Frederick Francis IV succeeded his father as Grand Duke upon his death on 10 April 1897. He had just turned fifteen the day before. As he was a teenager, due to his minority, the grand duchy was governed by his uncle
Duke Johann Albrecht as
regent. Frederick Francis's mother, Grand Duchess Anastasia preferred to remain in France while he continued the long preparation to eventually assume the throne. The following year, his older sister, Alexandrine married the Danish Crown Prince (future King Christian X in 1912). His mother and younger sister Cecile visited him frequently in Dresden and during their stays, they would go out for long drives in a carriage and horses bought for him from Schwerin. In 1903, the young Grand Duke moved to Bonn, where he attended university and studied administration and law. Adolf Langfeld was appointed as his study advisor. On 9 April 1901 Frederick Francis came of age, ending the regency and beginning his reign in Schwerin. He immediately began working on a reform of the constitution, but it failed in the face of opposition from parliament.
Marriage and issue On 7 June 1904, Frederick Francis married
Princess Alexandra of Hanover in
Gmunden. She was the second eldest daughter of
Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover, and his wife,
Princess Thyra of Denmark, a daughter of King
Christian IX. They had five children: •
Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (22 April 1910 – 31 July 2001) •
Duke Christian Louis (29 September 1912 – 18 July 1996) married Princess Barbara of Prussia, daughter of
Prince Sigismund of Prussia • Duchess Olga (1916–1917) • Duchess Thyra (18 June 1919 – 27 September 1981) • Duchess Anastasia (11 November 1922 – 25 January 1979) married Prince Friedrich Ferdinand of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
Abdication Following the 1918 suicide of Grand Duke
Adolphus Frederick VI of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Frederick Francis took up the regency of Strelitz. This happened because the heir presumptive, Duke
Charles Michael, was serving in the
Imperial Russian Army at the time and had indicated that he wished to renounce his succession rights. Frederick Francis abdicated the grand ducal throne on 14 November 1918 following the
German Empire's defeat in
World War I; the regency over the
Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz ended at the same time. ==Honours==