Frederick III, German Emperor, 1831-1888

Frederick III; German: Friedrich III; Born 18 October 1831, New Palace, Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia; Died 15 June 1888 (aged 56), New Palace, Potsdam, Prussia, German Empire; German Emperor and King of Prussia; Known informally as "Fritz"; He was a scion of the House of Hohenzollern; Frederick's father, Prince William, was a younger brother of King Frederick William IV; mother, Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach; As early as 1851, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her German-born husband, Prince Albert, were making plans to marry their eldest daughter, Victoria, Princess Royal, to Frederick; Frederick proposed to Victoria in 1855, when she was 14 years old. The betrothal of the young couple was announced on May 19, 1857, at Buckingham Palace and the Prussian Court, and their marriage took place on 25 January 1858 in the Chapel Royal of St. James's Palace, London. To mark the occasion, Frederick was promoted to Major-General in the Prussian army. Although it was an arranged marriage, the newlyweds were compatible from the start and their marriage was a loving one; When his father succeeded to the Prussian throne as King William I on 2 January 1861, Frederick became the Crown Prince. Already twenty-nine years old, he would be Crown Prince for a further twenty-seven years; Frederick fought in the wars against Denmark, Austria and France; In 1871, following Prussia's victories, the German states were united into the German Empire, with William as the Emperor and Frederick as heir-apparent to the new German monarchy; Three days after Frederick was confirmed to be suffering from cancer, his father Kaiser William I died aged 90 at 8:22 a.m. on 9 March 1888, upon which Frederick became German Emperor and King of Prussia; As the German Emperor, he officially received Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (his mother-in-law) and King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway, and attended the wedding of his son Prince Henry to his niece Princess Irene. However, Frederick reigned for only 99 days, and was unable to bring about much lasting change. The majority of the German ruling elite viewed Frederick's reign as merely a brief interim period before the accession of his son Wilhelm to the throne; From April 1888, Frederick became so weak he was unable to walk, and was largely confined to his bed; his continual coughing brought up large quantities of pus. In early June, the cancer spread to and perforated his esophagus, preventing him from eating. He suffered from bouts of vomiting and ran high fevers, but remained alert enough to write a last diary entry on 11 June: "What's happening to me? I must get well again; I have so much to do!" Frederick III died in Potsdam at 11:30 a.m. on 15 June 1888, and was succeeded by his 29-year-old son Wilhelm II. Frederick is buried in a mausoleum attached to the Friedenskirche in Potsdam;