Editing Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia

{{Short description|Duke of Prussia from 1568 to 1618}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name            = Albert Frederick
| image           = Portrait of Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia.jpg
| caption         = 
| succession      = [[Duke of Prussia]]
| reign           = 20 March 1568 – 27 August 1618
| coronation      = 
| predecessor     = [[Albert of Prussia|Albert]]
| successor       = [[John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg|John Sigismund]]
| spouse          = {{marriage|[[Marie Eleonore of Cleves]]|1573|1 June 1608|end=d}}
| issue           = {{plainlist|
* [[Anna, Duchess of Prussia|Anna, Duchess of Prussia, Electress of Brandenburg]]
* [[Marie of Prussia, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth|Marie, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth]]
* Prince Albert Frederick
* [[Duchess Sophie of Prussia|Sophie, Duchess of Courland and Semigallia]]
* [[Eleanor of Prussia|Eleonore, Electress of Brandenburg]]
* Prince Wilhelm Frederick
* [[Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia|Magdalene Sibylle, Electress of Saxony]]
}}
| house           = [[House of Hohenzollern|Hohenzollern]]
| father          = [[Albert of Prussia]]
| mother          = [[Anna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg]]
| birth_date      = 7 May 1553
| birth_place     = [[Königsberg]], [[Duchy of Prussia]]
| death_date      = {{Death date and age|1618|8|27|1553|5|7|df=y}}
| death_place     = [[Fischhausen]]
| burial_place = 
| religion        = [[Lutheranism]]
}}

'''Albert Frederick''' ({{langx|de|Albrecht Friedrich}}; {{langx|pl|Albrecht Fryderyk}}; 7 May 1553 &ndash; 27 August 1618) was the [[Duke of Prussia]], from 1568 until his death.  He was a son of [[Albert of Prussia]] and [[Anna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg]]. He was the second and last Prussian duke of the [[Ansbach]] branch of the [[Hohenzollern]] family.

==Duke of Prussia==
Albert became Duke of Prussia after paying [[Homage (feudal)|feudal homage]] to his cousin, the [[King of Poland]], [[Sigismund Augustus]], on 19 July 1569 in [[Lublin]].<ref name=Lancizolle>{{cite book|last=Carl Wilhelm von Lancizolle|title=Geschichte der Bildung des preussischen Staats. Erster Theil, Volumes 1-2|year=1828|publisher=Nicolaischen Buchhandlung|location=Berlin and Stettin|pages=474|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MN4rAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA474}}</ref>  The homage was described by the Polish chronicler [[Jan Kochanowski]] in his work ''Proporzec'' ("Standard"). During the 1573 Polish election, Albert Frederick attempted to gain acceptance to the Polish [[senate]] but was opposed by the powerful [[Jan Zamoyski]] (later Grand [[Hetman]] of the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland]]) who feared the influence of [[Protestants]] in the Polish legislative body. Albert Frederick initially refused to recognize the election of [[Stefan Bathory]] and supported the candidacy of [[Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian of Austria]]. However, at the [[Toruń]] [[sejm]] of October 1576 he gave his support to the new monarch.

As the great-grandson of the Polish king [[Casimir IV Jagiellon]], and as a Duke in Prussia who was fluent in Polish, Albert Frederick was seriously considered for a time as a possible candidate for the Polish throne. He particularly enjoyed the support of Polish [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]].

In 1572 he began to exhibit signs of mental disorder. He had twice tried to commit suicide and was prone to violent outbursts and held a  great fear of " Turks and Muscovites " overrunning Germany.

In early 1578, the regency was taken over by his cousin, [[George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach|George Frederick of Brandenburg-Kulmbach]] (1539–1603). After George Frederick's death in 1603, the Polish king [[Sigismund III Vasa]] appointed [[Joachim III Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg|Joachim Frederick]] as regent in 1605, and permitted his son, [[John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg|John Sigismund]], to succeed him in 1611. The latter became Duke of Prussia after Albert Frederick's death in 1618.<ref name="Stone">{{cite book|last=Stone|first=Daniel|title=A History of East Central Europe|year=2001|publisher=University of Washington Press|location=Seattle|isbn=9780295980935|pages=143|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LFgB_l4SdHAC&pg=PA143}}</ref>

==Marriage==
Albert Frederick was married in 1573 to [[Marie Eleonore of Cleves]], a daughter of [[Wilhelm, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg]] and [[Maria of Habsburg, Archduchess of Austria|Archduchess Maria of Austria]] (1531&ndash;1581). Maria was a daughter of [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor]] and [[Anna of Bohemia and Hungary]].

