Replying here to Mildred'd comment in the old post.
I guess when everyone likes you, you give people the benefit of the doubt
Yes. And I agree with Ziebura laying it out in the introduction: FW favouris little AW => everyone at court, wanting an in with the King, is nice to kid AW => AW developes sunny view of human nature and readiness to help others => AW continues to be liked by (almost) everyone beyond FW's death.
Mind you, it didn't have to happen this way; there are enough examples of favourite royal children who end up resented by (almost) everyone else in the family and/or turn into spoiled brats.
Maria Christina (MT's favourite): *raises hands* Marie Antoinette: No kidding. You're so not staying in my palace on your unasked for Paris visit.
Fritz: When my siblings marry into HRE principalities, that makes them part of Prussia and subject to me, right? That's how it works? I'm pretty sure that's how it works.
Charlotte's husband, the Duke of Brunswick: We should form a club of fellow sufferers. Fritz of Bayreuth: That would mean being in a club with the godwawful Schwedt guy. No thanks. Sophie's husband, the Schwedt cousin: I may be universally loathed, but at least my choices of mistress don't result in a big family crisis.
But...is there any documentary evidence that FW told her he'd let Fritz out if she married? Or that it did indeed influence his decision?
The problem is that unlike Fritz, Wilhelmine lived in the same palace with FW through most of that year, if under close guard. So there was no need for royal orders, either directly or indirectly (i.e. via Grumbkow giving advice) to come in letters. And Seckendorff the Younger, who'd been likely to report something like this in his secret journal because presumably Grumbkow would have told him, wasn't there yet.
Meanwhile, Guy Dickens the English Envoy gets his intel on the status quo within the royal family mostly via SD's chaplain, i.e. via SD, and of course on what FW says in public. This gives us, as far as I can recall, such gems like FW asking the pastors whether a father can force his daughter to marry his choice of husband and being told no, and also the somewhat SD-humanizing fact she asks brother George to propose in his son's name to Wilhelmine in November or December 1730 with the argument that being the fiancee of the Prince of Wales will give Wilhelmine some protection from her father. But I'd have to look those reports up again to check whether in 1731 there's a rumor about FW making a "if you marry Bayreuth Friedrich, Fritz gets out of Küstrin" deal with his daughter; right now I don't think so.
Otoh: there's actually a Fritz letter to Wilhelmine from Küstrin saying "if they tell you your marriage would make things better for me, don't believe it", so if Fritz in Küstrin refutes that, he must have heard about it (from Wilhelmine?), or must have correctly worked out how his Dad's mind works. (Otoh I can see Wilhelmine in the spring of 1731 thinking he's being noble and that's why he denies it would make things better.)
There's also the fact Fritz was produced at Wilhelmine's wedding, if rather late into same. To me this looks like FW assuaging his conscience, because he now can tell himself he didn't lie to his daughter, he kept his promise, literally; Fritz was released at her wedding. (He hadn't promised Fritz wouldn't have to go back.)
OMG, Fritz is withholding money from Sonsine now? I like Sonsine! *frowny face*
Sonsine dying in sadness that both Fritz and SD are angry with her over the Marwitz/Burghaus marriage - (cahn, because Marwitz (female) was her niece) - is such a depressing detail. (Doubly so since Wilhelmine's frantic letters to Fritz from that era do emphasize Sonsine had nothing to do with this.) For all that we usually talk about Fritz' shared qualities with FW, that's his SD-shared quality for petty grudges right then and there. (Especially since I think in both cases - Fritz and SD - this is about punishing Wilhelmine, not for anything they think Sonsine has or hasn't condoned. They knew Wilhelmine loved her.)
Ulrike's marriage: did remain happy as far as I know. To quote wiki on her husband: The King was regarded as dependent on others, a weak ruler, and lacking of any talents. However, he was allegedly a good husband, a caring father, and a gentle master to his servants. His favourite pastime was to make snuffboxes, which he allegedly spent a great deal of time doing. His hospitality and friendliness were witnessed by many who deeply mourned him at his death.
