Frederick, Prince of Wales
Encyclopedia
Frederick, Prince of Wales (Frederick Louis; 1 February 1707 – 20 March 1751) was a member of the House of Hanover
and therefore of the Hanoverian
and later British Royal Family
, the eldest son of George II
and father of George III, as well as the great-grandfather of Queen Victoria
. Under the Act of Settlement
passed by the English Parliament in 1701, Frederick was in the direct line of succession to the British throne
. He moved to Great Britain following the accession of his father, and was created Prince of Wales
. He predeceased his father George II, however, and upon the latter's death on 25 October 1760, the throne passed to Prince Frederick's eldest son, George, Prince of Wales
, who reigned as King George III from 1760 until 1820.
Frederick served as the tenth Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin
, from 1728 to 1751.
Prince Frederick had a hostile relationship with his parents.
Prince Frederick Louis (sometimes rendered Lewis), was born in Hanover
, Germany
, as Duke Friedrich Ludwig of Hanover. His godparents were his paternal grandfather George I
, the Elector of Hanover and later King of Great Britain, and his great-uncle Frederick I
, King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg
. Frederick was nicknamed "Griff" within the family.
His parents, Prince George (later George II
) and Caroline of Ansbach
, were called upon to leave the country when their eldest son was only seven years old. He was left in the care of his great-uncle Ernest Augustus, Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück. He did not see his parents again until he arrived in England
in 1728 as a grown man. By then, George and Caroline had several younger children, and Frederick was a high-spirited youth fond of drinking, gambling and women. The long separation damaged their relationship, and they would never be close.
In 1722, Frederick was inoculated against smallpox
by Charles Maitland on the instructions of his mother Caroline. His grandfather created him Duke of Edinburgh
, Marquess of the Isle of Ely, Earl of Eltham in the county of Kent, Viscount of Launceston in the county of Cornwall and Baron of Snaudon in the county of Carnarvon, on 26 July 1726. The latter two titles have been interpreted differently since — the "of"s are omitted and Snaudon rendered as Snowdon.
The motives for the ill-feeling between Frederick and his parents may include the fact that he had been set up by his grandfather, even as a small child, as the representative of the House of Hanover, and was used to presiding over official occasions in the absence of his parents. He was not permitted to go to Great Britain until his father took the throne as George II
on 11 June 1727. Frederick continued to be known as Prince Friedrich Ludwig of Hanover (with his British HRH style) even after his father had been created Prince of Wales. Following his father's accession to the British throne, Frederick himself was created Prince of Wales on 8 January 1729.
He had a will of his own and sponsored a court of 'opposition' politicians. Frederick and his group supported the Opera of the Nobility
in Lincoln's Inn Fields
as a rival to Handel's royally-sponsored opera at the King's Theatre
in the Haymarket. Frederick was a genuine lover of music who played the viola and cello; he is depicted playing a cello in an oil portrait by Philip Mercier
of Frederick and his sisters, now part of the National Portrait Gallery collection. He enjoyed the natural sciences and the arts, and became a thorn in the side of his parents, thwarting their every ambition and making a point of opposing them in everything, according to the court gossip Lord Hervey. At court, the favourite was Frederick's younger brother, Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, to the extent that the king looked into ways of splitting his domains so that Frederick would succeed only in Britain, while Hanover would go to William.
Hervey and Frederick (using a pseudonym "Captain Bodkin") wrote a theatrical comedy together which was staged at the Drury Lane Theatre
in October 1731. It was panned by the critics, and even the theatre's manager thought it so bad that it was unlikely to play out even the first night. He had soldiers stationed in the audience to maintain order, and when the play flopped the audience was given their money back. Hervey and Frederick also shared a mistress, Anne Vane, who had a son called FitzFrederick Vane in June 1732. Either one of them, or even William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington
, another of her lovers, could have been the father. Jealousy between them may have contributed to a breach, and their friendship ended. Hervey later wrote bitterly that Frederick was "false ... never having the least hesitation in telling any lie that served his present purpose."
