Frederick of the United Kingdom and of the Netherlands
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King of the British and of the People of his other Realms
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| Reign | 5 January 1923 - 7 July 1951 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coronation | 17 May 1923 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | William VII and IV | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Charles III and I | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| King of the Dutch Grand Duke of the Luxembourgers Duke of Limburg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reign | 5 January 1923 - 15 August 1947 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Inauguration | 1 January 1924 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | William VII and IV | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Charles III and I | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| King of Hanover | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reign | 5 January 1923 - 20 November 1924 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coronation | 17 May 1923 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | William VII and IV | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Merged with the United Kingdom through the Kingdom of Hanover Act 1924 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Emperor of India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reign | 5 January 1923 - 15 August 1947 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | William VII and IV | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Position abolished[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prince Regent of the United Kingdom and of the Netherlands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Regency | 1 March 1921 - 5 January 1923 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | William VII and IV | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Prince Frederick of Wales, the Netherlands, and Prussia 22 November 1895 Rideau Hall, Ottawa, Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 7 July 1951 (aged 57) Buckingham Palace, London | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Burial | 25 July 1951 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Anne Messel (m. 1924) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| House | Hanover | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Father | William VII and IV | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mother | Sophia of Prussia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Protestant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frederick (English: Edward Frederick William; German: Eduard Friedrich Wilhelm; Dutch: Eduard Frederik Willem; 22 November 1895 - 7 July 1951) was King of the British, King of Hanover, King of the Dutch, Grand Duke of the Luxembourgers, and Duke of Limburg from 5 January 1923 to 7 July 1951. He was also the last Emperor of India, reigning from 1923 to 1947 until the abolition of the British Raj and its subsequent partition into India and Pakistan. Additionally, he is the second British monarch to serve as a regent up until his ascension after King George IV, whom had previously served as a regent under the capacity of his father, George III.
An outspoken critic of Nazism, Frederick primarily led the country throughout the Great Depression and the Second World War. In his final years, he oversaw the hastily drawn partition of India and Pakistan in the immediate end of the British Raj and various armed conflicts stemming from the independence of Britain's colonies. He also presided over the formal incorporation of a Hanover with increased territory in the aftermath of the First World War into the United Kingdom. In the immediate aftermath of the London Declaration in 1949, Frederick subsequently became the first official Head of the Commonwealth of Nations himself, thus replacing his previous title of Emperor of India.
Due to his heavily German character, Frederick was popularly known to many as "Frederick the German" (German: Friedrich der Deutsche), and was also mockingly referred to as well as "Kaiser Frederick", particularly by British nationalists due to his familial ties with the last German Emperor. Nevertheless, his heavy German background, coupled with his overall support for the integration of the German-majority Hanover into the United Kingdom have both cemented him as an overwhelmingly popular figure nationwide, particularly among Germans living in the United Kingdom. In all, for his successful efforts in both formally unifying Hanover with the United Kingdom and in restoring the monarchy's overall prestige, he has since been posthumously referred to as "Frederick the Unifier" and "Frederick the Saviour" respectively.
The United Kingdom's national motto, "By God and By the People" was reportedly coined by Frederick himself, with the aforementioned phrase intended to equally emphasise both the British monarch's role as the head of the Church of England and the King's own vision of the monarchical institution being more populist in nature, in line with the concept of a popular monarchy.
Following the annulment of his marriage to his first wife, Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia in 1924, Frederick became the first monarch in British history to have a marriage annulled, and the second in English history after the infamous King Henry VIII. Following his marriage's annulment, Frederick subsequently married the English socialite, Anne Messel, with whom he had five sons in total, in addition to the two children from his first marriage, which included his eldest son and successor, Charles III and I.
Early Life
Edward was born on the 22nd of November 1895 during the reign of his grandfather, King William V. He was the eldest out of four children of William, Prince of Wales and Sophia of Prussia, and was notably the first royal to be born outside of Britain, having being born instead in Canada, his parents' preferred choice of residence. As a nephew of the German Emperor, Wilhelm II, he was initially recommended to by his mother with several German imperial honours, but this was cut short by the antagonistic nature of the German Emperor, though he was given instead the title Prince of Prussia as a descendant of a previous German Emperor, Frederick III, thereby initially making him a Prince of Great Britain and Prussia altogether. He was named Edward Frederick Wilhelm in honour of his maternal grandfather, the late German Emperor Frederick III whom had been the co-coordinator alongside Frederick's paternal grandfather of the marriage between Edward's parents. In Canada, he was known as the Canadian Prince as he was the very first British royal to be born inside the country, in contrast to that of his predecessors.
