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Friedrich III. deutscher Kaiser und König von Preußen K.u.K.H.
(18.10.1831 - 15.06.1888)
place of birth: Potsdam, Brandenburg
Königreich
Preußen: Seine
Majestät der Kaiser und König,
Oberster Kriegsherr
Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl von Preußen, King of Prussia and German Emperor for 99
days. Friedrich Wilhelm (Frederick William) was born at the New Palace
in Potsdam, the son of Prince Wilhelm and nephew of King Friedrich
Wilhelm IV. His mother was Princess Augusta von Saxe-Weimar. Young
Fritz began his military career at the age of ten when he was
commissioned as a Leutnant in
the 1st Guards Infantry Regiment. Following his formal education, he
married Princess Victoria in 1858 at St James Palace. Young Vicky was
the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Vicky and
Fritz' eldest son Wilhelm later ascended to the throne as Kaiser
Wilhelm II. When Fritz' father was crowned King Wilhelm I of Prussia in
1861, the 29-year old Fritz became Crown Prince Friedrich. As Crown
Prince, the liberal-minded Friedrich often disagreed sharply with his
father's conservative Minister- President Otto von Bismarck. During the
Austro-Prussian War of 1866, the Crown Prince
and his Chief of Staff Graf von Blumenthal successfully led their
troops to numerous victories, and were specifically cited for their
actions during the Battle of Sadowa. Friedrich was
even awarded the coveted Pour le Merite for his
personal gallantry exhibited during the campaign. He likewise commanded
the Third Army during Prussia's war with France in 1870-71, leading
them at Sedan and during the Siege of Paris.
He was also one of only nine recipients of the Grand Cross of
the Iron Cross during the Franco-Prussian War of
1870-71. He died in Berlin on 15 June 1888.
When his father died in March of 1888,
Friedrich was already suffering from cancer of the larynx and could not
speak. He thus only ruled for 99 days, succumbing to his illness on 15
June 1888 at the age of 57. He was interred in the mausoleum at the
Friedenskirche in Potsdam. Although influenced by liberal,
constitutional, and middle-class ideas, Friedrich III retained a strong
sense of the Hohenzollern royal and imperial dignity. Many consider his
early demise a particular tragedy: his ultra-short reign was sandwiched
between his father's ruling Prussia for 27 years and his militaristic
son Wilhelm II's stumbling with the General Staff into the First World
War.
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