that this was a safety measure against being taken captive.
I realize "death before captivity" has a long and respectable history through the millennia, but whenever I see Fritz holding forth on how he will take poison rather than fall into enemy hands, I can't help remembering FW shipping him off from Wesel to Küstrin in 1730, with instructions to the officers guarding him to deliver him dead or alive to Küstrin, and if someone (Hanoverians being the major threat here) launches a surprise attack rescue mission that the officers can't fight off, to kill Fritz before they let anyone rescue him.
Hohenzollern priorities.
One of the three people charged with riding in Fritz's carriage and thus most likely to be carrying out this order, btw, is Fritz's governor and Katte's brother-in-law Rochow.
Re: Stop the Presses! Münchow vs Zimmermann: It's on!
I realize "death before captivity" has a long and respectable history through the millennia, but whenever I see Fritz holding forth on how he will take poison rather than fall into enemy hands, I can't help remembering FW shipping him off from Wesel to Küstrin in 1730, with instructions to the officers guarding him to deliver him dead or alive to Küstrin, and if someone (Hanoverians being the major threat here) launches a surprise attack rescue mission that the officers can't fight off, to kill Fritz before they let anyone rescue him.
Hohenzollern priorities.
One of the three people charged with riding in Fritz's carriage and thus most likely to be carrying out this order, btw, is Fritz's governor and Katte's brother-in-law Rochow.