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She was born on March 10, 1776 at Herrenhausen Palace in Hannover and was baptized Luise Augusta Wilhelmina Amelia. Her father was Prince Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, a second son of an impoverished ducal house, who had married Princess Frederika Caroline Luise, daughter of Prince George William and brother to the reigning landgrave Louis IX of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Luise was the sixth child of her parents. She had two surviving older sisters, Charlotte and Therese. Very soon a younger sister, Frederica was born, as well a younger brother George. When Luise was six years old her mother died in childbirth. Her father promptly married her maternal aunt, but within one year she too was dead in childbirth, leaving a son.

Twice widowed in so short a space of time, Prince Charles did not try to find a third wife. He took a prolonged leave of absence from his military duties as governor of Hannover and traveled for several years. During this time his sons remained in Hannover, his eldest daughter Charlotte was already married and his three younger girls were sent to live with their grandmother in Darmstadt. After his wanderyears Prince Charles took a position as president of an Imperial Credit Commision and bought a house in Darmstadt. The girls had a Swiss governess who instructed them in history, geography, English and French.

In 1789 their sister Therese married the Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis. Luise and her sister Fredrica grew very close. They both grew up to be very attractive. The election of the Emperor took place in Frankfurt on July 5, 1792. Prince Charles made the decision to take the girls to Frankfurt. The temptation to show off his two lovely young marriageable daughters played a big part in this decision. The coronation ceremonies were managed by Count Clemens Metternich. He danced with Luise again and again at the ball which followed the coronation. Years later he wrote in his Memoirs, one would never guess that Luise and her sister sewed their own dresses, darned their slippers and had a monthly allowance of five Gulden, thirty kreutzer apiece.

On July 14, 1789 the bastille Prison, symbol of French autocracy, fell to a mob which had neither cannons nor any adequate supply of arms. A few months later another mob exultingly brought back the Royal family from Versailles to Paris. Urgent secret appeals for help came to the Emperor from King Louis XVI. Active response was delayed in the hope that some internal solution of the disorder might be found. But now, as of April 20, 1792, France was at war with Austria and Prussia. As a result to the Allies threat to France, the Tuileries was attacked, the Royal family imprisoned, and a republic proclaimed. When in January 1793 King Louis was tried and executed, the shock strengthened the resistance to France. A larger coaliton was formed, including England, Holland, Austria, Prussia, Spain and Sardinia. Prince Charles was not altogether pleased to learn that the little landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt had become part of the mighty coalition. To Luise's kindly uncle George the war brought employment. It also brought him into contact with King Frederick William II of Prussia, who had turned his attentions to the Rhineland and made his headquarters in Frankfurt.

With the King were the two older of his four sons, neither of whom had been at the Imperial coronation. The Crown Prince, his father's namesake, was twenty-three, his brother Louis twenty. It was an unfortunate circumstance that on August 3, 1770, two sons were born to Frederick William II, who was then Crown Prince of Prussia. One was the child of his wife, the other of his mistress, Wilhelmine Ritz. The love child was spoiled and pampered, while the existence of Frederick Wilhelm, the legitimate son was overlooked. After the age of seven he saw little of his mother, a vague woman who spent most of her time playing cards and trying to settle the debts she had incurred. Second in line to the throne, Frederick William led a lonely life in Potsdam with his tutors. Occassionally the boy was taken to walk in the gardens of Sans Souci. There he would meet a frail old gentleman with compelling eyes. It was the King, Frederick II, his great- uncle. To the end of his life the boy would remember some of their conversations. Most memorable of all was their final meeting. The old King had grown very feeble; he stroked the boys cheek and called him his dear Fritz. He spoke of honor. "Never pretend to be what you are not. Always be more than you seem..... much depends on you..... for after my death, I am afraid, all will go topsy-turvy here...with this trouble in France, when the breaking point comes, the very devil will be let loose. I fear you will have a hard time of it. So, stand firm and remember me."

The great King died on August 17, 1786. The new King and the new Crown Prince were summoned to Sans Souci, for once, Frederick William, now sixteen was not forgotten. No sooner was Frederick the Great buried in the crypt of the garrison church at Potsdam, Count Bruehl was appointed as tutor to the Crown Prince. Bruehl was a cultivated man who tried to interest his pupil in the classics. It was too late for that. Fritz was intelligent in practical everyday affairs, kindhearted, conscientious, upright and hardworking. He detested luxury and prided himself on his reserve; and a deep dislike of his extroverted father made him appear more cold and withdrawn than he was. But a change came over him after he met Princess Luise.

