Prince Frederick of Prussia (1911–1966)

Prince Frederick of Prussia (German: Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Christoph Prinz von Preußen; 19 December 1911 – 20 April 1966), also known as Mr. Friedrich von Preussen in the United Kingdom,[1] was the fourth son of Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Prince Frederick of Prussia
"Count von Lingen"
The Crown Princess presents her fourth son Frederick, 1911
Born19 December 1911
Berlin, German Empire
Died20 April 1966(1966-04-20) (aged 54)
Rhine River, West Germany
Burial11 May 1966
Hohenzollern Castle, Wurttemberg-Hohenzollern, Germany
Spouse
(m. 1945; his death 1966)
IssuePrince Nicholas
Prince Andreas
Princess Victoria Marina, Mrs. Achache
Prince Rupert
Princess Antonia, Duchess of Wellington
Full name
German: Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Christoph
HouseHohenzollern
FatherWilhelm, German Crown Prince
MotherDuchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Family

On 30 July 1945, he married Lady Brigid Guinness, daughter of Rupert Guinness, 2nd Earl of Iveagh, at Little Hadham, Hertfordshire and they had five children:[2]

Studies in Britain, then internment

He was studying at Cambridge, living incognito as the Count von Lingen, when war broke out in September 1939. He was arrested and interned in May 1940. He was held in Britain for several months, then sent to internment camps near Quebec City and soon afterwards, Farnham, Quebec. In both camps, he was elected camp leader by fellow inmates.[3]

British naturalisation in 1947

He renounced his German citizenship in 1947.[2] He was naturalised as a British citizen in October 1947 under the name Friedrich von Preussen (having also been known during residence in the UK as "George Mansfield").[2] This naturalisation was controversial, in part because being a descendant of Sophia of Hanover, and having rights under the Act of Settlement 1701, as amended by the Sophia Naturalisation Act 1705, he had a claim to British citizenship from birth. His status in context of his claim for compensation for property seized in Poland was debated in Parliament and the law courts until 1961.[1]

Death

He was the owner of Reinhartshausen Palace at Erbach, Germany. While staying there in 1966, he went missing and was found two weeks later, having drowned in the Rhine, whether suicidally or accidentally could not be determined.[2]

Ancestry

Notes

  1. Commons Debate of 19 October 1961
  2. Eilers, Marlene. Queen Victoria's Descendants. Rosvall Royal Books, Falkoping, Sweden, 1997. pp.17-18, 124-125, 172. ISBN 91-630-5964-9
  3. Grandson of Kaiser Was Held in Canada. Toronto Star, June 1, 1945, p. 28
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