Frederick I of Sweden

King of Sweden from 1720 to 1751

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Frederick I of Sweden" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Frederick I

Portrait by Georg Engelhard Schröder, c. 1730s

King of Sweden
Reign| 24 March 1720 – 5 April 1751
Coronation| 3 May 1720
Predecessor| Ulrika Eleonora
Successor| Adolf Frederick
Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel
Reign| 23 March 1730 – 5 April 1751
Predecessor| Charles I
Successor| William VIII
Prince consort of Sweden
Tenure| 5 December 1718 – 29 February 1720

Born| (1676-04-28)28 April 1676
Kassel, Hesse-Kassel
Died| 5 April 1751(1751-04-05) (aged 74)
Stockholm, Sweden
Burial| 27 September 1751

Riddarholmen Church

Spouses|

Luise Dorothea of Prussia

(m. 1700; died 1705)​

Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden

(m. 1715; died 1741)​

Issue
more...| Frederick William von Hessenstein
House| Hesse-Kassel
Father| Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel
Mother| Maria Amalia of Courland
Religion| Protestant
Signature|

Frederick I (Swedish: Fredrik I; 28 April 1676 – 5 April 1751) was King of Sweden from 1720 until his death, having been prince consort of Sweden from 1718 to 1720, and was also Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1730. He ascended the throne following the death of his brother-in-law absolutist Charles XII in the Great Northern War, and the abdication of his wife, Charles's sister and successor Ulrika Eleonora, after she had to relinquish most powers to the Riksdag of the Estates and thus chose to abdicate. His powerless reign and lack of legitimate heirs of his own saw his family's elimination from the line of succession after the parliamentary government dominated by pro-revanchist Hat Party politicians ventured into a war with Russia, which ended in defeat and the Russian tsarina Elizabeth getting Adolf Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp instated following the death of the king. Whilst being the only Swedish monarch called Frederick, he was Frederick I of Hesse-Kassel and thus Frederick I also of Sweden, though other Swedish monarchs with non-repeating names (such as Birger, Sigismund and Frederick's successor: Adolf Frederick) had not been enumerated.

## Early life

[edit]

He was the son of Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, and Princess Maria Amalia of Courland. In 1692 the young prince made his Grand Tour to the Dutch Republic, in 1695 to the Italian Peninsula and later he studied in Geneva. After this he had a military career, leading the Hessian troops as Lieutenant General in the War of the Spanish Succession on the side of the Dutch. He was defeated in 1703 in the Battle of Speyerbach, but participated the next year in the great victory in the Battle of Blenheim. In 1706 he was again defeated by the French in the Battle of Castiglione. At the Battle of Malplaquet in 1709 he commanded the Dutch cavalry. In 1712, in absence of Count Tilly, he assumed the command of the Dutch army. Both in 1716 and 1718 he joined the campaign of Charles XII of Sweden against Norway, and was appointed Swedish Generalissimus.

## Prince consort of Sweden

[edit]

He married his second wife, Princess Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden, in 1715. He was then granted the title Prince of Sweden, with the style Royal Highness, by the estates, and was prince consort there[1] during Ulrika Eleonora's rule as queen regnant from 1718 until her abdication in 1720. He is the only Swedish prince consort there has been to date. Frederick I had much influence during the reign of his spouse.

Some historians have suggested that the bullet which killed his brother-in-law Charles XII of Sweden in 1718 was actually fired by Frederick's aide André Sicre. Charles had been an authoritarian and demanding ruler; one reason the Swedish Estates elected Frederick was because he was taken to be fairly weak, which indeed he turned out to be.

## King of Sweden

[edit]

Coronation medal 1720 Portrait by Martin van Meytens

Frederick succeeded Ulrika Eleonora on the throne upon her abdication in his favor in 1720, elected by the Swedish Estates.

The defeats suffered by Charles XII in the Great Northern War ended Sweden's position as a first-rank European power. Under Frederick, this had to be accepted. Sweden also had to cede Estonia, Ingria and Livonia to Russia in the Treaty of Nystad, in 1721.

