Prince Frederick of Orange-Nassau
Frederick | |
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Prince of Orange-Nassau | |
Feldzeugmeister | |
Battles/wars | French Revolutionary Wars |
Awards | Military Order of Maria Theresa |
Prince Frederik of Orange-Nassau (English: William George Frederick,
Early life
Prince Frederick (as he is usually referred to), the youngest son of William V, Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic and Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia, sister of King Frederick William II, chose a military career with the Holy Roman Empire.
Family
Prince Frederick, or "Fritz", as members of his family called him, was born in The Hague in the Dutch Republic. His parents, William V and Princess Wilhelmina, already had two children: Frederica Louise Wilhelmina (1770–1819) and Willem Frederik (1772–1843); Louise would later marry the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Willem would become the first Dutch King. Frederick was related to the British royal family through both his father, who was the grandson of George II of Great Britain, and through his mother, who was the grandniece of George II.
Education and military beginnings
Even as a young boy, he was bright and showed much promise in the military field; General Prince Frederick Stamford, mathematician
Life in exile
In 1795 the prince wanted to withdraw troops from
Austrian military service
Prince Frederick went via England to Vienna, where he was given, in May 1796, the rank of Major General. He commanded a brigade in the corps of
He visited many sick soldiers while in Padua, Italy. It is possible that, as a result of these visits, he contracted a malignant fever. On the night of 5–6 January 1799, Prince Frederick died in the arms of his aide, Hendrik George de Perponcher Sedlnitsky. Originally, he was buried in the cloister of the Hermits of Padua. In 1807, his family ordered a marble monument by Antonio Canova. In 1896, Queen Emma ordered Frederick to be moved to Nieuwe Kerk, the family burial site in Delft. She boarded a vessel to Padua, but was unable to find the prince's remains. The body was finally found on 3 July 1896 and was buried in Nieuwe Kerk on 7 August 1896. The monument was rebuilt in the church behind the tomb of Frederick's brother Willem. As both the church and the cloister of the Hermits of Padua were severely damaged in WW II, the Queen-Regent's action has proven to be a wise one.[4][5]
Ancestry
Ancestors of Prince Frederick of Orange-Nassau | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Notes
- ^ see also King's Dutch Brigade
References
Sources
- Aa, A. J. van der, ed. (1877). "Willem George Frederik". Biografisch Woordenboek der Nederlanden. Deel 20 (DBNL) (in Dutch). pp. 264–267. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- Blok, P.J.; Molhuysen, P.C., eds. (1911). "Frederik, Willem George Frederik". Nieuw Nederlandsch biografisch woordenboek (DNBL) (in Dutch). Sijthoff. pp. 894–896. Retrieved 2 May 2023.