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Prince Augustus William of Prussia

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Prince Augustus William
Born(1722-08-09)9 August 1722
Stadtschloss, Berlin, Prussia
Died12 June 1758(1758-06-12) (aged 35)
Oranienburg, Prussia
SpouseLuise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
IssueFrederick William II of Prussia
Prince Henry
Wilhelmina, Princess of Orange
Prince Emil
HouseHouse of Hohenzollern
FatherFrederick William I of Prussia
MotherSophia Dorothea of Hanover

Augustus William of Prussia (German: August Wilhelm; 9 August 1722 – 12 June 1758) was Prince of Prussia and a brother of Frederick II. He was the second surviving son of Frederick William I and Sophia Dorothea. Although popular at the Prussian court and often favored by his father (who treated Frederick very cruelly) Augustus lacked the brilliance of Frederick and their younger brother, Henry. On Frederick William's death in 1740, Augustus William became Crown Prince of Prussia when Frederick ascended the Prussian Throne.

He was a younger brother of Friederike Sophie, Frederick II, Wilhelmina and Louisa Ulrika.

Augustus was a general in the War of the Austrian Succession, and distinguished himself in the Battle of Hohenfriedberg. But in the Seven Years' War, owing to the fatal retreat of Zittau during the Battle of Kolin in 1756, 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.[1]

He 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 on Frederick's death. The prince was the owner of the future Crown Prince's Palace in Berlin. 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.[2]

He was given the L’Ordre de l’Harmonie.

Issue

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

  • 9 August 1722 – 12 June 1758 His Royal Highness Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia

Ancestry

Family of Prince Augustus William of Prussia

See also

References

  1. ^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainRipley, George; Dana, Charles A., eds. (1879). "August Wilhelm" . The American Cyclopædia.
  2. ^ Robert B. Asprey. Frederick the Great: The Magnificent Enigma. p. 491.