The Russian Empire prevented him from installing his family on the Polish throne, supporting instead the aristocrat Stanisław August Poniatowski, the lover of Catherine the Great.

Unlike his father, Christiane remained a fervent Protestant throughout her life and never set foot in Catholic Poland during her 30-year service as queen consort.

From his early years, Augustus was groomed to succeed as king of Poland-Lithuania; best tutors were hired from across the continent and the prince studied Polish, German, French and Latin.

[5] While his father spent time in Poland, the young Augustus was left in the care of his grandmother, Princess Anna Sophie of Denmark, who initially raised him Lutheran.

As a consequence, a troubled Augustus II organized a tour of Catholic countries in Europe for his son which he hoped would bring him closer to Catholicism and break the bond between him and his controlling grandmother.

In Venice, the Polish entourage thwarted a kidnapping attempt organized by British agents of Queen Anne in order to prevent him from converting.

She was the daughter of the deceased Emperor Joseph I and niece of Charles VI of the Holy Roman Empire, whose coronation young Augustus attended.

This marriage wasn't coincidental; Augustus II the Strong orchestrated it to maintain the position of the Saxons within the Holy Roman Empire.

In accordance with the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 issued by Charles, a female heir or the eldest daughter would be permitted to inherit the throne of Austria.

Shortly before the ailing king died, Prussia, Austria and Russia signed a pact known as the Treaty of the Three Black Eagles, which would prevent Augustus III and Stanisław Leszczyński from inheriting the Polish throne.

The neighbouring countries that signed the treaty preferred a neutral monarch like Infante Manuel, Count of Ourém, brother of John V of Portugal, or any living relative of the Piast dynasty.

The agreement had provisions for all three powers to agree that it was in their best interest that their common neighbour, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, did not undertake any reforms that might strengthen it and trigger expansionism.

The treaty quickly became ineffective as Prussia began to support Leszczyński and allowed him safe passage from France to Poland through German lands.

[14][15] Austria received a promise that as king, Augustus would both renounce any claim to the Austrian succession and continue respecting the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713.

Throughout the spring and summer of 1733, France began mobilizing and stationing forces along its northern and eastern borders, while Austria massed troops on the Polish frontier, reducing garrisons in the Duchy of Milan for the purpose.

During the election sejm in August, Russian troops counting 30,000 men under the command of Peter Lacy entered Poland to secure Augustus' succession.

[17] As King, Augustus was uninterested in the affairs of his Polish–Lithuanian dominion, focusing instead on hunting, the opera, and the collection of artwork at the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister.

He was also the head of the Saxon court in Dresden and was fond of collectibles, such as gadgets, jewellery and Meissen porcelain, the most famous being the Swan Service composed of 2,200 individual pieces made between 1737 and 1741.

"[18] By 1748 Augustus III completed extending the Saxon Palace in Warsaw and made significant contributions in remodelling the Royal Castle.

This campaign gave Prussia control of most of the richest provinces in the Habsburg monarchy, with the commercial centre of Breslau as well as mining, weaving and dyeing industries.

Saxony joined Austria in the Second Silesian War, which erupted after Prussia proclaimed its support of Charles VII as Holy Roman Emperor and invaded Bohemia on 15 August 1744.

On 8 January 1745, the Treaty of Warsaw united Great Britain, the Habsburg monarchy, the Dutch Republic and Saxony into what became known as the "Quadruple Alliance", which was aimed at securing the Austrian throne for Maria Theresa.

The Treaty of Dresden was eventually completed on Christmas Day (25 December) and Saxony was obliged to pay one million rixdollars in reparations to the Prussian state.

Maria Theresa was finally recognized in her inheritance with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, which proved a Pyrrhic victory for Augustus III; the conflict nearly bankrupted Saxony.

In April 1763, Augustus returned ill and frail from Poland to Dresden with his closest advisors, leaving Primate Władysław Aleksander Łubieński behind to take care of the affairs in the Commonwealth.

In the Commonwealth, on 7 September 1764, with the small participation of the szlachta initiated by the Czartoryski's and the strong support of Russia, Stanisław August Poniatowski was elected king of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania.

Despite his charitable manner, Augustus was viewed in Poland as an impotent monarch, obese, plump, ugly and lazy sybarite with no interest in the affairs of the state.

On the other hand, historian Jacek Staszewski was able to find a description of Augustus' character in the Dresden archives in the late 1980s; he was considered an honest and affectionate man, who was widely respected during his reign by both the Saxons and the Poles.

On 20 August 1719, Augustus married Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria, the eldest child of Joseph I, the Holy Roman Emperor.