On March 13, 1793, Luise, her sister Frederica and their grandmother went to the French Theater in Frankfurt. They were presented to the King Frederick William II, who never missed a performance. He wrote home to Berlin a few days later, "I was struck by their beauty and can hardly wait for my sons to meet them." Apparently the King was unaware that the Crown Prince was also in theater that evening and instead of looking at the stage, he kept staring at the box where the girls were seated.

The following day, Frau Olenschlager, the wife of the Buergermeister of Frankfurt gave a luncheon. It was there that Luise met the man who was to become her husband. The King made a visit to the girls grandmother. The following day the Crown Prince proposed to Luise and his brother Louis proposed to her sister Frederica. A weeks later the engaments of the two sisters to the Princes of Prussia were officially announced and celebrated at Darmstadt. "It is she...and no other creature in this world" so described the Crown Prince his reaction to his first sight of Luise in the Frankfurt Theater. Indeed, it was one of the few love matches within the Hohenzollern dynasty.

The war was still in progress, but the King sent word to Fritz and Louis that they would have an extended leave from the army. The double wedding was set for December 1793.

The shades of evening had closed the short winter's day, when the two Princesses entered Potsdam, passing under the triumphal arch. A candle light was shining in almost every window. Their entire family accompanied the two Princesses. The following day the carriage carried the wedding party to the outskirts of Berlin. There, Luise and Frederica took their place in a glass coach, where they could be seen from every angle. It was December 23 and the streets were packed with onlookers. One observer said if you tossed an apple into the crowd, it would never reach the ground. At the gates of Berlin an arch had been set up. There the procession halted to accept flowers from a group of little girls. A small boy, son of Huguenot refugees from France, said a small poem of welcome to the Princesses.

The next day Luise and the Frederick William were married in the White Room of the Palace. The ceremony was followed by a torchlit parade to the reverberating sounds of trumpets and the rolling thunder of kettle drums. Two days later Frederica and Louis were married in the same fashion. The wedding festivities merged with the Christmas celebrations and went on into the Midwinter Carnival. It was not until mid-February that Luise's family left for home.

Luise suddenly realized that she had come to live in a strange place, among people whose attitude was very different from the close-knit camaraderie to which she was accustomed. Distrust of new relatives was a Hohenzollern characteristic. The older generation of the family in 1794 consisted of the Dowager Queen Elisabeth-Christine, the widow of Frederick the Great, and of his two brothers, Prince Henry and Prince Ferdinand. Henry had hoped to play an important part when his nephew came to the throne, however he had been snubbed and spent most of his time at his country house at Rheinsberg. The Crown Prince did not approve of his father's way of life, with his mistresses and their children. This may have well been the root of the domestic moral code he set for himself to follow. On April 1 the Crown Prince took Luise to Potsdam, where he had to oversee military manouvers. Luise was not sorry to leave Berlin, where she had been closely observed and for the first time in her life had encountered hostility. Life in Potsdam was more tranquil.

Since she was expecting her first child she did not accompany her husband on horseback. But she took part in shooting contests and games in the evening. Hand in hand they walked for hours in the parks of Sans Souci. Luise asked the King for permission to stay at Sans Souci, when six weeks later the Crown Prince had to leave for war. The aggressive intervention of Russia and Prussia in Poland had activated a popular riot. It was headed by Thaddeus Kosciusko, who had fought in the American revolution and hoped now to free his homeland from foreign dominaton. From Posen, the Crown Prince sent Luise a picture of Kosciusko, who was a hero even to those who were officially his enemies. The defeat and the capture of the patriot, the taking of Warsaw and the grisling mopping up of the campaign were left to the Russians. In September the Crown Prince was on his way home, as Luise wanted her husband at home for the birth of the child. A few days after his arrival, Luise fell down a flight of stairs and a girl was born prematurely dead. It was bitter but passing sorrow. There would be other children. On October 24, 1795 Luise gave birth to a boy who would be named for his father and grandfather. The King offered his daughter-in- law the castle of Oranienburg as a present for her eighteenth birthday. Since it was too splendid for the Crown Prince's taste and much too costly to maintain, the gift was declined. After the peace, he bought a tract of land near Paretz not far from Potsdam. There he had a house built, and Paretz was to become the place where Luise, her husband and their children could live a normal family life. On Peacock Island (Pfaueninsel) not too far away, was a summer house, yet another refuge away from the world and its madness.

