Princess Friederike Luise of Prussia (29 August 1714 – 4 February 1784) was a daughter of Frederick William I of Prussia

Frederick 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...

 and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover

Sophia Dorothea of Hanover

Sophia Dorothea of Hanover was a Queen consort in Prussia as wife of Frederick William I. She was the sister of George II of Great Britain and the mother of Frederick the Great.- Biography :...

 and Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach

Principality of Ansbach

The Principality of Ansbach or Brandenburg-Ansbach was a reichsfrei principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Bavarian city of Ansbach...

.

Family

As the sixth child and third daughter of Frederick William I, Friederike Luise was a sister of Frederick II of Prussia

Frederick II of Prussia

Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...

, Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden

Louisa Ulrika of Prussia

Louisa Ulrika of Prussia was Queen of Sweden between 1751 and 1771 as the spouse of King Adolf Frederick of Sweden, and queen mother during the reign of King Gustav III of Sweden.-Background:...

, and Philippine Charlotte, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

Princess Philippine Charlotte of Prussia

Princess Philippine Charlotte of Prussia was a daughter of Frederick William I of Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover.-Family:...

.

Through her mother, she was a granddaughter of George I of Great Britain

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....

. This thus made her a niece of George II of Great Britain

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 a cousin of Frederick, Prince of Wales

Frederick, Prince of Wales

Frederick, Prince of Wales 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...

, Anne, Princess of Orange

Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange

Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange was the second child and eldest daughter of King George II of Great Britain and his consort, Caroline of Ansbach. She was the spouse of William IV, Prince of Orange, the first hereditary stadtholder of the Netherlands...

, and Queen Louise of Denmark and Norway

Louise of Great Britain

Louise of Great Britain was the youngest surviving daughter of George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach, and became queen consort of Denmark and Norway.-Early life:...

.

Marriage and children

On 30 May 1729 in Berlin, Friederike Luise married her Hohenzollern

House of Hohenzollern

The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...

 kinsman Karl Wilhelm Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach

Karl Wilhelm Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach

Charles William Frederick , nicknamed the Wild Markgrave, was Margrave of the Principality of Ansbach from 1729 to his death.- Life :...

 (12 May 1712 - 3 August 1757). They had two children :

• Karl Friedrich August (7 April 1733 - 9 May 1737)
• Charles Alexander, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (24 February 1736 - 5 January 1806). Married firstly Caroline Friederike von Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld, and after her death, Lady Elizabeth Craven
  Elizabeth Craven
  Elizabeth Craven , Princess Berkeley , previously "Lady Craven" of Hamstead Marshall, was an author, playwright, traveller, and socialite, perhaps best known for her travelogues...
  
  .

Biography

After the death of her older sister Charlotte Albertine (1713–1714), she was given special consideration and was allowed to grow up as she pleased. Her sister Wilhelmine of Bayreuth describes her in her memoirs as possessing a "capricious and petty nature". However, she also praised her talent and beauty.

Her marriage was arranged by her mother-in-law, the regent of Ansbach, and her father, who wished to gain influence in Ansbach.
Her brother, King Frederick II, extended her appanage and received in return a regiment of soldiers from Ansbach.
The marriage was not happy; her spouse Karl Wilhelm Friedrich was known as "The wild margrave". He even remarked to King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia that he had cheated by the marriage. Even on the trip to Ansbach in June 1729 for her wedding, Luise Friederike was suffering from symptoms of the metabolic disease porphyria

Porphyria

Porphyrias are a group of inherited or acquired disorders of certain enzymes in the heme bio-synthetic pathway . They are broadly classified as acute porphyrias and cutaneous porphyrias, based on the site of the overproduction and accumulation of the porphyrins...

. She suffered from nausea, vomiting and faintings during which she was "dead as it seemed". Her spouse claimed she was lame and had bad teeth. Initially, he would not sleep with her. Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia commented on the marriage in February 1732 in these terms: "My sister and her husband the Ansbacher hate each other like fire." (»... ma soeur d'Anspac et son mari qui se Mr. haïssent comme le feu. ") At a window in the family room of the Ansbacher Residenz, she scratched this plea with a diamond in the glass:" The souffre sans oser le dire. " (I suffer without daring to say it.)

At the birth of her son, Friederike Louise was given Hofmark Unterschwaningen

Unterschwaningen

Unterschwaningen is a municipality in the district of Ansbach in Bavaria in Germany....

 as a residence. However, the Hereditary Prince Carl Friedrich August died on 8 May 1737. The Margrave and the whole court blamed Friederike Louise for his death. She separated from her spouse and lived more and more in the seclusion of Unterschwaningen, which she expanded artistically. Friederike Louise did not return to Ansbach until she became a widow in 1757. Her unhappiness was further compounded by the refusal of her surviving son to see or acknowledge her.
|-

Ancestry

External links