Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Kingdom of Prussia: The Protestant Franconian branch of the House of Hohenzollern ruled as Margraves of Brandenburg, Dukes of Prussia, Electors of Brandenburg, Kings of Prussia from 1415 until 1918. In November 1700, in exchange for supporting the Holy Roman Empire in the Spanish War of Succession, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor agreed to allow Friedrich III, Duke of Prussia, Elector of Brandenburg to make Prussia a kingdom and become its first king. In the aftermath of World War I, Prussia had a revolution that resulted in the replacement of the monarchy with a republic. Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia abdicated on November 9, 1918.

The Kingdom of Prussia had territory that today is part of Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, and Switzerland. All or parts of the following states of today’s Germany were part of the Kingdom of Prussia: Brandenburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland, Saxony-Anhalt, and Schleswig-Holstein.

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Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

Friedrich Wilhelm II was King of Prussia from 1786 until 1797. He was born at the Berlin City Palace in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg, on September 25, 1744, the eldest son of Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia (a younger son of King Friedrich Wilhelm I) and Duchess Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Friedrich Wilhelm had three younger siblings:

Friedrich Wilhelm was christened on October 11, 1744. His godparents included:

When he was three years old, Friedrich Wilhelm was taken from his parents and raised in the court of his uncle King Friedrich II of Prussia. With a steady stream of tutors, the young Friedrich Wilhelm studied mathematics, law, philosophy, and history and received a military education. Friedrich was a devoted patron of the arts and established a private orchestra renowned throughout Europe. As King Friedrich II had no children, Friedrich Wilhelm’s father, the king’s younger brother, was the heir presumptive. Friedrich Wilhelm then became the heir when his father died in 1758.

Although close to his uncle in his youth, their relationship became strained as Friedrich Wilhelm grew older. King Friedrich II gave his nephew a solid education but did little to prepare Friedrich Wilhelm for his future role. Friedrich Wilhelm also resented King Friedrich II for forcing him into two arranged marriages, neither of which he welcomed.

Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. source: Wikipedia

Friedrich Wilhelm was married several times. His first wife was his first cousin Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, the daughter of Carl I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Princess Philippine Charlotte of Prussia. The couple married at Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin on July 14, 1765, but the marriage was unhappy. The couple was divorced in 1769 after Elisabeth Christine became pregnant by a lover and had one daughter:

Friederike Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt. source: Wikipedia

In 1769, Friedrich Wilhelm married a second time, to Friederike Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt, the daughter of Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Caroline of Zweibrücken. Friedrich Wilhelm and Friederike Luise married on July 14, 1769, at Charlottenburg Palace, and had seven children:

Julie von Voss, Countess von Ingenheim. source: Wikipedia

While married to his second wife, Friedrich Wilhelm entered into two morganatic marriages. The first was Elisabeth Amalie “Julie” von Voss (1766-1789). Julie became a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elisabeth Christine (Friedrich Wilhelm’s aunt) in 1783. In 1787, she and Friedrich Wilhelm married at the chapel at Charlottenburg Palace. Julie insisted that Friedrich Wilhelm’s wife, Friederike Luise, give her consent for the marriage. Friederike Luise, having already given her husband seven children, felt her “conjugal duties had been fulfilled” and willingly agreed. The couple married in April 1787, and in November of that year, Julie was created Countess von Ingenheim. The marriage was short-lived. In March 1789, Julie died of tuberculosis, just two months after giving birth to their only child:

  • Gustav Adolf, Count von Ingenheim (1789-1855) – married Eugenie de Thierry, had issue

Sophie von Dönhoff. source: Wikipedia

In April 1790, again in the chapel at Charlottenburg Palace, Friedrich Wilhelm married Countess Sophie Juliane von Dönhoff. Born in 1768, Sophie had become a lady-in-waiting to Friedrich Wilhelm’s wife, Queen Friederike Luise, the previous year. The couple separated just a few years later, but they did have two children together:

Wilhelmine Encke, Countess von Lichtenau. source: Wikipedia

In addition to his numerous marriages, Friedrich Wilhelm also had several children with his official mistress Wilhelmine Encke (later Countess von Lichtenau). Born in Potsdam in 1753, Encke was the daughter of a musician in the court of King Friedrich II. In 1764, she met Friedrich Wilhelm and became his official mistress in 1769 when she was just 15 years old,  and remained so until he died in 1797. They had five children together:

  • stillborn daughter (1770)
  • Ulrike Sophie von Berkholz (born and died 1774) – died in infancy
  • Christina Sophie von Lützenberg (born and died 1777) – died in infancy
  • Count Alexander von der Marck (1779-1787) – died in childhood
  • Countess Marianne von der Marck (1780-1814) – married three times, had four daughters

King Friedrich II (Frederick the Great). source: Wikipedia

Friedrich Wilhelm became King of Prussia on August 17, 1786, upon the death of his uncle, King Friedrich (the Great) II. By that time, he had little respect for his uncle and ignored the late King’s wishes relating to his burial. He moved the Prussian court, based for many years in Potsdam, back to Berlin, and overturned many of his uncle’s policies. Friedrich Wilhelm became popular with the Prussian people because of his patronage of the arts and the improvement of trade and transportation. However, that popularity soon faded, when he began to impose consumption taxes on items such as sugar, flour, and beer. He also depleted the country’s treasury, from overspending during military ventures and his personal projects. When Friedrich Wilhelm came to the throne, the treasury had over 50 million dollars. But by the time his reign ended, just 11 years later, the country was in debt of 48 million.

King Friedrich Wilhelm II was a huge supporter of the arts and helped develop Berlin into one of the cultural centers for classical music, keeping in pace with Vienna and Weimar. A skilled cello player, he spent several hours a day playing, alone and with his private orchestra, the largest in Europe at the time. In addition, he took great interest in architecture and oversaw the construction of many buildings, including the Marble Palace in Potsdam, the Pfaueninsel Palace, and the famed Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

Brandenburg Gate. photo: By Drrcs15 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33364194

Having been ill for some time, King Friedrich Wilhelm II retreated to the Marble Palace in October 1797, where he limited his court to just a few close confidants, including his official mistress Countess von Lichtenau. By early November, his health was rapidly declining, and he handed over his responsibilities to his son and heir. King Friedrich Wilhelm II died at the Marble Palace in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg, on November 16, 1797, and was buried in the family vault at the Berliner Dom in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg.

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