Following his birth, his grandfather, King William V took much interest in shaping the young Edward according to his own, hoping to deter the young prince from becoming like his own father whom had grown distant from the king. Following a sizable opposition from both his grandmother and parents, a compromise however was reached where Edward would still be instilled with militaristic values but to a lesser degree. Subsequently, while Edward did receive partial military training, this was then added with extensive exposure in liberal arts education, the latter in which Edward showed promising interest and development. In addition to his studies, Edward frequently toured the rural and forested parts of Canada, with activities such as family picnics and hunting trips alongside his father being common activities for the young prince. Furthermore, Edward also frequently accompanied his parents in their social events and public meetings with the Canadian populace during his father's tenure as Governor-General of Canada.
Edward's striking appearance garnered him much attention and care from his female relatives, and in particular Princess Mary. Due to the distinct similarities between the young Edward and Mary's own son named Edward, the two princes were remarkably close and the former Edward was a frequent subject of comparison by Princess Mary who once wrote, "It is a joy for me to see just how alike my dear Eddy is with the prince", albeit at the cost of a friendly rivalry between Mary and his mother Sophia. He was also a favourite of his grandmother, Louise who would often look after the young Edward during his parents' occasional leaves for their official engagements or state visits. At the age of eleven, he began frequently accompanying his parents on their international trips as the respective Prince and Princess of Wales. During a controversial visit to Germany in 1910, while his parents conversed in a relatively calm manner with the German Emperor, the young Edward became good friends with the German Crown Prince and consequently became fond of the emperor's only daughter Victoria Louise, whom he then described as being a "living example of perfection and beauty, from head to toe.
Prince of Wales
As he aged well into his teens, his grandfather had seen the young Edward as a valuable diplomatic tool in his attempts to mend the strained relations between the German and British empires. While his own father had been married to the daughter of the late Kaiser Frederick III, the elderly King William V was determined in continuing the tradition, exemplified by his constant support for a match between Edward and Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia, whom was three years his senior. While there had been several discreet discussions between William V and his German counterpart on a possible marriage between the two as a sign of reconciliation, neither initially came into fruition when the suggestion was heavily scrutinized by some of the former's relatives whom preferred the ruling House of Hanover to not be associated with the "warmongering" Wilhelm II and the Hohenzollern family. This was in turn complicated by the growing Anglophobe sentiment in Germany itself.
Even such prospects were discouraged by the Prime Minister, H.H. Asquith, whom advised the king to look for another suitable bride that is not associated with countries that are deemed as Britain's enemies, particularly those in the largely politically neutral Scandinavian region. However, at the same time, despite the irony of the growing tension between their respective countries, Edward himself became gradually close with the young German princess, whom he often referred to as Vicky, a shortened form of the princess's name, with whom he would often spend much time communicating with through the exchange of letters and telegrams.
Around October 1910, a fifteen-year-old Edward met a then recently exiled King Manuel II of Portugal, whom at the age of twenty-one had fled to England following the Carnation Revolution, which abolished the longstanding Portuguese monarchy in favour of a republican government. Meanwhile, although the exiled former Portuguese monarch largely took to living separately from the British royal family, both Edward and Manuel were said to have otherwise been on friendly terms with one another, with the latter's interests in music reportedly being a subject of intrigue by the prince. As a result, the young Edward soon came to admire a number of famous German composers, including the German-born Ludwig van Beethoven, and a fellow German-born composer, Clara Schumann, whom was one of the 19th-century's most celebrated female composers. Even so, the two royals were said to have also harboured similar interests in a number of other matters as well, thus helping to solidify their friendship, which lasted well until Manuel's own death on July 1932.
World War I
Around January 1913, despite heightened tensions between most of the major powers of Europe, the marriage ceremony of Edward and Victoria Louise went on lavishly. Among the foreign guests were the Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II and Edward's own family, led by the sickly William V. In what would become the most notable feature of the event, Edward's grandfather William V was given a special honour to give his own speech, in which he dramatically reminded attendees of the heightened tensions and the need for the "old kings" of Europe to band together in preventing a major war from occurring. Following the conclusion of the ceremony, the newlywed couple was discouraged from returning to Britain. Instead, the royal couple then left back for Sweden where they were warmly received by the likes of Gustaf V and the pro-German government.
