Frederick William II of Prussia

Frederick William was born in Berlin on 25 September 1744, the eldest son of the Prussian Prince Augustus William of Prussia (1722-1758) and Duchess Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Initially, Frederick William was second in line to the Prussian throne after his father. Due to his childlessness, King Frederick II had designated his next younger brother Augustus Wilhelm, Frederick Wilhelm's father, as Prince of Prussia in 1744.

Frederick William was born into a time of war, for Prussia had again been at war (1744-1745) with Austria since 10 August 1744. Since 1740, or the death of Emperor Charles VI of the Habsburg dynasty, Vienna had been without a male heir to the throne. Although Charles VI had appointed his daughter Maria Theresa as heir with the Pragmatic Sanction, this document contradicted the previously valid Salic law, which only provided for male heirs to the throne. Frederick II of Prussia took advantage of the Austrian succession crisis to annex Habsburg Silesia. He thus began the first of a total of three Silesian Wars which, with brief interruptions, were to last until 1763.[3]

On 11 October 1744, Frederick William was baptised in the predecessor of today's Berlin Cathedral.[1] In addition to members of the Prussian royal family, Emperor Charles VII, Tsarina Elisabeth of Russia, Louis XV of France and the Swedish heir to the throne Adolf Frederick were chosen as godparents in keeping with his status. The choice of godparents also demonstrated the king's attempt to isolate Austria in terms of alliance policy.[1] These foreign rulers were not personally present at the baptism, but had themselves represented.

In 1747, King Frederick II removed his three-year-old nephew from the care of his family, who lived in the Berlin Crown Prince's Palace and Oranienburg Palace.[1] He had Frederick William brought to the Berlin Palace and decided on an education in the spirit of the Enlightenment. Frederick II to select a mathematician as tutor for his four-year-old nephew.[1]

Nicolas de Béguelin was selected by the king to fulfill this roll. Béguelin had studied law and mathematics, then worked at the Imperial Chamber Court in Wetzlar and had been in Prussian service since 1743. He had already come into personal contact with Frederick II and enjoyed his esteem.[1] Béguelin strictly regulated the daily routine of the four- and five-year-old prince: in the morning, the prince learned German and French, the language of the European courts. At noon, he had to invite cavaliers of the court to be introduced to diplomatic manners. After lunch, the language lessons continued in written form, since he could already read and write at the age of five.[4] Only then did he have time to play. But even at this time of day, he had to act out what he had learned with the help of puppets.

Frederick II constantly intervened in education. At the reception of the cavaliers at noon, for example, he demanded that Frederick William not be brought up to be modest and reserved.[1] As a possible successor to the kingship, he was to gain respect among the country's nobility through "Dreistigkeit" (audacity), in accordance with Frederick II's will. The rather shy Frederick William could not meet these demands of his uncle. The high expectations that were placed on the child's behaviour and willingness to perform on a daily basis left little room for carefree hours and child-friendly activities. If the prince did not feel like performing certain tasks or showed defiance, Béguelin would take away his favourite toy or even threaten to beat him.[1]

Frederick William was taught mathematics, law, philosophy and history. Members of the Royal Academy of Sciences, which under Frederick II brought together important, predominantly French scholars, repeatedly acted as educational mentors. The future king had a solid knowledge of Greek, Roman, Assyrian and Jewish history in particular. Occasionally Béguelin relaxed the lessons by taking the prince on excursions to Berlin manufactories, workshops and art studios.[1] Dancing, fencing and riding were also on the programme. However, he did not receive an education that would have prepared Frederick William for the affairs of state of a reigning monarch.

In 1751, the king chose the well-read and highly educated Major Heinrich Adrian von Borcke for Frederick William's military training.[5] The 36-year-old count showed little pedagogical sensitivity. Reports that Borcke had to write regularly to Frederick II to report on the child's progress show that Frederick William often behaved rebelliously and was punished for it with beatings. When this did not help either, Borcke forbade the prince to have contact with his younger brother Henry.[1] Frederick II approved of this educational practice. Frederick II approved of this educational practice. On 19 August 1754, he demanded that Frederick William move from Berlin to Potsdam, to his court. The king stated that the aim was to transform Frederick Wilhelm's sensitive and reserved nature:

"As he (Frederick William) is somewhat shy, I have told all who come to me to tease him in order to make him speak. I am convinced that he will not be embarrassed in front of anyone in the near future."

- Letter from King Frederick II to his younger brother Augustus William of Prussia[1]

Portrait of Prince Frederick William, c. 1765

Frederick William's youth was overshadowed by both the experiences of the Third Silesian War and Seven Years' War (1756-1763).

The war exacerbated tensions between King Frederick II and Frederick William's father, August Wilhelm, who had been presumptive heir to the throne as Prince of Prussia since 1744. In the autumn of 1757, Frederick II dishonourably dismissed his brother from the army over accusations of multiple failures. Some historians suggest that Frederick deliberately used his brother as a scapegoat to distract attention from his own failures as a general, and later transferred his contempt for the younger brother to Frederick William.[1] In fact, Frederick II had treated his nephew no more viciously than those around him before August William's death.

