The sleep of the King was supposed to consist only of seven hours in the second half of his life; it actually lasted up to eight or nine hours, partly because he liked to sleep on healthy days, partly because waiting for transpiration, which he regarded as a benefit of nature, made it necessary. In the first half of his life, he was very busy, in a very good mood a friend of pleasures and petit soupers. He often sat at the table until midnight and still rose early in the morning in order to practice the flute and to let soldiers practice at exercising. In his younger years, he never believed he'd get old, and thus wanted to prolong the enjoyment of life by skipping over sleep. He often told the story: "When I was with my father's army at the Rhine, I decided together with some other young people to remain constantly awake and thus to live as much in eight days as others who went to sleep in fourteen. For four days, I was able to endure this through strong coffee, but nature demanded its rights, and I was so feverish through all the coffee and the lack of sleep that I had to stop for my health's sake."
The soupers only lasted until the 7 Years War. The King recognized that the stomach didn't digest as quickly when one got older, and that a commanding general had to rise early; thus, he stopped having supper during the 7 Years War, and never started again. Until the Bavarian War (1778), the King played the flute, and his days were scheduled in the following way.
During the months of November, December, January and February, the King got to bed between nine and ten pm, and rose between five and six am. During this time, no one was with him, nor did light burn in his bedroom; in the antechambre, two common footmen were keeping watch. He was awoken in the morning in the exact minute he had ordered in the previous evening, and fifteen minutes before that, the fireplace in his bedroom was lighted. Depending on circumstances, he either rose immediately or slept a quarter of an hour, half an hour, sometimes even an hour longer. He dressed himself while in bed with stockings, trousers and boots, the rest he put on while standing in front of the fire in the fireplace. For this was lighted in summer and winter time regardless; for the King sweated so strongly that his nightdress and his sheets had to get dried at the fireplace every time. As soon as he'd gotten dressed, he sat down to read from the intake of arriving letters those he was most interested in while his hairtail was combed; the rest, he sent for summarizing and excerpting to the cabinet secretary. After having read all and put it next to himself on a small table, he rose, washed and put his wig and the hat on him which he always wore, except when sitting at a table or when talking to persons of rank, and went to the first adjoining room to accept the report of the AD of the first bataillon there, or to give him some commands regarding the military. He drank a few glasses of water, which during the last years of his life were mixed with Fenchel extracts, and afterwards two or three small cups of coffee, sometimes with and sometimes without milk. Coffee he drank in his younger years very strongly, later in a weaker mixture, but always, for the kick of it, mingled with mustard. During the last years of his life he also ate at different times of the day several small dry bars of chocolate. Otherwise, he rarely indulged in chocolate, and drank it mainly just when he was taking the waters, or if he had been riding out in bad weather, or if he suspected he was due to an attack of gout, and thought the chocolate would help to spread the gout from the torso to the outer extremities. After having drunk his coffee, he took the flute and played on it, walking from one room to the next, for two hours passages he knew by heart.
Once he put the flute away, he accepted, around 9 or 10 am, the summarzing and excerpts from the Cabinet Secretary, read it, ordered the cabinet councillors to him one by one and told them what the reply to the incoming depeches would be, but he didn't lock himself into his cabinet as has been reported. The door was closed now and then but often remained completely open.
Now he finished his getting dressed, which means he took of his nightshirt, put some gellantine in his hair, got himself powdered, washed his face and hands with a towel and put on the uniform which only lasted five minutes if he didn't get shaved as well. In the time between ten and eleven, he told the commanders the password of the day, replied to some family letters, talked to some visitors he'd ordered to come, read out loud to himself, practiced, if time permitted, some concert sections, and went to lunch at 12 o'clock sharp.
The table usually was seated with seven to ten people, and about eight very well filled plates were put on the table, but as for dessert only fruit of the season. Always, beautiful porcellain was used; every guest was at liberty to eat as much or little as they wanted, and to drink as much Mosel or Pontac as they wished. Champagne and Hungarian Wine were only served if the King ordered them especially. The King's usual drink was Bergerac mixed with water; on some occasions, he also drank Champagne or Hungarian Wine.
