Frederick, Prince of Wales

Frederick, Prince of Wales (1 February 1707 – 31 March 1751) was the son of George II and Queen Caroline of Ansbach and the father of King George III. For most of his life, he and his parents had a bad relationship. He had a rival court to his parents and was a patron of art and music. He also played cricket. He died before his father, so he never became a king.

 Life 

 Childhood 
Frederick Louis was born in 1707 in Hanover and he was the oldest son of George, who was the heir to the kingdom of Great Britain, because he was the son of George, the Prince-elector of Hanover and heir to Queen Anne of Great Britain because she had no children. His mother was Caroline of Ansbach. When his grandfather George inherited Great Britain, Frederick's parents followed and left him behind in Hanover. This was in 1714, when he was seven years old and still a child. In Hanover, he learned English and was sent models (little copies) of British warships.

 In Great Britain 
In 1728, Frederick finally came to Great Britain when his father became the new king in 1727. His father made him Prince of Wales in 1729. Back when he was still a child in 1714, it was arranged that he would marry a daughter of the King of Prussia, Frederick William I, but his bad relationship with his parents stopped it. A big part of the bad relationship with his parents was that his father the king gave him an allowance (money) that he thought wasn't big enough.

In 1736, Frederick was married to Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Alenburg, a German princess. She was a daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Frederick II. They had met just a few days before the wedding, and Augusta met Frederick's father before, in Hanover. Her parents had told her that there was no need to learn English, as Britain was ruled for 20 years by German princes by that time. His sisters were upset that he tried to change seating arrangements for meals so that Augusta took precedence over them.

Frederick was considered to be physically unattractive; he had a small and delicate build, his hair was "yellowish", his face "not handsome; his eyes grey like a cat and very dull". But he was charming, having "something so very engaging and easy in his behaviour", being really amusing. His father thought he was too impatient to be king.

 Death 
Frederick died in the March of 1751, when he was 44 years old. His death was blamed on an abscess in his lung that popped. His wife gave birth to their last child, Caroline Matilda, after he died. Augusta lived until 1772, and five of their children are buried with them in Westminster Abbey. Their gravestones say:FREDERICK LEWIS P. OF WALES 1751AUGUSTA PRINCESS DOWAGER OF WALES 1772When the old king George II died, Frederick's oldest son became king George III.

 Children 

NameBirthDeathNotesframeless|233x233pxPrincess Augusta, Duchess of Brunswick31 August 173731 March 1813married, 1764, Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick; had issueframeless|225x225pxGeorge III4 June 173829 January 1820married, 1761, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; had issueframeless|235x235pxPrince Edward, Duke of York14 March 173917 September 1767frameless|236x236pxPrincess Elizabeth30 December 17404 September 1759frameless|230x230pxPrince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester14 November 174325 August 1805married, 1766, Maria Waldegrave, Countess Waldegrave; had issueframeless|228x228pxPrince Henry, Duke of Cumberland27 November 174518 September 1790married, 1771, Anne Horton; no issueframeless|225x225pxPrincess Louisa8 March 174913 May 1768frameless|231x231pxPrince Frederick13 May 175029 December 1765frameless|226x226pxCaroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark and Norway11 July 175110 May 1775married, 1766, Christian VII, King of Denmark and Norway; had issue

 References 

Category:Princes and Princesses of Wales
Category:House of Hanover
Category:1707 births
Category:1751 deaths