As a defensive reaction to the French Revolution, Frederick William II ended the German Dualism between Prussia and Austria.

[1] He was also responsible for some of the most notable architecture in Prussia, including the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin,[2] the Marble Palace, and Orangery in the New Garden, Potsdam.

Since 1740, or the death of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor of the House of Habsburg, Vienna had been without a male heir to the throne.

[1] In addition to members of the Prussian royal family, Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor, Tsarina Elisabeth of Russia, Louis XV of France and the Swedish heir to the throne Adolf Frederick were chosen as godparents in keeping with his status.

[1] He had Frederick William brought to the Berlin Palace and decided on an education in the spirit of the Age of Enlightenment, selecting a tutor for his four-year-old nephew.

The high expectations that were placed on the child's behaviour and willingness to perform on a daily basis left little room for carefree hours and child-friendly activities.

If the prince did not feel like performing certain tasks or showed defiance, Béguelin would take away his favourite toy or even threaten to beat him.

Members of the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences, which under Frederick II brought together important, predominantly French scholars, repeatedly acted as educational mentors.

In 1751, the king chose the well-read and highly educated Major Heinrich Adrian von Borcke for Frederick William's military training.

On this occasion Frederick II confirmed his nephew's position as heir to the throne and on 13 December 1758 bestowed on him the title and name Prince of Prussia.

In the final stages of the Seven Years' War, Frederick II viewed the popularity of the heir to the throne with the soldiers with concern, as it threatened to overshadow his own military fame.

Although Frederick II praised him for his bravery and appointed him commander of a Potsdam infantry regiment, over time the relationship between the monarch and his heir to the throne cooled noticeably.

Prussia had been able to assert itself as a great power and defend Silesia, but had accepted immense economic and cultural damage in return.

[5] The art historian Alfred Hagemann interprets this behaviour as meaning that Frederick wanted to enhance his own image in history by deliberately dismantling his own successor.

At the latest, the two forced marriages to Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, and then Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt, arranged by Frederick II led to the tense relationship between king and crown prince.

[3]Frederick II's contempt for his successor is also evidenced by the Potsdam apartment assigned to the "Prince of Prussia" on the corner of Neuer Markt.

[1] The building on Neuer Markt, known today as the "Kabinettshaus", had originally been erected in 1753 for the country preacher Krumbholz and had to be makeshiftly converted into the Crown Prince's Palace in 1764.

In the rented neighbouring house at Schwertfegerstrasse 8, the future Prussian King Frederick William III was born on 3 August 1770.

[6] In the house, the crown prince invited Potsdam's distinguished society to concerts and balls, which, however, were soon moved to the old orangery at the Lustgarten due to lack of space.

Although Frederick II gave his nephew an educational upbringing, the king failed - likely through malice - to introduce the heir to the throne to political processes and contexts.

"I took the liberty to observe that as Shakespeare's genius had traced every labyrinth and penetrated into every recess of the human heart, his sentiments could not fail to please his Royal Highness.

I added that to transfuse the soul of Shakespeare into a translation was impossible, and to taste all his beauties in the original required such a knowledge of the English manners and language as few foreigners, even after a long residence in the capital, could attain.

"His Royal Highness attends to military business with as much assiduity as most officers of the same rank in the army, for in the Prussian service, no degree of eminence in the article of birth can excuse a remission in the duties of that profession.

To the frankness of a soldier, he joins the integrity of a German, and is beloved by the public in general, on account of his good-nature, affability, and humane turn of mind.

[1] Above all, Frederick William's Minister of War Ewald Friedrich von Hertzberg demanded that the king not wait for a change in the European alliance system, but rather actively bring it about.

Frederick William was involved with two more mistresses during his life, both conducted through morganatic marriage, which were also bigamous, since his wife queen Frederica Louisa was still alive.

By highlighting the supposed godlessness of his previous lifestyle, which had been unconcerned with matters of sexuality, they saw the opportunity to displace his most significant competitor, Frederick William's Mistress, Wilhelmine Enke.

[18] In reality, Frederick William gave up his sexual relationship with the future countess but remained closely connected to her in a friendly manner.

On 9 November 1797 Frederick William handed over the government affairs to his son because he was no longer physically capable of doing so due to shortness of breath and immobility.

Thanks to him, several of our provinces received paved and sturdy roads, which our country had been lacking until then (Chausseen in Westphalia, in Silesia, in Magdeburg, in Brandenburg).