A heirloom of the Hohenzollern family was its family ghost. The White Lady, while she was on this earth had murdered her two children to become the paramour of the Margarve of Brandenburg. She appeared when ever death was imminent. She was seen several times during the winter of 1796-97.

The Crown Prince's brother, Louis, was the first to be stricken with a sore throat. He survived less than a week and died on December 28. Then the Crown Prince himself became very ill with an infection. Propped up in a chair, he watched his brother's funeral procession from a window. He was still ill when the Dowager Queen Elizabeth-Christine, the widow of Frederick the Great, died. Throughout her husband's illness, Luise never left his room. She was again expecting a child, and her second son, William, was born on March 22, 1797. Luise nursed her husband and comforted him about the loss of his beloved brother. Her sister Frederica too needed her sympathy and support. A widow with three children and not yet twenty years of age.

While in Poland, the King became ill. His disease, diagnosed as "dropsy", had proved fatal to many Hohenzollerns. He died at the age of 53, four years after the marriage of his son, the Crown Prince and Luise. On November 16, 1797 Frederick William III was proclaimed King of Prussia. In anticipation of the event he said to Luise, "My time of trial is about to begin. Our peaceful happiness is over."

The transalpine exploits of Napoleon Bonaparte were admired by idle young Prussian officers, who had nothing but drill and drudgery to fill their days. The treaty of Campo Formio was signed on October 17.1797, exactly one month before Frederick William came to the throne. Within a year, a new coalition against France was formed. The new Prussian King was determined to remain neutral. When the attack on French positions in Italy, Holland and along the upper Rhine began in 1799, the Allies were successful. Bonaparte was in Egypt, intending to block England's route to India. The policy of Prussian neutrality began to weaken. The Duke of Braunschweig-Bevern, who seldom gave advice, tried to persuade the new King to join the coalition. Reluctantly he was persuaded. The Russian Tsar Paul I, who had succeeded his mother Catherine the Great in 1796, was of unstable temperament, a creature of good intent, but of sudden inexplicable cruelties and folly, became disgusted with his Allies and withdrew his support. At almost the same time General Bonaparte landed in the South of France. His Egyptian campaign had been futile and the French fleet had been destroyed by Admiral Nelson in the harbor of Aboukir. The people of France knew little about these far away calamities. Bonaparte, the hero of the battle of the pyramids, was greeted as the savior of every ill, domestic or foreign.

On March 11, 1801 came the announcement of the sudden death of Tsar Paul I, the son of Catherine the Great. The official cause of death was given as apoplexy, but the word murder soon was out and traveled far. Paul was succeeded by his son Alexander I. The results of Paul's rash, or possible mad, mistakes were quickly nullified. The war with England, which had throttled Russia's foreign trade, was brought to an end. An army of twenty thousand Don Cossacks, who had been sent toiling off across the desert steppes to conquer India, were recalled. Prussian troops were also recalled from Hanover. It had been the wish of the defunct Tsar that Hanover should be retained as a substitute for the territory Prussia was about to lose on the left bank of the Rhine.

In the fall of 1801 Tsar Alexander's sister Helena and her husband, a Prince of Schwerin returned to Berlin. They were commissioned to tell Frederick William that Alexander desired an interview with him at Memel. In June 1802 Fredrick William and Luise made the journey east to Memel. Luise was completely enchanted when she met the young Tsar. In her letters to her brother she wrote that Alexander is good, just and kind, and that she thought him worthy of affection. Luise, Frederick William and Alexander promised to keep in touch with one another. Alexander had come to Memel to promote an understanding between Russia and Prussia in regard to France. A watchful coexistence was his aim. This, he thought, would guarantee peace for the entire continent. The Tsar's sister Helena became very ill. She died in September 1803 in Paretz, and the heartfelt condolences exchanged between St.Petersburg and Berlin seemed one more bond between the Royal families of both countries.