Until the year 1919, the royal couple lived lavishly in exile in Sweden, where both royals kept themselves occupied with news of the Great War surrounding them. However, the misery was softened with the birth of their first surviving offspring, the future Charles III and I] in 1917, which succeeded that of an earlier miscarriage two years later. While living in exile, Edward had initially contemplated on serving alongside his male relatives in the war but was discouraged by his wife whom had seen the war as "extremely appalling", and whom had wished for their family to not be associated with such conflict. However, the royal family was active in providing humanitarian care and aid to both participants of the war, exemplified in a risky but successful attempt in 1915, when the Swedish HSwMS Najaden safely dropped large supplies of aid through the Netherlands.
Following the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles, Edward and his family, at the insistence of Edward's sister, the Princess Royal, decided to finally end their period of exile in Sweden, thereby returning back to the United Kingdom. Upon their arrival, the princely couple promptly settled into Buckingham Palace alongside Edward's own family, while Edward's younger brother, Prince Frederick chose to remain in Sweden, although the latter himself would eventually go on to pay several visits to the United Kingdom on his own accord in the following years.
Reign
On the death of Frederick's father on January 5th 1923, it was also by coincidence the tenth wedding anniversary of the late king and his wife, the now queen dowager Sophia. As news of the King's death reached London, Frederick and Victoria Louise promptly headed back for Britain onboard the HMS Louise, which had been previously used to escort the couple from their exile in Sweden two years prior, while Queen Sophia instead opted to remain in Canada, presumably out of personal grief and attachment to the country until her own death nine years later, with her own funeral later on being attended by both Frederick and Victoria Louise and their closest relatives.
Amidst much public debate and displeasure at the prospects of having a daughter of the infamous German Emperor as queen consort of the country, preparations for their coronation were nevertheless underway. In the days leading up to their coronation, the royal couple briefly visited the war-torn Ireland where, despite political division among the Irish locals in regards to the Anglo-Irish Treaty, they were however warmly greeted by the local populace. At the same time, Frederick and Victoria Louise briefly debated on the choice of the latter's future name as queen consort, as the practice of having double names as a queen consort had been rather unknown in Britain. Ultimately, Victoria Louise herself conceded by opting to be known as Queen Louise instead of using her own given name, as to honour her paternal great great grandmother, Queen Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, a renowned figure in her native country. On May 17th, exactly a week before the end of the Irish Civil War, Frederick and Louise were formally coronated as king and queen of the United Kingdom at Westminster Abbey, with the event sporting the usual amount of foreign guests, amidst a number of protests outside the abbey against the queen consort's coronation in particular. Nevertheless, despite brewing rumours of an assassination plot against the king and queen, the returning procession itself went generally undisturbed, although in the several days immediately following the coronation event, several unnamed conspirators believed to be tied with a plot during the event were later arrested by the Metropolitan Police and were subsequently imprisoned on charges of attempted treason.
Early Years
Furthermore, Frederick's ascension to the throne also came at a difficult time for his country. The United Kingdom, despite being the largest country in terms of landmass and population was embroiled in massive debt and was slowly ceding its status as the global industrial power to both the United States and Japan. At the same time, socialist and nationalist fervours were both on the rise in his own country, with the prevailing political discontent being exacerbated by the royal family's heavy German roots. To that end, seeking to remedy the prior inability of his father to effectively address the post-war issues, Frederick, with unanimous Parliament approval, had the British titles and peerages of his relatives whom had served under the Central Powers effectively revoked through the Royal Titles Revocation Act 1924. At the same time, Frederick's own wife, a Princess of Prussia by birth subsequently abandoned her German titles, albeit reluctantly, with the decision being successively mirrored by Frederick himself in regards to his princely Prussian titles. However, amidst the various concessions, Frederick notably prevailed over one specific issue when he sharply rebuked the demands made by several cabinet members for him and his wife, Victoria Louise to only conversate in the English language and for their conversation to be clearly heard by observers at all times, and even in private settings, out of fears of an alleged pro-German conspiracy by the royal couple, to which Frederick promptly retaliated by forcing then-Prime Minister Bonar Law towards reprimanding those responsible for the controversy.
That same year, on January 10th, Frederick himself personally travelled to Switzerland to join the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Curzon in attending the Lausanne Conference, which was held to address the recognition of the newly established Republic of Turkey. During the conference, although Frederick himself mostly remained a de facto neutral observer, with Lord Curzon being the United Kingdom's main representative, he was otherwise said to have briefly crossed paths with the Italian fascist strongman, Benito Mussolini, whom had attended the conference himself on behalf of Italy.
Furthermore, Frederick also privately condemned his brother-in-law, Prince August Wilhelm in a telegraph, upon learning of the latter's involvement with the NSDAP, in which he cited the party's "hateful and extreme" rhetoric which, from the King's perspective, greatly contrasted with his own moderate character. Three years later, he also refused a private invitation by Adolf Hitler, whom had hoped for a meeting with the king in order to foster potential relations between Germany and the United Kingdom, due to the latter's strong German ties. In his response, Frederick notably wrote to the Nazi leader, "I find myself unable to effectively assume my duty as a collaborator or an ally of a country that possesses such an unorthodox perspective on its own citizens".
