After his paternal grandfather died and his father became king in 1727, Frederick moved to Great Britain and was created Prince of Wales in 1729.

He predeceased his father and upon the latter's death in 1760, the throne passed to Frederick's eldest son, George III.

By then, George and Caroline had several younger children, and Frederick was a high-spirited young man fond of drinking, gambling and women.

[12] Hervey and Frederick (using a pseudonym "Captain Bodkin") wrote a theatrical comedy which was staged at the Drury Lane Theatre in October 1731.

Hervey later wrote bitterly that Frederick was "false ... never having the least hesitation in telling any lie that served his present purpose.

A masque linking the prince with both the Saxon hero-king Alfred the Great's victories over the Vikings and with the contemporary issue of building up British sea power accorded well with Frederick's political plans and aspirations.

The prince was also crucially important in furthering the popularity of the Rococo style in the decorative arts, with a clear predilection for French Huguenot craftsmen.

1756) who first worked for the prince on William Kent's neo-Palladian state barge of 1732,[16] which is still preserved in the National Maritime Museum.

Petit's frame contained a portrait of Frederick the Great painted by Antoine Pesne, and remains today in the British Royal Collection.

The prince, who was in great debt, agreed to the proposal, but the plan was vetoed by Robert Walpole and the king.

Although in his youth he was a spendthrift and womaniser, Frederick settled down following his marriage to the sixteen-year-old Augusta of Saxe-Gotha on 27 April 1736.

"[25] The King made plans to return, in the face of inclement weather; when his ship was caught in a storm, gossip swept London that he had drowned.

The Prince of Wales put it about that the King was dying, with the result that George insisted on getting up and attending a social event to disprove the gossip-mongers.

[27] Quickly accumulating large debts, Frederick relied for an income on his wealthy friend George Bubb Dodington.

[28] Frederick applied to Parliament for an increased financial allowance, and public disagreement over the payment of the money drove a further wedge between parents and son.

Traditionally, royal births were witnessed by members of the family and senior courtiers to guard against supposititious children.

[31] There, Caroline was relieved to discover that Augusta had given birth to a "poor, ugly little she-mouse" rather than a "large, fat, healthy boy".

[33] His mother fell fatally ill at the end of the year, but the king refused Frederick permission to see her.

[34] Frederick became a devoted family man, taking his wife and children to live in the countryside at Cliveden, where he fished, shot, and rowed.

[35] In 1742, Robert Walpole left office, and the realignment of the government led to a reconciliation between father and son, as Frederick's friends in Parliament gained influence.

[38] By the time Frederick arrived in Great Britain, cricket had developed into the country's most popular team sport, and it thrived on gambling.

Perhaps because he wished to anglicise and so fit in with society, Frederick developed an academic interest in cricket and soon became a genuine enthusiast.

[39] In August 1732, the Whitehall Evening Post reported that Frederick attended "a great cricket match" at Kew on 27 July.

The result is unknown but the teams were said to be of county standard, so presumably it was in effect a Surrey vs. Sussex match.

[44] In the past, this has been attributed to a burst lung abscess caused by a blow from a cricket or a real tennis ball,[45] but it is now thought to have been from a pulmonary embolism.