Napoleon slipped contentedly into imperial ways. He began to speak of the French people no longer as citizens, but as "my subjects." After carefulf preparations, in the presence of representatives of the cities of France, from the Army and the Navy, the legislative assemblies, the judiciary, the administrative corps, the Legion of Honor, the Institute, the chambers of commerce, countless civilians and last, but not least, Pope Pius VII, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on December 2, 1804.

In spite of certain omens, no one with whom Luise was in daily contact believed that war would come in 1805. Russia, after breaking off relations with France, had signed defense pacts with Austria and with England, where William Pitt, Napoleon's archenemy, was once more Prime Minister. Alexander however, seemed as resolute for peace as Frederick William. He had asked his Prussian friend to get a passport for Count Novossiltov, to visit Paris for further talks.

Luise and her three sisters planned to meet in the autumn in Paretz and to go from there to Mecklenburg to celebrate their father's sixty-fourth birthday. It was ten years since his accession to the dukedom and a special celebration was in order. What had been planned so pleasantly was not to be. Before the autumn great changes would take place in the political climate of Europe. Berlin and Potsdam would be in turmoil.

On August 25th, Napoleon learned that the English fleet could not be decoyed away from the English channel by the French. On the same day troops began to move eastward toward the Rhine. For hours Frederick William and his ministers argued with the French envoy, who had come to Charlottenburg Palace. They were trying to wring from him some guarantee of peace. Alexander had announced the mobilization of 200,000 men and was calling on Prussia to put an equal amount on a wartime footing. On September 6, at an emergency counsil meeting, a partial mobilization was agreed upon, not to aid any of the powers who were clamoring for support, but to ward off a triple threat to Prussia's neutrality. Frederick William announced they would take their customary holiday at Paretz. All his ministers begged the King to stay in Potsdam. He told them he could not face another group of opinionated men gathered around a table to discuss Russian or French demands. He was depressed and fearful and very much aware of his inadequacy. To General von Koekeritz, his only confidant besides Luise, he said "Many a King has fallen because he loved war too well, I may fall because I love peace."

At Paretz the Harvest festival was celebrated as usual. Luise's sister Frederica was on her way there from Ansbach. As it turned out, not a day too soon. On October 3rd, a division of the French Army poured through the province, pushing aside its few defenders. On October 25th, the Russian Tsar rode through the Brandenburg Gate down the Street named "Unter den Linden", leading to the Palace. Thousand's cheered in the streets. Luise had been able to persuade her husband to leave Paretz and go to Berlin. She also had sent a military escort to meet Alexander. At the Palace, Alexander met with the Austrian Ambassador Metternich. In his report to Vienna Metternich wrote "Nearly everyone around Frederick William seems calm, except for General von Koekeritz. The Queen is more courageous than I had hoped."

On the evening of November 3rd, 1805 the treaty was signed in Potsdam. Alexander said he must leave that very night. It was close to midnight when Alexander wanted to visit the tomb of Frederick the Great. He was buried, not as he had requested besides his dogs on the terrace of Sans Souci, but in the crypt of the garrison church. Lights were sent for and the three friends went on foot to the church. After swearing he would never desert his friends, Alexander stooped to kiss his hero's coffin. He silently embraced Luise and Fritz and was off through the night to join his army in Moravia. On December 2nd, the first anniversary of his coronation in Notre Dame, Napoleon, near the town of Austerlitz in Moravia won a victory, which is considered the most brillant of his carreer. Five days later the news reached Potsdam. Luise made no attempt to hold back her tears. The Prussian army was ready and willing to fight, but their King was not. For the past few months General Bluecher had been sending reports to Berlin of the massing of troops in the Rhineland, but writing letters was not the old soldier's forte. He put far greater reliance on the spoken word. Luise was his mouthpiece in Berlin. On August 12 Luise met her cousin the Princess Radzivill, who saw tears in Luise's eyes. "What is wrong?" the Princess asked. "The King has had some bad news. Up to now they all insisted that Napoleon meant no harm to Prussia. Now they say he will be here soon, in the very heart of Germany."

Frederick William had written to Alexander of Napoleon's double dealing. "He intends to crush me.....I beg you to leave your armies at my frontier." The whole of Europe would soon become embroiled in war. The way Napoleon moved his armies had no precedent.