Fake jewelry: You translated correctly. Presumably last year when I read all these books at top speed and then did the write up, I misremembered that it were parts of Ulrike's, not her brother-in-law's jewels that turned out to be fake.
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AW readthrough: The in-laws
Date: 2020-09-02 06:04 am (UTC)I guess when everyone likes you, you give people the benefit of the doubt
Yes. And I agree with Ziebura laying it out in the introduction: FW favouris little AW => everyone at court, wanting an in with the King, is nice to kid AW => AW developes sunny view of human nature and readiness to help others => AW continues to be liked by (almost) everyone beyond FW's death.
Mind you, it didn't have to happen this way; there are enough examples of favourite royal children who end up resented by (almost) everyone else in the family and/or turn into spoiled brats.
Maria Christina (MT's favourite): *raises hands*
Marie Antoinette: No kidding. You're so not staying in my palace on your unasked for Paris visit.
Fritz: When my siblings marry into HRE principalities, that makes them part of Prussia and subject to me, right? That's how it works? I'm pretty sure that's how it works.
Charlotte's husband, the Duke of Brunswick: We should form a club of fellow sufferers.
Fritz of Bayreuth: That would mean being in a club with the godwawful Schwedt guy. No thanks.
Sophie's husband, the Schwedt cousin: I may be universally loathed, but at least my choices of mistress don't result in a big family crisis.
But...is there any documentary evidence that FW told her he'd let Fritz out if she married? Or that it did indeed influence his decision?
The problem is that unlike Fritz, Wilhelmine lived in the same palace with FW through most of that year, if under close guard. So there was no need for royal orders, either directly or indirectly (i.e. via Grumbkow giving advice) to come in letters. And Seckendorff the Younger, who'd been likely to report something like this in his secret journal because presumably Grumbkow would have told him, wasn't there yet.
Meanwhile, Guy Dickens the English Envoy gets his intel on the status quo within the royal family mostly via SD's chaplain, i.e. via SD, and of course on what FW says in public. This gives us, as far as I can recall, such gems like FW asking the pastors whether a father can force his daughter to marry his choice of husband and being told no, and also the somewhat SD-humanizing fact she asks brother George to propose in his son's name to Wilhelmine in November or December 1730 with the argument that being the fiancee of the Prince of Wales will give Wilhelmine some protection from her father. But I'd have to look those reports up again to check whether in 1731 there's a rumor about FW making a "if you marry Bayreuth Friedrich, Fritz gets out of Küstrin" deal with his daughter; right now I don't think so.
Otoh: there's actually a Fritz letter to Wilhelmine from Küstrin saying "if they tell you your marriage would make things better for me, don't believe it", so if Fritz in Küstrin refutes that, he must have heard about it (from Wilhelmine?), or must have correctly worked out how his Dad's mind works. (Otoh I can see Wilhelmine in the spring of 1731 thinking he's being noble and that's why he denies it would make things better.)
There's also the fact Fritz was produced at Wilhelmine's wedding, if rather late into same. To me this looks like FW assuaging his conscience, because he now can tell himself he didn't lie to his daughter, he kept his promise, literally; Fritz was released at her wedding. (He hadn't promised Fritz wouldn't have to go back.)
OMG, Fritz is withholding money from Sonsine now? I like Sonsine! *frowny face*
Sonsine dying in sadness that both Fritz and SD are angry with her over the Marwitz/Burghaus marriage - (
Ulrike's marriage: did remain happy as far as I know. To quote wiki on her husband: The King was regarded as dependent on others, a weak ruler, and lacking of any talents. However, he was allegedly a good husband, a caring father, and a gentle master to his servants. His favourite pastime was to make snuffboxes, which he allegedly spent a great deal of time doing. His hospitality and friendliness were witnessed by many who deeply mourned him at his death.
Fake jewelry: You translated correctly. Presumably last year when I read all these books at top speed and then did the write up, I misremembered that it were parts of Ulrike's, not her brother-in-law's jewels that turned out to be fake.