Either fertility or marital relations or both broke down in the 1720s. I mean, there's the obvious first few years of trying desperately for a male heir who doesn't immediately die, but even after the 5 kids in 5 years, there's 6 more kids in 10 years, and then...2 kids in 8 years. It doesn't escape me that 1726-1730 is the height of the double marriage war. (Hmm. What was going on in August 1729?)
Wasn‘t that when the English marriages almost happened (since the Brits were willing to take Wihelmine without a dowry) except Charles Hotham the older then overdid it by going „oh, and btw, your pal Grumbkow is an absolute corrupt bastard who has to be removed, and here‘s the proof!“ ? Perhaps Ferdinand was conceived in the short period when SD could truly believe that at last her dream for her two oldest children would come true, and felt generous?
The gap between Amalie and Heinrich is noticable compared with earlier gaps. Now, according to Wilhelmine Amalie herself was an accident and SD didn‘t want to believe she was pregnant (as opposed to already having the change) until shortly before the birth, hence unexpected midwife FW. Which I suppose could be invented, but I don‘t see what would be the point, and Wilhelmine was certainly old enough to notice.
Of course, we shouldn‘t lose sight of the fact that the 1720s were also when FW‘s health started to break down and he began spending time in the wheelchair. As I seem to recall, Amalie‘s birth year, 1722, is where his Last Will (the one with „no whores, no theatre, no wars of agression!“ in the beginning) is from. So FW‘s health in addition to everything else could be another reason why the rate at which they produce offspring goes down.
Wondering about the summer of 1725 (i.e. when Heinrich was conceived) - SD tries really hard to get FW on board the English marriage project? It might also have been when she was afraid he‘d divorce her, but I‘m not sure about the year.
Re: Some FW Speculation
Wasn‘t that when the English marriages almost happened (since the Brits were willing to take Wihelmine without a dowry) except Charles Hotham the older then overdid it by going „oh, and btw, your pal Grumbkow is an absolute corrupt bastard who has to be removed, and here‘s the proof!“ ? Perhaps Ferdinand was conceived in the short period when SD could truly believe that at last her dream for her two oldest children would come true, and felt generous?
The gap between Amalie and Heinrich is noticable compared with earlier gaps. Now, according to Wilhelmine Amalie herself was an accident and SD didn‘t want to believe she was pregnant (as opposed to already having the change) until shortly before the birth, hence unexpected midwife FW. Which I suppose could be invented, but I don‘t see what would be the point, and Wilhelmine was certainly old enough to notice.
Of course, we shouldn‘t lose sight of the fact that the 1720s were also when FW‘s health started to break down and he began spending time in the wheelchair. As I seem to recall, Amalie‘s birth year, 1722, is where his Last Will (the one with „no whores, no theatre, no wars of agression!“ in the beginning) is from. So FW‘s health in addition to everything else could be another reason why the rate at which they produce offspring goes down.
Wondering about the summer of 1725 (i.e. when Heinrich was conceived) - SD tries really hard to get FW on board the English marriage project? It might also have been when she was afraid he‘d divorce her, but I‘m not sure about the year.