Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia (1828–1885)

Prince Friedrich Karl Nicolaus of Prussia (20 March 1828 – 15 June 1885) was the son of Prince Charles of Prussia (1801–1883) and his wife, Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1808–1877). Prince Frederick Charles was a grandson of King Frederick William III of Prussia and a nephew of Frederick William IV and William I. He was born at Schloss Klein in Berlin.

Biography

From 1842 to 1846, Frederick Charles was under the military tutelage of then major Albrecht von Roon, who accompanied the Prince to the University of Bonn in 1846. After his studies, the Prince served as a captain on Wrangel's staff during the Schleswig campaign of 1848. Promoted to major on the general staff, he partook in a campaign in Baden during which he was wounded. During the following peace years he was promoted to colonel in 1852, major general in 1854 and lieutenant general in 1856. In 1860, the Prince published a military book, titled, "Eine militärische Denkschrift von P. F. K.". Promoted to General der Kavallerie, the Prince took part in the Second Schleswig War of 1864 against Denmark, where he held command over the Prussian troops in the Austro-Prussian expeditionary force but interfered in the plans of his chief of staff, von Blumenthal, who turned to Crown Prince Frederick William for support.

He served with distinction in the Austro-Prussian War, where he commanded the First Army; consisting of 2nd, 3rd and 4th corps. Arriving first at Königgrätz, he held the numerically superior Austrians at bay until his cousin the Crown Prince (who now had General von Blumenthal as his Chief of Staff) and his Second army came up and attacked the Austrians in the flank.

At the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, the Prince was given command of the Second Army, with which he distinguished himself at the Battle of Spicheren and the battles of Vionville-Mars la Tour and Gravelotte-St.Privat and the following Siege of Metz. After the fall of Metz, his army was sent to the Loire to clear the area around Orléans, where French troops, first under Aurelle de Paladines, then under Chanzy, were trying to march north to relieve Paris. He won battles at Orleans and Le Mans. For his services he was promoted to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall. After the war, the Prince was made Inspector-General and was given the rank of Field Marshal of Russia by Alexander II of Russia.

He died at Jagdschloss Glienicke.

Family and Children

On 29 November 1854 at Dessau he married Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau (1837–1906), daughter of Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt. They had five children:

NameBirthDeathNotes
Princess Marie Elisabeth Luise Friederike of Prussia14 September 185520 June 1888married twice (1) Prince Henry of the Netherlands; (2) Prince Albert of Saxe-Altenburg
Princess Elisabeth Anna of Prussia8 February 185728 August 1895married Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg
Princess Anna Victoria Charlotte Augusta Adelheid of Prussia26 February 1858[1]6 May 1858[1]
Princess Luise Margarete Alexandra Victoria Agnes of Prussia25 July 186014 March 1917married Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Prince Joachim Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Leopold of Prussia14 November 186513 September 1931married Princess Louise Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg

Honours

Ancestry

Portrayal in media

References

  1. 1 2 "Anna Victoria Charlotte Auguste Adelheid von Preussen". Find A Grave. 13 November 2007. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  2. ↑ "Hohenzollern Principe Federico Carlo" (in Italian), Il sito ufficiale della Presidenza della Repubblica. Retrieved 2018-08-14.
  3. ↑ "Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia", The Irish Times, 27 July 1878
  4. ↑ Wm. A. Shaw, The Knights of England, Volume I (London, 1906) page 197
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