Frederick the Great
Early life

Frederick was the son of then-Crown Prince Frederick William of Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover. He was born between 11 and 12 p.m. on 24 January 1712 in the Berlin Palace and was baptised with the single name Friedrich by Benjamin Ursinus von Bär on 31 January. The birth was welcomed by his grandfather, Frederick I, as his two previous grandsons had died in infancy. With the death of Frederick I in 1713, his son Frederick William I became King in Prussia, thus making young Frederick the crown prince. Frederick had nine siblings who lived to adulthood. He had six sisters. The eldest was Wilhelmine, who became his closest sibling. He also had three younger brothers, including Augustus William and Henry. The new king wished for his children to be educated not as royalty, but as simple folk. They were tutored by a French woman, Madame de Montbail, who had also educated Frederick William.

Frederick William I, popularly dubbed the "Soldier King", had created a large and powerful army that included a regiment of his famous " Potsdam Giants "; he carefully managed the kingdom's wealth and developed a strong centralised government. He had a violent temper and ruled Brandenburg-Prussia with absolute authority. In contrast, Frederick's mother Sophia, whose father, George Louis of Brunswick-Lüneburg, had succeeded to the British throne as King George I in 1714, was polite, charismatic and learned. The political and personal differences between Frederick's parents created tensions, which affected Frederick's attitude toward culture, his role as a ruler, and his relationship with his father.

In his early youth, Frederick lived with his mother and sister Wilhelmine, although they regularly visited their father's hunting lodge at Königs Wusterhausen. Frederick and his older sister formed a close relationship, which lasted until her death in 1758. Frederick and his sisters were brought up by a Huguenot governess and tutor and learned French and German simultaneously. Undeterred by his father's desire that his education be entirely religious and pragmatic, the young Frederick developed a preference for music, literature, and French culture. Frederick Wilhelm thought these interests were effeminate, as they clashed with his militarism, resulting in his frequent beating and humiliation of Frederick. Nevertheless, Frederick, with the help of his tutor in Latin, Jacques Duhan, procured a 3,000-volume secret library of poetry, Greek and Roman classics, and philosophy to supplement his official lessons.

Frederick William I had been raised a Calvinist in spite of the Lutheran state faith in Prussia, but feared he was not one of God's elect. To avoid the possibility of his son Frederick being motivated by the same concerns, the king ordered that his heir not be taught about predestination. Despite his father's intention, Frederick appeared to have adopted a sense of predestination for himself.
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