King of the British
Having already inherited some degree of animosity and suspicion from the British public, specifically those among British nationalists due to his heavily German background, the new king was quick to undertake several actions, including the notable Royal Titles Revocation Act 1924 which accordingly deprived his German relatives of their British titles and peerages. While this decision, among others undertaken by Frederick to restore the royal family's image among the general public proved somewhat successful in its intention, the former, having taken notice of the Belgian King Albert I's popularity in his own country, first recommended a landmark change in the style of the British sovereign to his Prime Minister at the time, Ramsay Macdonald, whom he reportedly told, "I will not be the Leopold the Second of this country, but rather its King Albert". When this measure was generally approved by Macdonald, whom understood the King's perceived intention regarding the proposed measure, Frederick promptly disclosed it in a special meeting among cabinet ministers whom, like the Prime Minister, celebrated the measure as a means to successfully restore the royal family's image, with the proposed style of King of the British seen as being more in touch with the general public, thus alleviating most general discontent. Thus, during that year's Trooping the Colour event, Frederick markedly announced an amendment to the style of the British sovereign, in which he declared, "From this point on, I am the King of the British, the king of all the people whom pledge their loyalty to me, and to whom I shall repay accordingly with my role as a constitutional sovereign of the people, not the state". At the same time, the British government also promptly released an official document, titled The Memorandum of King Frederick, in which he declared that "as constitutional monarchs, the ruler must be bound to a social contract with the nation's citizens, whom in exchange for legitimising the ruler's position as a constitutional monarch, would, in turn, be gifted with the presence of an impartial and a politically neutral head of state, one whom could guarantee absolute stability in times of crisis".
While this new styling would remain in use with Frederick's successors, the style of Prince of Wales however remained unchanged for the rest of his reign up until the accession of his immediate successor, Charles III and I, whom reverted the princely title back to its traditional style, the Prince of the Welsh upon his accession. Accordingly, his great-granddaughter, Queen Alexandra was respectively styled Princess of the Welsh prior to her own accession to the throne, as her father's heir apparent.
Hanoverian Issue
From the late 19th century, tensions between Germans and non-Germans in the United Kingdom had been gradually brewing as a direct consequence of the Anglo-German arms race propagated by the militarist Kaiser Wilhelm II. Then, the tensions were further exacerbated by the onset of the First World War which, by the end of it, led to a mass perception of "treachery" and "disloyalty" towards the British-German citizens in Hanover. At the same time, a number of English citizens, as well as some politicians, reportedly began calling for the removal of Hanover entirely from the United Kingdom, although this too was opposed by those whom feared that a handover of Hanover, with its northern ports and coastline on continental Europe to the new Weimar Republic would hurt Britain's naval dominance in the North Sea,
At the same time, then Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin had initially convinced the king to seek a "middle ground" in order to appease both the opposing sides. To that end, on November 1924, after weeks of heated debate, the British Parliament passed the Kingdom of Hanover Act 1924, which subsequently elevated Hanover to that of the same status and position as Scotland had achieved from the Acts of Union 1707. Immediate reactions were initially deeply polarised among the public, with some welcoming the new act as a symbol of unity between the English majority island and the German majority state, and as an effective measure in containing the gradual spread of the far-right Nazism ideology by the NSDAP in Central Europe, while its detractors opposed the integration of Germans into the general society, backed by their popular view of the perceived treachery by British-Germans during the First World War. In addressing direct criticism towards the act, Frederick notably declared, "The United Kingdom of today is here to remain, and never to dissolve". Frederick subsequently toured the war-torn Hanover and was received by large-sized crowds cheering on his arrival before meeting the kingdom's very first and newly appointed minister-president. Two years later, a statue of Frederick on horseback was erected in front of the Herrenhausen Palace in honour of the King. Decades later, on November 1995, in marking his 100th posthumous birthday, the capital city of the Kingdom of Hanover, also named Hanover was renamed to King Frederick City in order to distinguish the capital city from its similarly-named constituent country, while also primarily honouring the late British monarch, whom to this day maintains an overwhelmingly positive legacy among the Hanoverian public.
