Prince Frederik (1797-1881), Princess Luise (1808-1870) of The Netherlands and Family

[Marengo]

Wasn´t Prince Frederik approached to become King of Greece or Roumenia once? I forgot the particulars but he wasn´t very interested in the position and declined.

[Helena]

I think it was Greece, he declined and Otto of Bavaria later accepted.

Does anybody know the stories about the death of his sons? One died during a gym exersise.

[CyrilVladisla]

In 1829 Prince Frederik was a candidate for the throne of Greece.
He did not accept to be the King of Greece.
He did not want to be king because he did not know the language.
He was not familiar with the country's traditions.

[Lee-Z]

Originally Posted by Helena

I think it was Greece, he declined and Otto of Bavaria later accepted.

Does anybody know the stories about the death of his sons? One died during a gym exersise.

(info from publication "Alle Oranjes" episode 11 "Family tragedies due to accidents and illness" chapter 6)
The older son Willem Frederik died before his first birthday, the younger son was born a year after that, also named Willem Frederik.
Indeed the younger son at age nine suffered a very bad fall during gym exercize and died shortly after that.
Their parents Frederik and Louise were very distraught by this, Princes Louise (or Princes Frederik, as she was called) was so devastated that people fear that she will die too...
The children's room of the younger son remains as it was when he died for 35 years, until Prince Frederik (the father) himself dies...

Regarding the Greek throne (from "alle oranjes" episode 6 "dutch princesses on foreign thrones" chapter 5):
apparently P.Frederik was reasonably surprised when the throne was offered, considered it but eventually turned it down stating "I feel i'm needed in my own country. We have difficulties with the belgians at this time and i don't want to turn away from that"
(ironically the Greek throne was then offered to P.Leopold of Saxe-Coburg who declined it too, but 5 months later did accept the throne from the new independant country Belgium)

[Marengo]

Anton van de Sane, emeritus teacher in Freemasonry at the University of Leiden, wrote a biography of prince Frederik called 'Prins Frederik der Nederlanden (1797-1881)
Gentleman naast de troon'.

He says it is too much to say that he was the only decent member of the house of Orange in the 19th century, but he does say that the prince was more able than the three kings, his father, his brother and his nephew. Van de Sande compares him to Beatrix who also knew the symbolic value of the monarchy and how to pass it on unharmed to the next generation.

He was the richest member of the house of Orange, due to the compensation he received for Luxembourg. He often mediated between all the troublesome family members. His status within the family rose after the death of his brother, when he was involved in settling the debts of Willem II, making sure that WIllem III accepted the throne and preventing a divorce for Willem III and Sophie of Wurttemberg.


'Prins Frederik was beter dan onze eerste koningen' | NOS

The book can be ordered online:
http://www.vantilt.nl/boeken/prinsfrederik/

***
What a treat! I ordered the book immediately.

[CyrilVladisla]

In 1816 Prince Frederik was accepted as a Freemason in a Berlin lodge of the German Grand Lodge "Zu den Drei Weltkugeln".
In 1816 he was appointed as Grand Master National of the Grand East of the Netherlands and for the Chapter of the High Degrees.