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| Sigfrido de Mecklemburgo. |
Nacido en 1914 en Lomé, Togo, Siegfried Koffi zu Mecklenburg era hijo del duque Adolf Friedrich de Mecklemburgo-Schwerin (1873-1969) y Ayikutu Honsoussi. Siegfried era conocido comúnmente en Togo como Herzog Koffi; esta forma de identificación no delataba quién era exactamente su padre, aunque sí daba una pista de que el padre de Koffi era un duque alemán. Los abuelos paternos de Siegfried zu Mecklenburg eran el gran duque Friedrich Franz II de Mecklemburgo-Schwerin (1823-1883) y su tercera esposa, la princesa Marie von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1850-1922). Entre sus tíos y tías se encontraban el gran duque Federico Francisco III de Mecklemburgo-Schwerin (1851-1897), la gran duquesa María Pavlovna de Rusia (1854-1920; esposa del gran duque Vladimir Alexandrovich), la gran duquesa Isabel de Oldemburgo (1869-1955; esposa del gran duque Federico Augusto de Oldemburgo) y el príncipe Enrique de los Países Bajos (1876-1934; esposo de la reina Guillermina de los Países Bajos).
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| Duque Adolf Friedrich de Mecklemburgo-Schwerin. |
Siegfried’s father Adolf Friedrich served as Governor of Togoland (in German West Africa) between 19 June 1912 and 31 August 1914. In December 1913, the Marquise de Fontenoy (Marguerite Cunliffe-Owen, who was not always a reliable correspondent) wrote: “Duke Adolf of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who enjoys the distinction of being the only consul-general who is a prince of the blood, has just produced in English a very remarkable book of African exploration, entitled ‘From the Congo to the Nile.’ The duke is an uncle of the present sovereign of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and of the German crown princess, and is a brother of the Grand Duchess Vladimir of Russia, of the Prince Consort of the Netherlands, and of the late Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He has already achieved much distinction as an African explorer, has ideas of his own on the subject of the development of Germany’s African colonies, and with the object of putting them into practice, induced Emperor William a year ago to appoint him to the governorship of Togoland, and at the same time to the office of German consul-general for the French colony of Dahomey, and for the British dependencies of the Gold Coast, Nigeria, and other British possessions on the west coast of Africa. He holds these consul-generalships in order to enable him to deal directly with the authorities of these French and English dependencies, instead of having to refer the matters at issue to Berlin… Duke Adolf Friedrich is probably the most popular prince of his house, devoted to sport of every kind, has broken his collar-bone in steeplechases, his arms and legs in motoring accidents, is the finest four-in-hand whip in Germany, and has made a record long-distance ride on horseback, from Constantinople to Berlin. He is secretly and morganatically married to a woman of bourgeois birth, of great refinement, and irreproachable antecedents, who has born him a couple of children.” It is likely that his son Siegfried was born during his tenure as governor, as Adolf Friedrich did not have to leave his post until British and French troops took Togo from Germany in late 1914. Adolf Friedrich was invited to the independence celebrations of Togo in 1960, as recounted in this news report: “The dean of the guests is 86-year-old Duke Adolf von Mecklenburg, who was Governor of the German Colony of Togo when it surrendered to British and French troops in 1914.” Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin married twice. In 1917, the duke wed Princess Viktoria Reuß (1889-1918). Adolf Friedrich and Viktoria had one child, Duchess Woizlawa-Feodora (1918-2019). Woizlawa-Feodora married Prince Heinrich I Reuß (1910-1982). Adolf Friedrich married for a second time in 1924 to Princess Elisabeth zu Stolberg-Rossla (1885-1969). Elisabeth was the second wife and eventual widow of the duke’s elder brother Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1857-1920).
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| Frieda zu Mecklenburg. |
Siegfried Koffi zu Mecklenburg se casó con Angela Imelda Dèdè Ekue (n. 1933). La pareja tuvo una hija: Frieda Fafavi Sika Akuavi zu Mecklenburg (n. Lomé, Togo, 5 de enero de 1955). Su hija Frieda se casó con Paul Agbobli, con quien tuvo cuatro hijos. Frieda zu Mecklenburg estudió en el Colegio Protestante de Lomé a principios de la década de 1970. En la década de 1980, asistió al Instituto Universitario de Tecnología de Burdeos. Frieda zu Mecklenburg es miembro honorario de la Société Allemande-Togolaise (SAT). A la edad de cuarenta y cinco años, Siegfried zu Mecklenburg murió en 1959 en Douala, Camerún.
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| La princesa Woizlawa-Feodora Reuß y su sobrina Frieda zu Mecklenburg. |
Finalmente, Frieda zu Mecklenburg y su familia se trasladaron a Francia. La duquesa Woizlawa-Feodora de Mecklemburgo-Schwerin, la princesa Reuß, media hermana menor de Sigfrido, entabló una relación con su sobrina Frieda. Entre los invitados al funeral de Woizlawa-Feodora se encontraban Frieda y uno de sus hijos.
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| Frida zu Mecklemburgo. |
Frieda zu Mecklenburg es prima segunda de la reina Margarita II de Dinamarca, la gran duquesa María Vladimirovna de Rusia y la princesa Beatriz de los Países Bajos. Frieda zu Mecklenburg también es prima segunda del príncipe Jorge Federico de Prusia, nieto del primo segundo de Frieda, el príncipe Luis Fernando de Prusia, quien se casó con la gran duquesa Kira Kirillovna de Rusia, tía de la gran duquesa María Vladimirovna.
Nota: El autor de esta publicación desea agradecer a Bearn Bilker , Paul Theroff (ver aquí su sitio web) y Hein Bruins (ver aquí su sitio web) por su investigación sobre este tema.
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