Frederick III, German Emperor
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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.
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[edit] Early life
He was born the son of Prince William of Prussia and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar. His father was a younger brother of King Frederick William IV of Prussia.
In 1858 Frederick married Princess Victoria ("Vicky") of Great Britain and Ireland, the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. 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. The rigorously educated Vicky, also known as the Princess Royal, influenced her husband towards her own liberal views.
[edit] Crown Prince
In 1861, Frederick's father became King William I of Prussia, and Frederick himself became Crown Prince. As such, he 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 (where his timely arrival was crucial to the Prussian victory at Sadowa) and in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.
When the German states united as a single German Empire in 1871, Frederick became heir to the new German monarchy with his father as Emperor. Never liked by the powerful German Chancellor Bismarck, who distrusted his wife's liberalism, Frederick was always kept out of any real position of power throughout his father's life.
[edit] Illness and Brief Reign
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By the time his father died in 1888, the heavy smoker Frederick had developed incurable cancer of the larynx, which was misdiagnosed on 12 November 1887 by the English doctor Morell Mackenzie (later knighted by Queen Victoria). Due to a rivalry between German doctors of the local Charité and the British doctors favoured by his wife, the misdiagnosis was sustained and surgery that might have cured the cancer was cancelled. When the error was caught, it was too late to operate. Later swelling by the tumor caused the prince to begin to suffocate, and so on 9 February 1888, a tracheotomy was performed [1] and a silver tube was put into the prince's wind pipe. Frederick was unable to speak for the remainder of his life, and communicated through writing. His attitude is described by "Lerne leiden, ohne zu klagen!" ("Learn to suffer without complaining").
He was already in this state when his father died, leaving Frederick a very ill emperor, though only 56 years old. Frederick ruled for only 99 days before his own death and was not longer able to realize his plans, only Robert von Puttkammer was forced to resign on the 8th of June. The emperor was succeeded by his 29 year old son Wilhelm II.
[edit] Legacy
Many people, then and now, have considered Frederick's early death particularly tragic, not only for himself but for the German nation, and later the whole World. History will never know whether he would have moved the constitutional monarchy in Germany towards a more liberal democratic course, perhaps towards such as that presided over by his mother-in-law Queen Victoria -- nor whether he would have succeeded had he lived long enough to try. In contrast, his father lived over 91 years, making him wait quite a long time. Despite the hopes set on him, he was criticized for complying with the policies of Bismarck and his father without giving stronger opposition.
Also, the attempts to raise his children in a different, more modern way must be considered a failure regarding the eldest, politically most important son. 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 would lead directly 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. For sure, Frederick could have at least delayed the developments under his son by simply living longer.
[edit] In fiction
- He is a major character in an alternate history called Fire Warms the Northern Lands
[edit] Issue
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emperor William II | 27 January 1859 | 4 June 1941 | married 1881, Princess Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein; had issue |
| Princess Charlotte | 24 July 1860 | 1 October 1919 | married 1878, Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen; had issue |
| Prince Heinrich | 14 August 1862 | 20 April 1929 | married 1888, Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine; had issue |
| Prince Sigismund | 15 September 1864 | 18 June 1866 | died aged 1 |
| Princess Viktoria | 12 April 1866 | 13 November 1929 | married 1890, Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe; had issue |
| Prince Waldemar | 10 February 1868 | 27 March 1879 | died aged 11 |
| Princess Sophie | 14 June 1870 | 13 January 1932 | married 1889, Constantine I of Greece; had issue |
| Princess Margarete | 22 April 1872 | 22 January 1954 | married 1893, Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse-Kassel; had issue |
| House of Hohenzollern Born: 18 October 1831; Died: 15 June 1888 |
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| Preceded by: Wilhelm I |
German Emperor 9 March 1888–15 June 1888 |
Succeeded by: Wilhelm II |
| King of Prussia 9 March 1888–15 June 1888 |
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[edit] External links
- http://www.deutsche-schutzgebiete.de/kaiser_friedrich.htm
- AN IMPERIAL TRAGEDY: Frederick III and the Letters of the Empress - on-line article about the illness and death of Frederick III
