Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia

Prussian prince
Issue
  • Princess Friederike
  • Prince Heinrich
  • Louise, Princess Antoni Radziwiłł
  • Prince Christian
  • Prince Louis Ferdinand
  • Prince Paul
  • Prince Augustus
Names
German: August Ferdinand
English: Augustus Ferdinand
HouseHouse of HohenzollernFatherFrederick William I of PrussiaMotherSophia Dorothea of Hanover
Prussian Royalty
House of Hohenzollern
Frederick William I
Children
Prince Frederick Louis
Wilhelmine, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
Prince Friedrich William
Princess Charlotte Albertine
Frederick II
Friederike Luise, Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach
Philippine Charlotte, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Prince Ludwig Karl Wilhelm
Sophia Dorothea, Margravine of Brandenburg-Schwedt
Louisa Ulrika, Queen of Sweden
Prince Augustus William
Anna Amalie, Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg
Prince Henry
Prince Augustus Ferdinand
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Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia (German: August Ferdinand; 23 May 1730 – 2 May 1813) was a Prussian prince and general, as well as Herrenmeister ("Master of the Knights") of the Bailiwick of Brandenburg of the Order of Saint John. He belonged to the House of Hohenzollern, and was the youngest son of Frederick William I of Prussia by his wife, Queen Sophia Dorothea.

Life

He was the youngest child of King Frederick William I of Prussia and his wife Sophia Dorothea of Hanover. He was also a younger brother of King Frederick the Great (Frederick II of Prussia), Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden, and Wilhelmine Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth.

Already at the age of 5, he joined the Infantry regiment „Kronprinz“. In 1740, his brother named him commander of Infantry regiment Nr 34. In 1756, he became Major General and accompanied his brother the King on his campaigns in Saxony, Bohemia, and Silesia. He fought in the Battle of Breslau and the Battle of Leuthen. But in 1758, bad health forced him to leave the army. In 1762, he purchased Friedrichsfelde Palace near Berlin. Ferdinand is also remembered for having the Schloss Bellevue in the Berliner Tiergarten built in 1786, today seat of the Presidents of Germany.

On 12 September 1763 Ferdinand was elected as Master of the Knights of the Bailiwick of Brandenburg of the Order of Saint John, a post he held until 1812.

Augustus died in Berlin on 2 May 1813, as the last surviving grandchild of George I of Great Britain. Elisabeth Louise would die seven years later, on 10 February 1820.

Marriage and children

Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia and family

He married his niece, Margravine Elisabeth Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt, on 27 September 1755. She was a daughter of his older sister Sophia Dorothea and her husband Margrave Frederick William of Brandenburg-Schwedt. Despite this family tie, she was only eight years younger than him, due to the significant age difference between him and his sister.

They had seven children:

  • Princess Friederike Elisabeth Dorothea Henriette Amalie (1761–1773)
  • Prince Friedrich Heinrich Emil Karl (1769–1773)
  • Princess Friederike Louise (1770–1836), married to Prince Antoni Radziwiłł. Had issue.
  • Prince Friedrich Christian Heinrich Ludwig (1771–1790)
  • Prince Louis Ferdinand (1772–1806), killed in the Battle of Saalfeld. No legitimate issue.
  • Prince Friedrich Paul Heinrich August (1776)
  • Prince Augustus (1779–1843), morganatic marriage (1832-1843) to Polish aristocrat Emilie von Ostrowska.

Gallery

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 16.
Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia
Born: 23 May 1730 Died: 2 May 1813
Preceded by Herrenmeister (Grand Master) of the Order of Saint John
1762–1812
Succeeded by
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The generations are numbered from the ascension of Frederick I as King in Prussia in 1701.
1st generation
2nd generation
3rd generation
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5th generation
6th generation
7th generation
8th generation
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10th generation
11th generation
born after the abolishment of monarchy by the Weimar Constitution
^• Forfeit rights to the succession
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
International
  • ISNI
  • VIAF
National
  • Germany
  • Poland
People
  • BMLO
  • Deutsche Biographie
Other
  • RISM
  • IdRef