| Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel | |
|---|---|
 Prince Charles wearing the sash of theOrder of the Elephant | |
| Born | (1744-12-19)19 December 1744 Kassel,Hesse |
| Died | 17 August 1836(1836-08-17) (aged 91) Louisenlund,Schleswig |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | |
| House | Hesse-Kassel |
| Father | Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel |
| Mother | Princess Mary of Great Britain |
Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel (Danish:Carl,German andNorwegian:Karl; 19 December 1744 – 17 August 1836) was acadet member of thehouse of Hesse-Kassel and a Danish generalfield marshal. Brought up with relatives at the Danish court, he spent most of his life inDenmark, serving as royal governor of the twin duchies ofSchleswig-Holstein from 1769 to 1836 andcommander-in-chief of theNorwegian army from 1772 to 1814.[1]
Charles was born inKassel on 19 December 1744 as the second surviving son ofHesse-Kassel's then hereditary prince, the futureFrederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, and his first wifePrincess Mary of Great Britain. His mother was a daughter of KingGeorge II of Great Britain and PrincessCaroline of Ansbach and a sister ofQueen Louise of Denmark.
His father, the future landgrave (who reigned from 1760 and died in 1785), left the family in 1747 and converted toCatholicism in 1749. In 1755 he formally ended the marriage with Mary. The grandfather,William VIII, Landgrave of Hesse, granted thecounty of Hanau and its revenues to Mary and her sons.
The young Prince Charles and his two brothers,William andFrederick, were raised by their mother and fostered byProtestant relatives since 1747.
In 1756, Mary moved toDenmark to look after her sister Louise's children. She took her own children with her and they were raised at the royal court atChristiansborg Palace inCopenhagen. The Hessian princes later remained in Denmark, becoming important lords and royal functionaries. Only the eldest brotherWilliam returned toHesse, in 1785, upon ascending the landgraviate.
Charles began a military career inDenmark-Norway. In 1758 he was appointedcolonel, at the age of 20major general and in 1765 was put in charge of theartillery. After his cousin,King Christian VII, acceded to the throne in 1766, he was appointedlieutenant general,commander of theRoyal Guard, knight of theOrder of the Elephant and member of thePrivy Council.
In 1766, he was appointedGovernor-general of Norway as successor toJacob Benzon (1688–1775). He held the position until 1770 but which remained mostly titular, as he never went to Norway during this period.[2]
In 1763, his elder brotherWilliam married their first cousin, Danish-NorwegianPrincess Caroline. Charles followed suit on 30 August 1766 atChristiansborg Palace — his wife wasLouise of Denmark, and Charles thus became brother-in-law to his cousin, King Christian VII. The marriage took place despite advice given against it, due to many accusations of debauchery by Prince Charles and the poor influence he had on the King.[3]
Shortly after, Charles fell into disfavour at court, and in early 1767 he and Louise left Copenhagen to live with his mother in thecounty of Hanau. They would have their first child,Marie Sophie, there in 1767 and then their second child, William, in 1769.
In 1768, Charles purchased the landed property and village ofOffenbach-Rumpenheim from theEdelsheim family [de]. In 1771 he had themanor expanded into a castle and princely seat. His motherMary lived in the palace until her death in 1772. In 1781, Charles sold theRumpenheim Castle to his younger brother,Frederick.
In 1769, Prince Charles of Hesse was appointed royalGovernor of the twin duchies ofSchleswig andHolstein (initially only the royal share, so-calledHolstein-Glückstadt before in 1773 the king also acquired the ducal share in Holstein) on behalf of the government of his brother-in-law, KingChristian VII of Denmark and Norway. Charles took up residence atGottorp Castle inSchleswig with his family. They would have their third childFrederick there in 1771.
In 1770, King Christian VII gave his sister the estate ofTegelhof inGüby between theCity of Schleswig andEckernförde. From 1772 to 1776, Charles had a summer residence constructed on the site which he namedLouisenlund in honour of his wife.
