch fuer Heimatkunde im Kreis Plön; Plön, Germany: Arbeitsgemeinschaft fuer Heimatkunde im Kreis Plön e.V.; Volume 30 (2000), pages 47-64. Dirck W. Storm, The Holstein Steinholzes: Their Origin and Descent; privately published monograph [2008]; passim.
^ Kanter, Jake (January 30, 2024). "Bob Odenkirk Trashes The "Twisted" Royal Family Before Being Told He's Related To King Charles III". Deadline. Retrieved January 30, 2024.

Bibliography

Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen, Elke Imberger, Dieter Lohmeier, & Ingwer Momsen, Die Fürsten des Landes: Herzöge und Grafen von Schleswig, Holstein und Lauenburg; Neumünster, Germany: Wachholtz Verlag, 2008.
Traugott Schulze & Gerd Stolz, Die Herzogszeit in Plön, 1564-1761; Husum, Germany: Husum Verlag, 1983.
Dirck W. Storm, The Holstein Steinholzes: Their Origin and Descent; privately published monograph [2008].
William Addams Reitwiesner, "The Ancestry of Duke Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein (1829-1880)" (<http://wargs.com/royal/danneskjold.html>, accessed August 9, 2018).

External links

German nobility
Frederick Charles, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön House of Oldenburg Born: 4 August 1706 Died: 18 October 1761
Preceded by Joachim Frederick	Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön 1722-1761	Succeeded by (Danish crown)