Frederick

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Frederick
Medium
King of the British and of the People of his other Realms
Reign5 January 1923 - 7 July 1957
Coronation17 May 1923
PredecessorGeorge V
SuccessorCharles III
Prime Ministers
King of Hanover
Reign5 January 1923 - 20 November 1924
Coronation17 May 1923
PredecessorGeorge V
SuccessorMerged with the United Kingdom through the Kingdom of Hanover Act 1924
Emperor of India
Reign5 January 1923 - 15 August 1947
PredecessorGeorge V
SuccessorPosition abolished[1]
BornPrince Frederick of Wales and of Prussia
(1895-11-22)22 November 1895
Rideau Hall, Ottawa, Canada
Died7 July 1957(1957-07-07) (aged 63)
Buckingham Palace, London
Burial25 July 1957
Spouse
Victoria Louise of Prussia
(m. 1913; ann. 1919)

Issue
Detail
Full name
Edward Frederick William
HouseHanover
FatherGeorge V
MotherSophia of Prussia
ReligionProtestant

Frederick (English: Edward Frederick William; German: Eduard Friedrich Wilhelm; 22 November 1895 - 7 July 1957) was King of the British and King of Hanover from 5 January 1923 to 7 July 1957. 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.

The eldest son of King George V and Princess Sophia of Prussia, Frederick was born during the reign of his grandfather King William V. At the age of eighteen, he was wedded to Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia, daughter of German Emperor Wilhelm II, in an attempt at mending British-German relations. However, despite the birth of a son, namely the future Charles III, the end of the First World War, coupled with existing ideological differences, resulted in the couple having their marriage annulled as Frederick subsequently remarried to Princess Margaretha of Sweden, with whom he had a daughter Margaret, while his brother, also named Frederick, is married to Margaretha's sister Astrid.

Upon ascending to the throne in 1924, Frederick's reign, which initially began during a period of relative post-war prosperity, soon came to include the Great Depression, a period of global economic downturn that affected multiple countries including the United Kingdom. Nonetheless, during the ensuing interwar period, Frederick gained much popularity and endeared himself somewhat to the British public for his efforts at modernising the monarchical institution and the royal family as a whole, the most prominent effort of which came in the form of the adoption of the United Kingdom's national motto, "By God and By the People", a phrase symbolising the balance between the traditional concept of divine right of kings and the more modern concept of popular sovereignty. Then, as the reigning monarch during the Second World War, Frederick became an outspoken opponent of Nazism along with emerging as a popular symbol of resistance during the tumultuous Battle of Britain. Following the end of the war, amidst a global wave of anti-colonialism, Frederick would oversaw the independence of a number of British colonies, the most notable of which being the British Raj which, in 1947, gained independence in the form of India and Pakistan. In this, Frederick was the last of three monarchs to reign as Emperor of India, a title that was ultimately abolished in 1948. Meanwhile, during the ensuing Cold War period, Frederick emerged as both a vocal supporter of decolonisation and a fervent critic of communism and, by extension, the Soviet Union.

On 7 July 1957, at the age of sixty-one, Frederick passed away and, in turn, was succeeded by his only son who subsequently ascended to the throne as Charles III. In addition to his Charles, his only son and child by Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia, his first wife, Frederick also has a daughter Margaret by Princess Margaretha of Sweden, his second wife.

Early Life

Personal Life

Titles & Honours

  • 22 November 1895 - 23 November 1910 His Imperial Highness Prince Edward of Wales and of Prussia
  • 23 November 1910 - 30 January 1913 His Imperial Highness Prince Edward, Duke of Cambridge
  • 30 January 1913 - 1 March 1921 His Imperial Highness The Prince of Wales
  • 1 March 1921 - 5 January 1923 His Imperial Highness The Prince Regent
  • 5 January 1923 - 9 June 1924 His Majesty The King of the British, King of Hanover
  • 9 June 1924 - 30 March 1957 His Majesty The King of the British

Honours

Ancestry

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