The future William I, German Emperor, was born on 22 March 1797 as the second son of the future King Frederick William III and Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He had an elder brother, the future King Frederick William IV, and two surviving younger brothers (Charles and Albert) and three surviving younger sisters (Charlotte, Alexandrine and Louise). As the second son, he was not expected to inherit the throne.
The year of his birth was eventful. His father had been ill during the last months of Louise’s pregnancy, and she devoted herself to nursing him. His father had lost his brother, Louis, just before the new year, leaving Louise’s sister, Frederica, a widow. Then the King became ill with dropsy and he died on 16 November 1797, making William’s father the new King Frederick William III of Prussia. He told his wife, Louise, “My time of trial is about to begin. Our peaceful happiness is over.”1
They could be an ordinary family at Paretz. Frederick William did not have a mistress, which made the court seem rather uninteresting to some. Louise and Frederick William were devoted to each other and their children. The siblings were also in the care of a nursery governess, but Louise demanded at least two hours with her children each day. The future King, Frederick William, was taken from the nursery at the age of five and was appointed a tutor. Louise was a loving mother who personally taught her children somersaults and refused to curb their noise.
The fate of the family was tied to that of the conquering Napoleon Bonaparte for the early years of William’s life. Napoleon occupied Berlin in October 1806, and William and his family were forced to flee. The siblings travelled together with their aunt, Frederica, and her four children. At Stettin, Louise, who had caught up with them later, and the younger children stayed with Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Frederick William’s father’s first wife. Louise described the day that Napoleon won the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt as “the most unhappy day of my entire life.”2 Louise left the children with Elisabeth Christine and asked them to go to Danzig, which was considered to be safer, as she went to join her husband.
At Danzig, the children were delighted by the sea, but they were soon all quite ill with diarrhoea. Countess Voss, one of Louise’s ladies-in-waiting, had trouble finding enough food for the children. The court physician, Dr Hufeland, was called to care for them. When Louise was able to return to the children, she was ill as well. As she fought off typhoid, the French army came closer to Königsberg and the children were sent to Memel. A determined Louise preferred to be in the hands of God, rather than the hands of Napoleon and travelled with her children to Memel. Despite the conditions, Louise’s health improved.
At Memel, the children lived in one house while Countess Voss and the other ladies-in-waiting were housed in another, which led to a constant stream of traffic. According to Countess Voss, the children were “good, but noisy.”3 Louise would have to leave the children once more, as she joined her husband for the talks surrounding the Peace of Tilsit in 1807.
On 1 February 1808, another sibling joined the nursery—a daughter named Louise. At the end of the year, the elder Louise and her husband travelled to St. Petersburg at the invitation of Emperor Alexander I of Russia. They remained there until early 1809. On 4 October 1809, Louise gave birth to her final child, Prince Albert. She was still in Königsberg, and her recovery was slow. At the end of the year, the family could finally return to Berlin. A grand entrance was made into Berlin on 23 December 1809, which was also the 16th anniversary of Louise’s first appearance as Frederick William’s bride. In addition to the Prussian royal family, Louise’s family from Mecklenburg was also there to welcome her to Berlin. Louise’s health had been severely affected, but her normal cure – a visit to the spas at Pyrmont was not possible. So she suggested a visit to Mecklenburg, which was approved. She left first, shortly followed by her husband a few days later.
Louise soon became feverish, and she was bled by the doctors. The news became increasingly urgent, and Frederick William decided to go to her at once, taking Frederick William and William with him. Louise died on 19 July 1810 at the age of 34, leaving behind her husband and seven young children. After their mother’s death, the children were sent out into the garden to pick flowers for a wreath.4 The siblings were placed in the care of Princess Maria Anna of Hesse-Homburg, who was married to their uncle, Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, and who became the senior lady of the Prussian court after their mother’s death. Maria Anna, also known as Marianne, was affectionately called Aunt Minnetrost.
By then, William had already begun his military training in the Prussian army, and he had been made second lieutenant at the end of 1807. On his 11th birthday, his mother had written about him, “Our son William — permit me, venerable grandpapa, to introduce your grandchildren to you in regular order — will turn out, unless I am much mistaken, like his father, simple, honest, and intelligent. He resembles him most of all, but will not, I fancy, be so handsome.”5
William began to actively serve in the army from 1814, and he was subsequently promoted to first lieutenant, major and Generalmajor. He even won the Iron Cross for his actions at Bar-sur-Aube, and the Napoleonic wars left him with a lifetime of hatred against the French.
- Louise, Queen of Prussia by Constance Wright p.39
- Queen Louise of Prussia by Constance Wright p.129
- Queen Louise of Prussia by Constance Wright p.148
- Queen Louise of Prussia by Constance Wright p.231
- William of Germany: a succinct biography of William I., German emperor and King of Prussia by Archibald Forbes p.23
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