After the death of Frederick Wilhelm's father,  it was not until December 1758 that both Frederick William and his brother Henry were able to visit King Frederick II in his winter camp in Torgau. On this occasion Frederick II confirmed his nephew's position as heir to the throne and on 13 December 1758 bestowed on him the title and name Prince of Prussia.[1] In this way Frederick II signalled to the outside world that Prussia's existence was secure through the heir. In fact, however, Prussia faced complete dissolution several times during this war. The Prussian court was often on the run or had to entrench itself in the fortress of Magdeburg.

In the final stages of the Seven Years' War, Frederick II viewed the popularity of the heir to the throne with the soldiers with concern, as it threatened to overshadow his own military fame. In 1762, the Prince of Prussia took part in the Siege of Schweidnitz and the Battle of Burkersdorf. Although Frederick II praised him for his bravery and appointed him commander of a Potsdam infantry regiment, over time the relationship between the monarch and his heir to the throne cooled noticeably.[5]

The Seven Years' War finally ended with the Treaty of Hubertusburg on 15 February 1763. Prussia had been able to assert itself as a great power and defend Silesia, but had accepted immense economic and cultural damage in return. Plagues, hunger and disease caused the loss of over 300,000 civilians in Prussia alone.[1]

Conflict with Frederick II

Frederick II and Frederick William II

Frederick II aimed at publicly humiliating his heir to the throne. He expressed his regret that his other nephew, Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, could not succeed him on the throne.[5] The art historian Alfred Hagemann interprets this behaviour as meaning that Frederick wanted to enhance his own image in history by deliberately dismantling his own successor.

At the latest, the two forced marriages to Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, and then Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt, arranged by Frederick II led to the tense relationship between king and crown prince.[5] Frederick William began to distance himself more and more from Frederick II in terms of character: While King Frederick II lived in a purely male world, the Crown Prince built up an emotional and bourgeois love life with his mistress Wilhelmine Encke from the 1760s onwards.[5] While Frederick II was critical of religious practice, Frederick William II was a devout Protestant.[3] While Frederick II was only a patron of French culture, Frederick William II as king supported German music and theatre. While Frederick II withdrew into small elite circles, Frederick William II as king sought representative appearances. Frederick William was a man of his time, interested in spiritualism, clairvoyance and astrology, which would have repelled his predecessor.[3]

Frederick William II and his uncles

Frederick II's contempt for his successor is also evidenced by the Potsdam apartment assigned to the "Prince of Prussia" on the corner of Neuer Markt.[1] Given his high position, he lived there very cramped amidst the burghers.[1] The building on Neuer Markt, known today as the "Kabinettshaus", had originally been erected in 1753 for the country preacher Krumbholz and had to be makeshiftly converted into the Crown Prince's Palace in 1764. In the rented neighbouring house at Schwertfegerstrasse 8, the future Prussian King Frederick William III was born on 3 August 1770.[6] In the house, the later Frederick William II invited Potsdam's distinguished society to concerts and balls, which, however, were soon moved to the old orangery at the Lustgarten due to lack of space.[6]

Frederick's lifestyle and conception of the state differed fundamentally from those of his nephew. Frederick lived ostentatiously according to the principle of wanting to be the first servant of his state. To this end, he devoted himself in depth to politics, government work and state philosophy, sometimes attending to the smallest details. He often changed his advisors and officials and was reluctant to delegate tasks and power to others. He ruled as an autocrat until the end.

Although Frederick II gave his nephew an educational upbringing, the king failed - likely through malice - to introduce the heir to the throne to political processes and contexts.[1] He was only allowed to attend the sessions of the Berlin Court of Appeal. Frederick II, however, forbade his ministers to grant Frederick William insights into day-to-day political business. Due to his upbringing, he possessed solid knowledge only in constitutional law, military matters and the arts.[1]

Contemporary account of the Prince of Prussia by Dr. John Moore

John Moore

"The hereditary Prince of Prussia lives in a small house in the town of Potsdam. His appointments do not admit of that degree of magnificence, which might be expected in the Heir of the Crown, but he displays a spirit of hospitality far more obliging than magnificence; and doubly meritorious, considering the very moderate revenue allowed him. We generally sup there two or three times a week.

This Prince is not often at the King's parties, nor is it imagined that he enjoys a great share of his uncle's favor. In what degree he possesses the talents of a general is not known, as he was too young to have any command during the late war. But he certainly has a very just understanding, which has been improved by study. He has taken some pains to acquire the English language, to which he was induced by an admiration of several English authors whose works he had read in French and German. He is now able to read English prose with tolerable facility and has been of late studying Shakespeare, having actually read two or three of his plays.

I took the liberty to observe that as Shakespeare's genius had traced every labyrinth and penetrated into every recess of the human heart, his sentiments could not fail to please his Royal Highness. But, as his language was uncommonly bold and figurative and full of allusions to national customs and the manners of our island two centuries ago, the English themselves, who had not made a particular study of his works, did not always comprehend their full energy. I added that to transfuse the soul of Shakespeare into a translation was impossible, and to taste all his beauties in the original required such a knowledge of the English manners and language as few foreigners, even after a long residence in the capital, could attain.

