Editing Frederick I of Sweden

{{Short description|King of Sweden from 1720 to 1751}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2012}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name            = Frederick I
| image           = Georg Engelhardt Schröder - Fredrik I, King of Sweden 1720-1751 - Google Art Project.jpg
| image_size      = 230px
| caption         = Portrait by [[Georg Engelhard Schröder]], {{circa|1730s}}
| succession      = [[List of Swedish monarchs|King of Sweden]]
| reign           = 24 March 1720 – 5 April 1751
| coronation      = 3 May 1720
| cor-type        = [[Coronations in Europe#Sweden|Coronation]]
| predecessor     = [[Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden|Ulrika Eleonora]]
| successor       = [[Adolf Frederick of Sweden|Adolf Frederick]]
| succession1     = [[List of rulers of Hesse|Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel]]
| reign1          = 23 March 1730 – 5 April 1751
| predecessor1    = [[Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel|Charles I]]
| successor1      = [[William VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel|William VIII]]
| succession2     = [[List of Swedish royal consorts|Prince consort of Sweden]]
| reign2          = 5 December 1718 – 29 February 1720
| reign-type2     = Tenure
| spouses         = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Princess Luise Dorothea of Prussia|Luise Dorothea of Prussia]]|31 May 1700|23 December 1705|end=d.}}
* {{marriage|[[Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden]]|1715|24 November 1741|end=d.}}
}}
| issue           = [[Frederick William von Hessenstein]]
| issue-link      = #Family and issue
| issue-pipe      = more...
| royal house     = [[House of Hesse-Kassel|Hesse-Kassel]]
| father          = [[Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel]]
| mother          = [[Maria Amalia of Courland]]
| birth_date      = {{birth date|1676|4|28|df=y}}
| birth_place     = [[Kassel]], [[Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel|Hesse-Kassel]]
| death_date      = {{Death date and age|1751|4|5|1676|4|28|df=yes}}
| death_place     = [[Stockholm]], Sweden
| date of burial  = 27 September 1751
| place of burial = [[Riddarholmen Church]]
| religion        = [[Protestant]]
| signature       = Signature of Frederick I of Sweden.svg
}}
'''Frederick I''' ({{langx|sv|Fredrik I}}; 28 April 1676 – 5 April 1751) was [[List of Swedish monarchs|King of Sweden]] from 1720 until his death, having been [[prince consort]] of Sweden from 1718 to 1720, and was also [[Landgrave]] of [[Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel|Hesse-Kassel]] from 1730. He ascended the throne following the death of his brother-in-law [[absolute monarchy|absolutist]] [[Charles XII]] in the [[Great Northern War]], and the abdication of his wife, Charles's sister and successor [[Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden|Ulrika Eleonora]], after she had to relinquish most powers to the [[Riksdag of the Estates]] and thus chose to abdicate. His powerless reign and lack of legitimate heirs of his own saw his family's elimination from the line of succession after the parliamentary government dominated by pro-[[Revanchism|revanchist]] [[Hat Party]] politicians ventured into [[Hats' Russian War|a war with Russia]], which ended in defeat and the Russian tsarina [[Elizabeth of Russia|Elizabeth]] getting [[Adolf Frederick of Sweden|Adolf Frederick]] of [[Holstein-Gottorp]] instated following the death of the king. Whilst being the only Swedish monarch called Frederick, he was Frederick I of Hesse-Kassel and thus Frederick I also of Sweden, though other Swedish monarchs with non-repeating names (such as [[Birger, King of Sweden|Birger]], [[Sigismund III Vasa|Sigismund]] and Frederick's successor: Adolf Frederick) had not been enumerated.

==Early life==
[[File:Karl & Maria Amalia of Hesse-Cassel.jpg|thumb|left|Frederick's parents, Landgave Charles and Landgravine Maria Amalia of Hesse-Kassel]]
He was the son of [[Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel]], and Princess [[Maria Amalia of Courland]]. In 1692 the young prince made his [[Grand Tour]] to the [[Dutch Republic]], in 1695 to the [[Italian Peninsula]] and later he studied in [[Geneva]]. After this he had a military career, leading the Hessian troops as Lieutenant General in the [[War of the Spanish Succession]] on the side of the Dutch. He was defeated in 1703 in the [[Battle of Speyerbach]], but participated the next year in the great victory in the [[Battle of Blenheim]]. In 1706 he was again defeated by the French in the [[Battle of Castiglione (1706)|Battle of Castiglione]]. At the [[Battle of Malplaquet]] in 1709 he commanded the Dutch cavalry. In 1712, in absence of [[Claude Frédéric t'Serclaes, Count of Tilly|Count Tilly]], he assumed the command of the Dutch army. Both in 1716 and 1718 he joined the campaign of [[Charles XII of Sweden]] against Norway, and was appointed Swedish [[Generalissimus]].