Frederick I was a very active and dynamic king at the beginning of his 31-year reign. But after the aristocracy had regained power during the wars with Russia, he became not so much powerless as uninterested in affairs of state. In 1723, he tried to strengthen royal authority, but after he failed, he never had much to do with politics. He did not even sign official documents; instead a stamp of his signature was used. He devoted most of his time to hunting and love affairs. His marriage to Queen Ulrika Eleonora was childless, but he had several children by his mistress, Hedvig Taube.[2]

In 1723 Frederick rewarded the military inventor Sven Åderman with the estate of Halltorps on the island of Öland, for improving the rate of fire of the musket.

Frederick I in Armour

As a king, he was not very respected. When he was crowned, it was said of him: "King Charles we recently buried, King Frederick we crown – suddenly the clock has now passed from twelve to one". It is said about him, that although a lot of great achievements in the country's development happened during his reign, he never had anything to do with them himself. When he died, Carl Gustaf Tessin said about him:

> Under the reign of King Frederick, science has developed – he never bothered to read a book. The merchant business has flourished – he has never encouraged it with a single coin. The Stockholm Palace has been built – he has never been curious enough to look at it.

Neither did he have anything to do with the founding of the first Swedish speaking theater at Bollhuset during his reign. One of his few important policies was the banning of duels.

On 23 February 1748 Frederick I instituted the three Swedish royal orders of the Seraphim, of the Sword and of the North Star, the three principal Swedish orders of chivalry.

## Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel

[edit]

Frederick became Landgrave of Hesse only in 1730, ten years after becoming King of Sweden. He immediately appointed his younger brother William governor of Hesse.

As Landgrave, Frederick is generally not seen as a success. Indeed, he did concentrate more on Sweden, and due to his negotiated, compromise-like ascension to the throne there, he and his court had a very low income. The money for that very expensive court, then, since the 1730s came from wealthy Hesse, and this means that Frederick essentially behaved like an absentee landlord and drained Hessian resources to finance life in Sweden. Also, Frederick's father, Charles I of Hesse-Kassel, had been the state's most successful ruler, rebuilding the state over his decades-long rule by means of economic and infrastructure measures and state reform, as well as tolerance, such as attracting, for economic purposes, the French Huguenots. His brother the governor, who would succeed Frederick as Landgrave William VIII of Hesse-Kassel, though by background a distinguished soldier, was likewise a great success locally. There are very few physical remainders of Frederick in Hesse today; one of them is his large Royal Swedish paraph (FR) over the old door of the University of Marburg's former riding hall, now the Institute of Physical Education.

## Ancestry

[edit]

Ancestors of Frederick I of Sweden

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 8\. William V, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| 4\. William VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel|

|  |  |
| 9\. Countess Amalie Elisabeth of Hanau-Münzenberg

| 2\. Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel|

|  |  |  |  |
| 10\. George William, Elector of Brandenburg

| 5\. Margravine Hedwig Sophie of Brandenburg|

|  |  |
| 11\. Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate

| 1\. Frederick I of Sweden|
|  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 12\. Wilhelm Kettler, Duke of Courland

| 6\. Jacob Kettler, Duke of Courland|

|  |  |
| 13\. Duchess Sophie of Prussia

| 3\. Maria Amalia of Courland|

|  |  |  |  |
| 14\. George William, Elector of Brandenburg (= 10)

| 7\. Margravine Louise Charlotte of Brandenburg|

|  |  |
| 15\. Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate (= 11)

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## Family and issue

[edit]

King Frederick's extramarital sons Frederick William and Charles Edward von Hessenstein Frederick's sarcophagus in Riddarholmen Church

On 31 May 1700, he married his first wife, Luise Dorothea, Princess of Prussia (1680–1705), daughter of Frederick I of Prussia (1657–1713) and Elisabeth Henriette of Hesse-Kassel (1661–1683). Luise Dorothea died in childbirth in December 1705.

