Frédéric-Guillaume I

Der Soldatenkönig

Le Roi-Sergent

Frédéric-Guillaume I, c. 1733, by Antoine Pesne

Frédéric-Guillaume de Prusse († 1711)

Frédéric II

Frédérique-Louise de Prusse, Margravine d'Ansbach

Philippine-Charlotte de Prusse, Duchesse de Brunswick

Louis-Charles-Guillaume de Prusse († 1719)

Sophie-Dorothée de Prusse, Margravine de Schwedt

Louise-Ulrique de Prusse, Reine des Suédoise

Auguste-Guillaume de Prusse

Anne-Amélie de Prusse, Princesse-Abbesse de Quedlinbourg

Frédéric-Henri-Louis de Prusse

Auguste-Ferdinand de Prusse, Grand Maître de l'Ordre de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem à Brandebourg

### Siblings

Louise-Dorothée Sophie de Prusse († 1705)
Frédéric-Auguste de Prusse († 1686)

### Religion

Protestant-Calvinism

**Frédéric-Guillaume I de Prusse** (14th August 1688 – 31st May 1740); colloquially known as the ***"Soldier King"*** (German: *Soldatenkönig*, French: *Roi-Sergent*) was **King in Prussia** and **Elector of Brandenburg** from 1713 until his death in 1740, as well as *Prince of Neuchâtel* and *Sovereign of all other Prussian Possessions*.

Dubbed as the ''Soldier King'', Frédéric-Guillaume I's reign was characterised by his austere absolutism and iron-willed policies. His reign was spent, building the Prussian army to become Europe's most powerful military; despite his moniker and military infatuation, he only went to war once in his reign. He pursued a policy of military supremacy, religious tolerance, public education, economic growth and staunch pietism. Above all else, however, he despised everything about France; the culture, language, people and perpetually- their court and its indulgences. Despite this hatred, he grew up in the court of his father, surrounded by the very things he despised; as French was the *linguafranca* of Europe, this anti-French monarch would end up speaking German with a French accent.

Completely atypical for that time, he attached great importance to cleanliness and hygiene in order to avoid contagious diseases. Prussia was devastated by the plagues and illnesses of the Thirty Years' War; Frédéric-Guillaume I saught to eradicate the threat of disease. He harbored a deep dislike of the diplomatic conventions of his time, flaunting courtly etiquette; this affected his style of government. It was said that, upon his ascension: The throne was exchanged for a tent, the crown exchanged for a helmet, the scepter for a Marshal's bâton, the regalia for a uniform and the spurs for jackboots. Prussia ceased to hold a court, exchanging aristocrats for soldiers. He preferred the life of a country gentleman to the *''Stuck-up ass with perfume and fanciful wigs'';* as he remarked about Louis XIV's court.

His reign was characterised by frugality, humbleness and great diligence. Everywhere else in Europe, palaces and courts flourished; In Prussia, regiments were being raised, soldiers were paraded and crime was curbed by severe punishments. Prussia, it was said, was a gambler's hell and a peasant's paradise. A portly, robust, short-tempered, easily violent and fascinating character, Frédéric-Guillaume I's life was characterised by melancholia, porphyria, gout and a shroud of illnesses both physical and mental.

Despite his provincial personality, Frédéric-Guillaume I was never prevented from achieving his ambitions. Relatively uneducated; he mastered the correct written language neither in German nor in French, although he grew up bilingually. He wrote phonetically, often making many spelling mistakes. Yet, he tirelessly wrote treatises, edicts and other documents. Suffering from a mixture of disorders, not least melancholy, manic disorder and violent outbursts *(which most often came in the form of his own heir and other offspring)*, Frédéric-Guillaume I's cane was feared as worse as the noose, if not worse.

The King preferred simple, provincial home-cooking, like cabbage with pork belly; green peas with mutton carbonate; beef shank with aubergines. He refused to have his cooks serve him *''the Devil's temptations of indulgences'';* his life knew no excess. For his personal pleasure, Frédéric-Guillaume I created the ''Tobacco Council'' as a mockery to the numerous councils at the French court. Each evening, the King, with about a dozen officers, generals and his favourites, would dote one-another with banter, dirty jokes and indulge in smoking pipes and drinking beer. Often, the Royal Tutor, Baron **Paul von Gundling**, acted as the ''Royal Fool'', making oratories of comedic subjects, chastising the members with caricatures and foolery.

Frédéric-Guillaume I's only pleasures in life was his regiment of Potsdam Grenadiers- the ***Potsdam Giants***; he indulged in hunting, painting and holding his Tobacco Council. Throughout all of the nation's history, he remained the only Prussian monarch who never built a large palace. The only exceptions were small hunting lodges that served his military passion; notably, **Königs-Wusterhausen**. Where Louis XIV had Versailles, the Soldier King kept Königs-Wusterhausen, among other residences. The court was characterised by summertime reviews of the army in Potsdam and winter quarters in Berlin. Despite being abandoned in everything except name, the other Royal Residences were almost completely unused. Frédéric-Guillaume I heated them in the winter and had minimal maintenance done, but there would be no grand fêtes or balls. Only military parades.

The reign of Frédéric-Guillaume I was marked by military growth, economic flourishment and the foundations for Prussia to become a superpower. His ambitions, despite their outward logic, were often checked by the Austrians, who dominated Europe with briberies and influence. Prussia would become the wealthiest nation in Europe, next to the Netherlands, with zero national debt and a plump treasury by the King's demise in 1740. Frédéric-Guillaume I waged no wars, but gave his successor a powerful military upon his inheritance. Misunderstood, feared, but loved by his soldiers and officers, Frédéric-Guillaume I died on the morning of August 31st, 1740, aged 52. His son and successor would obey his wishes, giving him a simple military funeral, interring him in the Garrison Church of Potsdam.