Born in Dresden, Frederick Augustus was the eldest son of King George of Saxony and his wife, Maria Anna of Portugal.

Though well-loved by his subjects, he voluntarily abdicated as king on 13 November 1918, after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I.

Following his father's accession, he was in July 1902 appointed à la suite of the German Marine Infantry by Emperor Wilhelm II during a visit to Kiel.

[1] When the German Revolution of 1918 broke out in November, Frederick Augustus made no attempt to defend the Saxon monarchy.

While seeking refuge in Guteborn, he received news that Hermann Fleissner had proclaimed the Free State of Saxony on 10 November.

Frederick Augustus then relieved all Saxons of their oath of loyalty to the monarchy, calling for unity and urging the citizens to work towards the better good of the state, whereupon he withdrew to Sibyllenort Palace, which he privately owned, near Breslau.

Luise's flight from Dresden was due to her father-in-law's threatening to have her interned in a mental asylum at the Sonnenstein Castle for life.

He often dressed in civilian clothes, was comfortable speaking in the vernacular Upper Saxon dialect, and was sometimes seen playing skat with his subjects in the pubs of Dresden.