Elisabeth Christine Ulrike of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (8 November 1746 – 18 February 1840), was Crown Princess of Prussia as the first wife of Crown Prince Frederick William, her cousin and the future king, Frederick William II of Prussia.
Born in Wolfenbüttel to Charles I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Philippine Charlotte of Prussia, she married her maternal first cousin, Fredrick William, at the insistance of Fredrick the Great, who wanted heirs. The marriage started off with promise with the birth of a child, Frederica Charlotte but the couple soon became unhappy, due to adultery on both sides as well as her hot temper. The king initially tolerated these affairs, hoping for more children from the couple but when Elisabeth became pregnant by one of her lovers, Fredrick decided dissolving the marriage was the best idea and after only three years of marriage they divorced in 1769.
Elisabeth was banished from court and then first put under house arrest in Küstrin Castle but was then put in the care of her cousin, Duke Augustus William of Brunswick-Bevern at the Ducal Castle of Stettin. In 1774, after an attempted escape to Venice which only failed when her accomplice disappeared, Elisabeth was granted a summer residence at Jasenitz. After the death of Fredrick the Great in 1786 her living conditions much improved and occasionally her former spouse visited her. During her last years, she only received one caller, the Crown prince, and on the 18 February 1840 she died at the age of ninety-three, outliving her former husband, all of her siblings as well as her only child who Elisabeth hadn't seen since her divorce almost seventy years previously.
Background and family
Elizabeth Christine was the seventh child and third daughter of Charles I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Princess Philippine Charlotte of Prussia. Her father was brother to the Queen of Prussia and the Queen of Denmark, while her mother was a sister of Frederick the Great. The luckless Ivan VI of Russia, who spent almost his entire life in captivity, was a first cousin. Elizabeth Christine held the rank of Duchess in Brunswick with the style of Serene Highness and the title of Princess ("Her Serene Highness Princess Elisabeth Christine").
Marriage
King Frederick the Great was childless, and his heir presumptive was Crown Prince Frederick William. The king and his court were naturally anxious to see the crown prince settled into a suitable marriage. As the maternal niece of the king of Prussia and the paternal niece of the queen of Prussia, Elisabeth Christine was felt to be congenial and suitable to marry her cousin Crown Prince Frederick William and be the mother of next generation of the Prussian royal family.
The wedding ceremony between Elisabeth Christine and Crown Prince Frederick William was originally planned to take place at Charlottenburg Palace's Chapel, but in the end took place on 14 July 1765, on the family country estate Schloss Salzdahlum. Elisabeth Christine was described as handsome in appearance and graceful in manner, and as a good dancer; other, more ambiguous epithets were also used: she was lively, high-spirited and impetuous in disposition, and she was engaging and outgoing in her interaction with everybody. Her beauty, intelligence and spirited manner made her a favorite of her uncle the king, who otherwise seldom took interest in women.
King Frederick had hoped that the marriage would quickly produce an heir, and was delighted when Elisabeth Christine became pregnant not long after the wedding. It was a disappointment to him when Elisabeth Christine gave birth to a girl, Princess Frederica Charlotte, on 7 May 1767. Nevertheless, King Frederick II gifted his niece a breakfast service worth 40,000 thalers as a childbirth present. Count Ernst Ahasverus Heinrich von Lehndorff (1727-1811), Chamberlain at the royal court of Prussia, noted in his diary: "I'm convinced she would have preferred 3,000 thalers in cash". On her part, Elizabeth Christine showed little maternal feelings: she would sometimes call her daughter "little rubbish".