Friederike was born on 9 October 1811 at Gottorp Castle near Schleswig in the Duchy of Schleswig[citation needed] as Princess Friederike of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, the second-eldest daughter of Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, and Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel.

Through her father, Friederike was thus a direct male-line descendant of King Christian III of Denmark.

[citation needed] Friederike married Alexander Karl, Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg, son of Alexis Friedrich Christian, Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg and Princess Marie Friederike of Hesse-Kassel, on 30 October 1834 at Schloss Louisenlund, near Schleswig.

[citation needed] By November 1855 the Duke was confined to Schloss Hoym due to a progressive mental illness (some sources state that he suffered from schizophrenia).

There, Alexander Karl spend the rest of his life under medical care in the company of his chamberlain, the painter Wilhelm von Kügelgen.