Wilhelmine von Preußen

Madame Royale

Markgräfin von Brandenburg-Bayreuth

Prinzessin Wilhelmine von Preußen, portrait by Antoine Pesne.

### Died

14th August 1758, Schloß Bayreuth, Margraviate of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, Prussia (Aged 49)

### Burial

Schlosskirche Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Prussia

### Spouse

Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg-Schwedt

### Issue

Elisabeth Friederike Sophie von Brandenburg-Bayreuth

### Mother

Sophie Dorothea von Braunschweig-Lüneburg (Hannover)

### Siblings

Friedrich Ludwig von Preußen (1707–1708)Friedrich Wilhelm von Preußen (1710–1711)

Charlotte Albertine von Preußen (1713–1714)

Friederike Luise von Preußen (1714-1784)

Philippine Charlotte von Preußen (1716-1801)

Ludwig Karl Wilhelm von Preußen (1717–1719)

Sophie Dorothea Marie von Preußen (1719-1765)

Luise Ulrike von Preußen (1720-1782)

August Wilhelm IV. von Preußen (1722–1758)

Anna Amalie von Preußen (1723-1787)

Friedrich Heinrich Ludwig von Preußen (1726–1802)

August Ferdinand von Preußen (1730-1813)

### Religion

Protestantism (Calvinist)

**Friederike Sophie Wilhelmine von Preußen** (3rd July 1709-14th August 1758) was the eldest daughter of ten surviving children born to *Soldatenkönig* Friedrich Wilhelm I and his consort, *Sophie Dorothea von Hannover.* Wilhelmine was, from her birth, became known by her lifelong title of ***Madame Royale***, as she was the eldest sister of *Frédéric le Grand*.

Blessed with immense beauty (a gift of her illustrious lineage) with piercing blue eyes, soft silky skin, Wilhelmine was armed with a sharp wit and humbling character. At the centre of her brother's court, Wilhelmine constituted a strong devotion to her brother with a piercing legacy as an art patron, composer, musician, opera director, and a prominent figure of the enlightenment.

A great proponent of tradition, Wilhelmine enjoyed the etiquette of Court greatly and carried out her duties as expected of her, bar no exception. A materialistic and cultivated woman, she enjoyed all things rich in beauty. She was a large supporter of fashion and often influenced the court fashions of the time. During her unhappiness with her spouse, the Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, the ***Markgräfin von Bayreuth*** found salvation in her brother's confidence. She would leave her mark in history with extensive correspondences with the likes of Voltaire and Rousseau, to even the Empress-Queen *Maria Theresia* of Austria whom her brother greatly despised. Wilhelmine was a key figure of the Enlightenment in Europe.

Born and raised in Berlin, *Wilhelmine de Prusse* suffered at the hands of her father's wrath but overcame her numerous great difficulties. She was popular in her brother's circle for her strong wit, her musical prowess and her ability to dictate letters as if she were one of his generals. Notable for keeping only to her brother's circle, she grew increasingly philosophical through her involvement in the group. Though left in isolation in Bayreuth, she never neglected her duties as a sovereign.

## Early Life

### ***Birth***

Wilhelmine de Prusse was born on July 3rd, 1709, in the Crowned Princess's apartment of the Stadtschloß in Berlin. Her mother, *then-*Crowned Princess Sophie Dorothée d'Hanovre was giving a spectacular performance, as Wilhelmine's birth occurred on the second day of the immense ***Dreikönigstreffen.***The meeting was organized by her grandfather, Friedrich I as a conference between Prussia, *Augustus the Strong of Saxony,* and King *Frederick IV of Denmark.*The conference was an event hosted by Prussia at the behest of Saxony and Denmark's interests to have Prussia join The Great Northern War.

The birth was an easy one for Sophie Dorothée, although Wilhelmine's gender was generally regarded as a disappointment to her father. The previous year, an heir was born but died in his infancy. Wilhelmine was named after both her parents. She would be baptized on July 12th, and the two visiting monarchs were named as her godparents.

### ***Infancy***

Wilhelmine was effectively the eldest child born to the Crowned Prince (and future King) and his consort. Like the many siblings that she'd soon be joined by, Wilhelmine grew up in the spartan court of the Soldatenkönig. Her only fortune was that her early childhood was spent whilst Friedrich I was still alive. The ageing King had decided that the Princesse would receive a fine education to fit Prussia's new status as a magnificent power.