==Prince consort of Sweden==
He married his second wife, [[Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden|Princess Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden]], in 1715. He was then granted the title '''Prince of [[Sweden]]''', with the style ''Royal Highness'', by the estates, and was [[prince consort]] there<ref name=Uggleupplagan0682>{{cite book |last1=Hofberg |first1=Herman |last2=Heurlin |first2=Frithiof |last3=Millqvist |first3=Viktor |last4=Rubenson |first4=Olof  |title=Svenskt Biografiskt Handlexikon – Uggleupplagan  |trans-title=Swedish Biographical Dictionary – The Owl Edition |url=https://runeberg.org/nfbh/0682.html |access-date=1 March 2012 |edition=2nd |volume=8 |year=1908 |publisher=Albert Bonniers Förlag |location=Stockholm, Sweden |language=sv |oclc=49695435 |pages=1255–1258 }}</ref> during Ulrika Eleonora's rule as [[queen regnant]] from 1718 until her abdication in 1720. He is the only Swedish prince consort there has been to date. Frederick I had much influence during the reign of his spouse.

Some historians have suggested that the bullet which killed his brother-in-law [[Charles XII of Sweden]] in 1718 was actually fired by Frederick's aide [[André Sicre]]. Charles had been an authoritarian and demanding ruler; one reason the Swedish Estates elected Frederick was because he was taken to be fairly weak, which indeed he turned out to be.

==King of Sweden==
[[File:Frederick & Ulrica Eleanor coronation medal 1720.tif|thumb|left|Coronation medal 1720]]
[[File:Fredrik av Hessen.jpg|thumb|left|Portrait by [[Martin van Meytens]]]]
Frederick succeeded Ulrika Eleonora on the throne upon her abdication in his favor in 1720, elected by the Swedish Estates.

The defeats suffered by Charles XII in the [[Great Northern War]] ended [[Swedish Empire|Sweden's position as a first-rank European power]]. Under Frederick, this had to be accepted. Sweden also had to cede [[Estonia]], [[Ingria]] and [[Livonia]] to [[Russia]] in the [[Treaty of Nystad]], in 1721.

Frederick I was a very active and dynamic king at the beginning of his 31-year reign. But after the aristocracy had regained power during the wars with [[Russia]], he became not so much powerless as uninterested in affairs of state. In 1723, he tried to strengthen royal authority, but after he failed, he never had much to do with politics. He did not even sign official documents; instead a stamp of his signature was used. He devoted most of his time to hunting and love affairs. His marriage to Queen Ulrika Eleonora was childless, but he had several children by his mistress, [[Hedvig Taube]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nygaard.howards.net/files/3/4049.htm |title=Frederick I of Sweden Hesse-Cassel|date=October 17, 2005|access-date=May 26, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070904113914/http://nygaard.howards.net/files/3/4049.htm |archive-date=September 4, 2007 }}</ref>

In 1723 Frederick rewarded the military inventor [[Sven Åderman]] with the estate of [[Halltorp]]s on the island of [[Öland]], for improving the rate of fire of the [[musket]].
[[File:Frederick I of Sweden Schroeder.jpg|thumb|337x337px|Frederick I in Armour]]
As a king, he was not very respected. When he was crowned, it was said of him: "King Charles we recently buried, King Frederick we crown – suddenly the clock has now passed from twelve to one". It is said about him, that although a lot of great achievements in the country's development happened during his reign, he never had anything to do with them himself. When he died, [[Carl Gustaf Tessin]] said about him:<blockquote>Under the reign of King Frederick, science has developed – he never bothered to read a book. The merchant business has flourished – he has never encouraged it with a single coin. The Stockholm Palace has been built – he has never been curious enough to look at it.</blockquote>Neither did he have anything to do with the founding of the first Swedish speaking theater at [[Bollhuset]] during his reign.  One of his few important policies was the banning of [[duel]]s.

On 23 February 1748 Frederick I instituted the three Swedish royal orders of the [[Order of the Seraphim|Seraphim]], of the [[Order of the Sword|Sword]] and of the [[Order of the North Star|North Star]], the three principal Swedish [[orders of chivalry]].

==Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel==
Frederick became [[Landgrave of Hesse]] only in 1730, ten years after becoming King of Sweden. He immediately appointed his younger brother [[William VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel|William]] governor of Hesse.

As Landgrave, Frederick is generally not seen as a success. Indeed, he did concentrate more on Sweden, and due to his negotiated, compromise-like ascension to the throne there, he and his court had a very low income. The money for that very expensive court, then, since the 1730s came from wealthy [[Hesse]], and this means that Frederick essentially behaved like an [[absentee landlord]] and drained Hessian resources to finance life in Sweden. Also, Frederick's father, [[Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel|Charles I of Hesse-Kassel]], had been the state's most successful ruler, rebuilding the state over his decades-long rule by means of economic and infrastructure measures and state reform, as well as [[Toleration|tolerance]], such as attracting, for economic purposes, the French [[Huguenot]]s. His brother the governor, who would succeed Frederick as Landgrave [[William VIII of Hesse-Kassel]], though by background a distinguished soldier, was likewise a great success locally. There are very few physical remainders of Frederick in Hesse today; one of them is his large Royal Swedish [[Signature|paraph]] (FR) over the old door of the [[University of Marburg]]'s former riding hall, now the Institute of Physical Education.

