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August Wilhelm of Prussia, Battle of Kolin, Frederick II of Prussia, Frederick the Great, Frederick William I of Prussia, George I of Great Britain, King Adolphus-Frederick of Sweden, Kingdom of Prussia, Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Seven Years War
August-Wilhelm of Prussia (August 9, 1722 – June 12, 1758) was Prince of Prussia and a younger brother and general of Friedrich II.
August-Wilhelm was the second surviving son of Friedrich-Wilhelm I and Sophia-Dorothea of Hanover, only daughter of Elector Georg-Ludwig of Hanover, later King George I of Great Britain, and his wife, Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick-Celle. She was detested by her elder brother, King George II of Great Britain.
August-Wilhelm of Prussia
August-Wilhelm’s older siblings included Wilhelmina, married Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, Friedrich II (King of Prussia), Friedrike-Louise, married her Hohenzollern kinsman Charles-Wilhelm-Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach and Louisa-Ulrika, married King Adolf-Fredrik of Sweden.
August-Wilhelm was favored by his father over Friedrich and popular at the Prussian court. When his brother Friedrich became king in 1740, August-Wilhelm became heir presumptive and moved into the Friedrich’s former residence, the Crown Prince’s Palace in Berlin. When his older sister Louisa Ulrika married the King Adolf-Fredrik of Sweden in 1744, she founded the Ordre de l’Harmonie, of which August-Wilhelm was one of the first recipients.
August-Wilhelm served his brother as 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 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. August-Wilhelm died suddenly in 1758 at Oranienburg, according to some of “a broken heart”, in reference to his brother Friedrich II’s harsh treatment of him for his incompetent military leadership in the Battle of Kolin. In reality, he died from a brain tumor.
August-Wilhelm of Prussia
August-Wilhelm married Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel,(January 29, 1722 – January 13, 1780) was daughter of Ferdinand-Albrecht II, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and his wife Duchess Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel’s older sister was Elisabeth-Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern, wife of August-Wilhelm’s brother, Friedrich II the Great. She was also the sibling of the Queen of Denmark and Norway and the Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
Because his older brother had no children, August-Wilhelm’s oldest son inherited the throne as King Friedrich-Wilhelm II of Prussia on Friedrich II’s death.
Issue: Children of August-Wilhelm and Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
* Friedrich-Wilhelm II of Prussia (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, the second son of George III of the United Kingdom.
* married (2) Frederika-Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt and had issue.
* Prince Heinrich of Prussia (1747–1767) died unmarried.
* Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia (1751–1820) married Willem V, Prince of Orange and had issue.
* Prince Emil of Prussia (1758–1759) died in infancy.
European Royal History 