(Passage of how Fritz with his fondness for spicy Italian and French food at times invited colics.) It's true that the King loved lunching; all his vivaciousness and good mood followed him to the table. He talked nearly exclusively in French there, and those of his guests who didn't understand the language were mere listeners. Conversational topics were different subjects: politics, religion, history, military affairs etc. Occasionally, trivial matters were talked about, and religion was soundly mocked. *
*woeful footnote from the editor, summarized: Fritz, that's how we got the French Revolution and Napoleon, dammit! Often, the table rounds lasted four to five hours, sometimes even longer; just as long, the King kept drinking, and it may be asked whether his heart then was in his tongue. Immediately afterwards, he played the flute again for an hour or half an hour, signed the letters the cabinet had written, went through the menu for the following day with the kitchen, and drank coffee. Once business had ended in the fourth hour, he kept reading until five, at which point the so called reader arrived - he didn't have one who really did the reading until a year before his death - with whom he talked until six o'clock while walking between the chambers and the great hall.
Before the concert, which usually started at 6 pm, he played preludes for about fifteen minutes, then played three concerts in a row, or at times listened to one by Quantz, or to a solo played on the cello, or to an aria sung by a singer, and then the music was usually done for the day. After the concert, the Marquis d'Argens arrived, and after his death Colonel Quintus Icilius. The monarch himself read to them, and after he had ended reading, he debated about the paragraph he'd read with his learned visitors.
These learned conversations usually lasted until 9 or 10 pm. The King then dismissed his companion, undressed himself standing in front of the fireplace except for boots and pants, put his nightshirt on, dismissed his servants with the order to awaken him the next morning, and usually soon fell asleep. Two common footmen kept watch in the antechambre. If the King wanted a glass of water or something else, he rang; it is wrong what the papers wrote, that they had to bring Burgundian wine to the King's bed when he rang. During his last twenty years, the King didn't drink any wine at night, and certainly no Burgundian wine, which he couldn't stand.
(...)
AS the King had scheduled his winter months, he also scheduled the summer. In that time of the year, there was more emphasis on bodily exercise. That's why he went to bed earlier and rose earlier in order to get used again to the early rising for the revues. As the month of February was ending, he ordered himself to be woken a bit earlier week by week and went to bed sooner, so that he could rise for the Berlin revue at 2 1/2 am and sit on his horse at 4 am. On such days, there wasn't much practice on the flute, the letters were only read, and the replies happened once he'd returned from the revue. As soon as the revue was over, he lengthened his nightly rest bit by bit again. In the month of march, he rode out on horseback at 10 or 11 in the morning if the weather was good. Near the end of March or, if the weather was bad, in April at the latest, he left the Potsdam palace and moved to Sanssouci, attended, if illness didn't stop him, five times a week the exercising of the garnison, commanded it in person each time; on the other days of the week, too, he rode at least for an hour.
Near the end of April or in May he went to Charlottenburg and had the Berlin Special Revue presented. On these occasions, he nearly always rode into town, partly to visit his sister, the Princess Amalie, partly to inspect the buildings in progress. Around noon, he returned to Charlottenburg to dine with the assembled chiefs and commanders of the regiments. On May 17 or 18, the big Potsdam Revue was presented. On the 19th, the King rode to Spandau in order to inspect the regiments of his brothers Prince Heinrich and Prince Ferdinand; from there, he rode to Charlottenburg, where he ate and remained for the night. As long as his brothers still appeared with their regiments, he always lunched after the special revue with his brother Prince Heinrich at Spandau. On the morning of the 20th, he rode to Berlin, inspected in passing Kowalsky's garnison regiment, afterwards the other foreign regiments, and arrived around nine or ten at the Berlin town palace. After having done his cabinet work, he went to the great hall, gave the assembled chiefs of staff the watchwords and dispositions, and went to lunch with his guests. The revue took place from 21 - 23rd May in Berlin, afterwards from May 26 - 28 in Magdeburg. Then, on June 1st, he arrived at Küstrin, inspected the dragoon regiments there immediately and held revue the next morning. From there, he went to Stargardt the next day on June 2nd, where on the 3rd and the fourth and in (East) Prussia the revue took place on the 8th, 9th and 10th June. On June 12th or 13 the King usually arrived back at Sanssouci.
From the end of the Prussian journey to the start of the Silesian one, all the ministers of the general directory arrived at Sanssouci, and the yearly budget was concluded. Afterwards, the King drank Eger waters, and lived at the New Palais for ten to fourteen days while his siblings visited him.