In addition to the formalisation of the union between the United Kingdom and Hanover, Frederick also presided over the subsequent appointment of the kingdom's very first head of government, officially known as a minister-president, with its inaugural holder, Klaus Franke being appointed as one in the aftermath of the 1929 general election, so as to ensure a firm alignment between the appointment of the kingdom's minister-president alongside that of the British prime minister. However, as opposed to both Scotland and Northern Ireland, Hanover was nevertheless allowed to maintain its own armed forces, with the sole condition being its own longstanding army, while on both sea and air, the kingdom is otherwise protected by units of both the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force respectively.
Marriage Crisis
Unlike his grandfather, Frederick adopted a rather independent and hands-off approach in regards to the marital choice of his successor, Charles. However, due to the political climate at the time, Frederick strictly forbade either of his sons from ever marrying a princess hailing from an enemy country. Regardless, in 1945, the Prince of Wales privately wrote a letter to Frederick from the United States, in which he openly declared his interest in marrying Jewish American actress Lauren Bacall, whom was seven years the prince's junior. While this was met with mixed reaction by Parliament members, Frederick himself remained indifferent however towards the proposal, choosing not to openly object against the wishes of his only son and heir, whose marital prospects and its following difficulties had coincidentally mirrored that of his own marital prospects three decades earlier.
Despite his indifference, Frederick himself did partially sided with the proposed marriage's detractors himself in suggesting for a morganatic marriage instead, in which the couple would be allowed to marry in exchange for Bacall, Charles's romantic partner receiving a courtesy title instead of the traditional title of queen consort, while their own eldest child together would nevertheless be allowed to succeed Charles to the throne in the near future. Furthermore, just a day prior to the eventual meeting between Charles and the British agents sent to New York, Frederick himself personally met two of the suggested candidates, Sarah Baring and Lady Caroline Paget at their respective residences in an attempt to encourage either one of the leading candidates to seek the heir apparent's hand in marriage, with Baring in particular showing much interest in a marital offer, due to her previous interest in Charles's now deceased brother. Ultimately, Charles's own subsequent refusal to commit to any of the alternative proposals brought forward by the agents led to an immediate end to Frederick's efforts, with both he and Anne later subsequently adopting a more supportive approach in favour of their son's proposed marriage to the actress.
Following Churchill's defeat and subsequent replacement by his Labour opponent Clement Attlee, with the latter's strong backing and later that of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Frederick himself promptly adopted a more supportive stance towards his son's marital prospects, eventually granting his official permission as sovereign for the couple to marry. They were then engaged sometime in mid-1945 and were then subsequently married a year later, with Frederick represented by his wife at their son's wedding ceremony in New York, United States of America.
Second World War
On September 1st 1939, Frederick found his country at war with Nazi Germany following the latter's invasion of Poland, which had prompted both a French and a British declaration of war. At the same time, he reluctantly granted permission for his youngest son, Prince William, Duke of Edinburgh, whom had been enlisted in the Royal Navy years prior, to see active combat.
Following the rapid fall of France and the concurrent collapse of Denmark and Norway to German forces, the Germans under Hitler immediately envisaged a land invasion of the United Kingdom, which was to be first achieved through complete aerial and sea dominance. Meanwhile, the constituent British kingdom of Hanover on mainland Europe, thanks to its Maginot-esque line of defences was able to resist any German penetration for a much more significant amount of time. This, along with the decisive British counter attack spearheaded by the RAF against the opposing German Luftwaffe air force, ultimately ruined any chances of a possible invasion of the island. Nevertheless, throughout much of the course of the war, Hanover itself was subjected to an intense military bombardment by the surrounding German forces, whom despite their apparent numerical superiority, otherwise proved unable to effectively conquer the British constituent country, with the combined British-Hanoverian force stationed in the kingdom having managed to decisively thwart a German attempt to circumnavigate the formidable Alexandrian Line spanning throughout the British-German border through the means of an invasion of Hanover itself via the recently conquered Netherlands. Meanwhile, at around December 1940, Frederick's uncle, Prince Consort Alexander of the Netherlands, whom had then recently retreated to Hanover following the Netherlands's defeat, ultimately passed away from a combination of wartime injuries and illnesses. Then, in recognition of his overall contribution to the Alexandrian Line fortification system, the recently deceased prince was posthumously awarded several honours and decorations by the British government. Meanwhile, then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill, whom upon learning of the prince's passing, reportedly remarked, "While we would always have our brave men and women to thank for Britain's survival, we must never ignore the absolute fact that Hanover itself stands because of him (Alexander), whom may God bless his soul".
In the early months of 1942, Frederick, having learned of his eldest, and only surviving son's intention to enlist in the United States Armed Forces, was quick to oppose the latter's decision, arguing that the latter's safety was more important than his active wartime duties. Nevertheless, after much deliberation, he once more reluctantly conceded to Charles's demands, during which time, he reportedly told then Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, "If the Prince of Wales dies today, as honourable as his death might be, I myself would be the unluckiest father and husband to have ever lived".
