HOHENZOLLERN.TRAGIC PRIVATE LIVES.

HOHENZOLLERN. TRAGIC PRIVATE LIVES.

The families of George I of England-Hanover & his grandson Frederick the Great of Prussia.
The life-shattering love affair of Princess Amalie and Baron Frederick von der Trenck.

DOUGLAS NORMAN PARKER

ORDERING BOOK
You can order as paperback or as an eBook. Go to http://www.universal-publishers.com. Type in "Hohenzollern" next to Search. Click the Search button. At Publishing Options, select Universal Publishers (more money for me) and fill in the order form.
Title: Hohenzollern. Tragic Private Lives. Author: Douglas Norman Parker. e-mail: douglasp@melbpc.org.au.
Publisher: Universal Publishers, 23331 Water Circle, Boca Raton, Florida 33486-8540. USA. 2005. ISBN: 1581124864.

GEORGE THE FIRST OF ENGLAND & SOPHIE DOROTHEA OF CELLE

Only one winner emerged from the bitter, ruthless power struggle played out within the northern German House of Brunswick-Luneburg, George the First of England-Hanover (1660-1727). The big loser, his wife Sophie Dorothea of Celle (1666-1726), was imprisoned for the last thirty-two years of her life. Her lover Count Philip Konigsmark was murdered by George’s family.

FREDERICK THE GREAT OF PRUSSIA
This is also a story of George the First of

England and his

grandson Frederick the Great (1712-1786) of

Prussia

, of their unquenchable lust for power, interlaced with an intimate look into their tragic private lives and those of their parents and nearest relatives. Frederick quite rightly earned his esteemed title of ‘the Great’ through his military prowess. During the Seven Years’ War (1756-63) his tiny kingdom of just 3 million Prussians fought against a combined enemy of 45 million French, Russians, Austria-Hungarians, Swedes and Saxons and was NOT defeated!

THE BEGINNINGS OF THE PRUSSIAN STATE

In 1413 a Hohenzollern Count of Nürnberg in southern Germany bought the distant marquisate of Brandenburg, in present day NE Germany. For the next three hundred years the family built up its powerbase in and around Berlin. Then in 1701 the family bought the title of "King in Prussia" by buying Prussia, a territory in NE Poland. Eventually the Hohenzollerns came to rule the whole of Germany, under Kaiser Wilhelm the First. This book shows how the relentless, ruthless Hohenzollerns grasped their chances between 1620 and 1786. Yet without question, one ruler amongst the Hohenzollerns stands head and shoulders above his relatives, unquestionably the most ruthless of them all, the warmonger Frederick the Great.

BARON FREDERICK VON DER TRENCK & PRINCESS ANNA AMALIE OF PRUSSIA
To my knowledge, my research has uncovered virtually all the English and German literature published between 1712 and the early 1990s which mentions either Princess Amalie of Prussia or Baron Frederick von der Trenck. This research, combined with my original research on them in the State Archive in Berlin, makes this the most comprehensive work ever published on both Princess Amalie of Prussia and Baron Frederick von der Trenck.

FREDERICK VON DER TRENCK, BEST SELLING AUTHOR
Though Frederick von der Trenck's autobiography was first published in the late 1780s, in his lifetime alone it sold around 40 000 copies in German, a huge seller for the time. It was also translated into French, Dutch, English, Hungarian and Italian. In 1912 Gustav Gugitz and Max von Portheim published a bibliography listing some 195 published titles of or to do with Trenck's memoirs. Since then some twenty editions or adaptions have also been published. Even now, more than two hundred years after his death on the guillotine in Paris, the light shill shines on the legend of Frederick the Great's most (in)famous prisoner.
When Cassinova, the famous Italian stallion, first came to public notice in Europe he was called a "Trenck", just as now we would call someone a "Cassinova". Trenck became a famous man throughout Europe at the end of the 1700s.

FOREWORD

Though this is a book about the surging power and fame of the English-Hanover and Prussian Royal Families in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it is much more. It is a story of the great private tragedies of many family members sacrificed along the road to glory, of the ruthless smashing up of illicit love affairs, of indestructible wills.

Two love affairs are covered in great detail.

