Frederick William III of Prussia
| Frederick William III | |
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Prussian United (after 1817) | |
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| Frederick William III |
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Frederick William III (
Frederick William III ruled Prussia during the times of the
Early life
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Frederick William was born in Potsdam on 3 August 1770 as the son of Frederick William II of Prussia and Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt. He was considered to be a shy and reserved boy, which became noticeable in his particularly reticent conversations, distinguished by the lack of personal pronouns. This manner of speech subsequently came to be considered entirely appropriate for military officers.[1] He was neglected by his father during his childhood and suffered from an inferiority complex his entire life.[2]
As a child, Frederick William's father (under the influence of his mistress,
As a soldier, he received the usual training of a Prussian prince, obtained his
Reign
Frederick William succeeded to the throne on 16 November 1797. He also became, in
Disgusted with his father's court (in both political intrigues and sexual affairs), Frederick William's first and most successful early endeavor was to restore his dynasty's moral legitimacy. The eagerness to restore dignity to his family went so far that it nearly caused sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow to cancel the expensive and lavish Prinzessinnengruppe project, which was commissioned by the previous monarch Frederick William II. He was quoted as saying the following, which demonstrated his sense of duty and peculiar manner of speech:
Every civil servant has a dual obligation: to the sovereign and the country. It can occur that the two are not compatible; then, the duty to the country is higher.
At first, Frederick William and his advisors attempted to pursue a neutrality policy in the
Alexander, too, suffered defeat at the hands of the French, and at
Although the ineffectual king himself seemed resigned to Prussia's fate, various reforming ministers, such as
In 1813, following Napoleon's
At the Congress of Vienna, Frederick William's ministers succeeded in securing significant territorial increases for Prussia. However, they failed to obtain the annexation of all of Saxony, as they had wished.[citation needed] Following the war, Frederick William turned towards political reaction, abandoning the promises he had made in 1813 to provide Prussia with a constitution.[7]
Prussian Union of Churches
Frederick William was determined to unify the Protestant churches to homogenize their liturgy, organization, and architecture. The long-term goal was to have fully centralized royal control of all the Protestant churches in the Prussian Union of Churches. The merging of the Lutheran and Calvinist (Reformed) confessions to form the United Church of Prussia was highly controversial. Angry responses included a large and well-organized opposition. Especially the "Old Lutherans" in Silesia refused to abandon their liturgical traditions. The crown responded by attempting to silence protest. The stubborn Lutheran minority was coerced by military force, their churches' confiscation, and their pastors' imprisonment or exile. By 1834 outward union was secured based on common worship but separate symbols—the opponents of the measure being forbidden to form communities of their own. Many left Prussia, settling in South Australia, Canada, and the United States. The king's unsuccessful counterattack worsened tensions at the highest levels of government. The crown's aggressive efforts to restructure religion were unprecedented in Prussian history. In a series of proclamations over several years, the Church of the Prussian Union was formed, bringing together the majority group of Lutherans and the minority group of Reformed Protestants. The main effect was that the government of Prussia had full control over church affairs, with the king himself recognized as the leading bishop.[8]
In 1824 Frederick William III remarried (
In 1838 the king distributed large parts of his farmland at Erdmannsdorf Estate to 422 Protestant refugees from the Austrian Zillertal, who built Tyrolean style farmhouses in the Silesian village.[citation needed]
Death
Frederick William III died on 7 June 1840 in Berlin, from a fever,
Issue
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| (daughter, no name) | 1 October 1794 | 1 October 1794 | stillborn |
| Frederick William IV of Prussia | 15 October 1795 | 2 January 1861 | married Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria (1801–1873), no issue. |
| William I, German Emperor | 22 March 1797 | 9 March 1888 | married Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1811–1890), had issue.
