Overview
Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Helene Luise Elisabeth; 24 January 1814 – 17 May 1858) was a French Crown Princess after her marriage in 1837 to the eldest son of Louis Philippe I. She is known as the mother of the future Count of Paris and Duke of Chartres.
Her descendants include present-day pretenders to the throne of France, Romania and Italy, and the kings of Spain and Belgium.
Biography
Early life and family
Born at the Schloss Ludwigslust, the retreat from the capital of her native Mecklenburg-Schwerin, she was the only daughter born to the Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and his second wife Princess Karoline Luise of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, third daughter of Grand Duke Carl August and Princess Louisa of Hessen-Darmstadt. Via her father she was granddaughter of Frederick Francis I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and his wife Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. She was also indirectly related to Frederick William III of Prussia (first cousin once removed, also her half-brother married Frederick William III's daughter). On her paternal side she was a cousin of the Duchess of Kent as well as Leopold I of Belgium. Maternal cousins included the then Queen of Prussia as well as the King of Württemberg.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