Postwar Years
Following the end of the Second World War, Frederick, as his country's head of state, participated extensively in the postwar reconstruction, in which he would often funnel a certain amount of his own wealth that would in turn be used to fund the rebuilding of damaged infrastructures along with provisions of aid towards the living survivors of the war. In particular, during the very first Victory in Europe Day celebrations that year, Frederick openly praised the success of the Allied war effort, before subsequently proclaiming, Hitler is no more, and so too the senseless wars and bloodshed!".
On August 15th 1947, Frederick oversaw the dissolution of the former British Raj, Britain's most prized colony, into the subsequent independent states of India and Pakistan. In light of this, he later conducted several specific visits to both the newly independent countries, along with several other remaining British colonies at the time. Regardless, just a couple of years later, he suffered a brief injury during a hunting incident with his son, the Prince of Wales which, despite the fact that it left the former with non-worrisome injuries, led him to momentarily abstain from his official duties for approximately two days long.
Upon his return to his royal duties, having been much aware of the discontent harboured towards his only surviving son and successor, Charles, Prince of Wales, and in particular, his daughter-in-law, Lauren, Princess of Wales, Frederick himself worked extensively and spontaneously as well to legitimise his successor's position as the future monarch of Britain by personally speaking out in favour of the royal couple, although this was only done in an occasional manner, as to not jeapordise his own somewhat restored public image. For instance, immediately upon his return from a state visit to Ceylon in March 1948, as the king himself was walking down the harbour at Portsmouth, he then notably proclaimed to the surrounding crowd, "In regards towards your fear of the Jews, I assumed that those kinds of people are already gone and extinct back in Berlin!". Nevertheless, his silver jubilee was also held that year, thus marking his twenty fifth year on the throne
Death
On the afternoon of March 30th 1951, Frederick, following an initial and mistaken belief by palace courtiers that he was unexpectedly taking a much more extended period of sleep for the day due to the perceived state of tiredness surrounding the king himself, was ultimately declared dead by royal doctors at approximately 1:30 P.M., after his wife, Anne, had unsuccessfully tried to awaken him for an important meeting with Prime Minister Clement Attlee, whom also later joined the royal family at Buckingham Palace upon being made aware of the late monarch's passing. His only surviving son and successor, the now Charles III and I and his wife themselves also got together with several of Frederick's other relatives before he was to be duly laid in state at Westminster Hall. During the subsequent lying in state process, for the Vigil of the Princes occasions present during the event, Frederick's coffin was primarily guarded by the likes of his own son, Charles III and I, his younger brother, the Duke of Clarence and Avondale, his nephew, Prince Charles of Clarence and Avondale, and his paternal uncle, the Duke of Southampton. He was then buried alongside his predecessors at Westminster Abbey, where he was later joined by his wife, whom passed away on July 3rd 1992, having outlived her husband by fourty-one years.
Marriage
Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia
At the time of his birth, Edward was second in line to the throne behind his father, the then William, Prince of Wales. Despite this, being the likely heir to his father, Edward's marital prospects fell under the responsibility of the royal family's then patriarch, King William V. At the time, an aging King William V had been seeking for a reconciliation between the British and German empires, amidst the prevailing Anglo-German arms race between the two empires, instigated by the aggressive foreign policies of the German Emperor. Consequently, after much deliberation resulting from internal opposition from several members of the Hanoverian royal family, William decided to orchestrate a visit between his grandson Edward and the Kaiser's only daughter, Princess Victoria Louise, whom was only three years Edward's senior. Thus, a private exchange of photographs between the two monarchs soon followed when the Kaiser himself first gifted to his British counterpart a photograph of the seventeen year old Victoria Louise in a military uniform, which was in turn replied to with a similarly themed photograph of the young Edward himself. With unanimously positive reception of the respective photographs from both sides, a visit by the family of the Prince of Wales was subsequently agreed upon, where it would take place just three days prior to Victoria Louise's 18th birthday.
The next year, on September 10th, Edward and his family departed from the Royal Navy base at Portsmouth before arriving at the coastal city of Wilhelmshaven in Hanover where from there, they were then escorted to the imperial residence in Potsdam by both British and German soldiers. While the princely family was generally welcomed by the imperial couple, Edward's mother Sophia however largely avoided and had minimal contact with her brother, the German Emperor himself whom was mostly of a starkly contrasting character compared to Sophia herself. Nevertheless, Edward, whom somewhat admired the present German culture he came to saw was quick to be on good terms with the imperial family, as he proved to be considerably close with the Kaiser's sons, with the eldest in particular being Crown Prince Wilhelm. Following this, upon meeting the much older Victoria Louise, Edward himself proved quick to familiarise with the Prussian princess, with whom he shared a common interest in German culture and history.