The Prussian court during Friedrich I's reign lived under a simple, yet ceremonial existence. Devoid of the strains of stiff French etiquette, pomp, and circumstance, the family circle had a harmonic feel to it, with the royal children addressing their relatives informally and with a carefree manner. The marriage of Wilhelmine's parents was a loving, but strenuous one. Although brutish and prone to bouts of anger, Friedrich Wilhelm reportedly never took a partner outside his marriage bed.

### ***Early Childhood***

As a child, Wilhelmine became a ball of political ambition. Her parents initially sought to have her married off to Friedrich Ludwig, *Prince of Wales* - the heir to Sophie Dorothée's own brother, George II of Great Britain. These plans, however, would soon change to suit the interests of Prussia's growth and expansion in the years to come. By the time she was 8, her grandfather had passed and the throne had passed to her father. As King, Friedrich Wilhelm I sought to sever ties from his wife's Hanoverian court, and seek the approval of the House of Habsburg. Wilhelmine, who was initially raised to become the future Queen of Britain, was thrown back into her debutance.

### ***Education***

Queen Sophie Dorothea had stark contrasts in education, compared to her husband. She was well-read, and learned; she could indifferently speak French, German, some English and even Latin. Friedrich Wilhelm, on the other hand, hated all things French and despised the rise of philosophical idealisms such as refined literature. Wilhelmine's education was spartan, as she was placed under the charge of a vicious Italian governess, *Madame de Leti.*

Leti was, by certain accounts of Wilhelmine, a terrible woman. Since Wilhelmine was three years old, she was brought up by this Italian woman *(whose father was a monk in some distant monastery in Lombardy),* and was described as *beautiful, dazzling, flirtatious, mischievous and addictive.* Wilhelmine suffered almost as much from Leti's cruelty as from Friedrich Wilhelm's wrath. Wilhelmine recorded in her memoirs of de Leti's cruelty: *“I was as afraid of de Leti as I was of the fire. She often hit me and treated me roughly. Not a day passed without testing the feared power of her fists on me.''*

Wilhelmine was a bright child, and as such, she soon discovered the reason for the Italian's cruelty. During one evening, Wilhelmine had awoken during the evening and crept out of her bedroom byways of a secret passage behind a wall panel. It was by this passage did she discover the room of which de Leti was quartered in nearby. The Italian had been in conversation, and Wilhelmine eavesdropped. Leti had been bribed by the Prussian Minister, *Friedrich Wilhelm von Grumpkow* and the Austrian envoy Count *von Kaunitz*. Wilhelmine being too innocent to know, would be unaware of the fact that Grumpkow and Kaunitz were influencing her parents against her marriages, and had arranged for her, (with Leti's help)*,* to be married to a German Prince.

The schemes of Leti, Grumpkow and Kaunitz only continued for the rest of Wilhelmine's minority. Eventually, the three had influenced the Soldatenkönig to have Wilhelmine married off to Margrave *Friedrich Wilhelm von Schwedt*, a nephew of the *Old Dessauer.* The engagement was a nightmare for Wilhelmine, as the Margrave was her own cousin - and to make matters worse, it was said that the Margrave had inherited her father's enthusiasm for the military, and sought to copy him in every way.  The whole affair was not something she was overly thrilled about at the time, she was considered somewhat irrelevant and a mere way to link Brandenburg-Schwedt to the growing power of its parent *Brandenburg-Prussia.* However, the engagement soon broke off as the Queen had convinced the King of otherwise.

## Adolescence

### ***A Royal Crisis***

1730 would be one of the most controversial chapters of politics in European history, and it was all because of her brother, Crowned Prince *Friedrich II*. Friedrich II was captured in August of 1730 after his failed flight from Prussia to the frontier in order to escape his father's cruelty. Wilhelmine, who was part of the circle to help her brother escape, was placed under house arrest in her apartments by the Soldatenkönig.