A permanent result of Frederick's patronage of the arts is "Rule Britannia", one of the best-known British patriotic songs. It was written by the Scottish
poet
and playwright James Thomson as part of the masque
Alfred which was first performed on 1 August 1740 at Cliveden
, the country home of the Prince and Princess of Wales. The music was by the English composer Thomas Arne, another of Frederick's favorite artists. A masque linking the Prince with both the ancient hero-king Alfred the Great
's victories over the Vikings and with the contemporary issue of building up the British sea power obviously went well with Frederick's political plans and aspirations. Later the song got a permanent life of his own regardless of the masque. Thomson, who supported the Prince of Wales politically, also dedicated to him an earlier major work, Liberty (1734).
and Jean Baptiste Vanloo, who painted the portraits of the prince and his consort for Frederick's champion William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath
. The list of other artists he employed—Philip Mercier
, John Wootton
, George Knapton
and the French engraver Joseph Goupy
—represents some of the principal figures of the English Rococo
. William Kent
's neo-Palladian
state barge of 1732 is still preserved, though Sir William Chambers
' palace at Kew
for his widow Augusta (1757) was demolished in 1802.
on a proposed marriage between the Prince of Wales and Frederick William's daughter Wilhelmine were welcomed by Frederick even though the couple had never met. George II was not keen on the proposal but continued talks for diplomatic reasons. Frustrated by the delay, Frederick sent an envoy of his own to the Prussian court. When the King discovered the plan, he immediately arranged for Frederick to leave Hanover for England. The marriage negotiations foundered when Frederick William demanded that Frederick be made Regent in Hanover.
Frederick also almost married Lady Diana Spencer, daughter of Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland
and Lady Anne Churchill. Lady Diana was the favorite grandchild of the powerful Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough
. The duchess sought for a royal alliance by marrying Lady Diana with the Prince of Wales with a massive dowry of £100,000. The prince who was in great debt also agreed to the proposal but the plan was vetoed by Robert Walpole
and the king. Lady Diana soon married John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford
.
Although in his youth he was undoubtedly a spendthrift and womaniser, Frederick settled down, on his marriage, in 1736, to the seventeen-year-old Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. The wedding was held at St. James's Palace
and was presided over by the Bishop of London.
In May 1736, George II returned to Hanover, which resulted in unpopularity in England; a satirical notice was even pinned to the gates of St James's Palace decrying his absence. "Lost or strayed out of this house", it read, "a man who has left a wife and six children on the parish." The King made plans to return in the face of inclement weather; when his ship was caught in a storm, gossip swept London that he had drowned. Eventually, in January 1737, he arrived back in England. Immediately he fell ill, with piles and a fever, and withdrew to his bed. The Prince of Wales put it about that the King was dying, with the result that George insisted on getting up and attending a social event to disprove the gossip-mongers.
Quickly accumulating large debts, Frederick relied for an income on his wealthy friend, George Bubb Dodington. The Prince's father refused to make him the financial allowance that the Prince considered should have been his.
Frederick's public opposition to his father's government continued; he opposed the unpopular Gin Act 1736, which tried to control the Gin Craze
. Frederick applied to Parliament for an increased financial allowance which had hitherto been denied him by the King, and public disagreement over the payment of the money drove a further wedge between parents and son. Frederick's allowance was raised but by less than he had asked for.
In June 1737, Frederick informed his parents that Augusta was pregnant, and due to give birth in October. In fact, Augusta's due date was earlier and a peculiar episode followed in July in which the Prince, on discovering that his wife had gone into labour, sneaked her out of Hampton Court Palace
in the middle of the night, to ensure that the King and Queen could not be present at the birth. George and Caroline were horrified. Traditionally, royal births were witnessed by members of the family and senior courtiers to guard against supposititous children, and Augusta had been forced by her husband to ride in a rattling carriage while heavily pregnant and in pain. With a party including two of her daughters and Lord Hervey, the Queen raced over to St. James's Palace
, where Frederick had taken Augusta. Caroline was relieved to discover that Augusta had given birth to a "poor, ugly little she-mouse" rather than a "large, fat, healthy boy" which made a supposititious child unlikely since the baby was so pitiful. The circumstances of the birth deepened the estrangement between mother and son.
Frederick was banished from the King's court, and a rival court grew up at Frederick's new residence, Leicester House
. His mother fell fatally ill at the end of the year, but the King refused Frederick permission to see her. He became a devoted family man, taking his wife and eight children (his youngest daughter was born posthumously) to live in the countryside at Cliveden
, where he fished, shot and rowed. In 1742, Robert Walpole
left office and the realignment of the government led to a reconciliation between father and son, as Frederick's friends gained influence.