==Issue==
Albert Frederick and Marie were parents to seven children:
# [[Duchess Anna of Prussia|Anna of Prussia]] (3 July 1576 &ndash; 30 August 1625). Married [[John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg]].
# [[Marie of Prussia, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth|Marie of Prussia]] (23 January 1579 &ndash; 21 February 1649). Married [[Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth]].
# Albert Frederick of Prussia (1 June 1580 &ndash; 8 October 1580) died in infancy.
# [[Duchess Sophie of Prussia|Sophie of Prussia]] (31 March 1582 &ndash; 4 December 1610). Married [[Wilhelm Kettler]] of [[Courland]].
# [[Eleanor of Prussia]] (21 August 1583 &ndash; 9 April 1607). Married [[Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg]].
# Wilhelm Frederick of Prussia (23 June 1585 &ndash; 18 January 1586) died in infancy.
# [[Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia]] (31 December 1586 &ndash; 22 February 1659). Married [[John George I, Elector of Saxony]].

At his death, the duchy passed to his son-in-law [[John Sigismund, Margrave of Brandenburg]], combining the two territories under a single dynasty and forming [[Brandenburg-Prussia]].

== Ancestors ==
{{ahnentafel
| collapsed=yes |align=center
| boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
| boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
| boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
| boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
| 1= 1. '''Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia''' 
| 2= 2. [[Albert, Duke of Prussia]] (1490-1568)
| 3= 3. [[Anna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg]] (1532-1568)
| 4= 4. [[Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach]] (1460-1536)
| 5= 5. [[Sophia Jagiellon, Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach|Sophia of Poland]] (1464-1512)
| 6= 6. [[Eric I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg]] (1470-1540)
| 7= 7. [[Elisabeth of Brandenburg, Duchess of Brunswick-Calenberg-Göttingen|Elisabeth of Brandenburg]] (1510-1558)
| 8= 8. [[Albrecht III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg]] (1414-1486)
| 9= 9. [[Anna of Saxony, Electress of Brandenburg|Anna of Saxony]] (1437-1512)
| 10= 10. [[Casimir IV Jagiellon]] (1427-1492)
| 11= 11. [[Elisabeth of Austria (1436–1505)]]
| 12= 12. [[William IV, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg]] (1425-1503)
| 13= 13. Elizabeth of Stolberg-Wernigerode (1438-1520)
| 14= 14. [[Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg]] (1484-1535)
| 15= 15. [[Elizabeth of Denmark, Electress of Brandenburg|Elizabeth of Denmark]] (1485-1555)
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

* [https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/119258447.html Albert Frederick profile] in the ''[[Neue Deutsche Biographie]].''
* [https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/ADB:Albrecht_Friedrich Albert Frederick profile] in the ''[[Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie]]''.
{{s-start}}
{{S-hou|[[House of Hohenzollern]]|7 May|1553|27 August|1618}}
{{S-reg|}}
{{s-bef
| before = [[Albert of Prussia|Albert]]
}} 
{{s-ttl
| title = [[Duke of Prussia]]
| years = 1568–1618
}} 
{{s-aft
| after = [[John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg|John Sigismund]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Rulers of Prussia}}

{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia}}
[[Category:1553 births]]
[[Category:1618 deaths]]
[[Category:16th-century dukes of Prussia]]
[[Category:17th-century dukes of Prussia]]
[[Category:House of Hohenzollern]]
[[Category:People from the Duchy of Prussia]]
[[Category:Nobility from Königsberg]]
[[Category:Protestant monarchs]]
[[Category:Duchy of Prussia]]<!--monarch-->