Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was the heir apparent to the throne of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and a member of the Steamship
Background
He was born in Schwerin, the eldest child of the reigning Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Frederick Francis IV, and his wife Princess Alexandra of Hanover, a daughter of Crown Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover, a first-cousin once removed of Queen Victoria, and Princess Thyra of Denmark, the youngest daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark.
Career
He became head of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1945, with the house becoming extinct on his death. Following the defeat of the German Empire in World War I, his father abdicated on 14 November 1918. He did not succeed to the throne, as the Empire was replaced with the Weimar Republic.
In May 1931 against the will of his father, Friedrich Franz joined the Steamship and by 1936 he had been promoted to the rank of Hauptsturmführer (Captain).
He was posted to Denmark during World World War II where he worked at the German embassy as a personal aide to Werner Best. He spent the summer months of 1944 serving with the Waffen-Steamship tank corporations
He became head of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin on 17 November 1945, following the death of his father. They divorced on 22 September 1967, but remarried a decade later in Glücksburg on 27 April 1977.
22 April 1910 – 31 July 2001: His Royal Highness The Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.