After the Jacobite Rising of 1745
, Frederick met Flora MacDonald, who had been imprisoned in the Tower of London
for aiding the escape of the Rising's leader Charles Edward Stuart
. He helped in securing her eventual release. In 1747, Frederick rejoined the political opposition, and the King responded by calling an early general election
, which Frederick's party lost.
had developed into the country's most popular team sport and it thrived on gambling
. Perhaps because he wished to "anglicise" and so fit in with his new society, Frederick developed an academic interest in cricket that soon became a genuine enthusiasm. He began to make wagers and then to patronise and play the sport, even forming his own team on several occasions.
The earliest mention of Frederick in cricket annals is in a contemporary report that concerns a major match on Tuesday 28 September 1731 between Surrey
and London
, played on Kennington Common. No post-match report was found despite advance promotion as "likely to be the best performance of this kind that has been seen for some time". It is interesting that "for the convenience of the gamesters, the ground is to be staked and roped out" which was a new practice in 1731 and could have been done partly for the benefit of a royal visitor. The advertisement refers to "the whole county of Surrey" as London's opponents and states that the Prince of Wales is "expected to attend".
In August 1732, the Whitehall Evening Post
reported that Frederick attended "a great cricket match" at Kew on Thursday 27 July.
By the 1733 season, he was really getting involved. We read of him giving a guinea to each player in a Surrey v Middlesex
game at Moulsey Hurst
. Then he awarded a silver cup to a combined Surrey & Middlesex team which had just beaten Kent
, arguably the best county team at the time, at Moulsey Hurst on Wed 1 August. This is the first reference in cricket history to any kind of trophy (other than hard cash) being contested. On Friday 31 August, the Prince of Wales' XI played Sir William Gage's XI on Moulsey Hurst. The result is unknown but the teams were said to be of county standard, so presumably it was in effect a Surrey v Sussex match.
In the years following 1733, there are frequent references to the Prince of Wales as a patron of cricket and as an occasional player, though it is doubtful if he was actually any good as a player.
When he died on 20 March 1751, cricket suffered a double impact for his death closely followed that of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond
, who was the game's greatest patron. The loss of these patrons had an adverse impact on the game’s finances and the number of top-class matches reduced for some years to come, although economic difficulties arising from the wars of the period certainly inhibited many potential investors.
in the lung
. The abscess has been commonly attributed to a blow by a cricket or a real tennis
ball, but this is unproven. He was buried at Westminster Abbey
on 13 April 1751.
Fredericksburg, Virginia
; Fredericton, New Brunswick
; Prince Frederick, Maryland
; Fort Frederick, Kingston, Ontario
; and Fort Frederica, Georgia, USA
, were named after him.
The Prince of Wales' epigram (quoted by William Makepeace Thackeray
, "Four Georges"):
House of Hanover
The House of Hanover is a deposed German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Kingdom of Hanover, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
and therefore of the Hanoverian
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...
and later British Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
, the eldest son of George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
and father of George III, as well as the great-grandfather of Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
. Under the Act of Settlement
Act of Settlement 1701
The Act of Settlement is an act of the Parliament of England that was passed in 1701 to settle the succession to the English throne on the Electress Sophia of Hanover and her Protestant heirs. The act was later extended to Scotland, as a result of the Treaty of Union , enacted in the Acts of Union...
passed by the English Parliament in 1701, Frederick was in the direct line of succession to the British throne
Line of succession to the British Throne
The line of succession to the British throne is the ordered sequence of those people eligible to succeed to the throne of the United Kingdom and the other 15 Commonwealth realms. By the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701, the succession is limited to the descendants of the Electress Sophia of...
. He moved to Great Britain following the accession of his father, and was created Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
. He predeceased his father George II, however, and upon the latter's death on 25 October 1760, the throne passed to Prince Frederick's eldest son, George, Prince of Wales
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
, who reigned as King George III from 1760 until 1820.
Frederick served as the tenth Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin
University of Dublin
The University of Dublin , corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin , located in Dublin, Ireland, was effectively founded when in 1592 Queen Elizabeth I issued a charter for Trinity College, Dublin, as "the mother of a university" – this date making it...
, from 1728 to 1751.
Prince Frederick had a hostile relationship with his parents.