Her brother, the "deserter", was sentenced to imprisonment at the Fortress of *Küstrin* as a prisoner. Friedrich II's lover and closest friend, *Hans Hermann von Katte*, "the conspirator", was arrested and sentenced to death. The siblings were kept strictly isolated for over a year, and at one point Friedrich Wilhelm I had threatened to put both Wilhelmine and Friedrich to death as a result of the conspiracy. The whole scandal caused alarm in every court of Europe. Wilhelmine's godparents, the Elector of Saxony and King of Denmark intervened during Friedrich II's trial and influenced Friedrich Wilhelm to reconsider his rashness and punishments. In the meantime, Emperor *Charles VI of Austria* had intervened on Friedrich's behalf and suggested that he be released from Küstrin. Friedrich Wilhelm had decided to shelve all attempts at Wilhelmine's engagement to the Prince of Wales and had made arrangements for her to be betrothed to *Friedrich III, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth.*

### ***Engagement***

As time went by, Wilhelmine grew naturally accustomed to the rules and regulations required of a Princesse. Under her mother's protection, Wilhelmine recovered from the disaster of 1730. However, she was destined to be engaged to the Margrave of Bayreuth. The Margrave, two years her junior, was a distant cousin of Wilhelmine, byways of the Brandenburg-Kulmbach branch of the House of Hohenzollern. Her mother had apparently done a great means to convince Friedrich Wilhelm to agree to the selection, as apparently, the Margrave shared much of Wilhelmine's adoration for music, the arts, and the sciences. The match would sustain itself.

In May of 1731, the Margrave of Bayreuth was returning to his native court after completing his *Grand Tour* across Europe. A Prussian legation had arrived to inform him of the engagement. Following-suit, on May 23rd, 1731, Friedrich travelled via *Hof* and *Leipzig* to *Potsdam*, where he arrived on May 28th. The engagement took place on June 3rd, 1731 at the *Stadtschloß* of Potsdam. The Margrave of Bayreuth's dowry consisted of his Dragoon Regiment *Schulenberg*, which would soon be renamed to the *Bayreuth Dragoons* in Prussian service. Wilhelmine brought along with her a dowry of 250,000 Thalers, a set of hunting rifles, and a pension of 5,000 Thalers for her upkeep.

### ***Marriage***

Wilhelmine was married off to the Margrave of Bayreuth in a large ceremony held in the *Schlosskapelle* of the Berliner Stadtschloß on November 20th, 1731. The ceremony was one of the only lavish occurrences to take place during the reign of her father, as the Soldier King was usually very frugal. The Court had gathered in the large chapel, where all eyes were set on the couple. In attendance was her brother, who had been released on a condition from Küstrin to view the event. He would later be pardoned in several months. Wilhelmine was not entirely welcoming of the marriage as she was unsure of her cousin, but was pleased to be married overall. Although the wedding was arranged, Wilhelmine and Friedrich developed a very loving relationship in the first years of their marriage. As early as the engagement period, there were first indications in Wilhelmine's memoir that she was more fond of the prince than history recounts.

Wilhelmine had been dressed in an ornate gown of heavy ermine and silk, decorated in Prussian crowns with heavy diamonds and pearls, embroidered with gold and silver. The ceremony was a lengthy one which was quickly followed by the bedding ceremony. The young Princess and her husband were led in a long procession to the bedchamber. Here, both were undressed and presented into nightwear. They were then put to bed, and blessed before being left to perform their duties.

## Margravine of Bayreuth

Wilhelmine departed from Berlin in January of 1732, 2 months pregnant, with the Margrave to her new court in *Kulmbach*. After a week of travel on the road by means of carriage, they finally arrived in Bayreuth at the court of her father-in-law. Kulmbach was completely dismal and opposite of the court in Berlin. The castle was old, dark, and filled with cobwebs. When she was assigned to her apartment, the sight was appaling. The upholstery was faded, moth-bitten and completely out of order. After a week, her bed didn't even have any curtains, as the fabric completely fell apart if touched. The margrave's efforts to adequately receive his daughter-in-law only made her smile pityingly. Several months later in mid-1732, Wilhelmine gave birth to her husband's first child right after the marriage, giving birth to a baby girl. The infant would be the only child of the marriage.

### ***Accession***

After two years of earnest patience, her husband, Friedrich, succeeded his father Georg Friedrich Karl after his death on May 17th, 1735. Wilhelmine sought to consolidate on Bayreuth's financial situation, and set about to rebuilding the Margraviate as a miniature homage to the French court at Versailles, and align herself with the comforts of home in Berlin.