|
| Princess Charlotte of Prussia | 13 July 1798 | 1 November 1860 | married Nicholas I of Russia (1796–1855), had issue including the future Alexander II of Russia |
| Princess Frederica of Prussia | 14 October 1799 | 30 March 1800 | died in childhood |
| Prince Charles of Prussia | 29 June 1801 | 21 January 1883 | married Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1808–1877), had issue. |
Princess Alexandrine of Prussia |
23 February 1803 | 21 April 1892 | married Paul Friedrich, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1800–1842), had issue.
|
| Prince Ferdinand of Prussia | 13 December 1804 | 1 April 1806 | died in childhood |
Princess Louise of Prussia |
1 February 1808 | 6 December 1870 | married Prince Frederik of the Netherlands (1797–1881), had issue.
|
Prince Albert (Albrecht) of Prussia |
4 October 1809 | 14 October 1872 | married Princess Marianne of the Netherlands (1810–1883), had issue; married second to Rosalie von Rauch (1820–1879), Countess of Hohenau, had issue. |
Honours
Prussia:
- Knight of the Black Eagle, 11 September 1772[10]
- Founder of the Iron Cross, 10 March 1813[11]
- Founder of the Order of Louise, 13 August 1814[11]
Russian Empire:[12]
- Knight of St. Andrew, 29 January 1780
- Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky, 29 January 1780
Sweden:
- Knight of the Seraphim, 23 December 1797[13]
- Grand Cross of the Sword, 1st Class, 6 February 1814[14]
- France:
French Empire: Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honour, March 1805[15]
Kingdom of France:[16]
- Knight of the Holy Spirit, 1815
- Knight of St. Michael, 1815
Austrian Empire: Knight of the Military Order of Maria Theresa, 1813[17]
Spain: Knight of the Golden Fleece, 30 May 1814[18]
Knight of the Garter, 9 June 1814[19]
Knight of the Elephant, 31 August 1814[11]
Grand Cross of the Military William Order, 9 July 1821[20]
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Grand Cross of the White Falcon, 1 March 1823[21]
Baden:[22]
- Grand Cross of the House Order of Fidelity, 1823
- Grand Cross of the Zähringer Lion, 1823
Kingdom of Portugal: Grand Cross of the Sash of the Three Orders, 30 August 1825[23]
Knight of St. Hubert, 1826[24]
Kingdom of Sardinia: Knight of the Annunciation, 6 May 1833[25]
Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order, November 1834[26]
Kingdom of Saxony: Knight of the Rue Crown, 1836[27]
Grand Duchy of Hesse: Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order[11]
Two Sicilies:[28]
- Knight of St. Januarius
- Grand Cross of St. Ferdinand and Merit
Knight of the Golden Eagle[29]
Ancestry
| Ancestors of Frederick William III of Prussia Princess Sophia Dorothea of Hanover | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2. Frederick William II of Prussia | |||||||||||||||
| 10. Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel | |||||||||||||||
| 5. Duchess Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel | |||||||||||||||
| 11. Princess Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel | |||||||||||||||
| 1. Frederick William III of Prussia | |||||||||||||||
| 12. Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt | |||||||||||||||
| 6. Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt | |||||||||||||||
| 13. Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg | |||||||||||||||
| 3. Princess Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt | |||||||||||||||
| 14. Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken | |||||||||||||||
| 7. Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken | |||||||||||||||
| 15. Countess Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken | |||||||||||||||
Siblings
- Frederick, Duke of York
- Christine (1772–73)
- Louis Charles (1773–96)
- Frederica Louisa Wilhelmina (1774–1837), wife of William of Orange, afterward King William I of the Netherlands
- Augusta (1780–1841), wife of William II, Elector of Hesse
- Henry (1781–1846)
- William (1783–1851)
Works
Marches
- Marsch I. Bataillon Garde, 1806
- Preussischer Präsentiermarsch, c. 1820
References
- ^ Franz Blei (1931) "Königin Luise von Preußen" in Gefährtinnen. Berlin. pp. 68 ff
- ^ "Federick William III". Encyclopaedia Britannica. 30 July 2018.
