Biography Grand Duke Friedrich Maik

It is not merely direct descendants who are tasked with continuing the line of the respective family. The so-called ‘B-versions’ of a family, the offspring of romantic relationships, also have a claim to succession and the family legacy.

And this is what happened with Friedrich Maik.

Friedrich Maik became the legal heir and descendant of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz as the ‘B version’ – his affectionate personal nickname.

Friedrich Maik's biological parents moved to West Germany in 1969 and left him with his foster mother in the eastern part of Germany, knowing that he was safe.

There was an agreement between the biological parents and the foster parents that was made for the benefit and protection of Friedrich Maik. Friedrich Maik’s biological parents remarried in 1978. They both passed away in 2007.

Friedrich Maik was living in the east of Germany at the time, unaware of the task that lay ahead. He was leading a normal life and, like every young person and later adult, had his own experiences along the way.

But the inevitable happened – the truth was about to come out. During a blood test, Friedrich Maik discovered by chance that he has blood group 0. However, he knew that his foster mother was type B and his foster father was type A. Utterly confused by the determination of his blood group, he confronted his foster parents. But they did not give him an answer. They were bound by – and adhered strictly to – the promise they had made years ago.

So, Friedrich Maik had secretly commissioned a DNA test on the two of them. The results confirmed the respective blood groups of his foster parents. The fact is: Based on the theory of heredity, a child could never have blood type 0 if his foster mother had blood group B and his foster father blood group A.

His first task was to absorb this information, as he now had proof that the family in which he had grown up over the years, who he had laughed and cried with and who allowed him to learn many things, was not his biological family.

And so, he realised at that moment that the parents he had known for years were not his biological parents.

Friedrich Maik was called by his foster mother on 24 September 2018.
That evening, she handed him 3 boxes containing some very private items. Most important of all were the old documents and certificates contained in these boxes.

That evening, Friedrich Maik held in his hands the centuries-old legacy of his biological family. The boxes contained copies of his ancestors' pictures, old documents and deeds, such as the land register for 38,000 hectares of land.

On 26 September 2018, his foster mother asked him to visit her again.
It was to be their final conversation. As they spoke, she promised to give her life for the protection of Friedrich Maik. Friedrich Maik learnt that his foster mother would then take her own life.

But before that, she gave him the opportunity to talk about everything, to recognise everything, to learn all the background of his ancestors, everything about his task and the path ahead.

That evening, Friedrich Maik and his foster mother peacefully reconciled everything that had come and gone between them.

On the evening of 26 September 2018, his foster mother ended her life with an overdose of insulin.

Friedrich Maik's doorbell rang on 28 September 2018, a Saturday.

Notaries from Ratzeburg came to him and brought him all the original documents and original deeds.

Friedrich Maik then contacted an American notary and law firm in Hamburg. This law firm specialises in commercial and maritime law.

Grand Duke Friedrich Maik made a decision because he realised what responsibility he had acquired for the people overnight, what his task would be and what his foster mother had protected and prepared him for all his life.

But Friedrich Maik first had to come to terms with everything that was happening. So he withdrew in silence until the end of 2018.

His retreat complete, Grand Duke Friedrich Maik then began to embrace his new life.

The first step was to cancel the lease with the mayor of Ratzeburg and make the house available to care for children and young people. The mayor was residing in the parental home of Grand Duke Friedrich Maik.

Grand Duke Friedrich Maik then contacted Mrs Schwesig and agreed that the landfill site in Schönberg, which is located on his land, would be closed by 2025.

In doing so, Grand Duke Friedrich Maik invoked the right to restitution of his property.

Furthermore, it was agreed by resolution between Grand Duke Friedrich Maik, Mrs Schwesig and eight ministers that the toxic waste dump in Ihlenberg-Schönbeck would be closed and the soil decontaminated.

But that was not all. He sought the return of his parental homes in 2019.

He and Mrs Schwesig decided that the old state chancellery would be moved to the old post office building in Mecklenburger Straße as soon as possible. Another decision taken with Mrs Schwesig was to clear the forests of leftover ammunition – a legacy of the First and Second World Wars.

Nordstream 2 was closed and its continued construction prohibited.

The airport in Parchim will be wound up and converted into the Grand Ducal Airport.

The wind-up of shipyards also began in August 2020.

In 2020, ballot papers were used for everyone residing in the Grand Duchies of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Mecklenburg-Schwerin and the Duchy of Pomerania aged 18 and over.

The ballot paper is the basis for the decision to establish a parliamentary monarchy and at the same time the initiation of the popular initiative in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania.