(Redirected from Friedrich III of Germany (Hohenzollern)):''For the medieval emperor, see
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor.
'Frederick III' (Frederick William Nicholas Charles;
October 18,
1831 –
June 15,
1888), (
German: ''Friedrich III., Deutscher
Kaiser und König von Preußen'') was
German Emperor and
King of Prussia, ruling for 99 days until his death in
1888.
Early life
Frederick William (as he was known before he assumed the throne) was born in the New Palace at
Potsdam. His father,
Prince William of Prussia was a younger brother of King
Frederick William IV of Prussia. Prussia at the time was no more than an average military state, recovering at the time from the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars.
[1] His mother, Princess
Augusta of Saxe-Weimar, had been brought up in a very different atmosphere from her husband. Weimar, unlike Prussia, was the first German state to grant its subjects a constitution. His parents marriage was also not a love match. Frederick's parents were quite ill-suited to one another. His father had been in love with Princess Catherine Radziwill, a minor Princess of the Polish aristocracy. He was forced to give her up due to her unequal rank and marry a dynastically suitable Princess. This he did out of duty.
[2] Princess Augusta was well known across Europe for her liberal views.
[3] It is not surprising therefore that Frederick's adult memories were always of a lonely childhood in a home dominated by his ill-matched parents.
[4] He had one sister Luise, later Grand Duchess of Baden, to whom he was very close.
Education
The Hohenzollern family traditionally valued a military education. It was Frederick's mother that insisted that her son be educated according to liberal ideas.
[2] Therefore his education was closely supervised and extremely thorough. He was a talented student and was particularly good at foreign languages. He became fluent in English and French and also studied Latin as well as History, Geography, Physics, Music and Religion. Frederick was also good at gymnastics and became very good rider as required of a Prussian Prince.
[6] Like all
Hohenzollern Princes he became familiar from a particularly young age with the military traditions of the dynasty. At the age of ten, in accordance with family tradition, he received his commission as second lieutenant in the First Infantry Regiment of Guards, and was invested with the Hohenzollern
Order of the Black Eagle.
[7] As a Prussian Prince, Frederick was expected to become actively involved as a military commander and strategist.
[2] He later, breaking with Hohenzollern tradition, spent time studying history, literature and law at the University at
Bonn. His future father-in-law, Prince Albert, had studied there.
[9]
Marriage and Family
As early as
1851, there were plans to marry Frederick William to
Princess Victoria ("Vicky") of Great Britain and Ireland, the eldest daughter of
Queen Victoria and Prince
Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. At the christening of the future King
Edward VII, Frederick's uncle, King
Frederick William IV of Prussia was godfather and had also dangled the Princess Royal on his knee. The royal dynasty in England was predominantly German. There was little English blood in Queen Victoria and none in her husband Prince Albert.
[10] The idea of Frederick marrying the Princess Royal was considered to be a very good idea by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Nobody welcomed the prospect of closer connections with Britain more than Princess Augusta. Prince William had been indifferent to the idea and had hoped for a marriage with a Russian Grand Duchess.
[2] King Leopold I of Belgium, uncle of both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, had long treasured the idea of Baron Stockmar of a marriage alliance between Britain and Prussia.
[12] Prince Albert hoped that the marriage would lead to the liberalisation and modernisation of Prussia. An announcement of the betrothal of the young couple occurred in
April 1856.
[13] The wedding would not take place until
January 25,
1858. The couple were married in the Chapel of St.James Palace, London. To mark the occasion, Frederick was promoted to Major-General the Prussian First Infantry Regiment of Guards. The marriage was a great love match.
[14] The rigorously educated Vicky, also known as the
Princess Royal shared her husband's liberal views. The couple had eight children during their marriage:
William in 1859,
Charlotte in 1860,
Henry in 1862,
Sigismund in 1864,
Victoria in 1866, Waldemar in 1868,
Sophie in 1870 and
Margarete in 1872. Sadly both Princes Sigismund and Waldemar died in childhood. Frederick's eldest son, William, suffered from a withered arm due to his difficult breech birth which nearly killed both mother and son. Relations between both parents and William would prove to be difficult as the years went by.
Crown Prince
On
January 2 1861, Frederick William's father became King
William I of Prussia, and Frederick William himself became
Crown Prince at the age of twenty-nine. It was a role he was destined to play until the long overdue death of his father on
March 9,
1888. The accession of the king did not usher in the new era for which Frederick and the liberal elements in Prussia had hoped. The new King was an obstinate old soldier who not likely to change his conservative ideas at the age of sixty-four.
[15] Frederick very nearly became King in
September,
1862 when his father threatened to abdicate over an impasse between himself and the Reichstag over reducing the length of compulsory military service required by soldiers.
[16] Frederick was appalled that an abdication would "constitute a threat to the dynasty, country and Crown."
[2] The crisis passed and William I did not abdicate. On
December 14,
1861, Frederick's father-in-law, and fellow liberal died. The elections in Prussia in December 1861 had produced a greatly increased liberal majority. Frederick declared himself in complete agreement with the "essential liberal policy for internal and foreign affairs."
[18] He was severely reproached by his father. As a result of major disagreements, Frederick with the permission of the king, was pleased to go frequently to England with his family where Queen Victoria allowed him to deputise for her on numerous occasions.
[19] The arrival of Bismarck, who had driven like a steamroller through all opposition
[20], as chief minister of the king, set Frederick on a collision course with his father on policy and led to his exclusion from affairs of state for the rest of the reign. A united Germany was not to be achieved through liberal and peaceful means but through Bismarck's policy of blood and iron.
Military Commander
Crown Prince Frederick formed a partnership with General
Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal, his Chief of Staff, through whom he was able to command victorious armies in the
Austro-Prussian War of
1866. His timely arrival was crucial to the Prussian victory at
Sadowa. Once the fighting was over the king presented Frederick as a mark of personal gallantry on the field with the Order
Pour le Mérite. A few days before Sadowa, Frederick had written to his wife hoping that this would be the last war he would have to fight. On the third day of the battle he wrote again to her, "Who knows whether we may not have to wage a third war in order to keep what we have now won?"
[21] His lack of faith in Bismarck was to prove correct in the future. As commander, Frederick also had great victories in the
Franco-Prussian War of
1870, where he commanded the III Army at
Wissembourg,
Wœrth,
Sedan and during the
Siege of Paris.
Heir to the German Empire
When the German states united as a single
German Empire in
1871, Frederick William became heir to the new
German monarchy with his father as Emperor. Never liked by the powerful
German Chancellor Bismarck, who distrusted him and his wife's
liberalism, Frederick William was always kept out of any real position of power throughout his father's reign. Nobody could have foreseen when his father became Emperor that he would live until
1888. Frederick William was left without responsibilities. He did do a lot of good establishing schools and churches in the area of Bornstaedt near Potsdam.
[22] [23] Emperor William, in an effort to raise Berlin as the capital into a cultural city, appointed Frederick to the position of Protector of Public Museums. It was largely due to his work and that of William Bode, Director of Berlin galleries, that considerable artistic collections were acquired. After his death these collections were housed in the new
Kaiser Friedrich Museum later known as the
Bode Museum in Berlin.
[24] Frederick continued to undertake military and representational duties when required such as attending Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in London in
1887. "For a while Fritz's life was little more than a chronicle of foundation stone laying, travelling to weddings and celebrations in all corners of the continent and family visits to his wife's relations in England or alternatively to her sister Alice at the humble palace in Darmstadt."
[25] One highlight during this period was the happy celebration of his silver wedding anniversary on
January 25,
1883.
Illness and brief reign
By the time his father died aged 91 on
March 9,
1888, Frederick had developed incurable
cancer of the
larynx [26], which was finally diagnosed on
12 November 1887 by the British doctor
Morell Mackenzie (later knighted by
Queen Victoria). On learning of his illness Frederick said, "To think I should have such a horrid disgusting illness ... I had so hoped to have been of use to my country".
[27] Due to a rivalry between the local German doctors and the British doctors favoured by him and his wife, difficulties occurred over the proposed treatment of the patient.
[28] German Doctor Bergam proposed to remove the larynx completely. His colleague Dr.Virchow disagreed.
[29] Such an operation had never been successfully performed without the death of the patient.
[30] Therefore both the Emperor and Empress naturally preferred the treatment suggested by Mackenzie. A cannula was fitted on
8 February to allow the Emperor to breathe.
[31] This operation is called a
tracheotomy. The Emperor Frederick was unable to speak for the remainder of his life, and communicated through writing. The German Dr.Bergman almost killed the Emperor by missing the incision in the windpipe and forcing the cannula into the wrong place. This caused the Emperor to cough and cough and streams of blood appeared. Bergman then proceeded to place his forefinger into the wound to enlarge it. The bleeding only subsided after two hours. The Emperor wrote, "Why did Bergman put his finger in my throat?
[2] and later, "Bergman ill-treated me."
[2] Bergman's interference resulted in an abcess in the patient's neck creating pus which made the condition more serious.
[2] Years later to prove to his medical students that he could have saved Frederick III by removing his larynx, his patient died under the knife.
[35] [36] [37]
In spite of his illness the Emperor was determined to fulfil his obligations as Emperor. Minutes after writing out the announcement of his accession, he removed from his jacket the ribbon and star from his own
Order of the Black Eagle and pinned it on the dress of his wife. He was determined, though gravely ill, to honour the position of his wife as Empress.
[38] He also managed to receive
Queen Victoria and the Swedish King and attend the wedding of his son
Prince Henry of Prussia to his niece
Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine. Frederick III, who ruled for only 99 days, was a liberal and a great admirer of the British constitution.
[39] Tragically he was no longer able to realize his plans. He did however force
Robert von Puttkammer to resign on
8 June when evidence appeared that he had used his agents to interfere in the Reichstag elections.
[40] Dr.
Morell Mackenzie wrote of the Emperor that he had "an almost overwhelming sense of the duties of his position."
