Duchess Donata of Mecklenburg (born 11 March 1956) is the senior member of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Since there are no males left in the family, the Schwerin branch itself is considered extinct due to the Salic law

Salic law

Salic law was a body of traditional law codified for governing the Salian Franks in the early Middle Ages during the reign of King Clovis I in the 6th century...

 of succession. It is controversial whether its dynastic rights were inherited by the Carlow branch of the House of Mecklenburg.

Duchess of Mecklenburg

She was born in Kiel

Kiel

Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...

 in the state of Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...

 the eldest daughter of Duke Christian Louis of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Duke Christian Louis of Mecklenburg

Duke Christian Louis of Mecklenburg was the second son of the last reigning Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Frederick Francis IV.-Early life:...

 and his wife Princess Barbara of Prussia

Princess Barbara of Prussia

Princess Barbara of Prussia was the only daughter of Prince Sigismund of Prussia and Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Altenburg.She was a great-granddaughter of Frederick III, German Emperor and a great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria.-Marriage and family:...

. Her father was the younger brother to the last surviving male of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was the heir apparent to the throne of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and a member of the SS...

. As Donata had only one sister Edwina (born 25 September 1960), and as her uncle had no children the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin became extinct in the male line in 2001 when her uncle died. As a result the Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a duchy and later grand duchy in northern Germany, consisting of the eastern fifth of the historic Mecklenburg region, roughly corresponding with the present-day Mecklenburg-Strelitz district , and the western exclave of the former Bishopric of Ratzeburg in modern...

 line, headed by Borwin, Duke of Mecklenburg, will become the only surviving line of the House of Mecklenburg

House of Mecklenburg

The House of Mecklenburg is a North German dynasty of West Slavic origin that ruled until 1918.- Origins :Niklot was a lord of the Wendish tribe of Obotrites. When the Holy Roman Empire expanded eastwards, notably to the coast of Baltic in 13th century, a portion of Obotrite lords allied with...

 when both Donata and Edwina are dead.

Her paternal grandfather was the last reigning Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Frederick Francis IV. Her maternal grandfather was Prince Sigismund of Prussia

Prince Sigismund of Prussia (1896-1978)

Prince Sigismund of Prussia , was the second son of Prince Heinrich of Prussia and his wife, Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine...

.

Marriage and children

She married Alexander von Solodkoff on 19 September 1987, and had three children:

• Thyra von Solodkoff (b. 12 October 1989)
• Alix von Solodkoff (b. 17 March 1992)
• Niklos-Alexis von Solodkoff (b. 8 December 1994)

Heir of Denmark

She is the heir of Gorm the Old

Gorm the Old

Gorm the Old , also called Gorm the Sleepy , was the first historically recognized King of Denmark, reigning from to his death . He ruled from Jelling, and made the oldest of the Jelling Stones in honour of his wife Thyra. Gorm was born before 900 and died .-Ancestry and reign:Gorm is the reported...

, the first historical recognized King of Denmark, via male-preference primogeniture

Primogeniture

Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females...

.

Ancestry

Sources

• Marlene A. Eilers, Queen Victoria's Descendants (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1987), page 161-162.