General von Knobelsdorf was rushed off to Paris. "Not a single French unit would be withdrawn from Germany until there was peace with Russia. Prussia must lay down her arms. A southward advance of her army would be considered an aggression. "; So stern spoke Napoleon to Knobelsdorf. Even before he left for France, Berlin and Potsdam regiments had crossed the border into Saxony, Prussia's only effective ally. On September 18th, Luise, superbly mounted, met the Queen's regiment at the Brandenburg Gate. At the Palace was a dinner for the officers who drank a toast to the Queen's health. Frederick William and Luise said their farewells to their children and left Berlin to meet up with the army. When the Emperor of the French left for the front, he was heard to say "So...Mademoiselle of Mecklenburg wants to make war on me, does she? Let her come! I am not afraid of women!"

Military headquarters for the Prussian army had been fixed at Naumburg on the river Saale. All the King's cabinet and many diplomats were there. The weather war unusually warm. Luise visited the shops, and everywhere she went a crowd assembled. "But my dear good people, why do you follow me? I am only just another soldier's wife." Luise's carefree manner hid her anxiety. Next day it was decided to shift the headquarters to Erfurt. It was raining when they left. Darkness fell upon them at Blankenhain, a community so small there was no inn, but a one-room tavern. It seemed useless for anyone trying to sleep, since at any moment they might have to move again. During the night, messengers arrived with news of skirmishes. None of the news was good.

On October 13 at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, with only a few hours of daylight remaining, the Prussian army left Weimar to make its stand at Auerstedt, to the west of Erfurt. Luise rode at the end of the column in a small carriage. Near Auerstedt, the Duke of Brunswick signaled for her carriage to stop. He rode up to look in at the window. "What are you are doing here, Madame, for God's sake, what are you doing here?!", the Duke cried in shocked surprise. Luise replied that the King thought she would be safer here than on the road to Berlin. "But, my God, Madame, do you see that castle of Eckartsberg? The French are in that castle now, and they are in Naumburg too, and tomorrow we will have a very bloody, decisive day. You can't stay here! It is absolutely impossible!". Luise never had heard the Duke of Brunswick speak with such firmness. The King rode up to the carriage. When Luise told him the Duke thought she was in danger, he said "Then, in that case, you must go." He took her hand, too overcome with emotion to say anything further. The carriage was turned around, and surrounded by a small mounted guard, was driven back to Weimar. The Duchess of Weimar came to speak with her at the inn. "You must leave at once, go now." The battle had begun. On her way to Erfurt Luise heard a continuous cannonade, which died away in the hills behind her. When her carriage left Brunswick, a courier caught up with her, bringing her news from the battlefield. Her husband was alive, that was her great and only solace. Napoleon's army had won a decisive victory at Jena and Auerstedt. Luise was only a few miles from Berlin now. She turned to her companions after the first spasm of grief had passed and said, "We must pull ourselves together and we must not spread panic in Berlin."

As they drove through the dark streets of the capital, however, Berlin seemed almost empty. The soldiers had left the city and many well-to-do families had left Berlin in great numbers. The banks and stores were closed. The doom that lay over the city soon rendered the inhabitants panic-stricken. Nevertheless, a crowd had collected at the Palace to greet Luise with cheers when she alighted from her carriage. General von Schulenburg was there to tell her that the children had left earlier that day for Stettin, where he also had sent the archives and the treasure. He himself was leaving with the last garrison of soldiers. They could not defend the city, and if captured would be held as prisoners of war.

Again the night was short. Luise and the Countess von Voss caught up with her chidren at Schwedt on the river Oder. They had been traveling with their aunt Fredrica and their cousins. For them it was an adventure; they had never seen the sea and they hoped they would get as far as Danzig. Luise sent a courier with a letter to the King to tell him where they were. In this letter she begged him not to make a shameful peace. On October 20th, 1806 Luise was united with her husband at Kuestrin. The children had been sent ahead to Danzig and Luise and Frederick William followed them.

When the French Emperor arrived in Potsdam, he too went to the tomb of Frederick the Great. Standing there, he remarked, seemingly lost in thought "If he would be alive, I would not be standing here." On October 27, 1806 Napolean and the Grand Armee made their victory entrance through the Brandenburg Gate into Prussia's capital, Berlin. He made himself at home at the Palace in Charlottenburg. There he rummaged through Luise's drawers and found personal letters from Alexander, as well as his picture. He had degrading articles printed about Luise in the Moniteur. A cheap engraving showed the Tsar and Luise at the tomb of the great Frederick with the caption that she resembled Emma, Lady Hamilton, who had been the mistress of Lord Nelson.

