Prince Augustus William of Prussia (; 9 August 1722 – 12 June 1758) was the son of King

Frederick William I of Prussia Frederick William I (; 14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740), known as the Soldier King (), was King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death in 1740, as well as Prince of Neuchâtel. Born in Berlin, he was raised by the Hugu ...

and a younger brother and general of

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

. Augustus was the second surviving son of Frederick William I and Sophia Dorothea. His older siblings included Wilhelmina (later Margravine of Bayreuth), Frederick II (later King of Prussia), Friedrike Louise (later Margravine of Ansbach) and Louisa Ulrika (later Queen consort of Sweden). Augustus was favored by his father over Frederick and was popular at the

Prussian court The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signi ...

. When his brother Frederick became king in 1740, Augustus became

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

and moved into Fredrick's former residence, the Crown Prince's Palace in Berlin. When his older sister Louisa Ulrika married the King of Sweden in 1744, she founded the Ordre de l'Harmonie, of which Augustus was one of the first recipients. Augustus served his brother as a

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

and distinguished himself in the Battle of Hohenfriedberg. But in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, owing to the fatal retreat of Zittau during the Battle of Kolin in 1757, he incurred the wrath of his brother the King, and withdrew from the army. This conflict between the two brothers led to a correspondence, which was published in 1769.

Death

Augustus died suddenly in 1758 at Oranienburg, according to some of "a broken heart", in reference to his brother Frederick II's harsh treatment of him for his incompetent military leadership in the Battle of Kolin. In reality, he died from a

brain tumor A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the Human brain, brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign ...

.Robert B. Asprey. ''Frederick the Great: The Magnificent Enigma''. p. 491.

Marriage

Augustus married Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Because his older brother had no children, Augustus's oldest son inherited the throne as

Frederick William II of Prussia Frederick William II (; 25 September 1744 – 16 November 1797) was King of Prussia from 1786 until his death in 1797. He was also the prince-elector of Brandenburg and (through the Orange-Nassau inheritance of his grandfather) sovereign princ ...

on Frederick's death.

Issue

(1744–1797) ** married (1) Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg. They had one child Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia (1767–1820), who married

Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (Frederick Augustus; 16 August 1763 – 5 January 1827) was the second son of George III, King of the United Kingdom and King of Hanover, Hanover, and his consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. A so ...

, the second son of

George III of the United Kingdom George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great ...

. ** married (2) Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt and had issue. * Prince Henry of Prussia (1747–1767) died unmarried. * Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia (1751–1820) married

William V, Prince of Orange William V (Willem Batavus; 8 March 1748 – 9 April 1806) was Prince of Orange and the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic. He went into exile to London in 1795. He was furthermore ruler of the Principality of Orange-Nassau until his death in ...

and had issue. *Prince Emil of Prussia (30 October 1758 – 15 February 1759) died in infancy.

Ancestry

References

External links