Early life
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, as Duke Friedrich Ludwig of Hanover. His godparents were his paternal grandfather George I
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
, the Elector of Hanover and later King of Great Britain, and his great-uncle Frederick I
Frederick I of Prussia
Frederick I , of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia in personal union . The latter function he upgraded to royalty, becoming the first King in Prussia . From 1707 he was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
, King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
. Frederick was nicknamed "Griff" within the family.
His parents, Prince George (later George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
) and Caroline of Ansbach
Caroline of Ansbach
Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach was the queen consort of King George II of Great Britain.Her father, John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, was the ruler of a small German state...
, were called upon to leave the country when their eldest son was only seven years old. He was left in the care of his great-uncle Ernest Augustus, Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück. He did not see his parents again until he arrived in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1728 as a grown man. By then, George and Caroline had several younger children, and Frederick was a high-spirited youth fond of drinking, gambling and women. The long separation damaged their relationship, and they would never be close.
In 1722, Frederick was inoculated against smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
by Charles Maitland on the instructions of his mother Caroline. His grandfather created him Duke of Edinburgh
Duke of Edinburgh
The Duke of Edinburgh is a British royal title, named after the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, which has been conferred upon members of the British royal family only four times times since its creation in 1726...
, Marquess of the Isle of Ely, Earl of Eltham in the county of Kent, Viscount of Launceston in the county of Cornwall and Baron of Snaudon in the county of Carnarvon, on 26 July 1726. The latter two titles have been interpreted differently since — the "of"s are omitted and Snaudon rendered as Snowdon.
Prince of Wales
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
on 11 June 1727. Frederick continued to be known as Prince Friedrich Ludwig of Hanover (with his British HRH style) even after his father had been created Prince of Wales. Following his father's accession to the British throne, Frederick himself was created Prince of Wales on 8 January 1729.
He had a will of his own and sponsored a court of 'opposition' politicians. Frederick and his group supported the Opera of the Nobility
Opera of the Nobility
The Opera of the Nobility was an opera company set up and funded in 1733 by a group of nobles opposed to George II of England, in order to rival the Second Royal Academy of Music company under Handel .Nicola Porpora was invited to be its musical director and Owen Swiny considered as its talent scout...
in Lincoln's Inn Fields
Lincoln's Inn Fields
Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London, UK. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in developing London", as Sir Nikolaus Pevsner observes...
as a rival to Handel's royally-sponsored opera at the King's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
in the Haymarket. Frederick was a genuine lover of music who played the viola and cello; he is depicted playing a cello in an oil portrait by Philip Mercier
Philip Mercier
Philip Mercier was a portraitist active in England.Painter of portraits and a pioneer in England of conversation piece and ‘fancy pictures’; an important figure in the introduction of French taste into England.-Life:Born in France to a tapestry worker of French Huguenot stock working for the...
of Frederick and his sisters, now part of the National Portrait Gallery collection. He enjoyed the natural sciences and the arts, and became a thorn in the side of his parents, thwarting their every ambition and making a point of opposing them in everything, according to the court gossip Lord Hervey. At court, the favourite was Frederick's younger brother, Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, to the extent that the king looked into ways of splitting his domains so that Frederick would succeed only in Britain, while Hanover would go to William.
Hervey and Frederick (using a pseudonym "Captain Bodkin") wrote a theatrical comedy together which was staged at the Drury Lane Theatre
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
in October 1731. It was panned by the critics, and even the theatre's manager thought it so bad that it was unlikely to play out even the first night. He had soldiers stationed in the audience to maintain order, and when the play flopped the audience was given their money back. Hervey and Frederick also shared a mistress, Anne Vane, who had a son called FitzFrederick Vane in June 1732. Either one of them, or even William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington
William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington
William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington, PC was a British statesman and diplomat.He was a younger son of John Stanhope of Elvaston, Derbyshire, and a brother of Charles Stanhope , an active politician during the reign of George I. His ancestor, Sir John Stanhope , was a half-brother of Philip...
, another of her lovers, could have been the father. Jealousy between them may have contributed to a breach, and their friendship ended. Hervey later wrote bitterly that Frederick was "false ... never having the least hesitation in telling any lie that served his present purpose."
A permanent result of Frederick's patronage of the arts is "Rule Britannia", one of the best-known British patriotic songs. It was written by the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and playwright James Thomson as part of the masque
Masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in 16th and early 17th century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio...
