Prince Friedrich Carl Nicolaus of Prussia (20 March 1828 – 15 June 1885) was the son of Prince Charles of Prussia

Prince Charles of Prussia

Prince Frederick Charles Alexander of Prussia born in Charlottenburg, was a younger son of Frederick William III of Prussia and Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz...

 (1801–1883) and his wife Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1808–1877). Prince Frederick Charles was a grandson of King Frederick William III of Prussia

Frederick William III of Prussia

Frederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel .-Early life:...

 and a nephew of Frederick William IV

Frederick William IV of Prussia

|align=right|Upon his accession, he toned down the reactionary policies enacted by his father, easing press censorship and promising to enact a constitution at some point, but he refused to enact a popular legislative assembly, preferring to work with the aristocracy through "united committees" of...

 and William I

William I, German Emperor

William I, also known as Wilhelm I , of the House of Hohenzollern was the King of Prussia and the first German Emperor .Under the leadership of William and his Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the...

. He was born at Schloss Klein in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

.

Biography

From 1842 to 1846, Frederick Charles was under the military tutelage of then major Albrecht von Roon

Albrecht Graf von Roon

Albrecht Theodor Emil Graf von Roon was a Prussian soldier and statesman. As Minister of War 1859–1873 Roon, along with Otto von Bismarck and Helmuth von Moltke, was a dominating figure in Prussia's government during the key decade of the 1860s, when a series of successful wars against Denmark,...

, who accompagnied the Prince to the University of Bonn

University of Bonn

The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...

 in 1846. After his studies, the Prince served as a captain on Wrangel

Friedrich Graf von Wrangel

Friedrich Heinrich Ernst Graf von Wrangel was a Generalfeldmarschall of the Prussian Army. He was nicknamed Papa Wrangel....

's staff during the Schleswig campaign of 1848. Promoted to major on the general staff, he partook in a campaign in Baden

Baden

Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....

 during which he was wounded. During the following peace years he was promoted to colonel in 1852, major general in 1854 and lieutenant general in 1856. In 1860, the Prince published a military book, titled, "Eine militärische Denkschrift von P. F. K.". Promoted to General der Kavallerie, the Prince took part in the Second Schleswig War of 1864 against Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, where he held command over the Prussian troops in the Austro-Prussian expeditionary force.

He served with distinction in the Austro-Prussian War

Austro-Prussian War

The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...

, where he commanded the First Army; consisting of 2nd, 3rd and 4th corps. Arriving first at Königgrätz

Battle of Königgrätz

The Battle of Königgrätz , also known as the Battle of Sadowa, Sadová, or Hradec Králové, was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War, in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire...

, he held the numerically superior Austrians at bay until his cousin Crown Prince Frederick William

Frederick III, German Emperor

Frederick III was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days in 1888, the Year of the Three Emperors. Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl known informally as Fritz, was the only son of Emperor William I and was raised in his family's tradition of military service...

 and his Second army came up and attacked the Austrians in the flank.

At the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War

Franco-Prussian War

The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...

, the Prince was given command of the Second Army, with which he distinguished himself at the Battle of Spicheren

Battle of Spicheren

The Battle of Spicheren, also known as the Battle of Forbach, was a battle during the Franco-Prussian War. The German victory compelled the French to withdraw to the defenses of Metz.- History :...

 and the battles of Vionville-Mars le Tour

Battle of Mars-La-Tour

The Battle of Mars-La-Tour was fought on 16 August 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War near the town of Mars-La-Tour in northeast France. Two Prussian corps encountered the entire French Army of the Rhine in a meeting engagement, and with the surprise entailed, successfully forced the Army of the...

 and Gravelotte-St.Privat

Battle of Gravelotte

The Battle of Gravelotte was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War named after Gravelotte, a village in Lorraine between Metz and the former French–German frontier.-Terrain and armies:...

 and the following Siege of Metz

Siege of Metz

The Siege of Metz lasting from 19 August – 27 October 1870 was fought during the Franco-Prussian War and ended in a decisive Prussian victory.-History:...

. After the fall of Metz

Metz

Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...

, his army was sent to the Loire to clear the area around Orléans

Orléans

-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...

, where French troops, first under Aurelle de Paladines

Louis d'Aurelle de Paladines

Louis Jean-Baptiste d'Aurelle de Paladines was a French general.He was born at Le Malzieu-Ville, Lozère, educated at the Prytanée National Militaire and St Cyr, and entered the army as sub-lieutenant of foot in 1824...

, then under Chanzy, were trying to march north to relieve Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. He won battles at Orleans and Le Mans

Battle of Le Mans

The Battle of Le Mans was a Prussian victory during the Franco-Prussian War which ended French resistance in western France.-Background:After the victory at the Battle of Orleans , Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia marched his army further to the west towards Le Mans. Antoine Chanzy had under his...

. For his services he was promoted to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall

Generalfeldmarschall

Field Marshal or Generalfeldmarschall in German, was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire; in the Austrian Empire, the rank Feldmarschall was used...

. After the war, the Prince was made Inspector-General and was given the rank of Field Marshal of Russia by Alexander II of Russia

Alexander II of Russia

Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...

.

In 1878 he was created an honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

Order of the Bath

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...

.

He died at Jagdschloss Glienicke

Jagdschloss Glienicke

Jagdschloss Glienicke is a small German hunting lodge in Berlin-Wannsee near Glienicke Bridge. The Glienicke Palace and Babelsberg Palace can be seen nearby. It was begun in 1682 by Charles Philippe Dieussart for Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg and completed in 1693 during the reign of...

.

Family and Children

On 29 November 1854 at Dessau

Dessau

Dessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 .-Geography:...

 he married Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau

Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau

Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau was a princess from the House of Ascania. She was the third child of Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt and Frederica Wilhelmina of Prussia.-Family:...

 (1837–1906), daughter of Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt

Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt

Leopold IV Frederick, Duke of Anhalt was a German prince of the House of Ascania.From 1817 until 1853 he was ruler of the duchy of Anhalt-Dessau and from 1847 until 1853 also ruler of the duchy of Anhalt-Köthen...

. They had five children amongst which:

Name	|Death	Princess Elisabeth Anna of Prussia Princess Elisabeth Anna of Prussia Princess Elisabeth Anna of Prussia was a German princess. She was the second child of Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia and Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau...	1857	1895	married Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg Frederick Augustus II was the last ruling grand duke of Oldenburg. He married Princess Elisabeth Anna of Prussia, daughter of Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau and Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia...
Princess Anna Victoria Charlotte Augusta Adelheid of Prussia	1858	1858
Princess Luise Margarete Alexandra Victoria Agnes of Prussia	1860	1917	married Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a member of the shared British and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha royal family who served as the Governor General of Canada, the 10th since Canadian Confederation.Born the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and...
Prince Joachim Carl Wilhelm Friedrich Leopold of Prussia Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia Joachim Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Leopold Prinz von Preußen was a son of Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia and Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau, married in 1854.- Family :On 24 June 1889 he married in Berlin Princess Louise Sophie of...	1865	1931	married Princess Louise Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg Princess Louise Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg Princess Louise Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg was a daughter of Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.-Family:Louise was the sixth child and third daughter of Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and his wife Princess...

After the birth of their fourth daughter, Luise Margarete, Prince Frederick Charles reportedly boxed his wife's ears for not producing a son.

Ancestry