His second wife, whom he married in 1715, was Ulrika Eleonora, Princess of Sweden (1688–1741), daughter of Charles XI of Sweden (1655–1697) and of Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark (1656–1693). Ulrika suffered two miscarriages, one in 1715 and another in 1718, after which there are no further recorded pregnancies.

Frederick I had three extramarital children with his mistress Hedvig Taube:

* Frederick William von Hessenstein (1735–1808).
* Charles Edward von Hessenstein (1737–1769).
* Hedwig Amalia von Hessenstein (1743–1752).

After the death of Hedvig Taube, his official mistress was the noblewoman Catharina Ebba Horn (1720–1781), whom he gave the title and recognition of Countess (from 1745).

Thus, the Hessian line in Sweden ended with him and was followed by that of Holstein-Gottorp. In Hesse-Kassel, he was succeeded by his younger brother William VIII, a famous general.

## References

[edit]

* Spencer, Charles. Blenheim: Battle for Europe. Phoenix, 2005. ISBN 0-304-36704-4
* Stålberg, Wilhelmina; Berg, P. G. (1864). "190 (Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor)". runeberg.org (in Swedish). Retrieved 2020-01-15.

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Hofberg, Herman; Heurlin, Frithiof; Millqvist, Viktor; Rubenson, Olof (1908). Svenskt Biografiskt Handlexikon – Uggleupplagan [Swedish Biographical Dictionary – The Owl Edition] (in Swedish). Vol. 8 (2nd ed.). Stockholm, Sweden: Albert Bonniers Förlag. pp. 1255–1258. OCLC 49695435. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
2. ^ "Frederick I of Sweden Hesse-Cassel". October 17, 2005. Archived from the original on September 4, 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2006.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fredrik I av Sverige.

Frederick I of Sweden

House of Hesse-Kassel

Cadet branch of the House of Hesse

Born: 23 April 1676 Died: 25 March 1751

Regnal titles
Preceded by

Ulrika Eleonora

|  King of Sweden
1720–1751  | Succeeded by

Adolf Frederick

Duke of Estonia
1720–1721  | Succeeded by

Peter I

Preceded by

Charles I

|  Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel
1730–1751  | Succeeded by

William VIII

Swedish royalty
Preceded by

Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark

as queen consort |  Prince consort of Sweden
1718–1720  | Succeeded by

Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden

as queen consort

* v
* t
* e

Swedish princes

The generations indicate descent from Gustav I, of the House of Vasa, and continues through the Houses of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, Holstein-Gottorp; and the Bernadotte, the adoptive heirs of the House of Holstein-Gottorp, who were adoptive heirs of the Palatinate-Zweibrückens.

1st generation|

* King Eric XIV
* King John III
* Prince Magnus, Duke of Östergötland
* King Charles IX

2nd generation|

* King Sigismund I
* Gustav, Prince of Uglich
* Prince John, Duke of Östergötland
* King Gustav II Adolf
* Prince Charles Philip, Duke of Södermanland

3rd generation|

* King Władysław IV of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania[2]
* King John II Casimir of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania[2]
* Prince Alexander Charles[2]
* John Albert, Prince-Bishop of Warmia and Kraków[2]
* Prince Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Opole[2]

4th generation|

* King Charles XI

5th generation|

* King Charles XII
* King Frederick I[4]

6th generation|

* King Adolf Frederick[4]

7th generation|

* King Gustav III
* King Charles XIII
* Prince Frederick Adolf, Duke of Östergötland

8th generation|

* King Gustav IV Adolf
* Prince Carl Gustav, Duke of Småland
* Crown Prince Charles August[4]
* King Charles XIV John[1][4]

9th generation|

* Crown Prince Gustav, Prince of Vasa
* King Oscar I[1][4]

10th generation|

* King Charles XV[1]
* Prince Gustaf, Duke of Uppland[1]
* King Oscar II[1]
* Prince August, Duke of Dalarna[1]