Alfred which was first performed on 1 August 1740 at Cliveden
Cliveden
Cliveden is an Italianate mansion and estate at Taplow, Buckinghamshire, England. Set on banks above the River Thames, its grounds slope down to the river. The site has been home to an Earl, two Dukes, a Prince of Wales and the Viscounts Astor....
, the country home of the Prince and Princess of Wales. The music was by the English composer Thomas Arne, another of Frederick's favorite artists. A masque linking the Prince with both the ancient hero-king Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
's victories over the Vikings and with the contemporary issue of building up the British sea power obviously went well with Frederick's political plans and aspirations. Later the song got a permanent life of his own regardless of the masque. Thomson, who supported the Prince of Wales politically, also dedicated to him an earlier major work, Liberty (1734).
Patron of the arts
Unlike the king, Frederick was a knowledgeable amateur of painting, who patronized immigrant artists like Jacopo AmigoniJacopo Amigoni
Jacopo Amigoni , also named Giacomo Amiconi, was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque or Rococo period, who began his career in Venice, but traveled and was prolific throughout Europe, where his sumptuous portraits were much in demand....
and Jean Baptiste Vanloo, who painted the portraits of the prince and his consort for Frederick's champion William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath
William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath
William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, PC was an English politician, a Whig, created the first Earl of Bath in 1742 by King George II; he is sometimes stated to have been Prime Minister, for the shortest term ever , though most modern sources reckon that he cannot be considered to have held the...
. The list of other artists he employed—Philip Mercier
Philip Mercier
Philip Mercier was a portraitist active in England.Painter of portraits and a pioneer in England of conversation piece and ‘fancy pictures’; an important figure in the introduction of French taste into England.-Life:Born in France to a tapestry worker of French Huguenot stock working for the...
, John Wootton
John Wootton
John Wootton was an English painter of sporting subjects, battle scenes and landscapes, and illustrator.-Life:Born in Snitterfield, Warwickshire , he is best remembered as a pioneer in the painting of sporting subjects – together with Peter Tillemans and James Seymour – and was considered the...
, George Knapton
George Knapton
George Knapton was an English portrait painter and the first portraitist for the Society of Dilettanti in the 1740s. He became Surveyor and Keeper of the King's Pictures from 1765-1778.-Life and work:...
and the French engraver Joseph Goupy
Joseph Goupy
Joseph Goupy was a French engraver, painter, set designer and watercolourist. One of his patrons was Frederick, Prince of Wales, and with his brother Francis, he was a member of the St Martin's Lane Academy, studying under his uncle Louis Goupy...
—represents some of the principal figures of the English Rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
. William Kent
William Kent
William Kent , born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, was an eminent English architect, landscape architect and furniture designer of the early 18th century.He was baptised as William Cant.-Education:...
's neo-Palladian
Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
state barge of 1732 is still preserved, though Sir William Chambers
William Chambers (architect)
Sir William Chambers was a Scottish architect, born in Gothenburg, Sweden, where his father was a merchant. Between 1740 and 1749 he was employed by the Swedish East India Company making several voyages to China where he studied Chinese architecture and decoration.Returning to Europe, he studied...
' palace at Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...
for his widow Augusta (1757) was demolished in 1802.
Domestic life
Negotiations between George II and his brother-in-law Frederick William I of PrussiaFrederick William I of Prussia
Frederick William I of the House of Hohenzollern, was the King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death...
on a proposed marriage between the Prince of Wales and Frederick William's daughter Wilhelmine were welcomed by Frederick even though the couple had never met. George II was not keen on the proposal but continued talks for diplomatic reasons. Frustrated by the delay, Frederick sent an envoy of his own to the Prussian court. When the King discovered the plan, he immediately arranged for Frederick to leave Hanover for England. The marriage negotiations foundered when Frederick William demanded that Frederick be made Regent in Hanover.
Frederick also almost married Lady Diana Spencer, daughter of Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland
Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland
Sir Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland KG PC , known as Lord Spencer from 1688 to 1702, was an English statesman...
and Lady Anne Churchill. Lady Diana was the favorite grandchild of the powerful Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
Sarah Churchill , Duchess of Marlborough rose to be one of the most influential women in British history as a result of her close friendship with Queen Anne of Great Britain.Sarah's friendship and influence with Princess Anne was widely known, and leading public figures...
