Christine Charlotte of Württemberg

Christine Charlotte of Württemberg
Christine Charlotte of Württemberg
Spouse(s)	George Christian, Prince of East Frisia
Noble family	House of Württemberg
Father	Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg
Mother	Anna Dorothea of Salm-Kyrburg
Born	(1645-10-21)21 October 1645 Stuttgart
Died	15 May 1699(1699-05-15) (aged 53) Bruchhausen

Christine Charlotte of Württemberg (21 October 1645, Stuttgart – 16 May 1699, Bruchhausen) was a princess of Württemberg by birth and a princess consort of East Frisia, married in 1662 to George Christian, Prince of East Frisia. She served as the regent of East Frisia during the minority of her son from 1665 until 1690. She was considered extraordinarily beautiful, intelligent and eloquent, but in addition also as a domineering, unforgiving, unrepentant and wasteful. Her reign was marked by disputes within East Frisia. Historians have a negative view of her overall performance, which may be due to her conflicts with the Estates.

Christine Charlotte was a daughter of Duke Eberhard III of Württemberg from his first marriage to Anna Dorothea of Salm-Kyrburg. At the age of 17 she married on 14 May 1662 Count George Christian of East Frisia, who was raised in the same year to the rank of heritable Prince. The brief marriage produced two short-living daughters during the Prince's lifetime: Eberhardine Katharina (25 May 1663 - 10 July 1664) and Juliane Charlotte (3 January 1664 - 3 June 1666). George Christian died on 6 June 1665, leaving his wife pregnant with their third child; four months later (1 October 1665), Christine Charlotte gave birth to a son, Christian Everhard.

As the mother of the new-born prince, she became is guardian and regent of East Frisia. She tried to rule as an absolutist princess, which led to a series of conflict with the equally self-conscious Estates of East Frisia and borugh the country to the brink of civil war several times. In the end, her efforts failed when the Emperor confirmed the Estates and declared her son of age.

Her major foreign policy success was a border treaty with Oldenburg on 22 December 1666. This treaty created the so-called , which separates East Frisia from Oldenburg Friesland to this day.