cahn | 18th-Century Characters, Including Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 33

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cahn

And, I mean, it doesn't have to be just 18th century characters, either!

(also, waiting for Yuletide!)

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From:

selenak

Yep, especially since I was undeservedly sceptical on Morgenstern for a couple of things (though not the boarhunting and selling story, that one sounded exactly like the kind of casual antisemitism which wouldn't get FW censored even by contemporaries who hated him; on the "he had a crush on Caroline and this was an extra reason for hating on G2 who did nothing to deserve either his three kingdoms or the girl" front). (Otoh, I and dissertation writer Leinweber stand by our complete scepticism on the Morgenstern story of Sophie Charlotte telling FW he was illegtimate and not the son of weak F1, and FW shortly after his succession when drunk saying "how can you believe I'm the son of this weak man?" to his generals until someone points out to him if he's not the son of F1, he has no claim to the throne at all. FW certainly would not needed the reminder, and SC was the sister-in-law of a woman who got locked up for life for adultery, who knew very well what a incredibly loaded and important subject legitimacy is. Even if she had cheated on F1, there's no way she would tell her famously lacking any self control kid that.)

It's one of the stories that shows up fairly often in descriptions of Fritz' childhood, but usually without a source.

I hadn't known it happened when Grumbkow's son was baptized, either. And following your link, I see the whole event ended in drunken FW and Grumbkow smashing all the porcellain together. Let's hope that either SD or Madame de Roucoulles comforted kid!Fritz and that someone hugged Madame Grumbkow, too, because a less good thing to wish for one's baby's baptism celebration than the King turning it in an occasion for child maltreatment and, together with your husband, smashing all the (incredibly expensive, Prussia didn't yet have its own manufacture) porcellain is hard to imagine.

From:

mildred_of_midgard

on the "he had a crush on Caroline and this was an extra reason for hating on G2 who did nothing to deserve either his three kingdoms or the girl" front

And also that Rottembourg in Spain longed for FW's Prussia. We're sorry, Morgenstern! We didn't know about the frog!

Let's hope that either SD or Madame de Roucoulles comforted kid!Fritz

Agreed. Or Wilhelmine! Out of curiosity, would Fritz still have been interacting much with Madame de Rocoulle when he was twelve? I know he kept in touch with her and cherished her when he was as an adult, but I'm not sure how much contact they had in those later childhood and teen years, after he was taken away from her at age seven (as per normal for boys). But I know she was kept on governessing the younger siblings after he turned seven, so maybe she would have had an opportunity for comforting him still?

And yes, poor Madame Grumbkow!