. The duchess sought for a royal alliance by marrying Lady Diana with the Prince of Wales with a massive dowry of £100,000. The prince who was in great debt also agreed to the proposal but the plan was vetoed by Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, KG, KB, PC , known before 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British statesman who is generally regarded as having been the first Prime Minister of Great Britain....
and the king. Lady Diana soon married John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford
John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford
John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford KG, PC, FRS was an 18th century British statesman. He was the fourth son of Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford, by his wife, Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John Howland of Streatham, Surrey...
.
Although in his youth he was undoubtedly a spendthrift and womaniser, Frederick settled down, on his marriage, in 1736, to the seventeen-year-old Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. The wedding was held at St. James's Palace
St. James's Palace
St. James's Palace is one of London's oldest palaces. It is situated in Pall Mall, just north of St. James's Park. Although no sovereign has resided there for almost two centuries, it has remained the official residence of the Sovereign and the most senior royal palace in the UK...
and was presided over by the Bishop of London.
In May 1736, George II returned to Hanover, which resulted in unpopularity in England; a satirical notice was even pinned to the gates of St James's Palace decrying his absence. "Lost or strayed out of this house", it read, "a man who has left a wife and six children on the parish." The King made plans to return in the face of inclement weather; when his ship was caught in a storm, gossip swept London that he had drowned. Eventually, in January 1737, he arrived back in England. Immediately he fell ill, with piles and a fever, and withdrew to his bed. The Prince of Wales put it about that the King was dying, with the result that George insisted on getting up and attending a social event to disprove the gossip-mongers.
Quickly accumulating large debts, Frederick relied for an income on his wealthy friend, George Bubb Dodington. The Prince's father refused to make him the financial allowance that the Prince considered should have been his.
Frederick's public opposition to his father's government continued; he opposed the unpopular Gin Act 1736, which tried to control the Gin Craze
Gin Craze
The Gin Craze was a period in the first half of the 18th century when the consumption of gin increased rapidly in Great Britain, especially in London...
. Frederick applied to Parliament for an increased financial allowance which had hitherto been denied him by the King, and public disagreement over the payment of the money drove a further wedge between parents and son. Frederick's allowance was raised but by less than he had asked for.
In June 1737, Frederick informed his parents that Augusta was pregnant, and due to give birth in October. In fact, Augusta's due date was earlier and a peculiar episode followed in July in which the Prince, on discovering that his wife had gone into labour, sneaked her out of Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Greater London; it has not been inhabited by the British royal family since the 18th century. The palace is located south west of Charing Cross and upstream of Central London on the River Thames...
in the middle of the night, to ensure that the King and Queen could not be present at the birth. George and Caroline were horrified. Traditionally, royal births were witnessed by members of the family and senior courtiers to guard against supposititous children, and Augusta had been forced by her husband to ride in a rattling carriage while heavily pregnant and in pain. With a party including two of her daughters and Lord Hervey, the Queen raced over to St. James's Palace
St. James's Palace
St. James's Palace is one of London's oldest palaces. It is situated in Pall Mall, just north of St. James's Park. Although no sovereign has resided there for almost two centuries, it has remained the official residence of the Sovereign and the most senior royal palace in the UK...
, where Frederick had taken Augusta. Caroline was relieved to discover that Augusta had given birth to a "poor, ugly little she-mouse" rather than a "large, fat, healthy boy" which made a supposititious child unlikely since the baby was so pitiful. The circumstances of the birth deepened the estrangement between mother and son.
Frederick was banished from the King's court, and a rival court grew up at Frederick's new residence, Leicester House
Leicester Square
Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west...
. His mother fell fatally ill at the end of the year, but the King refused Frederick permission to see her. He became a devoted family man, taking his wife and eight children (his youngest daughter was born posthumously) to live in the countryside at Cliveden
Cliveden
Cliveden is an Italianate mansion and estate at Taplow, Buckinghamshire, England. Set on banks above the River Thames, its grounds slope down to the river. The site has been home to an Earl, two Dukes, a Prince of Wales and the Viscounts Astor....
, where he fished, shot and rowed. In 1742, Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, KG, KB, PC , known before 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British statesman who is generally regarded as having been the first Prime Minister of Great Britain....
left office and the realignment of the government led to a reconciliation between father and son, as Frederick's friends gained influence.