Upon being left to their own devices by their respective families, Edward and Victoria Louise proved quick to bond with one another as they both reminisced about the then state of affairs in their own respective countries, which had then culminated in an arms race between the two empires. Soon after, out of newfound infatuation, primarily from the latter herself, the two briefly engaged in a kiss in which Victoria Louise encouraged Edward to follow through with their patriarchs' marital plans as a guarantee in keeping both Edward and the princess together, a plan which Edward himself quickly agreed to. For Victoria Louise's subsequent birthday, among a number of gifts that had been brought forth by the British royal family, Edward himself personally gifted the princess a white Hackney-breed horse, due to the horse breed's positive reputation relating to its stamina and sustainability.
The two would go on to noticeably spend a large amount of time together in the subsequent days, much to the delight of their own respective parents before Edward and his family departed back for Britain the next week. In the end, Edward's firmly strong relationship with the princess and his mutual infatuation towards the latter encouraged his hopeful grandfather to further advance Edward's marital prospects by further proposing an engagement date, as to accommodate for Edward's relatively young age, a decision supported by the Kaiser himself.
When this reached the knowledge of the then Prime Minister H. H. Asquith however, the former advocated for a cautious approach towards the issue, as to avoid compromising the Entente Cordiale agreements with France whom deeply distrusted the Germans. Thus, in Asquith's subsequent attempts to convince the King to seek an alternative candidate for his grandson, it was initially suggested that Edward was to marry a Swedish princess instead, namely Princess Margaretha, whom was four years the prince's junior, or her sister, Princess Märtha, whom was, in turn, six years Edward's junior. Ironically enough, while this suggestion was never implemented in regards to Edward himself, it otherwise became a reality for Edward's younger brother, Frederick, whom later married a Swedish princess himself. Meanwhile, when the suggestion was promptly dismissed by the King, other names such as Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark, and those of the four daughters of the Russian Tsar, Nicholas II were also brought up, but all these were persistently dismissed in favour of his grandfather's hope of a successful reconciliation between the United Kingdom and Germany. Eventually, preparations for the wedding ceremony were soon underway, with Berlin being decided upon as the venue for the couple's wedding ceremony. At the same time, the two royals would remain in contact with one another, with frequent exchanges of letters said to have taken place throughout the months leading up to their eventual wedding ceremony.
On February 1911, through a private agreement between King William V and Kaiser Wilhelm II, the prince and princess simultaneously journeyed to Stockholm where they held their engagement ceremony, with the choice of the venue being that of a neutral country as to avoid any repercussions on either sides. Soon afterwards, supposedly out of the need to protect the royal couple from any rumoured threats, Edward and Victoria Louise then lived together as fiancées in Drottningholm Palace under the protection of King Gustaf V and his family. For the next two years, the couple was said to had lived "extremely happily" with one another in the Swedish royal residence of Drottningholm Palace, and they both kept a consistent stream of communication with their respective families back home. Furthermore, the couple enjoyed generally warm relations with the Swedish royal family, whom was largely sympathetic to the couple's plight.
On January 5th 1913, the couple returned once more to Berlin where an extravagant wedding ceremony was held in their honour, which saw the attendance of the British and Russian royal families and number of other guests whom were generally of royalty and nobility background. For the event, while Victoria Louise donned an elaborate white-coloured wedding gown designed by both British and German tailors, Edward himself however donned a uniform of The Royal Dragoons, of which Kaiser Wilhelm II himself is coincidentally its Colonel-in-Chief, though it was actually meant to mirror his wife's own appearance in a photograph where she donned a uniform of a German cavalry regiment herself.
Just a year later, following the outbreak of the First World War, the couple, whom had then returned back to Sweden under the pretext of personal safety, then chose not to openly affiliate on an individual level with either side, for fear of upsetting the other. Nonetheless, the immediate psychological effects of the war would prove to be of some consequence for the royal couple, as evidenced by a recollection of the period by Edward's private secretary, Lord Read, whom in his memoirs wrote that "the couple was perhaps fighting as hard as the men in the trenches to keep their union afloat, especially in the face of such a mismatched couple". However, despite the perceived animosity between the couple, they soon welcomed the birth of their first child together, the later Charles III and I, followed by another son, Prince William, Duke of Edinburgh just a couple of years later.
