The Angel of Prussia

By Johann Friedrich August Tischbein
via Wikimedia Commons

There he was. The "Monster". The man who had bedeviled her country. The man who had forced her family from their home. Their five young children ripped from everything they had ever known. She was not here by choice. She would rather have never seen this bogeyman in person. And, yet, she believed she might make a difference, that she might save Prussia.

Beautiful Queen Louise of Prussia was 31 years old on the hot July day in 1807 when she stood face-to-face with Napoleon. The early months of her ninth pregnancy were hidden beneath the high waist of her fashionable gown, but no doubt the heat of that stormy summer and her pregnancy brought an additional glow to her already pretty face. Her beauty combined with her intelligence and charm were meant to distract the man who had crowned himself an emperor from dismantling Prussia after he destroyed the Prussian forces with surprisingly little effort.

Born on March 10, 1776, Louise of Mecklenburg-Stelitz had encouraged her husband, King Frederick William III of Prussia to declare war on the power-hungry French emperor, but he had hesitated. Frederick William believed that peace was the most important thing for people. As Napoleon waged war across Europe, Frederick William sought to stay out of the fight. Later, he wondered whether to fight with France or against. By the time he finally acted, the French had grown far too strong. Almost immediately, the Prussian army was destroyed at the Battle of Jena-Auerstädt. Napoleon quickly occupied Berlin and the royal family hastily fled into Russian territory placing themselves under the good graces of Emperor Alexander I, who also felt the sting of France that year. 

By summer, Napoleon summoned Frederick William to discuss terms at Tilsit, well within Russian territory. Frderick William, who loved his bright and beautiful wife, thought she could persuade Napoleon to show mercy to Prussia. And so, Louise made her case and perhaps flirted a bit with 37-year-old emperor. He wrote to his wife Josephine that she was a bit coquettish. However, he was impressed, as he later admiringly called her the "only real man in Prussia" and "my beautiful enemy." She calmly asked him to be lenient with her country and to give the monarchy a chance to rebuild so that her children would have a nation to inherit with pride.

Charmed though he was by this unexpected diplomacy, Napoleon was implacable. He showed no kindness to the Prussians, who could have fought on his side instead of against him. He stripped away all territory west of the Elbe River and Prussia's vast Polish territories, demanded financial indemnity, and forced the Prussians to pay the costs of the occupying French forces. 

Louise and Frederick William with five of their children

by Heinrich Anton Dähling via Wikimedia Commons

Although she had failed in her mission, it was a moment of triumph for Louise. Already admired by the nation for her modesty and virtue, her bravery placed her among the pantheon of beloved royal women. 

Unfortunately, her earthly glory was shortlived. Just three years after that fateful meeting, Louise died at the age of 34. No doubt worn by the stresses of war and defeat, the exhaustion of 10 pregnancies in 15 years, and the deaths of three of her children, Louise died in Frederick William's arms after an illness.

In memory of the woman he had decided to marry on first sight when she was just 17 and he was shy young man of 23, Frederick William created the Order of Louise, a chivalric honor reserved for women. Until the end of the Prussian (and then German) monarchy it was presented to female members of the family and foreign consorts and Queens Regnant.

Louise's legacy stretches far beyond the Order of Louise. Two of her sons became Kings of Prussia, with the second later becoming the first Emperor of Germany, for Prussia had been restored to power and glory after Napoleon's eventual defeat. Her daughter Charlotte married Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, changing her name to Alexandra. More broadly, she remains deeply revered in Germany and beyond. General Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher captured the national grief when he declared upon her death, "our angel is in heaven." Her admirers have continued to praise her over the centuries. Even seventy years after her death, a statue of her was raised in Berlin. In 1923, that admiration grew to cultlike status as the Queen Louise League, with an attached children's branch called Children Circle, was created to promote German nationalism. The league was initially welcomed by the growing Nazi movement but was eventually disbanded with its members integrated into organizations the Nazi party could more directly control.

Over the last century, Louise's story has been retold in many books and films, whether historical or fictional in nature. Today, she is compared to Princess Diana. Not only did she die tragically young like Diana, but one of Louise's first public acts confirmed her as a princess of the people. As a 17-year-old bride arriving to the joyful acclaim of the crowds in Berlin, Louise was noticed to bend down and pick up a child for a kiss. "All hearts go out to meet her!" it was declared. 

Thoughout her life and well beyond, only Napoleon's heart has been immune to Louise.

More About Louise
Consort Profile: Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz on The Mad Monarchist
Death of the Most Famous Prussian Monarch on Deutschland Museum
Louise and Napoleon on Heritage History
Louise of Prussia on Heritage History
Louise zu Mecklemburg-Stelitz on Napoleon & Empire
Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Patriotic Queen of Prussia on Quello che Piace a Valeria
Luise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of Prussia on Unofficial Royalty
Luise, regierende Königin von Preussen (dedicated website)
Napoleon Bonaparte and Queen Louise of Prussia on Arrayed in Gold
Napoleon's Beautiful Enemy on Arrayed in Gold
The Life and Death of Louise of Prussia Part One on History of Royal Women
The Life and Death of Louise of Prussia Part Two on History of Royal Women
Queen Louise on Her-storic Royal Dress
Queen Louise on History's Women
Queen Louise on Napoleon.org
Queen Louise of Prussia on Louisa's Place
Queen Louise of Prussia, Part 1 - Mother of Her Nation on Napoleonic Impressions
Queen Louise of Prussia, Part 2- Standing Up to Napoleon on Napoleonic Impressions