Reading further: Seckendorff the Older comes through as a witness to Fritz trying to save Katte. Seems that in addition to his official reports to the Emperor, about which more in a moment, he also reported to Prince Eugene, and in a report to Eugene dated September 5th, he says: „The King has talked to me about the Crown Prince. He (FW) wished to make the Queen drink to the downfall of England at supper, which has caused many tears. When the Crown Prince has been interrogated, he pretended to be cheerful and in high spirits and even taunted the commission, asking whether there wasn‘t anything else they‘d like to know. All the Crown Prince asks for is this: that nothing should happen to Katte, for Katte be innocent, solely inspired to this deed by him.“
If Seckendorff knows, Grumbkow knows, so Fritz has reason to write to Grumbkow „you know how I tried“ etc. Mind you, taunting the comission (if he did and that wasn’t just FW’s impression, remember, Seckendorff is repeating to Eugene what he’s learned from FW) and simultanously asking for Katte‘s life is a better surefire method to get Katte killed, if you ask me...
In the official report to the Emperor, Seckendorff has an early October entry where he says FW told him that he, FW, would have been willing to deal with the whole thing quietly and show fatherly mercy provided Fritz had made a full confession and shown proper repentance after the escape attempt, BUT the fact that foreign powers were involved, i.e. Saxony and England, makes it necessary for him to have war tribunals and make examples.
Seckendorff also advises the Emperor - after relating SD asked for imperial intercession on behalf of her son - to NOT make a plea for mercy (because FW is pissed off enough ); since MT‘s Dad did actually petition for mercy anyway, seems he did not listen, but I‘m not surprised Fritz didn‘t feel obliged to Seckendorff despite all that Austrian money later.
Seckendorff is the first person to refer to Wilhelmine as „The Crown Princess“ in those 1730 dispatches. I‘ve never seen a source use that title for anyone but EC later, and then, during Fritz‘ reign, for Louise, though it‘s more „the Princess of Prussia“, as AW tends to be mostly „the Prince of Prussia“ and not „The Crown Prince“. But Seckendorff writes „The Crown Princess“ not once but several times (as in „The Queen and the Crown Princess“ are afraid the money and letters found with Katte are from them.
Katte staying: yeah. I mean, fiction can‘t do footnotes, so „Der Thronfolger“ had him stay as a gambit to make Fritz give up his plan (since in this version Fritz knows he‘s still in Berlin), and in my own „Fiat Justicia“, I let him stay to save Wilhelmine, but then that‘s meant to be an AU anyway.
ETA: oh, and Seckendorff also writes to Vienna that when Katte gets executed, „the Queen does not pray for him“.
Son of ETA: also wanted to mention that Seckendorff reports Katte to have been executed "under the Crown Prince's window" while he was forced to watch. Again, his main source is FW himself, so I bet Münchow & Lepel left FW with that impression due to careful wording of their report.
And, something I already knew because Ziebura has quoted in her AW biography, Seckendorff also reports on October 9th that FW tries to make Fritz renounce his place in the succession, which Fritz, as we all know, refuses to do, which makes FW even more furious. (It's the same report which also includes Seckendorff advising the Emperor against interceding on Fritz' behalf as requested by SD.) Fritz will offer it, along with everything else, when Katte is about to be executed, but not for the first time it does make me conclude Fritz not only did not really expect anything worse than prison - not that prison, FW style, isn't awful, - for himself and for Katte, but that he is seriously set on ruling one day this early on. Flight attempt or not.
Lastly, Seckendorff reports on November 14th that Fritz will be set free (of the cell, though not of Küstrin) and will get a household again, consisting of "a Prussian nobleman named von Wolden and two Cavaliers, Rowedel and Nazmer, as well as two pages and four footmen for which a "splendid uniform" is already being made.
Re: Grumbkow and Katte
If Seckendorff knows, Grumbkow knows, so Fritz has reason to write to Grumbkow „you know how I tried“ etc. Mind you, taunting the comission (if he did and that wasn’t just FW’s impression, remember, Seckendorff is repeating to Eugene what he’s learned from FW) and simultanously asking for Katte‘s life is a better surefire method to get Katte killed, if you ask me...
In the official report to the Emperor, Seckendorff has an early October entry where he says FW told him that he, FW, would have been willing to deal with the whole thing quietly and show fatherly mercy provided Fritz had made a full confession and shown proper repentance after the escape attempt, BUT the fact that foreign powers were involved, i.e. Saxony and England, makes it necessary for him to have war tribunals and make examples.
Seckendorff also advises the Emperor - after relating SD asked for imperial intercession on behalf of her son - to NOT make a plea for mercy (because FW is pissed off enough ); since MT‘s Dad did actually petition for mercy anyway, seems he did not listen, but I‘m not surprised Fritz didn‘t feel obliged to Seckendorff despite all that Austrian money later.
Seckendorff is the first person to refer to Wilhelmine as „The Crown Princess“ in those 1730 dispatches. I‘ve never seen a source use that title for anyone but EC later, and then, during Fritz‘ reign, for Louise, though it‘s more „the Princess of Prussia“, as AW tends to be mostly „the Prince of Prussia“ and not „The Crown Prince“. But Seckendorff writes „The Crown Princess“ not once but several times (as in „The Queen and the Crown Princess“ are afraid the money and letters found with Katte are from them.
Katte staying: yeah. I mean, fiction can‘t do footnotes, so „Der Thronfolger“ had him stay as a gambit to make Fritz give up his plan (since in this version Fritz knows he‘s still in Berlin), and in my own „Fiat Justicia“, I let him stay to save Wilhelmine, but then that‘s meant to be an AU anyway.
ETA: oh, and Seckendorff also writes to Vienna that when Katte gets executed, „the Queen does not pray for him“.
Son of ETA: also wanted to mention that Seckendorff reports Katte to have been executed "under the Crown Prince's window" while he was forced to watch. Again, his main source is FW himself, so I bet Münchow & Lepel left FW with that impression due to careful wording of their report.
And, something I already knew because Ziebura has quoted in her AW biography, Seckendorff also reports on October 9th that FW tries to make Fritz renounce his place in the succession, which Fritz, as we all know, refuses to do, which makes FW even more furious. (It's the same report which also includes Seckendorff advising the Emperor against interceding on Fritz' behalf as requested by SD.) Fritz will offer it, along with everything else, when Katte is about to be executed, but not for the first time it does make me conclude Fritz not only did not really expect anything worse than prison - not that prison, FW style, isn't awful, - for himself and for Katte, but that he is seriously set on ruling one day this early on. Flight attempt or not.
Lastly, Seckendorff reports on November 14th that Fritz will be set free (of the cell, though not of Küstrin) and will get a household again, consisting of "a Prussian nobleman named von Wolden and two Cavaliers, Rowedel and Nazmer, as well as two pages and four footmen for which a "splendid uniform" is already being made.