Duke Paul Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg (; given names: Paul Frederick Charles Alexander Michael Hugh; 12 May 1882 – 21 May 1904)

German soldier and sailor Duke Paul Frederick Charles Alexander Michael Hugh of Mecklenburg was born in Schwerin, the eldest child of Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg and his Austrian wife, Princess Marie of Windisch-Graetz. Duke Paul Frederick and his siblings were raised as Roman Catholics and were brought up in Venice, where his family became friends with Cardinal Sarto (later Pope Pius X), who was a regular visitor to the family.

On 21 April 1884 Duke Paul Frederick's place in the line of succession to the throne of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was superseded by his uncles after his father renounced his own and his descendants' rights of succession. However, in the event of his uncles' families becoming extinct, Duke Paul Frederick's line could succeed, as long as the successor converted from Roman Catholicism to Protestantism.

Despite being put into the Army shortly after his birth, Duke Paul Frederick eventually pursued a career in the German Imperial Navy. He rose to the rank of lieutenant and in 1902, while serving on the training ship , crossed the Atlantic to visit the United States of America and cruise in the Southern waters of the country.

Death Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg died unmarried in Kiel at the age of 22. He had hanged himself in his bedroom, naked while wearing a blonde wig. It is unknown if his death was accidental, or intentional.

Ancestry