Frederick of the United Kingdom and of the Netherlands

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Frederick
Medium
King of the British and of the People of his other Realms
Reign5 January 1923 - 7 July 1951
Coronation17 May 1923
PredecessorWilliam VII and IV
SuccessorCharles III and I
Prime Ministers
King of the Dutch
Grand Duke of the Luxembourgers
Reign5 January 1923 - 15 August 1947
Inauguration1 January 1924
PredecessorWilliam VII and IV
SuccessorCharles III and I
King of Hanover
Reign5 January 1923 - 20 November 1924
Coronation17 May 1923
PredecessorWilliam VII and IV
SuccessorMerged with the United Kingdom through the Kingdom of Hanover Act 1924
Emperor of India
Reign5 January 1923 - 15 August 1947
PredecessorWilliam VII and IV
SuccessorPosition abolished[1]
Prince Regent of the United Kingdom and of the Netherlands
Regency1 March 1921 - 5 January 1923
MonarchWilliam VII and IV
BornPrince Frederick of Wales, the Netherlands, and Prussia
(1895-11-22)22 November 1895
Rideau Hall, Ottawa, Canada
Died7 July 1951(1951-07-07) (aged 57)
Buckingham Palace, London
Burial25 July 1951
Spouse
Victoria Louise of Prussia
(m. 1913; ann. 1919)

Issue
Detail
Full name
Edward Frederick William
HouseHanover
FatherWilliam VII and IV
MotherSophia of Prussia
ReligionProtestant

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, and Grand Duke of the Luxembourgers 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, Dutch, and Luxembourgish monarch to serve as a regent up until his ascension after King William V and II, whom had previously served as a regent under the capacity of his father, King William IV and I.

The eldest son of King William VII and IV and Princess Sophia of Prussia, Frederick was born during the reign of his grandfather, King William VI and III, during which period, at the age of eighteen, he was married off to the daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Princess Victoria Louise, in a last-ditch attempt at preserving the fragile peace between the two nations. Then, while living in temporary exile in Sweden, Frederick, now the heir apparent to the British, Dutch, and Luxembourgish thrones, oversaw the First World War which, upon coming to an end in 1918, resulted in the capture and subsequent exile of Kaiser Wilhelm II to the British island of Saint Helena. In the meantime, ideological and lifestyle differences, coupled with the deep resentment by Victoria Louise over her father's fate at the hands of the victorious Allies, eventually culminated in a state-sanctioned annulment of Frederick's marriage to his wife in 1919. Then, in 1925, he remarried Princess Margaretha of Sweden in a double wedding with his brother, the Duke of Clarence and Avondale, whom otherwise married Margaretha's younger sister, Astrid. Together, the couple enjoyed a comparably happier and loving marriage until the end, while also welcoming their only child and daughter together, Margaret, Princess Royal.

Upon ascending to the throne in 1924, Frederick oversaw a rather tumultuous post-war period, which was further aggravated by the occurrence of the Great Depression in 1929. However, it was during this time that Frederick would later gain much personal acclaim for his efforts in preserving the monarchical institution, amidst rising but small republican and other extreme sentiments across the country. Then, from 1939 to 1945, as King, Frederick oversaw his countries' involvement in the Second World War against Nazi Germany, a conflict that would mark the last few years of his reign, and which preceded a rather tumultuous and testy period afterwards marked by anti-colonial rebellions in various British and Dutch colonies in Asia, namely the British Raj and the Dutch East Indies. On 7 July 1951, at the age of fifty-five, Frederick passed away and was thereafter succeeded by his eldest son and heir apparent, Charles III and I.

Early Life

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
  • 9 June 1924 - 30 March 1951 His Majesty The King of the United Kingdom, King of the Dutch, Grand Duke of the Luxembourgers

Honours

Ancestry

  1. Frederick continued as titular Emperor of India until 22 June 1948.