[41] Writing to Lord Napier, the new Empress Victoria wrote of her husband, "The trial laid upon us is a very heavy one, .. and it is not easy to meet it with all the courage and the energy necessary - One tries to keep a stout heart, and hopes on, that things might improve! The Emperor is able to attend to his business, and do a great deal, but not being able to speak is, of course, most trying."
[42] Finally on
June 15, Frederick III died and was succeeded by his 29 year old son
Wilhelm II. He is buried in a magnificent tomb under a recumbent marble effigy in a mausoleum attached to the
Friedenskirche (Peace Church) in Postdam.
Legacy
Many people have considered Frederick's early death particularly tragic, not only for himself but for the German nation, and later the whole world. Frederick III was a liberal and great admirer of the British constitution. Given a longer lifespan it is likely he would have moved the
constitutional monarchy in Germany towards a more
liberal democratic course.
[43] By contrast, his father lived over 91 years, making him wait quite a long time. Great hopes were set on him. Some have criticized him for complying with the policies of Bismarck and his father without giving stronger opposition. He was unable to do otherwise. Perhaps Frederick III realised what would happen after his death. He said in May 1888, "I cannot die .. What would happen to Germany?"
[44]
The attempts to raise his children in a different way could perhaps be considered a failure. His eldest son, politically most important, is a case in question. William II, his son and successor, turned against his father and especially his English mother, and adhered more to the militaristic and authoritarian ways of his grandfather William I, a course that tragically lead to
World War I and the end of
monarchy in Germany. Unlike his son, Frederick had served as an able military leader in several wars, and thus knew the cruelties firsthand. His other children were not all militaristic. His daughter
Sophie of Prussia brought many liberal qualities as Queen Consort of Greece undertaking a great many humanitarian and educational projects. Her older sister
Princess Margarete of Prussia also held liberal viewpoints and greatly admired both her parents. In 1918 her husband
Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse-Kassel was elected constitutional King of
Finland which would have seen the Princess become
Queen Consort. They declined to take up the offer.
Ancestry
Issue
References
1. Frederick III German Emperor 1888 by John Van der Kiste, p.10
2. ibid
3. ibid, p.11
4. ibid, p.12
5. ibid
6. Kaiser Friedrich der Guetige, p.44
7. ibid, p.14
8. ibid
9. ibid, p.19
10. Frederick III by John Van der Kiste, p.15
11. ibid
12. ibid, p.16
13. ibid, p.31
14. ibid, p.43
15. ibid, p.61
16. An Uncommon Woman by Hannah Pakula, p.168
17. ibid
18. Frederick III by John Van der Kiste, p.68
19. ibid, p.69
20. ibidi, p.75
21. ibid, p.98
22. Kaiser Friedrich der Guetige, p.420
23. Frederick III, p.89
24. ibid, p.128
25. ibid, pp.130-131
26. Eclipse of Kings by Denis Judd, p.13
27. An Uncommon Woman by Hanna Pakula, p.448
28. ibid, p.479
29. The Other Victoria by Andrew Sinclair, p.195
30. ibid, p.206
31. ibid p.204
32. ibid
33. ibid
34. ibid
35. The English Empress by Egon Corti, p.307-308
36. by An Uncommon Woman by Hannah Pakula, p.504
37. Frederick III, p.171
38. ibid, p.193
39. Cambridge lllustrated History of Germany by Martin Kitchen, p.214
40. The Other Victoria by Andrew Sinclair, p.211
41. Frederick III by John Van der Kiste, p.195
42. ibid, p.196
43. Cambridge Illustrated History of Germany, p.214
44. An Uncommon Woman by Hannah Pakula, p.484
Books
★
The English Empress : A study in the relations between Queen Victoria and her eldest daughter, Empress Frederick of Germany, , Egon, Corti, Cassell, ,
★
Eclipse of Kings, , Denis, Judd, Stein and Day, , ISBN 0 8128 2064 I
★
Cambridge Illustrated History of Germany, , Martin, Kitchen, Cambridge University Press, , ISBN 0 8128 2064 I
★
The Last Kaiser, , Giles, Macdonagh, Phoenix Press, , ISBN I 84212 478 I
★
Kaiser Friedrich der Guetige, , Hermann, Mueller-Bohn, Verlag Von Paul Kittel, ,
★
An Uncommon Woman - The Empress Frederick, , Hannah, Pakula, Phoenix, , ISBN I 85799 853 7
★
The Other Victoria - The Princess Royal and the Grand Game of Europe, , Andrew, Sinclair, Weidenfeld & Nicholson Ltd, , ISBN 0 297 779887 7
★
Frederick III German Emperor 1888, , John, Van der Kiste, Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd, , ISBN 0 904387 77 1
In fiction
★ He is a major character in an alternate history called
Fire Warms the Northern Lands by Ed Hanks
External links
★
Kaiser Friedrich III
★
AN IMPERIAL TRAGEDY: Frederick III and the Letters of the Empress - on-line article about the illness and death of Frederick III
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español![Cafe Havana, Guam\](images/articles/thumbs/cafehavanathumb.jpg "Cafe Havana, Guam\")
