Elisabeth Christine Of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Crown Princess Of Prussia

Elisabeth Christine Ulrike of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was born on 8 November 1746 in Wolfenbüttel. She was the seventh child and third daughter of Charles I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, and Princess Philippine Charlotte of Prussia. Her family held high-ranking noble titles, with her father being a duke and her mother a Prussian princess. Her maternal uncle was Frederick the Great of Prussia, and her paternal uncle was the Queen of Prussia and the Queen of Denmark. She was also a first cousin of Ivan VI of Russia.

Elisabeth Christine held the title of Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel with the style of Serene Highness and the formal style “Her Serene Highness Princess Elisabeth Christine.” She married her first cousin, Crown Prince Frederick William of Prussia, on 14 July 1765 at Schloss Salzdahlum. The marriage was arranged at the insistence of King Frederick the Great, who sought to produce an heir for the Prussian throne. The wedding was initially planned for Charlottenburg Palace's chapel but was ultimately held at the family estate.

The couple had one child, Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia, born on 7 May 1767. King Frederick the Great presented Elisabeth Christine with a costly breakfast service following her childbirth. The marriage, however, was troubled. Both spouses engaged in extramarital affairs, and Elisabeth Christine was known for her fiery temperament. Her husband’s infidelity and her own affairs with officers, including a musician named Müller and later Pietro, contributed to tensions.

King Frederick the Great tolerated some of the infidelity initially, but when Elisabeth Christine became pregnant by her lover, Frederick William demanded a divorce. The couple’s relationship deteriorated further, with Elisabeth Christine reportedly referring to her daughter disdainfully. Her affairs and her pregnancy by Pietro led to her planning to escape to Italy in January 1769, but the plot failed when her accomplice disappeared.

Frederick William and Elisabeth Christine divorced officially on 18 April 1769. The king then arranged for her to remarry, and she was remarried to Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt in July 1769.

Following her divorce, Elisabeth Christine was placed under house arrest and lost her court titles, being designated with the lesser style “Serene Highness.” Her early years in confinement were austere; she reportedly danced to pass time and attempted an escape which was thwarted. In 1774, she received a summer residence at Jasenitz. Her living conditions improved after the death of Frederick the Great in 1786, during which her former spouse occasionally visited her.

Throughout her later years, Elisabeth Christine received limited visitors; notably, only the crowned prince, the future Frederick William IV, visited her. She refused earlier offers of release, preferring her established lifestyle. She never saw her daughter or siblings again, and her family members had little contact with her.

Elisabeth Christine died on 18 February 1840 at the age of ninety-three. She outlived her parents, siblings, her daughter, and her former husband. She was initially buried in her mausoleum in her park at Stettin, but her remains were later reinterred in the Chapel of the Ducal Castle of Stettin or potentially in the cathedral of Kraków, according to different sources.

Her issue was Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia (1767–1820), who married Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, and remained childless.