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


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

The Baroque ruler

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. Others no longer exist.
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 reified 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 had six children from his marriage with Christine Armgard von Reventlow, who, as his mother, had been born into a non-dynastic noble family:
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 and two daughters, all of whom the duke recognized and legitimated, and on whom he bestowed lands, titles, and money.

Ancestry

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