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History of Frederick the Second, Called Frederick the Great.Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)

History

History of Frederick the Second, Called Frederick the Great.

Name: History of Frederick the Second, Called Frederick the Great.
Author: Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)

Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)

Frederick II, King of Prussia, 1712-1786; Prussia (Germany) -- History -- Frederick II, 1740-1786

Early in January, 1730, the king, returning from a hunt at
Wusterhausen, during which he had held a drinking carouse and a
diplomatic interview with the King of Poland, announced his intention
of being no longer annoyed by matrimonial arrangements for Wilhelmina.
He resolved to abandon the English alliance altogether, unless an
immediate and unequivocal assent were given by George II. for the
marriage of Wilhelmina with the Prince of Wales, without any compact
for the marriage of Fritz with the Princess Amelia. Count Finckenstein,
Baron Grumkow, and General Borck were sent to communicate this, the
king’s unalterable resolve, to the queen. The first two were friends
of the queen. Grumkow was understood to be the instigator of the king.
Wilhelmina chanced to be with her mother when the gentlemen announced
themselves as the bearers of a very important message from the king to
her majesty. Wilhelmina trembled, and said in a low tone to her mother,
“This regards me. I have a dreading.” “No matter,” the worn and weary
mother replied; “one must have firmness, and that is not what I shall
want.” The queen retired with the ministers to the audience-chamber.

There they informed her that they had each received a letter the night
before from the king, the contents of which they were forbidden,
under penalty of death, from communicating to any one but to her. The
king wished them to say to her majesty that he would no longer endure
her disobedience in reference to the marriage of Wilhelmina; that, in
case this disobedience continued, there should be an entire separation
between him and his wife--a divorce--and that she and her daughter
should both be banished to the château of Oranienburg, about twenty
miles from Berlin, and there held in close imprisonment. The king was
willing that Sophie Dorothee should write once more, and only once
more, to her brother, George II., and demand of him a categorical
answer, yes or no, whether he would consent to the immediate marriage
of the Prince of Wales and Wilhelmina. The king would wait a fortnight
for an answer, or, if the winds were contrary, three weeks; but not a
day more. Should no answer in that time be returned, or a negative or
an evasive answer, then Wilhelmina was to make her immediate choice
of a husband between either the Duke of Weissenfels or the Marquis of
Schwedt, and to be married without delay.[9]

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

History of Frederick the Second, Called Frederick the Great.Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)

History

History of Frederick the Second, Called Frederick the Great.

Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)

Frederick II, King of Prussia, 1712-1786; Prussia (Germany) -- History -- Frederick II, 1740-1786

Early in January, 1730, the king, returning from a hunt at
Wusterhausen, during which he had held a drinking carouse and a
diplomatic interview with the King of Poland, announced his intention
of being no longer annoyed by matrimonial arrangements for Wilhelmina.
He resolved to abandon the English alliance altogether, unless an
immediate and unequivocal assent were given by George II. for the
marriage of Wilhelmina with the Prince of Wales, without any compact
for the marriage of Fritz with the Princess Amelia. Count Finckenstein,
Baron Grumkow, and General Borck were sent to communicate this, the
king’s unalterable resolve, to the queen. The first two were friends
of the queen. Grumkow was understood to be the instigator of the king.
Wilhelmina chanced to be with her mother when the gentlemen announced
themselves as the bearers of a very important message from the king to
her majesty. Wilhelmina trembled, and said in a low tone to her mother,
“This regards me. I have a dreading.” “No matter,” the worn and weary
mother replied; “one must have firmness, and that is not what I shall
want.” The queen retired with the ministers to the audience-chamber.

There they informed her that they had each received a letter the night
before from the king, the contents of which they were forbidden,
under penalty of death, from communicating to any one but to her. The
king wished them to say to her majesty that he would no longer endure
her disobedience in reference to the marriage of Wilhelmina; that, in
case this disobedience continued, there should be an entire separation
between him and his wife--a divorce--and that she and her daughter
should both be banished to the château of Oranienburg, about twenty
miles from Berlin, and there held in close imprisonment. The king was
willing that Sophie Dorothee should write once more, and only once
more, to her brother, George II., and demand of him a categorical
answer, yes or no, whether he would consent to the immediate marriage
of the Prince of Wales and Wilhelmina. The king would wait a fortnight
for an answer, or, if the winds were contrary, three weeks; but not a
day more. Should no answer in that time be returned, or a negative or
an evasive answer, then Wilhelmina was to make her immediate choice
of a husband between either the Duke of Weissenfels or the Marquis of
Schwedt, and to be married without delay.[9]

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

History of Frederick the Second, Called Frederick the Great.

History of Frederick the Second, Called Frederick the Great.

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