The Prince said he was aware of all this, yet he was determined to struggle hard for some acquaintance with an author so much admired by the English nation. That though he should never be able to taste all his excellencies, he was convinced he should understand enough to compensate him for his trouble. That he had already studied some detached parts, which he thought superior to anything he had ever met with in the works of any other poet.

His Royal Highness attends to military business with as much assiduity as most officers of the same rank in the army, for in the Prussian service, no degree of eminence in the article of birth can excuse a remission in the duties of that profession. He is much esteemed by the army and considered as an exceedingly good officer. To the frankness of a soldier, he joins the integrity of a German, and is beloved by the public in general, on account of his good-nature, affability, and humane turn of mind."

- Account of Frederick William as Prince of Prussia c.1779 by Dr. John Moore in his travel writing: A View of Society and Manners in France, Switzerland, and Germany.[7]

In early October 1797, Frederick William II withdrew from the Berlin court life. He never left the Marmorpalais in Potsdam again. Only a few confidants, such as Countess Lichtenau, as well as French nobles who had fled before the French Revolution, gathered around the dying king. On November 9, 1797, Frederick William handed over the government affairs to his son because he was no longer physically capable of doing so due to shortness of breath and immobility. During a seizure, Frederick William II passed away on November 16, 1797, at 8:58 a.m., at the age of 53, in the "paneled writing cabinet" of the Marmorpalais.[19]

The burial of the deceased king took place on December 11, 1797, with a simple procession. Eight major generals carried the coffin. After the sermon, the service concluded with a cannon salute.[12] The court society mourned for six weeks, during which time amusements such as theater and music events were forbidden both at the court and in the country. Additional religious services were held.

Frederick Wilhelm's eulogy was published in the "Berlinische Zeitung" on December 14, 1797:

"Frederick William completed the great legislative work begun by Frederick . And if this were the only deed that glorified his regal life: how surely must he achieve immortality through it alone! - He will forever live in the annals of our history as the happy enlarger of his country. The grandchildren of our new brothers in Franconia and on the Vistula will always celebrate the day when they became Prussians, and humanity itself can celebrate him because these acquisitions were not the result of terrible wars [...]. His contemporaries called him 'The Kind One,' and centuries later, people will still joyfully appreciate his benevolent deeds. He built, benefiting and enhancing, for posterity. Thanks to him, several of our provinces received paved and sturdy roads, which our country had been lacking until then (Chausseen in Westphalia, in Silesia, in Magdeburg, in Brandenburg). Elsewhere, he elevated the convenience of transportation and the advantage of residents through canals (in the Ruppin area, after the rebuilding of the burned-down city). Many places and regions, especially the capital of the empire, were equipped by him with substantial residential buildings and palaces, with beneficial institutions of all kinds (just to name a few: the expansion of the Charité, the veterinary school, the construction of the Marienkirchthurm, the construction of several gates and city walls, an iron and other bridges, the construction of new city prisons, etc.), as well as admirable monuments. As long as there is still a sense of nature and a taste for art among the inhabitants of Berlin, that is, as long as Berlin exists, the name of the king cannot fade, who, at the end of the most beautiful street and at the entrance to the most beautiful pleasure forest, had the magnificent gate erected, which so boldly opposes the Greek architectural works."[20]

Tomb of Frederick William II in Hohenzollern crypt in the Berliner Dom

Frederick William was interred in a vault of the old Berlin Cathedral. Countess Lichtenau, who had cared for the dying king, was no longer allowed to see the deceased and was placed under house arrest. Frederick William III had the father's despised lover brought to exile in Glogau and most of her wealth confiscated.[21]

Dieter Brozat reported in "Der Berliner Dom und die Hohenzollerngruft" (1985) that the sarcophagus of Frederick William II in the Hohenzollern vault was heavily damaged during World War II. This is attributed to Soviet looting, and incendiary bomb damage.[22] During the reconstruction of the cathedral, parts of a skeleton were found, suggesting embalming of the body. Brozat believes these remains to be those of Frederick William II.

Prussian Royal Family

Frederick William II had the following children:

• By his first cousin Duchess Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel:
  • Princess Frederica Charlotte (1767–1820), who became Duchess of York and Albany by her marriage to Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, no issue
• By Princess Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt:
  • Frederick William III (1770–1840), married Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, had issue
  • Princess Christine (1772–1773)
  • Prince Louis Charles (1773–96), married Duchess Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, had issue
  • Princess Wilhelmine (1774–1837), who became Queen of the Netherlands by her marriage to King William I of the Netherlands, had issue
  • Princess Augusta (1780–1841), who became Electress of Hesse by her marriage to William II, Elector of Hesse, had issue
  • Prince Henry (1781–1846)
  • Prince William (1783–1851), married Princess Maria Anna of Hesse-Homburg, had issue