page_title: Frederick, Prince of Wales
section_title: Domestic life
hierarchical_section_title: Frederick, Prince of Wales / Biography / Domestic life
context_page_description: Frederick, Prince of Wales, KG, was heir apparent to the British throne from 1727 until his death from a lung injury at the age of 44. He was the eldest but estranged son of King George II and Caroline of Ansbach, and the father of King George III.
  Under the Act of Settlement passed by the English Parliament in 1701, Frederick was fourth in the line of succession to the British throne at birth, after his great-grandmother, paternal grandfather and father. He moved to Great Britain following the accession of his father, and was created Prince of Wales. He predeceased his father, however, and upon the latter's death on 25 October 1760, the throne passed to Prince Frederick's eldest son, George III.
context_section_description: Negotiations between George II and his brother-in-law Frederick William I of Prussia 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 favourite grandchild of the powerful Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. The duchess sought a royal alliance by marrying Lady Diana to the Prince of Wales with a massive dowry of £100,000. The prince, who was in great debt, 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 following his marriage to the sixteen-year-old Augusta of Saxe-Gotha on 27 April 1736. The wedding was held at the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace , presided over by Edmund Gibson, Bishop of London and Dean of the Chapel Royal. Handel provided the new anthem 'Sing unto God' for the service and the wedding was also marked in London by two rival operas, Handel's Atalanta and Porpora's La festa d'Imeneo
  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 supposititious 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
caption: Frederick (pictured) opposed his father's government.
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