In September 1772, Charles was appointedcommander-in-chief of the Norwegian army and he and Louise moved toChristiana. The assignment was a consequence of thecoup d'état of KingGustav III of Sweden on 19 August 1772 and the subsequent prospect of war with Sweden. While in Norway, Princess Louise gave birth to their fourth child Juliane in 1773. Even though Charles returned to Schleswig-Holstein in 1774, he continued to function as commander-in-chief of the Norwegian army until 1814. At the time of his return from Norway, he was appointedfield marshal.[4]
During theWar of the Bavarian Succession in 1778–79, he acted as a volunteer in the army ofFrederick the Great and gained the trust of thePrussian king. Once, when Frederick was speaking againstChristianity, he noticed a lack of sympathy of Charles' part. In response to an inquiry from the king, Charles said, "Sire, I am not more sure of having the honour of seeing you, than I am that Jesus Christ existed and died for us as our Saviour on the cross." After a moment of surprised silence, Frederick declared, "You are the first man who has ever declared such a belief in my hearing."[5]
In 1788, the Swedish attack onRussia during theRusso-Swedish War forced Denmark-Norway to declare war on Sweden in accordance with its 1773 treaty obligations to Russia. Prince Charles was put in command of a Norwegian army which briefly invaded Sweden throughBohuslän and won theBattle of Kvistrum Bridge. The army was closing in on Gothenburg, when peace was signed on 9 July 1789 following the diplomatic intervention ofGreat Britain andPrussia, bringing this so-calledLingonberry War to an end. On 12 November, the Norwegian army retreated back toNorway. During the retreat, the Danish-Norwegian army lost 1,500–3,000 men to hunger, disease, poor sanitary conditions, and exposure to continual autumn rainfall. Prince Charles was later criticised for his direction of the campaign and although he continued to function as commander-in-chief, he had lost his popularity in Norway.
When the crown prince and regent of Denmark-Norway, the futureFrederick VI married Charles's eldest daughterMarie Sophie in 1790, he made several unsuccessful attempts at substantially influencing decisions of the government and the regent.[6]
Freemasonry gained official recognition inDenmark-Norway through Charles. He was the founder of numerous Masonic lodges and Master of the Chair of the four unitedHamburg lodges of theRite of Strict Observance, in which he held the office of coadjutor alongside the Grand Master, DukeFerdinand von Braunschweig, and later took over his position. In 1796, Karl von Hessen succeeded Duke Ferdinand, who had died in 1792, as Grand Master and head of the “RectifiedScottish Rite” (name of the Strict Observance after the Wilhelmsbad Convention), a position he held until his death in 1836.[7]
After theNapoleonic Wars, he took the Masonic lodgesZur aufgehenden Morgenröte in Frankfurt am Main andZu den vereinigten Freunden inMainz, which were founded by theGrand Orient de France and consisted mainly ofJewish members,[8] under his protection,[9] granted them a new constitution, and even obtained a patent for the Christian Scottish High Degrees for theZur aufgehenden Morgenröte lodge. In 1816 and 1817 was involved in the founding of multiple Lodges in Mainz,Bad Homburg and Frankfurt.[10][11][12] He was deeply committed to the interests of “his” lodges in Frankfurt and Mainz.
Charles was analchemist andRosicrucian with a keen interest in secret teachings.[9] During the decline of Strict Observance after the Wilhelmsbad Masonic Convention from July 16 to September 1, 1782, he, like Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick, became one of the most important members of theOrder of the Illuminati.[13] He was also the Grand master of theAsiatic Brethren and a member of theOrder of the Golden and Rosy Cross.
Charles was a remarkablepatron oftheater andopera. He had his own court theater inSchleswig, and he involved himself extensively in its operations.
During theFrench Revolutionary Wars, he was in command of the army which briefly occupiedHamburg andLübeck in 1801.
On 25 January 1805, Charles was granted the title "Landgrave of Hesse" by his elder brother, who had assumed the higher dignity and title of Imperial Prince-Elector.
In 1807, the manor and village ofGereby by theSchlei nearKappeln inSchwansen was renamedCarlsburg in honour of Prince Charles. Charles had purchased the property ofGereby in 1785, where he abolishedserfdom in 1790.
Following the death of his father's first cousin, princeFriedrich Wilhelm von Hessenstein, he inherited the estate ofPanker inHolstein in 1808.
In 1814,after the dissolution of Denmark-Norway, he lost the position of commander-in-chief of the Norwegian army, but was appointed generalfield marshal of the Danish army. In 1816 he became Grand Commander of theOrder of the Dannebrog.
Prince Charles died on 17 August 1836 in the castle ofLouisenlund inGüby,Schleswig.
On 30 August 1766 atChristiansborg Palace inCopenhagen, Charles marriedPrincess Louise of Denmark, his first cousin, the youngest daughter of his aunt, PrincessLouise of Great Britain, and KingFrederick V of Denmark and Norway, who died the same year. The couple had the following children:
Princess Louise died atGottorp Castle on 12 January 1831.
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