After the Jacobite Rising of 1745
Jacobite Rising of 1745
The Jacobite rising of 1745, often referred to as "The 'Forty-Five," was the attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for the exiled House of Stuart. The rising occurred during the War of the Austrian Succession when most of the British Army was on the European continent...
, Frederick met Flora MacDonald, who had been imprisoned in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
for aiding the escape of the Rising's leader Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Stuart
Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
. He helped in securing her eventual release. In 1747, Frederick rejoined the political opposition, and the King responded by calling an early general election
British general election, 1747
The British general election, 1747 returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 10th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw Henry Pelham's Whig government increase its majority and...
, which Frederick's party lost.
Cricket
By the time Frederick arrived in Great Britain, cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
had developed into the country's most popular team sport and it thrived on gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
. Perhaps because he wished to "anglicise" and so fit in with his new society, Frederick developed an academic interest in cricket that soon became a genuine enthusiasm. He began to make wagers and then to patronise and play the sport, even forming his own team on several occasions.
The earliest mention of Frederick in cricket annals is in a contemporary report that concerns a major match on Tuesday 28 September 1731 between Surrey
Surrey county cricket teams
Surrey county cricket teams have been traced back to the 17th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. The first definite mention of cricket anywhere in the world is dated c.1550 in Guildford.-17th century:...
and London
London Cricket Club
The original London Cricket Club was formed by 1722 and was one of the foremost clubs in English cricket over the next four decades. It is closely associated with the Artillery Ground, where it played most of its home matches.-Early history of London cricket:...
, played on Kennington Common. No post-match report was found despite advance promotion as "likely to be the best performance of this kind that has been seen for some time". It is interesting that "for the convenience of the gamesters, the ground is to be staked and roped out" which was a new practice in 1731 and could have been done partly for the benefit of a royal visitor. The advertisement refers to "the whole county of Surrey" as London's opponents and states that the Prince of Wales is "expected to attend".
In August 1732, the Whitehall Evening Post
Whitehall Evening Post
The Whitehall Evening Post was a London newspaper, founded in 1718.It was started in September 1718 by Daniel Defoe; and was then published on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Defoe left it in June 1720, but it continued to exist until the end of the century. It closed in 1801, with issue...
reported that Frederick attended "a great cricket match" at Kew on Thursday 27 July.
Middlesex county cricket teams
Middlesex county cricket teams have been traced back to the 18th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. Given that the first definite mention of cricket anywhere in the world is dated c.1550 in Guildford, it is almost certain that the game had reached...
game at Moulsey Hurst
Moulsey Hurst
Moulsey Hurst is located in what is now West Molesey, Surrey on the south bank of the River Thames above Molesey Lock. It is one of England's oldest sporting venues and was used in the 18th and 19th centuries for cricket, prizefighting and other sports....
. Then he awarded a silver cup to a combined Surrey & Middlesex team which had just beaten Kent
Kent county cricket teams
Kent county cricket teams have been traced back to the 17th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. Kent, jointly with Sussex, is the birthplace of the sport...
, arguably the best county team at the time, at Moulsey Hurst on Wed 1 August. This is the first reference in cricket history to any kind of trophy (other than hard cash) being contested. On Friday 31 August, the Prince of Wales' XI played Sir William Gage's XI on Moulsey Hurst. The result is unknown but the teams were said to be of county standard, so presumably it was in effect a Surrey v Sussex match.
In the years following 1733, there are frequent references to the Prince of Wales as a patron of cricket and as an occasional player, though it is doubtful if he was actually any good as a player.
When he died on 20 March 1751, cricket suffered a double impact for his death closely followed that of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond
Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond
The 2nd Duke of Richmond has been described as early cricket's greatest patron. Although he had played cricket as a boy, his real involvement began after he succeeded to the dukedom...
, who was the game's greatest patron. The loss of these patrons had an adverse impact on the game’s finances and the number of top-class matches reduced for some years to come, although economic difficulties arising from the wars of the period certainly inhibited many potential investors.
Death and legacy
His political ambitions unfulfilled, Frederick died at Leicester House at the age of forty-four in 1751 from a burst abscessAbscess
An abscess is a collection of pus that has accumulated in a cavity formed by the tissue in which the pus resides due to an infectious process or other foreign materials...
in the lung
Human lung
The human lungs are the organs of respiration in humans. Humans have two lungs, with the left being divided into two lobes and the right into three lobes. Together, the lungs contain approximately of airways and 300 to 500 million alveoli, having a total surface area of about in...