Following the death of King George V on January 1923, the couple, whom were now subsequently the new King and Queen of the United Kingdom, began settling permanently in the central royal residence of Buckingham Palace, where in contrast to Drottningholm Palace in Sweden, where they had enjoyed relative peace and popularity with the locals there, the couple were now met with a considerable wave of hostility and scrutiny by the general public, with the majority of their distrust being directed towards Victoria Louise herself, as a result of her being the daughter of the infamous Kaiser Wilhelm II.
At the same time, the end of the war and the years that followed proved to be a considerable challenge for the couple's marriage, as Frederick, whom, as a result of the war, had begun adopting a more liberal outlook, which stood in stark contrast to his wife's otherwise mostly traditional outlook, one that was reminiscent of her father, the former Kaiser Wilhelm II. Moreover, mounting displeasure and backlash over his marriage to a German princess also threatened to bring down the British monarchy, a fear that was shared by both Frederick and then-Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald. Eventually, on July 31st 1924, with the agreement of both the prime minister and the then-Archbishop of Canterbury, Randall Davidson, Frederick officially had his marriage to Victoria Louise annulled by the Church of England, so as to allow the King to remarry afterwards without going against the canonical prohibition on remarriage while the former spouse of a divorcee was still alive. However, despite this development, the couple's two sons together, Charles and William were both allowed to remain on the throne, with Charles's position as heir apparent to his father being officially confirmed by both Parliament and the Church of England. From that point on, the couple mostly lived separately from one another, with Victoria Louise opting to reside at the nearby Windsor Castle, where she raised her younger son, William separate from the latter's older brother, the future Charles III and I. She later passed away on December 11th 1980 at the age of eighty-eight, and, upon the request of her own son, King Charles III and I himself, was then buried in Westminster Abbey alongside her former husband and the latter's second wife, Anne Messel.
When the couple's marriage annulment was then made known to the public, some scandal ensued, as such an instance had been an extremely rare case since the infamous King Henry VIII in the 16th century. Nonetheless, the British public, most of whom were already critical of the former German-born queen, otherwise erupted into celebrations, with many praising the King's "good riddance" for annulling his marriage to his controversial wife. Around that same time, as hoped for by the King, the British monarchy's standing among the public promptly improved, while the institution's approval ratings among the public likewise skyrocketed.
Anne Messel
In the weeks leading up to his marriage's annulment, Frederick, with the recommendation of then-Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald, had begun seeing the twenty-three-year-old Princess Märtha of Sweden, whose beauty and origin from a neutral country such as Sweden were thought to have made her a suitable candidate for Victoria Louise's replacement. However, nothing ultimately ever came out of this, with Frederick subsequently diverting his attention towards Anne Messel, an English socialite and granddaughter of the famous cartoonist, Edward Linley Sambourne. In this instance, Frederick's attempts proved ultimately successful, with the two agreeing to marry later that November.
Eventually, just a few months after Frederick's marriage was officially annulled, on November 22nd 1924, which was also his 29th birthday that year, the couple married in an elaborate ceremony at Westminster Abbey, with the wedding receiving much enthusiasm among the British public, whom saw it as a "fresh start" from the previously controversy-ridden monarchy. Most notably, Anne also became the first British-born consort in history, with her predecessors having been born outside of the country. Throughout the following years, the couple would welcome five children together, all of whom were boys, with the first and oldest of them being George, followed by Edward, Arthur, Michael, and Henry, the youngest of them all. As of current, all four of them, with the exception of Arthur, are still alive, with the latter having passed away in 2020 at the age of ninety-one.
Personal Information
Titles & Honours
- 22 November 1895 - 23 November 1910 His Royal Highness Prince Edward of Wales, the Netherlands, and Prussia
- 23 November 1910 - 30 January 1913 His Royal Highness Prince Edward of the Netherlands, Duke of Cambridge
- 30 January 1913 - 1 March 1921 His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, Prince of Orange, and the Hereditary Grand Duke of the Luxembourgers
- 1 March 1921 - 5 January 1923 His Royal Highness The Prince Regent
- 5 January 1923 - 9 June 1924 His Majesty The King of the United Kingdom, King of Hanover, King of the Dutch, Grand Duke of the Luxembourgers, Duke of Limburg
- 9 June 1924 - 30 March 1951 His Majesty The King of the United Kingdom, King of the Dutch, Grand Duke of the Luxembourgers, Duke of Limburg
Honours
Ancestry
| Ancestors of Frederick of the United Kingdom and of the Netherlands |
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- ↑ Frederick continued as titular Emperor of India until 22 June 1948.