Frederick IV, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp

Frederick IV (18 October 1671 – 19 July 1702) was the reigning Duke of Holstein-Gottorp.

Frederick IV
Frederick IV, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
Reign6 January 1695 – 19 July 1702
PredecessorChristian Albert
SuccessorCharles Frederick
Born(1671-10-18)18 October 1671
Gottorf Castle
Died19 July 1702(1702-07-19) (aged 30)
Battle of Kliszów
Burial
Schleswig Cathedral
SpouseHedwig Sophia of Sweden
IssueCharles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
HouseHolstein-Gottorp
FatherChristian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
MotherPrincess Frederica Amalia of Denmark

He was born in Gottorf Castle as the elder son of Duke Christian Albert of Holstein-Gottorp and Princess Frederica Amalia of Denmark. He was married on 12 May 1698 to Princess Hedwig Sophia of Sweden and they had an only child, Charles Frederick, who eventually fathered the future Tsar Peter III of Russia, therefore making Frederick a patrilineal ancestor to all Russian emperors after Catherine II.

He took part in the Great Northern War and was killed by artillery fire in the Battle of Kliszów in Poland.

According to Robert Massie's Peter the Great: His Life and World, Duke Frederick arrived in Stockholm to marry his cousin, Princess Hedwig Sophia, soon befriending his first cousin and new brother-in-law, King Charles XII (their respective mothers, Frederica Amalia and Ulrika Eleonora, being daughters of Frederick III of Denmark).[1] His visit made such an impression on Swedish society that the excesses surrounding him and the King earned him "the Gottorp Fury" as a nickname. Duke Frederick and King Charles regularly participated in wild festivities, drinking binges, and outlandish pranks. Generally, Duke Frederick's influence was the blame for the King's "reckless" lifestyle. There were even rumors at the time that the Duke sought to kill the King and usurp the throne. As it happened, according to Massie in the aforementioned book, the 17-year-old King Charles, in the summer of 1699, pushed himself to an unbearable point of excess and vowed never to touch another drop of liquor again. Apparently, writes Massie, the King stuck to beer thereafter, and even just drank beer when he was either wounded or post-battle. As for his relationship with his cousin Frederick, they remained on good terms, so much that King Charles gave him military assistance to defend Holstein-Gottorp from Danish invasion.

Ancestry

Notes and references
  1. Huberty, Michel; Giraud, Alain; Maagdelaine, F. et B. (1994). L'Allemagne Dynastique, Tome VII Oldenbourg. France: Laballery. pp. 50–51, 75–76. ISBN 2-901138-07-1.

See also
Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp
House of Holstein-Gottorp
Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg
Born: 18 October 1671 Died: 19 July 1702
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Christian Albert		 Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp
1695-1702		 Succeeded by
Charles Frederick
Preceded by
Christian Albert and
Christian V
as co-rulers		 Duke of Holstein and Schleswig
1695–1702
with Christian V (1695-1699)
Frederick IV (1699-1702)		 Succeeded by
Charles Frederick and
Frederick IV
as co-rulers


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