Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg (19 September 1852 – 17 May 1923) was a member of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and general of the Mecklenburg cavalry.

Life

Duke Paul Frederick was born in Ludwigslust Castle as the second eldest son of Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and his first wife Princess Augusta Reuss of Köstritz, the daughter of Prince Henry LXIII Reuss of Köstritz. Duke Paul Frederick married in Schwerin on 5 May 1881 his cousin, the Austrian born Princess Marie of Windisch-Graetz, the daughter of Prince Hugo of Windisch-Graetz and his wife Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The couple who had five children who were all raised Roman Catholic, the religion of Princess Marie, lived a quiet life in Venice. While in Venice the family befriended Cardinal Sarto (later Pope Pius X) who often visited the family and acted as a spiritual advisor for them. On 21 April 1884 Duke Paul Frederick renounced his and his sons rights of succession to Mecklenburg-Schwerin in favour of his younger brothers and their sons, so they would take precedence over him and his. In 1887, Duke Paul Fredrick raised a Lutheran decided to convert to Roman Catholicism the religion of his wife and children. In 1906 after upsetting his nephew Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, over the amount of money that he was spending Duke Paul Frederick and his wife were ordered to submit to the controller of the royal household. Duke Paul Frederick died in Ludwigslust, where he and his wife are both buried in the Louisenkapelle.

Issue

Title, style and honours

Title & style

Honours

• Mecklenburg: • * Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Collar and Crown in Ore • * Grand Cross of the Griffon • * Memorial Medal for Grand Duke Frederick Francis III • * Military Merit Cross (Schwerin) • * Cross for Distinction in War (Strelitz) • undefined: Knight of St. Hubert, 1912 • Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order, with Swords • Hesse-Darmstadt: Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, 12 October 1864 • Oldenburg: Grand Cross of the Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Collar and Golden Crown • Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Grand Cross of the White Falcon, 1876 • Prussia: • * Knight of the Black Eagle, 29 August 1879; with Collar, 1880 • * Grand Cross of the Red Eagle • * Iron Cross, 2nd Class • * Commemorative Medal for 1863 • * German War Memorial Medal for 1870/71 • undefined: Knight of the Rue Crown • Schaumburg-Lippe: Military Merit Medal

Ancestry