11th generation|

* Prince Carl Oscar, Duke of Södermanland[1]
* King Gustaf V[1]
* Prince Oscar, Duke of Gotland[1][3]
* Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland[1]
* Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke[1]

12th generation|

* King Gustaf VI Adolf[1]
* Prince Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland[1]
* Prince Erik, Duke of Västmanland[1]
* Prince Carl, Duke of Östergötland[3]

13th generation|

* Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten
* Prince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland[3]
* Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland
* Prince Carl Johan, Duke of Dalarna[3]
* Prince Lennart, Duke of Småland[3]

14th generation|

* King Carl XVI Gustaf

15th generation|

* Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland
* Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland[4]

16th generation|

* Prince Oscar, Duke of Skåne

1 Also prince of Norway
2 Also prince of Poland and Lithuania
3 Lost his title due to an unequal marriage
4 Not Swedish prince by birth, but created prince of Sweden

* v
* t
* e

Monarchs of Sweden

Munsö|

| c. 970 – c. 1060|

* Eric "VII"
* Olof Skötkonung
* Anund Jacob
* Emund the Old

|

Stenkil|

| c. 1060 – c. 1130
1160–1161|

* Stenkil
* Eric and Eric
* Halsten
* Anund Gårdske
* Håkan the Red
* Halsten / Inge the Elder
* Blot-Sweyn
* Inge the Elder
* Philip / Inge the Younger
* Ragnvald Knaphövde
* Magnus I (House of Estridsen, descendant of Inge the Elder)

|

Sverker * Eric|

| c. 1130 – 1250|

* Sverker the Elder
* Eric "IX" the Holy
* Magnus II (House of Estridsen, descendant of Inge the Elder)
* Charles VII
* Kol / Boleslaw
* Knut Eriksson
* Sverker the Younger
* Eric "X"
* John I
* Eric "XI"
* Knut Långe 1
* Eric "XI"

|

Bjälbo|

| 1250–1364|

* Valdemar
* Magnus III
* Birger
* Magnus IV2
* Eric "XII"
* Magnus IV / Haakon2

|

Mecklenburg|

| 1364–1389|

* Albert

|

Kalmar Union

Italics indicate
regents

| 1389–1523|

* Margaret3 (House of Estridsen) / Eric XIII3 (House of Griffins)
* Eric XIII3 (House of Griffins)
* Charles (VIII)
* Eric XIII3 (House of Griffins)
* Charles (VIII)
* Christopher of Bavaria3 (House of Wittelsbach)
* Bengt Jönsson (Oxenstierna) / Nils Jönsson (Oxenstierna)
* Charles VIII2 (House of Bonde)
* Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna / Erik Axelsson Tott
* Christian I3 (House of Oldenburg)
* Kettil Karlsson (Vasa)
* Charles VIII (House of Bonde)
* Kettil Karlsson (Vasa)
* Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna
* Erik Axelsson Tott
* Charles VIII (House of Bonde)
* Sten Sture the Elder
* John II3 (House of Oldenburg)
* Sten Sture the Elder
* Svante Nilsson
* Erik Trolle
* Sten Sture the Younger
* Christian II3 (House of Oldenburg)
* Gustav (I)

|

Vasa|

| 1523–1654|

* Gustav I
* Eric XIV
* John III
* Sigismund4
* Charles IX
* Gustav II Adolf
* Christina

|

Palatinate-
Zweibrücken (Wittelsbach)
Hesse-Kassel|

| 1654–1751|

* Charles X Gustav
* Charles XI
* Charles XII
* Ulrika Eleonora
* Frederick I

|

Holstein-Gottorp (Oldenburg)|

| 1751–1818|

* Adolf Frederick
* Gustav III
* Gustav IV Adolf
* Charles XIII2

|

Bernadotte|

| since 1818|

* Charles XIV John2
* Oscar I2
* Charles XV2
* Oscar II2
* Gustaf V
* Gustaf VI Adolf
* Carl XVI Gustaf

|

* 1 Lineage uncertain
* 2 Also Norwegian monarch
* 3 Also Norwegian and Danish monarch
* 4 Also king of Poland

