Königin Luise von Preußen (1776–1810)

Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was born on the outskirts of Hanover to Prince Charles of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and his wife Friederike, Landgravine of Hesse-Darmstadt. When she was six years old, her mother died in childbirth. Louise and her two sisters were sent to live with their maternal grandmother Princess George William in Darmstadt, where the girls studied English, German and history, as well as drawing, painting, and the piano. Louise grew up to be renowned for her beauty, grace, and friendly nature. In 1793, she married Crown Prince Frederick William of Prussia, with whom she had 9 children. Four years later, her husband succeeded to the throne of Prussia as King Frederick William III and Louise became Queen Consort. Her lasting fame and popularity in history is due mainly to a meeting in Tilsit, Russia in 1807 with the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, with whom she pleaded -- unsuccessfully -- for more favorable terms for Prussia in the peace treaty following its disastrous losses in the Napoleonic Wars. She died at age 34 of an unidentified illness.