Frederick William II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck (18 June 1687 – 11 November 1749) was a

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck The House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck (Schleswig-Holstein-Beck or Beck for short) is a line of the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg branch of the House of Oldenburg. It consisted of August Philipp, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Bec ...

. He served as

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

and was appointed Governor of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, but never filled the latter position. Frederick William II was the eldest son of Duke Frederick Louis (1653–1728) and his wife Louise Charlotte of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (1658–1740). His siblings included Dorothea, Peter August and Charles Louis. In 1728, Frederick William II succeeded his father as Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Beck. After his death, he was succeeded by his son

Frederick William III Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved. ...

, who fell in battle in 1757. The title was then inherited by Frederick William II's brother, Charles Louis.

Life

Although he was born in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, Frederick William was raised in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

Albinus, p. 131 and studied in Halle. He served in the Prussian Army as a captain in his father's regiment in 1703 and as a lieutenant colonel in 1704. He distinguished himself during the Siege of Stralsund (1711–1715) and was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in 1713, when he served in the Regiment Holstein. In 1717, 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 ...

rewarded him with Friedrichshof Palace in Ludwigswalde,

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

(now in Lesnoye,

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast () is the westernmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of the Russian Federation. It is a Enclave and exclave, semi-exclave on the Baltic Sea within the Baltic region of Prussia (region), Prussia, surrounded by Pola ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

). In 1719 the king granted the duke another East Prussian manor, also named Friedrichshof, in Kasebalk. Duke Fredrick William subsequently renamed the second manor Holstein (now in Pregolskiy,

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

). From 1721, he led the infantry regiment #11, which his father had led before. In 1725, the king invested the duke with the Riesenberg estate, however, he sold it off. In 1732, he purchased Haus Beck, near Ulenburg,

Minden-Ravensberg Minden-Ravensberg was a Prussian administrative unit consisting of the Principality of Minden and the County of Ravensberg from 1719–1807. The capital was Minden. In 1807 the region became part of the Kingdom of Westphalia, a client state ...

, after which the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck line was named, from Duchess Maria Antonia (1692-1762), the widow of his cousin Frederick William I (1682–1719), who had converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and had become a field marshal in the

Army of the Holy Roman Empire The Army of the Holy Roman Empire (; , ''Reichsheer'', or ''Reichsarmatur''; ) was created in 1422 and came to an end when the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806 as a result of the Napoleonic Wars. The Army of the Empire was not a standing ...

. Frederick William I fell in the

Battle of Francavilla The Battle of Francavilla was fought on 20 June 1719 near the city of Francavilla di Sicilia in Sicily, Italy between Spain and Austria as part of the War of the Quadruple Alliance. Prelude After the destruction of the Spanish fleet in the Bat ...

, at

Francavilla di Sicilia Francavilla di Sicilia ( Sicilian: ''Francavigghia'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Messina on the island of Sicily, southern Italy. It has a population of about 3,900 people and is situated in the southern part of the prov ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. In 1733 Frederick William II was promoted to lieutenant general. He participated in campaigns along the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

in 1734 and 1735 during the

War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession (; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a civil war in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth over the succession to Augustus II the Strong, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of ...

. King

Frederick II of Prussia 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 Prus ...

was displeased with Frederick William after the

Battle of Mollwitz The Battle of Mollwitz was fought by Prussia and Austria on 10 April 1741, during the First Silesian War (in the early stages of the War of the Austrian Succession). It was the first battle of the new Prussian King Frederick II, in which both si ...

during the

First Silesian War The First Silesian War () was a war between Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia and Habsburg monarchy, Austria that lasted from 1740 to 1742 and resulted in Prussia's seizing most of the region of Silesia (now in south-western Poland) from Austria. The ...

in 1741. His regiment had been held in reserve and arrived on the battlefield too late to contribute to the battle. Unaware of the situation, he passed by several Austrian units. Nevertheless, King Frederick the Great was fond of the duke, whom he referred to as ''gute alte Holsteiner'' ("good old Holsteiner"). The duke was promoted to

later that year and posted in Königsberg, the capital of East Prussia. He was also a recipient of the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle () was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

.Krebel In 1745, Frederick William II re-sold Haus Beck in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

to Magdalena Dorothea, Baroness von Ledebur-Königsbrück, née von Nagel zu Wallenbrück (d. 1750), but retained the title ''Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck'', although in name only, without an

allodial estate Allod, deriving from Frankish language, Frankish ''alōd'' meaning "full ownership" (from ''al'' "full, whole" and ''ōd'' "property, possession"; Medieval Latin ''allod'' or ''allodium''), also known as allodial land or proprietary property, was ...

. In 1747, he was appointed governor of

. However, due to illness, he was unable to take up this post. He died in

, on 11 Nov 1749, at the age of 62.

Marriage and issue

Frederick William was married twice: 1) His first wife was Louise Felicitas Eleonora of Loß, Countess of Dabrova (d. 1715). She was the widow of a Prince Antoni Dominik

Czartoryski The House of Czartoryski (feminine form: Czartoryska, plural: Czartoryscy; ) is a Princely Houses of Poland, Polish princely family of Lithuanian-Ruthenians, Ruthenian origin, also known as the Familia (political party), Familia. The family, whic ...

(1673-1695) and a daughter of the Polish treasurer Wladislav of Loß,

Marienborg Marienborg, a mid 18th-century country house perched on a small hilltop on the northern shore of Lake Bagsværd, Bagsværd Lake, Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality, north of downtown Copenhagen, has served as the official residence of Denmark's Prime ...

and his Swedish wife, Baroness Barbara Gyllenstierna. This marriage remained childless. 2) He married his second wife on 3 December 1721. She was Countess Ursula Anna of Dohna-Schlodien (31 December 1700 – 17 March 1761), the daughter of

Burgrave Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from , ), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especially a royal or episcopal castle, and its territory called a ''Burgraviate'' or ''Burgr ...

Christopher I, Burgrave and Count of Dohna-Schlodien Christopher I, Burgrave and Count of Dohna-Schlodien (2 April 1665 – 11 October 1733) was a Prussian general and diplomat. Life Dohna was born at the Coppet Castle in Coppet near Geneva, one of the sons of Frederick, Burgrave of Dohna, F ...

and his wife, Friederike Marie, Countess of Dohna. This marriage produced two children: *

(4 November 1723 – 6 May 1757), served as a colonel in the Prussian army and fell in the Battle of Prague * Sophia Charlotte (31 December 1722 – 7 August 1763), married: *# on 5 June 1738 to the Prussian Major General Alexander Emilius, Burgrave of Dohna-Wartenberg-Schlodien (7 July 1704 – 6 October 1745, fell in the

Battle of Soor The Battle of Soor (30 September 1745) was a battle between Frederick the Great's Prussian army and an Austro-Saxon army led by Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine during the Second Silesian War (part of the War of the Austrian Succession). ...

) *# on 1 January 1750 to Duke George Louis of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp (16 March 1719 – 1763)

Ancestors

Notes

References

* * Anton Balthasar König, ''Biographisches Lexikon aller Helden und Militärpersonen: T. G-L'', p. 169
Online
* Gottlob Friedrich Krebel, ''M. Gottlieb Schumanns genealogisches Hand-Buch'', S.272
Digitalisat
*

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick William 02 of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck 1687 births 1749 deaths 18th-century German military personnel Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck Field marshals of Prussia Prussian military personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession Military personnel from Potsdam Nobility from Königsberg People of the Great Northern War Prussian military personnel of the War of the Polish Succession University of Halle alumni Military personnel from Königsberg