Only one winner emerged from the bitter, ruthless power struggle played out within the northern German House of Brunswick-Luneburg, George the First of England-Hanover. The big loser, his wife Sophie Dorothea of Celle (1666-1726), was imprisoned for the last thirty-two years of her life. Her lover Count Philip Konigsmark was murdered by George’s family.

Just like her grandmother Sophie Dorothea of Celle, Princess Amalie of

Prussia

(1723-87), the youngest sister of Frederick the Great, was also struck down by a life-shattering love affair. Her lover, Baron Frederick von der Trenck, sat for eleven years in her brother Frederick’s gaols, chained up like a dog in a damp, dark cell. Amalie became embittered and never married. Instead, she became a great musician. Trenck, a tearaway with immaculate aristocratic breeding, lost everything because he dared to love a Princess. He eventually died in the guillotine in the madness that was called the French Revolution.

This is also a story of George the First (1660-1727) of England and his grandson Frederick the Great (1712-1786) of Prussia, of their unquenchable lust for power, interlaced with an intimate look into their tragic private lives and those of their parents and nearest relatives. Frederick quite rightly earned his esteemed title of ‘the Great’ through his military prowess. During the Seven Years’ War (1756-63) his tiny kingdom of just 3 million Prussians fought against a combined enemy of 45 million French, Russians, Austria-Hungarians, Swedes and Saxons and was NOT defeated!

INTRODUCTION TO THE COMPLETE WORK

This manuscript, in three Books, covers a period in history where the Crowns of England and what was to become known as Prussia, which as a kingdom did not exist until 1701, became inextricably linked. During the second half of the seventeenth century the House of Brunswick-Luneburg—with its domains in and around the north-west German cites of Hanover, Brunswick and Celle—grasped its opportunities, and by marriage, began to take a firm grip on the English and Prussian Royal Dynasties. By the middle of the eighteenth century their direct descendants sat firmly on the thrones of Great Britain and Prussia.

The first of the German-born Kings of Great Britain was George the First (1660-1727), who is a direct forebear of the current, much admired Queen Elizabeth the Second. George was the great grandson of James the First of England. His family’s history (1650-1730) is covered in Book I.

Frederick the Great (1712-86) was a grandson of George the First. Frederick, the greatest King in the history of Prussia, is one of the most famous men in German history. Both his mother and three of his four grandparents came from George’s family, the House of Brunswick-Luneburg. In effect, that means seventy-five percent of Frederick’s genes came from that single German Royal House. The German Kaisers descended from Frederick’s family. His family’s history (1620-1787) is covered in Book II.

Frederick the Great’s parents, Frederick William the First of Prussia and Sophie Dorothea of Hanover, were first cousins. His mother’s parents, George the First of Great Britain and Sophie Dorothea of Brunswick-Luneburg-Celle, were also first cousins. It is no wonder that insanity struck down one of Frederick’s sisters and, at the very least, temporarily affected his father Frederick William.

Though the marriage contracts within these Royal Dynasties were so arranged as to ensure the further aggrandizement of their own families, the private emotional life of almost every family member was quite devastatingly tragic. This is one of the two overwhelming themes which came through in my research. And through all the horrific private pain yet another theme seemed to completely dominate everything else—increasing power and ruthlessness—as the family made its way along the road to glory and unbelievable wealth.

This manuscript covers in great detail two tragic love affairs, though many others are also mentioned. The first took place between George the First's wife Sophie Dorothea of Celle, the uncrowned Queen of England, and Count Philip Königsmark. Sadly Sophie Dorothea’s affair with Königsmark ended tragically. George the First's family had Königsmark murdered, and imprisoned the Princess till her death some thirty-two years later. The second tragic love affair was between Princess Amalie of Prussia, Frederick the Great’s youngest sister, and Baron Frederick von der Trenck.

*****

When I first began what turned out to be five years of research for this manuscript I was primarily focused on proving whether a love affair had taken place between Princess Amalie of Prussia and Frederick von der Trenck. That is why they make up more than half of my manuscript. Trenck claimed it happened. Most German historians claim it didn’t. In Book III I believe I have proved it took place. That their affair occurred, and that Trenck made Princess Amalie pregnant, I have no doubt.

