The first scene of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story opens with the titular character's brother, Adolphus Frederick IV, the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in Mirow. Charlotte spies him signing what we soon learn is her marriage contract to King George III.
But who was Adolphus in real life? Did he really sign her marriage contract? Here's everything you need to know about Adolphus Frederick IV, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
He was the eldest son of Duke Carl, Prince of Mirow.
Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg—also known as Duke Carl, Prince of Mirow—and Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen had ten children (six of whom survived to adulthood). Queen Charlotte would later write in her memoirs of her parents, their "union, as it was founded on mutual affection, never suffered from any caprice."
Adolphus was born on May 5, 1738; Charles and Elisabeth's third child, and first son. "All the children were born at Mirow," Charlotte writes, "the palace of which bore a near resemblance to the castellated mansions of our old English nobility." His father was part of the Sterlitz branch of the House of Mecklenburg (hence Mecklenburg-Sterlitz), and when his uncle, Adolphus Frederick III, died without a heir, he became the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
His succession was "not a smooth and easy process," according to his biography on the official Mecklenburg-Sterlitz website. His mother, Princess Elisabeth, served as a regent for a year while he finished his studies.
Per the Royal Collection Trust, Dr. Nugent, who visited his court in 1766, said, "His chief diversion is doing good, in extending himself in acts of benevolence towards his subjects whose happiness seems to constitute the sole object of his ambition."
He organized the marriage of Queen Charlotte and King George III.
During the Seven Years War, Adolphus had his principality neutral, but in 1761, he allied with the British when he signed the marriage contract for his younger sister, Princess Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Sterlitz, to marry Britain's King George III. Per the royal family's official website, "King [George III] announced to his council in July 1761 his intention to wed the Princess, after which a party of escorts, led by The Earl of Harcourt, departed for Germany to bring Princess Charlotte to England. They arrived on 14 August 1761 and were received by Charlotte's brother, the current Duke, and the marriage contract was signed."
Along with another brother, Adolphus accompanied Charlotte to England, and attended her wedding. Two years after Charlotte's wedding to George, he was invested as a knight of the Order of the Garter, the oldest order chivalry in Great Britain. After Queen Charlotte married, the two corresponded regularly. Queen Charlotte's seventh son, Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, is named after him.
He never married.
There were rumors he was going to marry King George III's younger sister, Princess Louisa Anne, but due to her delicate health, the marriage contract was postponed and then she died at age 19 in 1769. In Queen Charlotte, he's shown to have a fictional romance with Lady Agatha Danbury—but as Lady Danbury is a fictional character, and so a relationship never happened.
He remained a bachelor his entire life. The Mecklenburg-Sterlitz website notes, he "was not a typical prince of his era, as he was not interested in popular pursuits such as hunting or shooting, preferring to go for rides in his chariot around his domain."
During his reign, he acquired estates, and loved throwing balls
He died at age 56 in Neusterlitz.
He is buried in the family crypt in Mirow. His younger brother, Charles Louis Frederick, succeeded him as Duke of Mecklenburg-Sterlitz.
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