* v
* t
* e

Swedish royal consorts

* Sigrid the Haughty/Świętosława*^ (late 10th century)
* Aud Haakonsdottir of Lade (990s–995)
* Estrid of the Obotrites (1000–1022)
* Gunnhildr Sveinsdóttir^ (1022–1050)
* Astrid Njalsdotter (1050–1060)
* Helena (1079–1084)
* Blotstulka (1084–1087)
* Helena (1088–1105)
* Ingegerd of Norway^ (1105–1118)
* Ragnhild Halstensdotter (1105–1117)
* Ulvhild Håkansdotter^ (1117–1125)
* Richeza of Poland (1127–1130)
* Ulvhild Håkansdotter^ (1134–1148)
* Richeza of Poland (1148–1156)
* Christina Björnsdatter (1156–1160)
* Brigida Haraldsdotter (1160–1161)
* Christina Stigsdatter (1163/1164–1167)
* Cecilia Johansdotter (1167–1190)
* Benedicta Ebbesdotter (1196–1199/1200)
* Ingegerd Birgersdotter (1200–1208)
* Rikissa of Denmark (1210–1216)
* Helena Pedersdatter Strange (1229–1234)
* Catherine Sunesdotter (1243/1244–1250)
* Sophia Eriksdotter (1260–1275)
* Helvig of Holstein (1276–1290)
* Märta Eriksdotter (1298–1318)
* Blanche of Namur (1335–1363)
* Beatrix of Bavaria (1356–1359)
* Margareta Valdemarsdotter* (1363–1364)
* Richardis of Schwerin (1365–1377)
* Philippa of England*^ (1406–1430)
* Dorothea of Brandenburg*^ (1445–1448)
* Karin Karlsdotter (1448)
* Merete Lydekedatter (1448)
* Catherine Karlsdotter (1448–1450)
* Dorothea of Brandenburg*^ (1457–1464)
* Elin Gustavsdotter (1466–1467)
* Christina Abrahamsdotter (1470)
* Ingeborg Tott (1470–1497)
* Christina of Saxony*^ (1497–1501)
* Ingeborg Tott (1501–1503)
* Mette Dyre (1504–1512)
* Christina Gyllenstierna (1512–1520)
* Isabella of Austria*^ (1520–1521)
* Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1531–1533)
* Margaret Leijonhufvud (1536–1551)
* Catherine Stenbock (1552–1560)
* Karin Månsdotter (1567–1568)
* Catherine Jagiellon (1568–1583)
* Gunilla Bielke (1585–1592)
* Anne of Austria (1592–1598)
* Christina of Holstein-Gottorp (1599/1604–1611)
* Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg (1620–1632)
* Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp (1654–1660)
* Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark (1680–1693)
* Frederick of Hesse-Kassel (1718/1719–1720)
* Ulrika Eleonora (1720–1741)
* Louisa Ulrika of Prussia (1751–1771)
* Sophia Magdalena of Denmark (1771–1792)
* Frederica of Baden (1797–1809)
* Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp* (1809–1818)
* Désirée Clary* (1818–1844)
* Josephine of Leuchtenberg* (1844–1859)
* Louise of the Netherlands* (1859–1871)
* Sophia of Nassau* (1872–1907)
* Victoria of Baden (1907–1930)
* Louise Mountbatten (1950–1965)
* Silvia Sommerlath (1976–present)

* * also Queen of Norway
* ^ also Queen of Denmark

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Netherlands
* Sweden
* Poland
* Finland
* Belgium

Artists|

* ULAN
* KulturNav

People|

* Netherlands
* Deutsche Biographie

Other|

* IdRef
* Te Papa (New Zealand)

*[c.]: circa
*[m.]: married
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template