Editing Frederick I of Württemberg (section)

==Early life==

===In Prussia===
[[File:Friedrich I - Jugendbildnis.jpg|thumb|left|Copy by Erhardt of an English portrait of Frederick as a young man]]

Born in Treptow an der Rega, today [[Trzebiatów]], [[Poland]], Frederick was the eldest son of [[Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg]], and [[Sophia Dorothea of Brandenburg-Schwedt]]. Frederick's father was the third son of [[Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg]], and Frederick was thus the nephew of the long-reigning Duke [[Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg|Charles Eugene]] ({{langx|de|link=no|Karl Eugen}}). Since neither Duke Charles Eugene nor his next brother, [[Louis Eugene, Duke of Württemberg|Louis Eugene]] ({{langx|de|link=no|Ludwig Eugen}}), had any sons, it was expected that Frederick's father (also named Frederick) would eventually succeed to the duchy, and would be succeeded in turn by Frederick.

That eventuality was, however, many years in the future, and the birth of a legitimate son to either of his uncles would preempt Frederick's hopes conclusively. Further, his uncle the Duke was not disposed to give any member of his family any role in affairs of government. Frederick therefore determined—like his father—on a military career at the court of [[Frederick the Great]]. This later drew Frederick and his family into the Prussian king's network of marriage alliances—in 1776 his sister [[Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)|Sophie]] would marry to [[Paul I of Russia|Tsesarevich Paul of Russia]], future [[List of Russian monarchs|Emperor Paul I of Russia]] and son of Empress [[Catherine the Great|Catherine II]]. These family ties to [[Russian Empire|Russia]] had immediate consequences for Frederick and far-reaching ones for Württemberg during the reorganisation of Europe in the wake of the 1814 [[Congress of Vienna]].

[[Image:Auguste von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel.jpg|thumb|right|Augusta of Brunswick]]

In June 1774 he entered the [[Prussian Army]] as an [[oberst]] in the Kürassierregiment Lölhöffel, rising to a commander in the same unit in December 1776. He fought with it in the [[War of the Bavarian Succession]]. In 1780 he took over the 2nd Dragoon Regiment (Krockow). 

Frederick married [[Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]] (sixteen years old and thus ten years his junior) on 15 October 1780 at [[Braunschweig]]. She was the eldest daughter of [[Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick]]-Luneburg and [[Princess Augusta of Great Britain]], and thus a niece of [[George III]] of Great Britain and sister to [[Caroline of Brunswick]], the future wife of [[George IV]]. The marriage was not a happy one—even during her first pregnancy in 1781 she wished to separate but was persuaded to stay with Frederick by her father. Though they had four children, Frederick was rumoured to be [[bisexual]], with a [[wikt:coterie|coterie]] of young noblemen.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}

He had a good relationship with the King of Prussia and regularly took part in cabinet meetings, though this was clouded by his sister Elizabeth's 1788 marriage to [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis of Austria]], later the last [[Holy Roman Emperor]] and the first Emperor of Austria. Frederick the Great feared that Prussia would become isolated by a closer relationship between Russia and Austria, whose heirs were both married to Frederick of Württemberg's sisters and (probably wrongly) blamed him for Francis's marriage.

===In Russia===
In 1781 Frederick resigned from the Prussian Army as a major general and the following year he accompanied his sister [[Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)|Sophie]] and her husband [[Paul I of Russia|Paul]] to Russia, after a [[Grand Tour]] of Europe that the imperial couple had undertaken in France and Italy. Pleased with the well-spoken and confident young man, Catherine II appointed Frederick Governor of [[Old Finland|Eastern Finland]], with his seat at [[Viipuri]]. From June to October 1783 he was also in command of a 15,000- to 20,000-strong corps in [[Kherson]] during the [[Russo-Turkish War]], but he was not significantly involved in combat.

Frederick's relationship with his wife became more and more strained. He was reportedly violent towards her and after a play during a visit to [[Saint Petersburg]] in December 1786, Augusta asked for protection from Empress Catherine. She gave Augusta [[Right of asylum|asylum]] and ordered Frederick to leave Russia. When Sophie protested at the treatment of her brother, Catherine replied, "It is not I who cover the Prince of Württemberg with opprobrium: on the contrary, it is I who try to bury abominations and it is my duty to suppress any further ones." Catherine's relationship with Frederick's brother-in-law, her own son Paul, had also broken down and so Frederick had to help protect his sister Sophie as she came under fire from Catherine. Augusta was sent to live at [[Koluvere Castle|Lohde Castle]] in Western Estonia but died on 27 September 1788 from complications of [[amenorrhea]], which she had been suffering from for several years,<ref>Wagener-Fimpel,Silke, ''Auguste Karoline Friederike, Prinzessin von Württemberg, geb. Herzogin zu Braunschweig und Lüneburg (Wolfenbüttel)'' in Steinwascher, Gerd (ed.), ''Russlands Blick nach Nordwestdeutschland'', p 133</ref> and although rumours were spread about a death from miscarriage they were disproven through an exhumation later.<ref>Toll, Harald Baron, ''Prinzessin Auguste von Württemberg'' in ''Beiträgen zur Kunde Ehst-, Liv- und Kurlands'', Vol. 4 Book 1, 1901, pp 81-3</ref> In the same year, Frederick sold his residence in [[Vyborg]], known as [[Monrepos Park|Monrepos]].

[[File:The bridal night by James Gillray.jpg|thumb|'The Bridal Night' by James Gilray, satirising Frederick's marriage to the Princess Royal]]
In the meantime, Frederick's succession to the throne of Württemberg had become more and more likely. In June 1789 he traveled to Paris to see the first stages of the [[French Revolution]] at first hand, before moving to [[Ludwigsburg]] the following year, much to the displeasure of his uncle Carl Eugen, who was still on the throne. His father came to the throne in 1795 and finally Frederick gained his long-wished political influences. His Brunswick-born father helped him make contact with the British royal family—Frederick's first wife had been a niece of George III. On 18 May 1797, Frederick married George's eldest daughter [[Charlotte, Princess Royal|Charlotte]] at the [[Chapel Royal]] in [[St James's Palace]].