==Ancestry==
{{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. '''Frederick I of Sweden'''
|2= 2. [[Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel]]
|3= 3. [[Maria Amalia of Courland]]
|4= 4. [[William VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel]]
|5= 5. [[Margravine Hedwig Sophie of Brandenburg]]
|6= 6. [[Jacob Kettler|Jacob Kettler, Duke of Courland]]
|7= 7. [[Margravine Louise Charlotte of Brandenburg]]
|8= 8. [[William V, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel]]
|9= 9. [[Countess Amalie Elisabeth of Hanau-Münzenberg]]
|10= 10. [[George William, Elector of Brandenburg]]
|11= 11. [[Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate (1597-1660)|Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate]]
|12= 12. [[Wilhelm Kettler|Wilhelm Kettler, Duke of Courland]]
|13= 13. [[Duchess Sophie of Prussia]]
|14= 14. [[George William, Elector of Brandenburg]] (= 10)
|15= 15. [[Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate (1597-1660)|Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate]] (= 11)
}}

==Family and issue==
[[File:Frederick William von Hessenstein & Carl Edward von Hessenstein c 1745.jpg|thumb|King Frederick's extramarital sons Frederick William and Charles Edward von Hessenstein]]
[[File:Frederick I of Sweden grave 2007.jpg|thumb|200px|Frederick's sarcophagus in [[Riddarholmen Church]]]]
On 31 May 1700, he married his first wife, [[Princess Luise Dorothea of Prussia|Luise Dorothea]], Princess of [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] (1680–1705), daughter of [[Frederick I of Prussia]] (1657–1713) and [[Elisabeth Henriette of Hesse-Kassel]] (1661–1683). Luise Dorothea died in childbirth in December 1705.

His second wife, whom he married in 1715, was [[Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden|Ulrika Eleonora]], Princess of [[Kingdom of Sweden|Sweden]] (1688–1741), daughter of [[Charles XI of Sweden]] (1655–1697) and of [[Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark]] (1656–1693). Ulrika suffered two miscarriages, one in 1715 and another in 1718, after which there are no further recorded pregnancies.

Frederick I had three extramarital children with his mistress [[Hedvig Taube]]:
* [[Frederick William von Hessenstein]] (1735–1808).
* [[Charles Edward von Hessenstein]] (1737–1769).
* Hedwig Amalia von Hessenstein (1743–1752).

After the death of Hedvig Taube, his official mistress was the noblewoman [[Catharina Ebba Horn]] (1720–1781), whom he gave the title and recognition of Countess (from 1745).

Thus, the Hessian line in Sweden ended with him and was followed by that of [[House of Holstein-Gottorp (Swedish line)|Holstein-Gottorp]]. In [[Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel|Hesse-Kassel]], he was succeeded by his younger brother [[William VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel|William VIII]], a famous general.

==References==
* Spencer, Charles (2005). ''Blenheim: Battle for Europe''. Phoenix. {{ISBN|0-304-36704-4}}.
* {{Cite web|url=https://runeberg.org/sqvinnor/0218.html|title=190 (Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor)|last=Stålberg|first=Wilhelmina|last2=Berg|first2=P. G.|date=1864|website=runeberg.org|language=sv|access-date=2020-01-15}}

== Notes ==
<references />

==External links==
{{Commons}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-hou|[[Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel|House of Hesse-Kassel]]|23 April|1676|25 March|1751|[[House of Hesse]]|name=Frederick I of Sweden}}
{{S-reg|}}
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{{S-ttl|title=[[King of Sweden]]|years=1720–1751}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden|Adolf Frederick]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Duke of Estonia]]|years=1720–1721}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Peter the Great|Peter I]]}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel|Charles I]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[List of rulers of Hesse|Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel]]|years=1730–1751}}
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{{S-roy|se}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark]]|as=queen consort}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[List of Swedish consorts|Prince consort of Sweden]]|years=1718–1720}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden|Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden]]|as=queen consort}}
{{S-end}}
{{Swedish princes}}
{{Monarchs of Sweden}}
{{Swedish consorts}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick 01 of Sweden}}
[[Category:1676 births]]
[[Category:1751 deaths]]
[[Category:18th-century Swedish monarchs]]
[[Category:Swedish monarchs of German descent]]
[[Category:Hereditary princes of Hesse-Kassel]]
[[Category:Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel]]
[[Category:Burials at Riddarholmen Church]]
[[Category:Landgraves of Hesse]]
[[Category:People from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel]]
[[Category:Swedish army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession|Hesse-Kassel, Frederick I, Landgrave of]]
[[Category:18th-century German people]]
[[Category:Age of Liberty people]]