Frederick William III of Prussia

Biography

Frederick William was born in Potsdam in 1770, the son of Frederick William II of Prussia. A shy and reserved boy, neglected by his father, he was raised by tutors, received the usual military training of a Prussian prince and took part in the campaigns against France in 1792-94. In 1793 he married Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, with whom he had ten children.

He became king on 16 November 1797, also holding the title of Elector of Brandenburg until the Holy Roman Empire ended in 1806. He cut court expenses and tried to keep Prussia neutral, but under the influence of Queen Louise entered the war against Napoleon in 1806. After the defeat at Jena-Auerstedt the royal family fled to Memel, and at Tilsit Prussia lost much of its territory. Reformers such as Stein, Hardenberg, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau then rebuilt the state and army.

In 1813 he allied with Russia by the Treaty of Kalisz and accompanied the allied armies through the campaigns that defeated Napoleon; at the Congress of Vienna his ministers won large territorial gains for Prussia. Afterwards he turned to political reaction, abandoning his 1813 promise of a constitution, and devoted himself to uniting the Lutheran and Reformed churches in the Prussian Union, forcing it on the 'Old Lutherans' who resisted. Beethoven dedicated his Ninth Symphony to him. He died in Berlin in 1840.