(Schöning observes that the King only went to this most expensive of buildings on the ground during those sibling visits, otherwise he much prefered Sanssouci.) However, he only lived in half of it, consisting of three rooms, an alcove and the library; the other half was for the princes, generals and ministers whom the King had ordered to him.
(Schöning says the two rooms at Sanssouci for lunches were too small to host all the officers during the grand revues, which is why Fritz hosted them at the New Chambres instead. He also says Fritz felt so safe at Sanssouci that he didn't permit any of the doors being locked.)
Schöning: Days in the Life of Old Fritz
The soupers only lasted until the 7 Years War. The King recognized that the stomach didn't digest as quickly when one got older, and that a commanding general had to rise early; thus, he stopped having supper during the 7 Years War, and never started again. Until the Bavarian War (1778), the King played the flute, and his days were scheduled in the following way.
During the months of November, December, January and February, the King got to bed between nine and ten pm, and rose between five and six am. During this time, no one was with him, nor did light burn in his bedroom; in the antechambre, two common footmen were keeping watch. He was awoken in the morning in the exact minute he had ordered in the previous evening, and fifteen minutes before that, the fireplace in his bedroom was lighted. Depending on circumstances, he either rose immediately or slept a quarter of an hour, half an hour, sometimes even an hour longer. He dressed himself while in bed with stockings, trousers and boots, the rest he put on while standing in front of the fire in the fireplace. For this was lighted in summer and winter time regardless; for the King sweated so strongly that his nightdress and his sheets had to get dried at the fireplace every time. As soon as he'd gotten dressed, he sat down to read from the intake of arriving letters those he was most interested in while his hairtail was combed; the rest, he sent for summarizing and excerpting to the cabinet secretary. After having read all and put it next to himself on a small table, he rose, washed and put his wig and the hat on him which he always wore, except when sitting at a table or when talking to persons of rank, and went to the first adjoining room to accept the report of the AD of the first bataillon there, or to give him some commands regarding the military. He drank a few glasses of water, which during the last years of his life were mixed with Fenchel extracts, and afterwards two or three small cups of coffee, sometimes with and sometimes without milk. Coffee he drank in his younger years very strongly, later in a weaker mixture, but always, for the kick of it, mingled with mustard. During the last years of his life he also ate at different times of the day several small dry bars of chocolate. Otherwise, he rarely indulged in chocolate, and drank it mainly just when he was taking the waters, or if he had been riding out in bad weather, or if he suspected he was due to an attack of gout, and thought the chocolate would help to spread the gout from the torso to the outer extremities. After having drunk his coffee, he took the flute and played on it, walking from one room to the next, for two hours passages he knew by heart.
Once he put the flute away, he accepted, around 9 or 10 am, the summarzing and excerpts from the Cabinet Secretary, read it, ordered the cabinet councillors to him one by one and told them what the reply to the incoming depeches would be, but he didn't lock himself into his cabinet as has been reported. The door was closed now and then but often remained completely open.
Now he finished his getting dressed, which means he took of his nightshirt, put some gellantine in his hair, got himself powdered, washed his face and hands with a towel and put on the uniform which only lasted five minutes if he didn't get shaved as well. In the time between ten and eleven, he told the commanders the password of the day, replied to some family letters, talked to some visitors he'd ordered to come, read out loud to himself, practiced, if time permitted, some concert sections, and went to lunch at 12 o'clock sharp.
The table usually was seated with seven to ten people, and about eight very well filled plates were put on the table, but as for dessert only fruit of the season. Always, beautiful porcellain was used; every guest was at liberty to eat as much or little as they wanted, and to drink as much Mosel or Pontac as they wished. Champagne and Hungarian Wine were only served if the King ordered them especially. The King's usual drink was Bergerac mixed with water; on some occasions, he also drank Champagne or Hungarian Wine.
(Passage of how Fritz with his fondness for spicy Italian and French food at times invited colics.)
It's true that the King loved lunching; all his vivaciousness and good mood followed him to the table. He talked nearly exclusively in French there, and those of his guests who didn't understand the language were mere listeners. Conversational topics were different subjects: politics, religion, history, military affairs etc. Occasionally, trivial matters were talked about, and religion was soundly mocked. *
*woeful footnote from the editor, summarized: Fritz, that's how we got the French Revolution and Napoleon, dammit!
