Queen Louise - The Prussian Madonna | Documentary

Queen Louise - The Prussian Madonna - Known as the Queen of Hearts during her lifetime, Louise of Prussia had no official political or military power. However, she wielded influence over the men who did-predominantly her husband, King Frederick Wilhelm III-and she had the stature and style to become a symbolic figure.

Queen Louise - The Prussian Madonna (2013)
Director: Michael Löseke, Christian Twente
Writers: Stefan Brauburger, Cristina Trebbi, Uwe Kersken
Stars: Luise Heyer, Georg Veitl, Christoph Gawenda
Genre: Documentary, Biography, Drama
Country: Germany
Language: English
Release Date: November 23, 2013 (Germany)

Synopsis:
Some countries attain crucial characteristics under female rule, such as the England of Queen Elizabeth I and the Russia of Catherine the Great. And then there are women who do not rule and yet manage to leave their mark on their land, their era. One of these, known as the Queen of Hearts during her lifetime, was Louise of Prussia. Though she had no official political or military power, she wielded influence over the men who did - predominantly her husband King Frederick Wilhelm III - and she had the stature and style to become a symbolic figure.

How was this sweet princess from Mecklenburg able to become the Prussian Madonna? Why did she outshine Frederick Wilhelm III in almost every respect? And what turned her into an icon for future generations?

Louise was happy child by nature, and the key to her popularity was that as Queen she retained this unforced, relaxed manner. When she married Frederick Wilhelm, the heir to the Prussian throne, in 1793 it was a match based on love rather than politics, making it unusual for the day. Prussia had been dominated by men, and she was able to give the Hohenzollern monarchy a feminine note. Her aim was to win the love of her subjects without coercion, though she did not believe in the ideas of equality emerging from revolutionary France. She was obliged to behave with appropriate decorum in public – she once wrote that that she was never permitted "to allow any change of mood to be detected" in that environment – but she brought a breath of fresh air to the palaces of Berlin and Potsdam.

Behind the scenes she encouraged her husband to adopt reforms, and her grace and beauty impressed everybody, including the common people. She was also a devoted mother: she was pregnant 10 times, and two of her seven children became Prussian monarchs. The image of Louise as a good mother served as a model for women throughout Prussian society. And she could display a will of steel. While her husband favoured military neutrality in the face of Napoleon’s advance, she advocated a show of force. In fact Louise underestimated the strength of the Prussian army, which suffered devastating defeats. But she showed her strength yet again when she met Napoleon in person to request milder terms for Prussian surrender. And although Napoleon refused to make any concrete concessions, he was deeply impressed by her beauty.

Perhaps the fact that she died aged only 34, during a phase when Prussia had suffered humiliation, has helped her attain the status of a martyr. It was claimed that the fate of the Fatherland broke her heart, and alongside poets and playwrights, nationalist writers who were in favour of German unity and Prussian rebirth came to idolise her. One of her sons, Wilhelm I, became the first Kaiser of the united Germany in 1871, ensuring that Louise retained a dominant position in German mythology.

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