- ^ a b c d e . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 11 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 65–66.
- ^ ISBN 978-3-89870-615-5.
- ^ Christopher Clark, Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600–1947 (2006) pp 298–320.
- ISBN 9780674023857.
- ISBN 9781137019806
- S2CID 159976974.
- ISBN 3-406-54129-1, p. 218
- ^ Liste der Ritter des Königlich Preußischen Hohen Ordens vom Schwarzen Adler (1851), "Von Seiner Majestät dem Könige Friedrich Wilhelm III. ernannte Ritter" p. 15
- ^ a b c d J ..... -H ..... -Fr ..... Berlien (1846). Der Elephanten-Orden und seine Ritter. Berling. pp. 135–137.
- ^ Almanach de la cour: pour l'année ... 1817. l'Académie Imp. des Sciences. 1817. pp. 61, 76.
- ISBN 91-630-6744-7.
- ^ Posttidningar, 30 april 1814, p. 2
- ISBN 978-2-35077-135-9.
- ^ Teulet, Alexandre (1863). "Liste chronologique des chevaliers de l'ordre du Saint-Esprit depuis son origine jusqu'à son extinction (1578-1830)" [Chronological list of knights of the Order of the Holy Spirit from its origin to its extinction (1578-1830)]. Annuaire-bulletin de la Société de l'histoire de France (in French) (2): 113. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ "Ritter-Orden: Militärischer Maria-Theresien-Orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Kaiserthumes Österreich (in German), 1814, p. 18, retrieved 6 November 2019
- ^ Guerra, Francisco (1819), "Caballeros Existentes en la Insignie Orden del Toison de Oro", Calendario manual y guía de forasteros en Madrid (in Spanish): 42, retrieved 17 March 2020
- ^ Shaw, Wm. A. (1906) The Knights of England, I, London, p. 51
- ^ Militaire Willems-Orde: Preussen, Friederich Wilhelm III von, (in Dutch)
- ^ "Großherzoglicher Hausorden", Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (in German), Weimar: Böhlau, 1835, p. 6, retrieved 11 March 2020
- ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1838), "Großherzogliche Orden" pp. 27, 42
- ISSN 0873-1330. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern: 1828. Landesamt. 1828. p. 7.
- ^ Luigi Cibrario (1869). Notizia storica del nobilissimo ordine supremo della santissima Annunziata. Sunto degli statuti, catalogo dei cavalieri. Eredi Botta. p. 106.
- ^ Adreß-Handbuch ... Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (1837). "Herzogliche Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden", p. 22
- ^ Staatshandbuch für den Freistaat Sachsen: 1839. Heinrich. 1839. p. 4.
- ^ Almanacco reale del regno delle Due Sicilie. Stamperia Reale. 1840. pp. 460, 464.
- ^ Württemberg (1815). Königlich-Württembergisches Hof- und Staats-Handbuch: 1815. Guttenberg. p. 13.
- ^ Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768., pp. 17 (father's side), 69 (mother's side)
Further reading
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 11 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 65, 66.
- Clark, Christopher. Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600–1947 (2006) pp 298–320.
- Richardson, Constance. Memoirs of the Private Life and Opinions of Louisa, Queen of Prussia, Consort of Frederick William III (London, R. Bentley, 1847) online.
- Sheehan, James J. German History, 1770–1866 (1989).
- Wright, Constance. Beautiful Enemy: A biography of Queen Louise of Prussia (Dodd, Mead, 1969) online.
- v. Hartmann (1966), "Friedrich Wilhelm III.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 7, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 700–729; (Friedrich Wilhelm III. (König von Preußen).html full text online)
External links
Media related to Frederick William III of Prussia at Wikimedia Commons
| Duchy of Prussia (1525–1701) |  | |
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| Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918) | ||
1also Elector of Brandenburg; 2also German Emperor | ||