Frederick III, German Emperor
Frederick III[a] (Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl; 18 October 1831 – 15 June 1888) was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days from March to June 1888. As the only son of Wilhelm I, he was the Crown Prince of Prussia from 1861 to 1888 and Crown Prince of the German Empire from 1871 to 1888. He was also the father of Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor.[1]
Frederick III | |||||
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German Emperor King of Prussia | |||||
Reign | 9 March – 15 June 1888 | ||||
Predecessor | Wilhelm I | ||||
Successor | Wilhelm II | ||||
Chancellor | Otto von Bismarck | ||||
Born | Prince Frederick William of Prussia 18 October 1831 New Palace, Potsdam, Prussia | ||||
Died | 15 June 1888 New Palace, Potsdam, Prussia, Germany | (aged 56)||||
Burial | 18 June 1888 Kaiser Friedrich Mausoleum, Friedenskirche, Potsdam | ||||
Spouse | |||||
Issue | |||||
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House | Hohenzollern | ||||
Father | William I, German Emperor | ||||
Mother | Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach | ||||
Religion | Lutheranism (Prussian United) | ||||
Signature |
In 1858, Frederick married Victoria, Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria. They both had liberal views, despite his family's conservative and militaristic background. They had eight children together named Wilhelm, Charlotte, Henry, Sigismund, Viktoria, Waldemar, Sophia, and Margaret.
After his father's death on March 9, 1888, Frederick became the German Emperor and King of Prussia. During the short time that he was the emperor, Frederick wanted to bring liberal reforms and turn Germany into a limited constitutional monarchy. However, he was already suffering from throat cancer. That made it very hard to fulfill his duties. He lost his voice completely. He was unable to make these changes as his illness became worse.
Frederick died on June 15, 1888, 99 days after becoming emperor. He was succeeded by his eldest son Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor.[2]
Notes
change- ↑ Also spelled Friedrich III
References
change- ↑ "Friedrich III. deutscher Kaiser und König von Preußen K.u.K.H." prussianmachine.com. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
- ↑ Kiste, John Van der (1981). Frederick III: German Emperor 1888. A. Sutton. ISBN 978-0-904387-77-3.