The timing of Frederick's death and the brevity of his reign are important topics among historians.
However, Frederick's illness prevented him from effectively establishing policies and measures to achieve this, and such moves as he was able to make were later abandoned by his son and successor, Wilhelm II. He sought to guard against such a turn by keeping the Crown Prince from a position of any influence and by using foul means as well as fair to make him unpopular. The Crown Prince and Princess shared the outlook of the Progressive Party, and Bismarck was haunted by the fear that should the old Emperor die-and he was now in his seventies-they would call on one of the Progressive leaders to become Chancellor. Frederick "described the Imperial Constitution as ingeniously contrived chaos." According to Michael Balfour: Government policy would be based on the consensus of the cabinet. The office of Chancellor, responsible to the Emperor, would be replaced with a British-style cabinet, with ministers instead responsible to the Reichstag.
They planned to rule as co-monarchs, like Albert and Queen Victoria, and to reform what they saw as flaws in the executive branch that Bismarck had created for himself. Liberals in both Germany and Britain hoped that as emperor, Frederick would move to liberalise the German Empire.įrederick and Victoria were great admirers of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband. As the Crown Prince, he often opposed the conservative German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, particularly in speaking out against Bismarck's policy of uniting Germany through force, and in urging that the power of the Chancellorship be curbed. Frederick, in spite of his conservative militaristic family background, had developed liberal tendencies as a result of his ties with Britain and his studies at the University of Bonn. The couple were well-matched their shared liberal ideology led them to seek greater representation for commoners in the government. Frederick was suffering from cancer of the larynx when he died, aged fifty-six, following unsuccessful medical treatments for his condition.įrederick married Victoria, Princess Royal, oldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Upon Wilhelm's death at the age of ninety on 9 March 1888, the thrones passed to Frederick, who had by then been German Crown Prince for seventeen years and Crown Prince of Prussia for twenty-seven years. Following the unification of Germany in 1871 his father, then King of Prussia, became the German Emperor. Although celebrated as a young man for his leadership and successes during the Second Schleswig, Austro-Prussian and Franco-Prussian wars, he nevertheless professed a hatred of warfare and was praised by friends and enemies alike for his humane conduct. Known informally as "Fritz", he was the only son of Emperor Wilhelm I and was raised in his family's tradition of military service. After the death of her father-in-law, King William I, in 1888, her husband ascended the throne as the Emperor Frederick III (and as King Frederick III of Prussia) and she became The German Empress, Queen of Prussia.Frederick III ( German: Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl 18 October 1831 – 15 June 1888), or Friedrich III, was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days between March and June 1888, during the Year of the Three Emperors. The marriage which took place after a few years was undoubtedly a dynastic alliance, but it also proved to be a happy one for the couple.
As was the custom in those days, the princess was groomed for marriage from a young age and first met her future husband, Prince Frederick William of Prussia, when she was only 11 years old. She also developed a keen interest in astronomy later on. She was a bright young girl and received a good education-she was well versed in different languages and was also taught science, literature, philosophy, and history. The eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert, she was the heiress to the throne, in line to succeed her mother as queen of the United Kingdom, until the birth of her younger brother. Born as Victoria Adelaide Mary Louise and also known as ‘Victoria, Princess Royal’, she became famous as Empress Frederick after her husband’s death.
Empress Frederick was the Empress of Germany and Queen of Prussia by marriage to German Emperor Frederick III.
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