Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen (4 August 1713 – 29 June 1761) was a Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She served as regent for her son after the deaths in 1752–1753 of her husband and brother-in-law of, respectively, the ducal appanage of Mirow and of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Biography Elisabeth Albertine was a daughter of Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1681–1724), and his wife, Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach (1683–1742).
On 5 February 1735, Elisabeth married Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Mirow (23 February 1707 – 5 June 1752) at Eisfeld, the youngest son of Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and half-brother to Adolphus Frederick III. They became the parents of ten children.
Regency The death of her childless brother-in-law on 11 December 1752, six months after she was widowed, left Albertine as regent of both men's duchies on behalf of her eldest son, Adolphus Frederick IV, until he attained his majority at the age of 14 on 17 January 1753. During that brief period she ruled the Strelitz duchies under the protection of George II of Great Britain, warding off encroachments from Duke Christian Ludwig II, ruler of the Schwerin branch of the House of Mecklenburg.
She died in 1761, shortly before the marriage of her daughter Sophia Charlotte to King George III of Great Britain, and was buried at the ducal crypt in Mirow.
Issue Elisabeth had ten children, including the future Queen Charlotte, consort to King George III of the United Kingdom, six of whom survived to adulthood. Through her daughter Charlotte, Elisabeth Albertine is the ancestor of every British monarch beginning with George IV, who ascended the throne of the United Kingdom in 1820. +NameBirthDeathNotesChristiane Sophie Albertine6 December 173531 August 1794Never married, no issueCaroline22 December 1736died in infancyAdolphus Frederick5 May 17382 June 1794Never married, no issueElisabeth Christine13 April 17399 April 1741died in infancySophie Louise16 May 174031 January 1742died in infancyCharles Louis Frederick10 October 17416 November 1816(1) Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt, and had issue; (2) Princess Charlotte of Hesse-Darmstadt, and had issue.Ernst Gottlob Albert27 August 174227 January 1814Never married, no issue.Sophie Charlotte19 May 174417 November 1818Married King George III of the United Kingdom, and had issue.Gotthelf29 October 174531 October 1745died in infancyGeorge Augustus16 August 174814 November 1785Never married, no issue.
Ancestry
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