I can see where the 24 hour story arose, even though that's not what she says!
Not at all, and in fact, her dates fit with what we know from Lehndorff's diary, but yes, it's comprehensible that her grandson decades later, being a poet and writer of fiction, altered the story the way he did.
they got engaged October 29, 1752. (I don't think we had that date!)
We did not, but like I said, it fits with Lehndorff on December 15th 1752 at the same dinner where he meets the Abbé de Prades for the first time noticing "Fredersdorf's fiancee" and hearing Fritz will give her a wedding present of 5000 Taler. (It was this entry that kept us from accepting the 24 hours story more than anything else, since it's set a year before the actual wedding.)
because Fritz was worried that married life would be detrimental to Fredersdorf's health. [I suspect the sex part?]
Definitely the sex part. "Vollziehung der Ehe" is "consumation of marriage". Incidentally, I'm a bit sceptical about the medical part of these supposed Fritzian concerns, given that in the one and only letter to Fredersdorf where he mentions the upcoming marriage, he also makes that "take a hot hunter or page with you" joke. Otoh, maybe he thought sex with a woman would be more stressful. (And also proof Fredersdorf hadn't just married a nurse.) Not to mention that it could be an argument Fredersdorf himself used to Caroline for why he didn't have sex with her that would not feel like a rejection of herself. (A la Mina and Heinrich.) Mind you, given he'd die three years later and really did have terrible hemorrhoid problems already in the winter of 1753, he probably wasn't longing for sex with either man or woman in any event.
But the doctors gave Fredersdorf no chance of recovery [this is the part I'm a little unsure I'm reading right]
No, you're reading it right - "the doctors denied there was any chance that he would live" (in the long term). Just to set the record straight, we should list the differences here to the Achim derived story from various other biographies and websites:
Caroline: we got engaged, but because he was in such a bad state, the King was worried and said we were not to marry until he recovered.
Achim and successors: Because the King didn't like his bffs to marry, you had to be careful to ask for permission and use a good moment, so they kept their intention a secret until then.
Caroline: The doctors said he wouldn't recover in the long term anyway and he really wanted to marry me, so the King gave permission and we were married a bit more than a year after getting engaged with him being in the sickbed, he was that ill.
Achim and successors: Fredersdorf got sick, pretended to be dying if he didn't marry Caroline, got permission from Fritz and immediately married her within 24 hours of getting the permission, upon which he recovered.
This has become quite a different story!
Also, help me out with that sentence: I can't tell if she's saying Fredersdorf was in Fritz's favor when he died??? or if "in der Gnade seines grossen Königs" has to do with God. (God or Fritz, easy to confuse. :P)
Truth, hence my letting Heinrich use the "Allmighty" designation. :) But she definitely means Fritz. (So there, Wikipedia and Fahlenkamp!) "Der große König" was NOT how Rococo people talked about God.
Re: "Anekdoten, die wir erlebten und hörten"
I can see where the 24 hour story arose, even though that's not what she says!
Not at all, and in fact, her dates fit with what we know from Lehndorff's diary, but yes, it's comprehensible that her grandson decades later, being a poet and writer of fiction, altered the story the way he did.
they got engaged October 29, 1752. (I don't think we had that date!)
We did not, but like I said, it fits with Lehndorff on December 15th 1752 at the same dinner where he meets the Abbé de Prades for the first time noticing "Fredersdorf's fiancee" and hearing Fritz will give her a wedding present of 5000 Taler. (It was this entry that kept us from accepting the 24 hours story more than anything else, since it's set a year before the actual wedding.)
because Fritz was worried that married life would be detrimental to Fredersdorf's health. [I suspect the sex part?]
Definitely the sex part. "Vollziehung der Ehe" is "consumation of marriage". Incidentally, I'm a bit sceptical about the medical part of these supposed Fritzian concerns, given that in the one and only letter to Fredersdorf where he mentions the upcoming marriage, he also makes that "take a hot hunter or page with you" joke. Otoh, maybe he thought sex with a woman would be more stressful. (And also proof Fredersdorf hadn't just married a nurse.) Not to mention that it could be an argument Fredersdorf himself used to Caroline for why he didn't have sex with her that would not feel like a rejection of herself. (A la Mina and Heinrich.) Mind you, given he'd die three years later and really did have terrible hemorrhoid problems already in the winter of 1753, he probably wasn't longing for sex with either man or woman in any event.
But the doctors gave Fredersdorf no chance of recovery [this is the part I'm a little unsure I'm reading right]
No, you're reading it right - "the doctors denied there was any chance that he would live" (in the long term). Just to set the record straight, we should list the differences here to the Achim derived story from various other biographies and websites:
Caroline: we got engaged, but because he was in such a bad state, the King was worried and said we were not to marry until he recovered.
Achim and successors: Because the King didn't like his bffs to marry, you had to be careful to ask for permission and use a good moment, so they kept their intention a secret until then.
Caroline: The doctors said he wouldn't recover in the long term anyway and he really wanted to marry me, so the King gave permission and we were married a bit more than a year after getting engaged with him being in the sickbed, he was that ill.
Achim and successors: Fredersdorf got sick, pretended to be dying if he didn't marry Caroline, got permission from Fritz and immediately married her within 24 hours of getting the permission, upon which he recovered.
This has become quite a different story!
Also, help me out with that sentence: I can't tell if she's saying Fredersdorf was in Fritz's favor when he died??? or if "in der Gnade seines grossen Königs" has to do with God. (God or Fritz, easy to confuse. :P)
Truth, hence my letting Heinrich use the "Allmighty" designation. :) But she definitely means Fritz. (So there, Wikipedia and Fahlenkamp!) "Der große König" was NOT how Rococo people talked about God.