A detailed and intimate biography of Princess Amalie—the first German woman to compose at a professional level—is presented. Also the remarkable life of Trenck—who as a result of his affair with Princess Amalie sat in Frederick the Great’s gaols for nigh on eleven years without his spirit being broken—has also been thoroughly researched.

My research has exposed a Royal Family full of private emotional tragedies which inextricably linked one generation to the next. That is why it is impossible to understand the love affair of Princess Amalie of Prussia and Baron Frederick von der Trenck without knowing what happened between Amalie’s grandmother, Sophie Dorothea of Celle and Count Philip Königsmark, or visa versa.

And though the Royal Houses of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Prussia became wealthy and famous beyond belief, their private lives were as equally tragic, almost beyond belief. Though this is also story of the triumphs of their Dynasty, it is more a story of their almost unimaginable private tragedies and broken hearts.

In 1776 Frederick the Great of Prussia wrote of the personal tragedy within his family: 'Our family seems to me like a forest in which a gale has knocked over the most beautiful trees, where one from time to time catches sight of a leaning spruce appearing only to be hanging on by its roots in order to watch the fall of its companions, and the damage and devastation made by the storm.

The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in

Germany

were difficult times. The Thirty Years’ War (1618-48) and the Seven Years’ War (1756-63) decimated the population. The terrifying bubonic plague devastated

Prussia

in 1709-10, and smallpox struck down the young in Berlin in 1766. Not infrequently scarlet fever and syphilis epidemics cut a swathe of death through the populace. When people got sick then, they suffered terribly; and the doctors, well they bled the sick just to make sure they died.

Soon after I began my research in early 1993 my interest in unraveling the mystery surrounding Princess Amalie and Baron Trenck developed into a magnificent obsession. In November, as my plane took off from Melbourne Airport bound for London, a friend who accompanied me on the flight asked: ‘Douglas do you realize what today is?’ I had no idea because my twelve hour workdays had caused me to lose track of time. ‘It is the 09 November, Princess Amalie’s birthday!’ Incredibly, our plane had taken off a few minutes past midnight, on the ninth! I became overwhelmed with emotion, tears filled my eyes and from that moment on I knew my research work would be fruitful, because Amalie was with me.

Historical research is difficult because historians have trouble remaining objective. Frederick the Great succinctly explained the dilemma, describing most historians as compilers of falsehoods, interspersed occasionally with truth whose prejudices and ill placed zeal for their own nation, combined with their hatred of its enemies, inspire (illogical) passions which influence their opinions.

AUTHOR & COPYRIGHT OWNER
Douglas Parker. E-mail: douglasp@melbpc.org.au. Phone: 613 9584 2617 (Melbourne, Australia).

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PUBLISHERS. GERMAN TRANSLATION
This book also has a German translation. If you have interest in publishing either the German or English editions in either hard book or paper back, please contact Douglas Parker.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

QUOTATIONS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

INTRODUCTION TO THE COMPLETE WORK

*****

BOOK I

GEORGE THE FIRST'S FAMILY

(1650-1730)

INTRODUCTION

HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK-LÜNEBURG

Ancestors of the Prussian and English Royal families, and

SOPHIE DOROTHEA OF CELLE & COUNT KÖNIGSMARK

The tragic love affair of the Uncrowned Queen of England-Hanover

Sophia, the mother of a King of England and a Queen of Prussia. Eleanore, the mother of an Uncrowned Queen. Sophie Dorothea’s tragic marriage. Sophie Dorothea and Königsmark. The Electorate of Hanover. Königsmark’s murder. Sophie Dorothea, imprisoned for thirty-two years. In conclusion. Mary Queen of Scots, ancestress of the Hohenzollern Kings of Brandenburg-Prussia and the Stuart and England-Hanover Kings of England.

