Frédéric-Auguste II de Saxe

## Frédéric-Auguste II

Électeur de Saxe

Fréderic-Auguste II de Saxe in the uniform of his Leibgrenadiergarde, by Louis de Silvestre, 1727

## Title

### Secondary Titles

Duc de Saxe-Dresde, Comte-Palatin de Saxe, Margrave de Misnie;

### Predecessor

Friedrich August I. *Der Starke* von Sachsen

## Occupations

### Court Posts

Grand Bouteiller de Prusse (1740-1745)Grand Chambellan de Prusse (1745-1747)

Grand Maître de Prusse (1747-)

## Biography

### Born

17th October 1696, Dresdner Residenzschloss.Dresden, Electorate of Saxony

### Issue

Friedrich August Franz Xaver (1720-1721 †)Joseph August Wilhelm Friedrich Franz Xaver Johann Nepomuk (†)

Friedrich Christian Leopold Johann Georg Franz Xaver (1722-Present)

Maria Amalia Christina Franziska Xaviera Flora Walburga (1724-Present)

Maria Margareta Franziska Xaveria (1727-Present)

Maria Anna Sophie Sabina Angela Franziska Xaveria (1728-Present)

Franz Xaver Albert August Ludwig Benno (1730-Present)

### Mother

Christiane Eberhardine von Brandenburg-Bayreuth

### Father

Friedrich August I. *Der Starke* von Sachsen

### Siblings

(Illegitimate Half-Siblings)Maurice de Saxe

Johann Georg, Chevalier de Saxe

Frederick Augustus Rutowsky

Maria Anna Katharina Rutowska

Anna Karolina Orzelska

### Religion

Protestant-Lutheranism

**Frédéric-Auguste II de Saxe** (17th October 1696 – 5th October 1763) was **Prince-Électeur de Saxe** in the Holy Roman Empire and briefly the Grand-Chambellan in the court of Frédéric le Grand before his fall from favour and disgrace due to his wife's foiling of Prusso-Saxon relations in the Seven Years' War.

In his youth, Frédéric-Auguste was a candidate for the Polish-Lithuanian throne as the heir of his father, the renowned **Auguste le Fort**. This was not to be his destiny, however, as following the death of his father, the War of the Polish Succession erupted, resulting in the Polish-Lithuanian Parliament to revolt against the pro-Saxon government and restore the native Polish Leszczyński dynasty. Resigning himself entirely from military interests, Frédéric-Auguste embarked on courtly pursuits, indulging in a manner of pleasures, ranging from palace-building, art-collecting, book-reading, fencing, riding and hunting.

His blows from failed diplomatic and military ventures plunged him into inconsistent periods of melancholia- this factor would prove fatal in Saxon realpolitik as his cunning prime minister, the devilish **Comte de Brühl** sought to undermine the Elector's power and sway him away from a Pro-Prussian vassal into a Catholic servant of Austria. An adherent of the concept of the divine right of kings, Frédéric-Auguste attempted to resume his predecessors' work of creating a centralized state governed from the Saxon capital, Dresden.

Frédéric-Auguste was regarded by many for his flamboyant lifestyle and for his patronage of the arts. While not as pious as his spouse, he was known to have been faithful and devoted to God in his own manner. A chief stipulation of his personal life was his Lutheran faith, whereas it was suspected that Marie-Josèphe d'Autriche recanted the reformed faith and was a pseudo-Catholic. Among the Saxon population, Frédéric-Auguste enjoyed much popularity for his charity and kind nature.

A passionate hunter, sportsman and fencing enthusiast, Frédéric-Auguste devoted much energy to his numerous passions and occupational hobbies. Tall, robust, and considered vastly handsome, it was not unfounded that he instilled his father's tradition of many paramours at court. His concept of serenity was undoubtedly staunch. Yet, even in his darkest chapters, he always remained conscious of his duty to the well-being of his subjects.