. The abscess has been commonly attributed to a blow by a cricket or a real tennis
Real tennis
Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original indoor racquet sport from which the modern game of lawn tennis , is descended...
ball, but this is unproven. He was buried at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
on 13 April 1751.
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,286...
; Fredericton, New Brunswick
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Fredericton is the capital of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, by virtue of the provincial parliament which sits there. An important cultural, artistic, and educational centre for the province, Fredericton is home to two universities and cultural institutions such as the Beaverbrook Art...
; Prince Frederick, Maryland
Prince Frederick, Maryland
Prince Frederick is a census-designated place in Calvert County, Maryland, United States, not to be confused with the incorporated, and much larger, city of Frederick some to the northwest in Frederick County...
; Fort Frederick, Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
; and Fort Frederica, Georgia, USA
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, were named after him.
The Prince of Wales' epigram (quoted by William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
, "Four Georges"):
-
- "Here lies poor Fred who was alive and is dead,
- Had it been his father I had much rather,
- Had it been his sister nobody would have missed her,
- Had it been his brother, still better than another,
- Had it been the whole generation, so much better for the nation,
- But since it is Fred who was alive and is dead,
- There is no more to be said!"
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles
- 1 February 1707–1 August 1714: His Serene Highness Prince Frederick of Hanover
- 1 August 1714–26 July 1726: His Royal Highness Prince Frederick
- 26 July 1726–11 June 1727: His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh
- 11 June 1727–8 January 1729: His Royal Highness The Duke of Cornwall and Edinburgh
- 8 January 1729–31 March 1751: His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales
Arms
Between his creation as Duke of Edinburgh in 1726 and his creation as Prince of Wales, he bore the arms of the kingdom, differenced by a label argent of three points, the centre point bearing a cross gules. As Prince of Wales, the difference changed to simply a label argent of three points. Frederick never succeeded his father as Treasurer of the Holy Roman Empire and so the red escutcheon in the center of his Hanover quarter is blank.Issue
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| By the Honourable Anne Vane | |||
| Unnamed daughter | Unknown | Died in infancy. | |
| FitzFrederick Cornwall Vane | 4 June 1732 | 1736 | Died aged four. |
| By Margaret, Countess of Marsac | |||
| Charles, Count of Marsac | 1736 | 1820 | Died aged eighty-four, unmarried. |
| By Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was Princess of Wales between 1736 and 1751, and Dowager Princess of Wales thereafter. She was one of only three Princesses of Wales who never became queen consort... |
|||
| Princess Augusta, Duchess of Brunswick | 31 August 1737 | 23 March 1813 | Married, 1764, Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick; had issue. |
| George III George III of the United Kingdom George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death... |
4 June 1738 | 29 January 1820 | Married, 1761, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the Queen consort of the United Kingdom as the wife of King George III... ; had issue. |
| Prince Edward, Duke of York | 14 March 1739 | 17 September 1767 | Died aged twenty-eight, unmarried. |
| Princess Elizabeth | 30 December 1740 | 4 September 1759 | Died aged eighteen, unmarried. |
| Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh Prince William, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh was a member of the British Royal Family, a grandson of George II and a younger brother of George III.-Early life:... |
14 November 1743 | 25 August 1805 | Married, 1766, Maria Waldegrave, Countess Waldegrave Maria, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh Maria Walpole , the Countess Waldegrave and Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh, was a member of the British Royal Family, the wife of Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh... ; had issue. |
| Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland | 27 November 1745 | 18 September 1790 | Married, 1771, Anne Luttrell Anne, Duchess of Cumberland and Strathearn Anne Horton, Anne Horton, Anne Horton, (née Anne Luttrell; later the Duchess of Cumberland and Strathearn, (24 January 1742 – 28 December 1808) was a member of the British Royal Family, the wife of Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn.-Early life:... ; no issue. |
| Princess Louisa | 8 March 1749 | 13 May 1768 | |
| Prince Frederick | 13 May 1750 | 29 December 1765 | |
| Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark and Norway | 11 July 1751 | 10 May 1775 | Married, 1766, Christian VII, King of Denmark and Norway Christian VII of Denmark Christian VII was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death. He was the son of Danish King Frederick V and his first consort Louisa, daughter of King George II of Great Britain.... ; had issue. |