Friedrich III. deutscher Kaiser und König von Preußen
(18.10.1831 - 15.06.1888)
place of birth:  Potsdam, Brandenburg
Königreich Preußen:  Seine Majestät der Kaiser und König; Oberster Kriegsherr

                           

Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl von Preußen, King of Prussia and German Emperor for 99 days. Friedrich Wilhelm (Frederick William) was born at the New Palace in Potsdam, the son of Prince Wilhelm and nephew of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV. His mother was Princess Augusta von Saxe-Weimar. Young Fritz began his military career at the age of ten when he was commissioned as a Leutnant in the 1st Guards Infantry Regiment. Following his formal education, he married Princess Victoria in 1858 at St James Palace. Young Vicky was the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Vicky and Fritz' eldest son Wilhelm later ascended to the throne as Kaiser Wilhelm II. When Fritz' father was crowned King Wilhelm I of Prussia in 1861, the 29-year old Fritz became Crown Prince Friedrich.

As Crown Prince, the liberal-minded Friedrich often disagreed sharply with his father's conservative Minister-President Otto von Bismarck. During the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, the Crown Prince and his Chief of Staff Graf von Blumenthal successfully led their troops to numerous victories, and were specifically cited for their actions during the Battle of Sadowa. Friedrich was even awarded the coveted Pour le Merite for his personal gallantry exhibited during the campaign. He likewise commanded the Third Army during Prussia's war with France in 1870-71, leading them at Sedan and during the Siege of Paris. He was also one of only nine recipients of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. He died in Berlin on 15 June 1888.

When his father died in March of 1888, Friedrich was already suffering from cancer of the larynx and could not speak. He thus only ruled for 99 days, succumbing to his illness on 15 June 1888 at the age of 57. He was interred in the mausoleum at the Friedenskirche in Potsdam. Although influenced by liberal, constitutional, and middle-class ideas, Friedrich III retained a strong sense of the Hohenzollern royal and imperial dignity. Many consider his early demise a particular tragedy: his ultra-short reign was sandwiched between his father's ruling Prussia for 27 years and his militaristic son Wilhelm II's stumbling with the General Staff into the First World War.