As far as I know Limburg-Stirums were considered equal with all reigning families,am I right?But,Netherlans-Limburg relations remindes me a little bit of earlier Prussia-Harrach case!
I have read somewhere that this is indeed the case but that makes me wonder why there where never "royal" marriages in the family?
Indeed. I think that in theory all mediatized sovereigns were equal, but some were more equal than others... Did ever a member of an Illustrious (
Erlaucht) mediatized comital house marry into a reigning royal family? Hardly into a reigning princely or ducal family, I think. Mediatized comital houses didn't even appear on the list of approved, ebenbürtige houses that Emperor Franz Joseph added to the Habsburg house laws in 1900.
If memory serves, Mecklenburg's ruling families have rather unique origins.
Their founder wasn't German, but was a Slavic tribal chieftain. The Germans were expanding eastward across the Elbe. Niklot (I think was his name) correctly read the signs, and allied himself with the Holy Roman Emperors.
Almost alone of the old Wendish (or Sorbian) ruling families, his descendants held onto their position after the German Conquest.
His son or grandson was made a Prince of the Empire, and they went on from there.
It's kind of charming to think that this family represents a link to the original Slavic inhabitants of eastern Germany.
Indeed, and I guess this Pan-Slavic connection was played up each time a Romanov married a Duke or Duchess of Mecklenburg?
Most of the place-names in Eastern Germany, but especially in Mecklenburg, are of Slavic origin and from looking at the map it feels a bit like you're not really in Germany anymore. Just dress up Шверин, Штрелиц and Гюстров in Cyrillic letters and you can be tricked into thinking they're Russian.
In the 19th century: Add to that an agrarian, half-feudal manorial economy and a reactionary, outdated political system and you'd think you were in the Land of the Tsars. Which leads me to my point:
This question is about both Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz, because it concerns people of both houses and also because constitutionally and politically both Mecklenburgs formed one state, with common Territorial Estates (yes, that was their outdated parliament). Until 1918 Mecklenburg had a medieval constitution, where burghers represented the cities and towns, and the lords of the manor represented the rather landless peasants. The Revolution of 1848 brought no change although the liberal Grand Duke in Schwerin was willing, but the corporations of the lords of the manor (
Ritterschaften) and the reactionary Grand Duke in Strelitz opposed it. Mecklenburg became a constitutional backwater, which prompted Bismarck to answer, when asked what he would if he knew that tomorrow was the end of the world, that he would go to Mecklenburg, because they were 100 years behind.
So my question is does anybody know if the above circumstances made Romanov brides in Mecklenburg feel particularly "at home", for want of a better expression? This might apply to Helena Pavlovna (1784-1803), Hereditary Princess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin or Anastasia Mikhailovna (1860-1922), Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The first was probably too young in her short life and the latter too busy on the Riviera to become very engaged in the domestic affairs of Mecklenburg, but I'd thought I'd just mention it, in case anybody has any information.
Similarly it might be that her background in a semi-absolutist estate state helped Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna ("Miechen") of Mecklenburg settle so well in Russia. And perhaps there are lesser Mecklenburg-Romanov connections I haven't mentioned.
Even though Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the more reactionary grand duchy, I don't think there were any Romanov alliances there. But there was a grand British one: Grand Duchess Augusta of Cambridge. I know she was a bit reactionary too, saying that Queen Maud of Norway's throne was "revolutionary". And being raised in Hanover she was probably quite adapted to German conditions, but she was also quite British, and how did she react to the medieval constitutional arrangements in Mecklenburg? Especially since her father-in-law, Grand Duke Georg I, had been the one who opposed a liberal constitution in 1848.
That's it, folks, any input is appreciated by this long-time lurker and new poster!