*****

BOOK II

FREDERICK THE GREAT’S FAMILY

(1620-1787)

INTRODUCTION

I. THE HOUSE OF HOHENZOLLERN

Rulers of Brandenburg-Prussia

A brief history (1400-1786). The Great Elector (1620-1688). Frederick the First of Prussia (1657-1713). Frederick William the First of Prussia (1688-1740). Sophie Dorothea of Hanover. The failed double marriage project with England. Crown Prince Frederick’s failed escape bids. The King forces Wilhelmine to marry. Crown Prince Frederick’s love-life. The King forces Crown Prince Frederick to marry. The other Hohenzollern siblings: Friederike, Charlotte, Sophie, Ulrike, August William, Henry and Ferdinand. (For Amalie, see her Chapter.) The siblings’ tragic marriages. The mental and physical health of Frederick William, Sophie Dorothea and their children. Frederick William the Second of Prussia. The England-Hanover and Brandenburg-Prussia lineages. The children of Frederick William and Sophie Dorothea of Prussia—births, deaths, marriages.

II. BERLIN and POTSDAM

The 1600s. The 1700s. Berlin society in the 1700s. Potsdam.

III. FREDERICK THE GREAT (1712-86)

Childhood and youth. King Frederick the Second of Prussia. The two Silesian Wars. The Seven Years’ War (1756-1763). An absolute ruler.

*****

BOOK III

PRINCESS AMALIE & BARON FREDERICK

von der TRENCK

The tragic love affair of Frederick the Great’s youngest sister

INTRODUCTION

I. PRINCESS AMALIE (1723-87)

Early childhood. Ulrike’s marriage and Frederick von der Trenck. Her own Royal Household. Marriage projects. A Cannoness and an Abbess. Life in Berlin. A tragic time, July 1754. The Seven Years’ War. Tragedy within the Royal Family. Escape to Magdeburg, 1757. Berlin pillaged again. The Unter den Linden palace. The Wilhelmstrasse palace. Musician, composer, collector, benefactor. Everyday life. Deteriorating health, vital mind. A Hohenzollern legend, the White Woman. A massive Court. Peace at last. A magnificent, generous legacy.

II. BARON FREDERICK von der TRENCK (1727-94), the Lover of a Princess

Introduction. A proud family history. Trenck’s parents and siblings. Entering the garde-du- corps (King’s bodyguard). Falling in love with Princess Amalie. Gaoled in Glatz. Escape and court-martial. The 1750 reprieve. Recaptured in Danzig, July 1754. Gaoled in Magdeburg. A request to the French Government. Riveted up in chains. Court-martial, August 1756. A Princess visits? Freed on 29 December 1763. Marriage. A triumphant return to Berlin, January 1787. A final meeting with Princess Amalie. A remarkably generous pension. The last refuge in Germany, Hamburg. Death by guillotine. Trenck’s descendants.

III. THE EVIDENCE PRINCESS AMALIE AND TRENCK WERE LOVERS

Marwitz. An eyewitness, Finkenstein. Another eyewitness, Countess Voss. Another version. Princess Amalie, the godmother of one of Trenck’s daughters. Princess Amalie’s personality change in her thirtieth year. Princess Amalie’s joy at going to Magdeburg. The ‘Princess of Ahlden.’ Princess Amalie’s portrait, and letters from Princess Amalie to Trenck, owned by the Trenck family. A contemporary opinion in 1795. Reparations made to Trenck’s family. The Tortoiseshell Box. Why did Frederick the Great punish Trenck? Trenck the author.

IV. PRINCESS AMALIE AND FREDERICK VON DER TRENCK’S LOVE-CHILD.

Two Royal options: the Margravines Philippine Auguste Amalie and Friederike Charlotte Leopoldine from Brandenburg-Schwedt. Another Option. Amalie’s Court Ladies: the Frauleins’ von Podewils, von Hertefeld, von Zerbst; the Countess’ von Redern, von Schwerin and von Dönhoff. One more possibility, Amalia Schönhausen. Conclusion. So who was the illegitimate child of Princess Amalie and Baron Trenck? Significant events in the lives of Amalie and Trenck.

V. BARON FRANZ von der TRENCK

A ferocious Pandour leader.

*****

BIBLIOGRAPHY TO THE COMPLETE WORK

*****

                                        Douglas Parker. Born 12 Jun 1950 Melbourne, Australia.
                                        Food technologist & professional astrologer.
                                        Athlete & Flying Dutchman sailor who races internationally.
Loves the German language, ballroom dancing and cats.
                                        This, his first published work, was researched in Berlin, London and throughout Europe.
                                        e-mail: douglasp@melbpc.org.au.

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