Louise of Prussia (1776–1810) of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was famous for her beauty and grace already during her lifetime. Close to the people, she was popular and full of joie de vivre as queen and mother. In the conflict with Napoleon she also played a political role alongside King Frederick William III, who found it difficult to make decisions.
Her escape from the French to Memel across the Curonian Spit in winter and under great hardship quickly became a legend. To prevent Prussia from being destructed, she met Napoleon in Tilsit – a highly unusual, almost piquant process at the time. Louise was regarded as a bitter opponent of the French emperor, so her readiness for this ultimately unsuccessful conversation was exaggerated as a "sacrifice". Louise's grief over Prussia's humiliation was associated with her early death in 1810. Later she was finally romanticised and stylised into a model of all feminine aspects in Prussia.
Title quote: Louise’s brother Georg von Mecklenburg-Strelitz after her death
Illustrations:
1.) Queen Louise with her sons fleeing to Memel, xylography by A. Zick, 1887
A key element in the Louise myth was the unusually open self-presentation of the royal family, which had already begun when the couple were crown prince and princess. Louise, as the good mother of her many children, thus became the model of a caring, devoted and self-sacrificing mother of Prussia.
2.) Queen Louise visiting the poor in East Prussia, wood engraving by G. Meyer according to a painting by Hugo Händler, late 19th century.