At Graudenz, Luise saw the newspapers. "Isn't it enough for this wicked man to take the King's estates, without insulting the honor of his wife?" She hated to think, as any housewife would, of an enemy occupying her living quarters, of the wicked man and his generals putting up their muddy boots on the tapestried upholstery of her sitting room.

Danzig was no longer safe, so the family left for Koenigsberg, the capital of East Prussia. Several of the chidren were ill with diarrhea. To her father, Luise wrote, "This is a time of trial....but God, perhaps, will give us better days." In her diary she wrote words from Goethe's song of the Harper:

"Wer nie sein Brot mit Traenen ass..."
In English:
"Who never ate his bread with tears,
who never leaned upon his bed and
wept the whole night through,
knows not your might, ye Heavenly Powers"

Many were weeping in the large crowd which had gathered to see Luise climb the steps of the Koenigsberg castle. She too had arrived ill and felt feverish; the putrid waters of Ortelsburg, where they had stopped, had done their work. Napoleon had stayed long enough in Berlin to ensure that all Prussian resistance had been eliminated. He issued a decree blocking all continental ports to British trade. Then he went east to join his army in Poland. On December 26th, a battle was fought between the French and Russians at Pultrusk. It became evident that the Russians could not stem the enemy's advances. Day by day, the French drew nearer, by the end of the week they were only 35 miles from Koenigsberg. The children were sent off to Memel. Would it be safe for Luise to make this strenuous winter journey? Dr. Hufeland was doutbful and feared a hemorrhage. Luise decided: Better in Gods hands than in the hands of Napoleon! Three days later they reached Memel. Luise was carried into the same little house they had occupied four years earlier, when she and her husband had met the Russian Tsar. The time passed slowly and many things occured, too numerous to mention them all. On June 15th, the Russians were defeated at Friedland, not far from Koenigsberg. Alexander asked for a truce, Napoleon granted it. Then the French Emperor went to nearby Tilsit to make peace with a broken King and a chastened Tsar.

Generous to the Tsar, Napoleon was merciless to the Prussian King who had broken his alliance with France to join her enemies. Fredrick William III was required to surrender all Prussian territory west of the river Elbe, the Grand Duchy of Berg and and the kingdom of Westphalia. Nearly all of Prussian Poland went to the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, except Danzig, which was made a free city under a French garrison. What was left of Prussia was to close its doors to British trade and was to join in war on England if called upon. It also was to be occupied by the French forces until a heavy indemnity had been paid in full. Frederick William, who had not wanted the war, was stunned by these terms. Luise went to see the French Emperor and appealed to Napoleon to soften his demands. Her friend Alexander had told her of Napoleon's comment "the Queen of Prussia is very charming. One would like to lay a crown at her feet instead of taking it away."

On that day Luise looked truly regal and beautiful. When Napoleon in his old uniform stood before her, she could hardly believe that this little insignificant man had inflicted so much misery on her country. He tried to divert her attention and asked where she had this magnificent gown made. However, Luise did not let herself be bluffed. "Sire, we have met to dicuss important subjects." She succeeded in impressing the man before her. Possibly he would have succumbed to the irresistible charm of her feminine beauty had not his policy been his dominant thought. Luise tried again and again to change Napoleon's mind. She went so far to humble herself and begged for mercy on behalf of the Prussian people. But he remained steadfast in his demands and finally sent her away with polite refusals.

Alexander invited Luise and Frederick William to visit his family in St.Petersburg. The King accepted greatfully, because he thought it would be good for Luise to get away from it all for a while. On January 7, 1809 they arrived at a garden near the city gates, where they were greeted by the Tsar, the Tsarina's chamberlain and all the Grand-Dukes and Grand-Duchesses. They had a truly grand visit. Luise received presents daily from the two Tsarinas, Alexander's mother and wife. The betrothal of Alexander's sister Katharina Pavlowna to Prince George of Oldenburg was celebrated with fetes in the Winter Palace and theatrical performances at the Hermitage. Luise was utterly exhausted. One ball after another, one interesting sight after another in the cold Russian climate did not suit Luise's fragile constitution. On the third day after their return to Koenigsberg she had to go to bed. She looked wretched and pale from the combined effects of the exertions of the past weeks, the many sleepless nights and the discomfort from yet another pregnancy. In Koenigsberg, both Luise and Fritz were very discouraged. The King could not make up his mind to return to Berlin, although it would have been wiser, as his presence in the capital would have had a beneficial effect on the public. On October 4, Luise gave birth to yet another healthy boy. Her recovery was slow. It delayed what was now the greatest goal of all, the return to Berlin.

