Frederick, Prince of Wales
| Frederick | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince of Wales | |||||
 Portrait of Frederick by Thomas Hudson in 1750 | |||||
| Born | 1 February 1707 | ||||
| Died | 31 March 1751 | ||||
| Spouse | Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha | ||||
| Children | Augusta, Duchess of Brunswick Wolfenbüttel George III Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany Princess Elizabeth Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn Princess Louisa Prince Frederick Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark | ||||
| |||||
| Father | George II | ||||
| Mother | Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach | ||||
Frederick, Prince of Wales (1 February 1707 – 31 March 1751) was the son of George II and Queen Caroline of Ansbach and the father of King George III. For most of his life, he and his parents had a bad relationship. He had a rival court to his parents and was a patron of art and music. He also played cricket. He died before his father, so he never became a king.
Life
[change | change source]Childhood
[change | change source].jpg)
Frederick Louis was born in 1707 in Hanover[1] and he was the oldest son of George,[2] who was the heir to the kingdom of Great Britain, because he was the son of George, the Prince-elector of Hanover and heir to Queen Anne of Great Britain because she had no children. His mother was Caroline of Ansbach. When his grandfather George inherited Great Britain, Frederick's parents followed and left him behind in Hanover.[2] This was in 1714,[2] when he was seven years old and still a child. In Hanover, he learned English and was sent models (little copies) of British warships.[3]
In Great Britain
[change | change source]In 1728, Frederick finally came to Great Britain when his father became the new king in 1727.[2] His father made him Prince of Wales in 1729.[4] Back when he was still a child in 1714, it was arranged that he would marry a daughter of the King of Prussia, Frederick William I, but his bad relationship with his parents stopped it.[4] A big part of the bad relationship with his parents was that his father the king gave him an allowance (money) that he thought wasn't big enough.[4]
In 1736, Frederick was married to Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Alenburg,[5] a German princess. She was a daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Frederick II.[6] They had met just a few days before the wedding, and Augusta met Frederick's father before, in Hanover.[5] Her parents had told her that there was no need to learn English, as Britain was ruled for 20 years by German princes by that time.[5] His sisters were upset that he tried to change seating arrangements for meals so that Augusta took precedence over them.[5]
Frederick was considered to be physically unattractive; he had a small and delicate build,[3] his hair was "yellowish", his face "not handsome; his eyes grey like a cat and very dull".[3] But he was charming, having "something so very engaging and easy in his behaviour", being really amusing.[3] His father thought he was too impatient to be king.
Death
[change | change source]Frederick died in the March of 1751,[6] when he was 44 years old. His death was blamed on an abscess in his lung that popped.[6] His wife gave birth to their last child, Caroline Matilda, after he died. Augusta lived until 1772, and five of their children are buried with them in Westminster Abbey.[6] Their gravestones say:
FREDERICK LEWIS P. OF WALES 1751AUGUSTA PRINCESS DOWAGER OF WALES 1772[6]
When the old king George II died, Frederick's oldest son became king George III.[8]
Children
[change | change source] | This section does not have any sources. (September 2025) |
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Princess Augusta, Duchess of Brunswick | 31 August 1737 | 31 March 1813 | married, 1764, Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick; had issue |
 |
George III | 4 June 1738 | 29 January 1820 | married, 1761, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; had issue |
 |
Prince Edward, Duke of York | 14 March 1739 | 17 September 1767 | |
 |
Princess Elizabeth | 30 December 1740 | 4 September 1759 | |
 |
Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester | 14 November 1743 | 25 August 1805 | married, 1766, Maria Waldegrave, Countess Waldegrave; had issue |
 |
Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland | 27 November 1745 | 18 September 1790 | married, 1771, Anne Horton; no issue |
 |
Princess Louisa | 8 March 1749 | 13 May 1768 | |
 |
Prince Frederick | 13 May 1750 | 29 December 1765 | |
 |
Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark and Norway | 11 July 1751 | 10 May 1775 | married, 1766, Christian VII, King of Denmark and Norway; had issue |
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales (1707-51)". www.rct.uk. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
- 1 2 3 4 "Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
- 1 2 3 4 "BBC Four - The First Georgians: The German Kings Who Made Britain - Frederick Prince of Wales". BBC. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
- 1 2 3 "Frederick Louis, prince of Wales | Heir Apparent, Hanoverian, Father of George III | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
- 1 2 3 4 "The Royal Wedding… of 1736 | University of Cambridge". www.cam.ac.uk. 2011-04-27. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
- 1 2 3 4 5 isnt.co.uk, PixelToCode. "Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales & family". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
- ↑ "George Knapton (1698-1778) - The Family of Frederick, Prince of Wales". www.rct.uk. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
- ↑ "Frederick, Prince of Wales". The British Museum. 14 September 2025.
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See also: Principality of Wales | ||