After the death of her father-in-law, the Margravine played a major role in the modernization of her country. In this way, she supported her husband in unravelling the corruption of the Bayreuth court and introduced a counterweight for the politically inexperienced Margrave against the officials of the late father-in-law. However, Friedrich of Bayreuth was hopelessly overwhelmed by his duties as a sovereign, since his father and his ministers had always tried to keep him away from all government affairs - out of concern, Wilhelmine, the with her personality, could make Friedrich weak and unstable in her presence, and for the benefit of Influence Prussia, she took over the matters of governance into her own hands. For a time, Wilhelmine experienced one of the happiest periods of her life.

### ***Early Acts***

As Margravine, Wilhelmine sought to reform Bayreuth. She moved the capital from Kulmbach to Bayreuth itself and set about on a series of construction projects to transform her court into a miniature *Versailles*. Wilhelmine was well known for her wit and charity, keeping the company of philosophers, musicians and bureaucrats. Following in the example of the reign of her grandfather; A court which had been known for its extravagance, parties, and debauchery, Wilhelmine would become extremely enlightened, following the examples of her grandfather, who had attempted to curtail all of the wild nature of the nobility. For her 24th birthday (1735) the Margrave gave her the *Hermitage* near Bayreuth as a special retreat. In the following years, Wilhelmine developed the Hermitage into a national gem.

### ***Rebuilding Bayreuth***

Wilhelmine would be most remembered for her changes in architecture, fashion, music, and the overall status of the court in Bayreuth. The well-educated Margravine showed her understanding of art and science, among other things, by founding the *Margravial State University* in Bayreuth in 1742. Several years later after construction, Wilhelmine inaugurated the *Bayreuth State* Opera in 1748, hosting a ball for the occasion of her daughter's marriage. In addition to her decision to move the court to Bayreuth, she influenced the rise of the *Bayreuth Rococo* movement.

In addition to the new rococo movement in Bayreuth, Wilhelmine set on a campaign of building new palaces where she intended to hold court. In the Hermitage, she built an ornate marble and gold pavilion; a special feature of the palace complex is the colour of its outer walls, which is created by stones, crystals and pieces of glass in a mosaic-like arrangement. The centre of the Hermitage pavilion was a temple dedicated to Appollo. At Court in Bayreuth, Wilhelmine had commissioned the construction of a new *Stadtschloß.* In 1753, Wilhelmine inaugurated the *Neues Schloss* of Bayreuth with an elaborate series of balls, festivities and ceremonies.

### ***Court Culture and relations with the Margrave***

In addition to her vast financial reforms and large building projects, Wilhelmine was a great proponent of the enlightenment. Throughout her life, she kept a close correspondence with *Voltaire*, of whom was a regular visitor to both the courts of herself and her brother, *Friedrich II.* In Bayreuth's Schloss, Wilhelmine kept a library of over 4,000 volumes and had an extensive correspondence not just with Voltaire, but also her siblings, the Empress-Queen *Maria Theresia* of Austria, and even Empress *Elisabeth Petrovna* of Russia.

Wilhelmine's greatest passion was for music. From an early age, she exhibited a gift of singing, playing the harpsichord and even taking up the cello. She played the harpsichord and lute indifferently, and is one of the few German composers of her era who wrote operas. Some of her works survived her death, and were enjoyed even into modernity. In 1737, Wilhelmine was given the position of director of Bayreuth's court music by her husband, which pleased her greatly. Wilhelmine spared little time and money when it came to her court's music as she soon took up an interest to bring  Italian opera artists, and took great care of the cultural life of the Bayreuth court. She established the Italian Opera and managed to raise the court culturally and intellectually on a par with the large courts in Berlin, Paris and Vienna.

 Personality and Appearance

## Honours, Titles and Styles

### **Titles and Styles**

* **3rd July 1709 – 3rd June 1731:** *Her Royal Highness, Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia*
* **3rd June 1731 – 14th October 1758:** *Her Royal and Serene Highness, Margravine Wilhelmine of Bayreuth*

### **Honours**

As a Princess of Prussia, Wilhelmine was in her own right a member of various Prussian chivalric orders:

* Dame Grand Cordon of the Order of the Black Eagle
* Dame Grand Cordon of the Order of the Red Eagle
* Dame Grand Cordon of the House Order of Hohenzollern
* Knight Grand Cordon of the Order of Pour le Mérite
* Dame Grand Cordon of the Order of St. John