Finally, in December 1809, the family returned to the capital. The citizens presented Luise with a magnificent carriage. Amid the jubilation of the crowds the procession reached the Palace where Luise's whole family was waiting for her. She threw herself sobbing in her father's arms. She was home again! The next day the whole family attended a Thanksgiving service at the cathedral. On Christmas evening a festive performance was given at the opera "Iphigenia in Aulis", by Glueck. When the Queen appeared in the Royal box, a shout of "Hurrah!" rang through the house. Court life began again. New Year's, 1810, was celebrated with all the pomp of court function. But Luise's heart was not in it. Too many of her countrymen had suffered. Thousands had lost a loved one, and more had come home maimed in body and wounded in soul. Yet, she pulled herself together and when she entered the Rittersaal of the Palace, all eyes were fixed upon her. She was very simply dressed in a velvet robe of violet and a string of pearls around her neck. But a close observer noticed, that her great blue eyes were dimmed in their brilliance.

Charlottenburg Palace had suffered during the occupation. Many works of art had been spirited away to Paris; one of them a portrait of Luise. She toured the Palace grounds and inspected every corner. The gardens were unkempt, the lawns rough and shaggy. In the spring, the King moved to Potsdam. The Queen accompanied him, even though her little Luise, age 2, was down with pleurisy and she hated to leave her. So, she divided her time between the King and the sick child. Every day she drove into Berlin and then back to her husband. Luise caught a chill and was attacked by fever and a cough. She had to take to her bed for several days. But a few days later she felt better. But the future did not look rosy. Napoleon continued to press energetically for complete payments of the war debts. The King kept hoping for better terms. Frederick William sent an envoy for an audience with the French Emperor. He was told "If the King of Prussia cannot pay, he can hand over his domains to me." He had his eyes fixed on Silesia. The King tried to borrow the money and failed. Suddenly the King thought of a solution. He proposed that 25000 citizens of Prussia should contribute 4000 Thalers apiece, partly in cash, partly in state bonds. This sum was to be declared as a national debt and be the basis for a national bank. In this fashion, the indemnity to Napoleon could be liquidated. Hardenberg would be appointed on Luise's urging, and he would take care of it all.

All throughout her time in exile, Luise had longed for her native Mecklenburg. It was decided that she would visit her father at Strelitz. Now that state affairs were in Hardenberg's capable hands, it did not seem so difficult to leave the King for a short while. Luise joyfully announced her coming to her father , "I am coming---on Monday, I am coming. I am to stay Monday and Tuesday alone and then the King will come and remain over Thursday and Friday. On Saturday he wishes to go to Rheinsberg; I will stay Sunday with you and on Monday he will take me back. Hallelujah!"

On June 25th, 1810 at 6 o'clock in the morning she said goodbye to the King, entered her travelling carriage and joyously drove away. At Fuerstenburg she found her whole family there to welcome her. Only the grandmother, who was not well, was missing. When she spotted her father, she flew into the Duke's arms. In the evening they all arrived in Strelitz. At the castle door she greeted her grandmother, whom she had not seen in over four years. On the 28th, the King too arrived. Now Luise's happiness was complete. She rejoiced at receiving her husband for the first time in her father's house, where she was still the daughter. Spontaneously she sat down at the Duke's desk and scribbled on a scrap of paper, "Dear father, today I am very happy as your daughter and as the wife of the best of men." These were her last written words.