Often, the table rounds lasted four to five hours, sometimes even longer; just as long, the King kept drinking, and it may be asked whether his heart then was in his tongue. Immediately afterwards, he played the flute again for an hour or half an hour, signed the letters the cabinet had written, went through the menu for the following day with the kitchen, and drank coffee. Once business had ended in the fourth hour, he kept reading until five, at which point the so called reader arrived - he didn't have one who really did the reading until a year before his death - with whom he talked until six o'clock while walking between the chambers and the great hall.
Before the concert, which usually started at 6 pm, he played preludes for about fifteen minutes, then played three concerts in a row, or at times listened to one by Quantz, or to a solo played on the cello, or to an aria sung by a singer, and then the music was usually done for the day. After the concert, the Marquis d'Argens arrived, and after his death Colonel Quintus Icilius. The monarch himself read to them, and after he had ended reading, he debated about the paragraph he'd read with his learned visitors.
These learned conversations usually lasted until 9 or 10 pm. The King then dismissed his companion, undressed himself standing in front of the fireplace except for boots and pants, put his nightshirt on, dismissed his servants with the order to awaken him the next morning, and usually soon fell asleep. Two common footmen kept watch in the antechambre. If the King wanted a glass of water or something else, he rang; it is wrong what the papers wrote, that they had to bring Burgundian wine to the King's bed when he rang. During his last twenty years, the King didn't drink any wine at night, and certainly no Burgundian wine, which he couldn't stand.
(...)
AS the King had scheduled his winter months, he also scheduled the summer. In that time of the year, there was more emphasis on bodily exercise. That's why he went to bed earlier and rose earlier in order to get used again to the early rising for the revues. As the month of February was ending, he ordered himself to be woken a bit earlier week by week and went to bed sooner, so that he could rise for the Berlin revue at 2 1/2 am and sit on his horse at 4 am. On such days, there wasn't much practice on the flute, the letters were only read, and the replies happened once he'd returned from the revue. As soon as the revue was over, he lengthened his nightly rest bit by bit again. In the month of march, he rode out on horseback at 10 or 11 in the morning if the weather was good. Near the end of March or, if the weather was bad, in April at the latest, he left the Potsdam palace and moved to Sanssouci, attended, if illness didn't stop him, five times a week the exercising of the garnison, commanded it in person each time; on the other days of the week, too, he rode at least for an hour.
Near the end of April or in May he went to Charlottenburg and had the Berlin Special Revue presented. On these occasions, he nearly always rode into town, partly to visit his sister, the Princess Amalie, partly to inspect the buildings in progress. Around noon, he returned to Charlottenburg to dine with the assembled chiefs and commanders of the regiments. On May 17 or 18, the big Potsdam Revue was presented. On the 19th, the King rode to Spandau in order to inspect the regiments of his brothers Prince Heinrich and Prince Ferdinand; from there, he rode to Charlottenburg, where he ate and remained for the night. As long as his brothers still appeared with their regiments, he always lunched after the special revue with his brother Prince Heinrich at Spandau. On the morning of the 20th, he rode to Berlin, inspected in passing Kowalsky's garnison regiment, afterwards the other foreign regiments, and arrived around nine or ten at the Berlin town palace. After having done his cabinet work, he went to the great hall, gave the assembled chiefs of staff the watchwords and dispositions, and went to lunch with his guests. The revue took place from 21 - 23rd May in Berlin, afterwards from May 26 - 28 in Magdeburg. Then, on June 1st, he arrived at Küstrin, inspected the dragoon regiments there immediately and held revue the next morning. From there, he went to Stargardt the next day on June 2nd, where on the 3rd and the fourth and in (East) Prussia the revue took place on the 8th, 9th and 10th June. On June 12th or 13 the King usually arrived back at Sanssouci.
From the end of the Prussian journey to the start of the Silesian one, all the ministers of the general directory arrived at Sanssouci, and the yearly budget was concluded. Afterwards, the King drank Eger waters, and lived at the New Palais for ten to fourteen days while his siblings visited him.
(Schöning observes that the King only went to this most expensive of buildings on the ground during those sibling visits, otherwise he much prefered Sanssouci.)
However, he only lived in half of it, consisting of three rooms, an alcove and the library; the other half was for the princes, generals and ministers whom the King had ordered to him.
(Schöning says the two rooms at Sanssouci for lunches were too small to host all the officers during the grand revues, which is why Fritz hosted them at the New Chambres instead. He also says Fritz felt so safe at Sanssouci that he didn't permit any of the doors being locked.)