Wilhelmine of Prussia | |||||
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Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth | |||||
portrait by Jean-Étienne Liotard
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Born |
Berlin |
3 July 1709||||
Died | 14 October 1758 Bayreuth |
(aged 49)||||
Spouse | Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth | ||||
Issue | Fredericka, Duchess of Württemberg | ||||
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House | Hohenzollern | ||||
Father | Frederick William I | ||||
Mother | Sophia Dorothea of Hanover |
Full name | |
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Friederike Sophie Wilhelmine |
Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia (Friederike Sophie Wilhelmine; 3 July 1709 – 14 October 1758) was a princess of the German Kingdom of Prussia (the older sister of Frederick the Great) and composer. She was the eldest daughter of Frederick William I of Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, and granddaughter of George I of Great Britain. In 1731, she married Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. The baroque buildings and parks built during her reign shape much of the present appearance of the town of Bayreuth, Germany.
Born in Berlin, Wilhelmine shared the unhappy childhood of her brother, Frederick the Great, whose friend and confidante she remained all her life, with the exception of one short interval. She was fiercely beaten and abused by her governess during her childhood. Wilhelmine later wrote: "Not a day passed that she [the governess] did not prove upon me the fearful power of her fists." The mistreatment continued until the prince's governess finally said to their mother, who had been oblivious to the abuse, that she would not be surprised if Wilhelmine was eventually beaten until she was crippled. After this, Wilhelmine's governess was promptly replaced.
Being the eldest daughter in her family, she was early the target of discussions about political marriages. Her mother, Queen Sophia Dorothea, wished her to marry her nephew Frederick, Prince of Wales, but on the British side there was no inclination to make an offer of marriage except in exchange for substantial concessions that Wilhelmine's father would not accept. The fruitless intrigues carried on by Sophia Dorothea to bring about this match played a large part in Wilhelmine's early life. Her father, on the other hand, preferred a match with the House of Habsburg.