That afternoon the entire family went to the Duke's country residence at Hohenzieritz. The weather was uncomfortably warm. Luise felt feverish and the following day remained in bed. She was too ill to take part in an excursion Frederick Wiiliam had planned to Rheinsberg, the estate where Frederick the Great had spent the early years of his marriage, and which later was the home of his brother Henry. Luise was still in bed when her husband left for home after a three-day visit, but he felt no geat anxiety for her at that time. Alone in Sans Souci he wrote cheerfully of household matters to Luise and enclosed letters from the children. Countess von Voss, who had expected to take a holiday during Luise's visit to Mecklenburg, hurried to Hohenzieritz when told of Luise's illness. Even when word came of pains in her chest, the King was not alarmed. Luise had had these symptoms before and they had always disappeared, but he sent a doctor from Berlin. On the night of July 18th, he received a message to come at once. Suddenly the full horror of what might lie at the end of his journey struck him. The King had always thought he was a child of misfortune, but he had never imagined that Luise might be taken from him. While waiting for his carriage to come to the door, he prayed from the depth of his soul, that all would turn out well. Another messenger arrived at that time, and the King quickly got his two eldest sons. They reached Hohenzieritz at dawn, and not wishing to arouse curiosity, got out of the carriage near the village church and walked to the house. Frederica and Caroline von Berg shared the night duty in the sickroom. The doctor told the King to go in at once, for Luise had been asking for him. He was shaken to see how greatly she had changed. "I am so happy to have you here", Luise said. The doctors wanted a word in private with the King. Luise had asked them if she was dying and they thought they had re-assured her. But they thought the King should find out if she had any last wishes. He tried to do so, but broke under the task. "I only want your happiness and the children be well brought up", she said. Frederick William had fallen on his knees beside the bed. It was impossible that God should want to part them, he cried. When Frederick William sobbed out that he would go with her, if she had to go, she drew him down and kissed him. "Don't make such a scene, or I really will die", she chided. Don't be afraid..I am not going to die." A few minutes later her breath became labored and then it was all over. Shortly before 9 o'clock two more of the children, Charlotte and Karl arrived from Berlin, they were met by their father's despairing cry..."You no longer have a mother." Luise was thirty-four years old.

When the news reached Berlin, every church bell in the city tolled for hours. Crowds rushed to the Palace and just stood there in silence, numb in disbelief. On Sunday, every place of worship was packed from wall to wall. On the same Sunday, the slow-paced return from Hohenzieritz began. An entire regiment, The Prussian Royal Guard, met the funeral procession at the border. In the garden of her father's house, and at every spot where her coffin had rested on its journey to Berlin, a monument to Luise would rise. Thousands were waiting at the Brandenburg Gate. For three days the closed coffin lay in state at the Palace. Then it was taken to the cathedral, were it remained for six months, while one memorial service followed the other and while a mausoleum was being built in the park of the Charlottenburg Palace. On December 23, 1810, the dual anniversary of Luise's advent in Berlin, first as bride, then as Queen returning from exile, her casket was moved to the chapel and buried beneath its pavement, room being left for Frederick William to be buried at her side. Eventually a recumbent statue topped Luise's grave. It was the work of one of the many she helped with an education. Christian Daniel Rauch had been a Palace lackey. Luise came upon him one day at work on a bust of herself in wax and sent him to the Art Academy in Berlin. Later he migrated to Rome, and it was there the marble replica of Luise was carved. The Mauseleum in Charlottenburg has become a place of pilgrimage where people to this day will come and leave a bouquet of flowers.

It was almost five years since the young Prussian Queen had died so unexpectedly. On Sunday, June 18th, 1815, the battle of Waterloo had been raging since eleven o'clock in the morning. It was after 6 pm when Napoleon's General Ney had found an opening in Wellington's last line. An English officer asked the Duke for re-inforcements. The Duke answered that he had none. The officer's reply was, "Very well, my Lord, we stand till the last man falls." The English officer, Colonel Gould concluded, "I'm afraid it's all over." At this point a regiment from Hanover deserted and fled to Brussels, shouting, "The battle is lost, the French are coming." But it was the Prussians who were coming! General Bluecher had sent 30000 of them under the command of General Frederick William von Buelow. They attacked the French viciously, spreading terror and disorder. And the cry could be heard over and over again, "For Queen Luise!"

The two victors met on the road near La Belle Alliance. They left behind them 25000 French dead or wounded and 8000 prisoners. Wellington had lost 15000, Bluecher had lost 7000. It was the end of Napoleon Bonaparte. Wellington and Bluecher embraced and the Duke saw tears in the eyes of the seventy-three year old soldier, tears Bluecher knew probably would not be understood. One day in 1815 Gebhart von Bluecher stood on the slopes of Montmartre. When he saw the white flag of surrender flying over Paris, he cried, "Now, at last our Luise can rest in peace."