Frederick the II, or Frederick the Great as he became known, was the son of the “Soldier King” Frederick William I and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover. Frederick William I attempted to raise his son as a monarch who was rational and militant. Against his father’s approval, young Frederick was interested in art and philosophy, music, poetry, and later associated with the leading scientists and philosophers of the age and regularly spent time with Voltaire.
Despite his love of the arts, Frederick the Great was a calculating military power conquering Silesia and proving his power during the Seven Years’ War. In times of peace, the King was the “image of the enlightened monarch and ‘prince of peace’” (Wesch 3).
Frederick the Great never forgot that he had a duty to perform. Frederick II described himself as “the first servant of the State” (Wesch 3) and laws or commands were issued from the palace every day. After the Seven Years’ War, he became particularly distrustful and personally saw to it that his orders were carried out. Later in life, gout caused him difficulty walking but he still set off on tours of inspection. “Old Fritz,” as he was now called, failed to read the signs of the new age of the French Revolution.
The King died on August 17, 1786 and his nephew took over as King, as Frederick the II and his wife had no children.
Frederick the Great’s idea on architecture was influenced by Italian and French theoreticians. As a result, his palaces have a Rococo (or Late Baroque) architectural style.