Was frederick the great gay

[1] Most modern scholars agree that Prussian King Frederick the Great (–) was primarily homosexual. Some biographers even argue that his sexual orientation was central to his life. [2][3][4][5][6] However, the nature of his actual relationships remains speculative. [7]. Frederick was close friends with Voltaire, met J.S. Bach, and himself was an accomplished flute player and composer.

His homosexuality was not only a part of his identity, but it was also widely known (Voltaire wrote salaciously about it during their falling out). In his hagiography of the king, historian Thomas Carlyle rejected assertions that Frederick was gay as a "thrice-abominable rumor" spread by those with a "solacement to human malice. Was Frederick the Great of Prussia secretly gay? In this video, we explore the life and sexuality of one of the most influential rulers of the 18th century.

Learn about his relationships, his. One person could take the credit for making Postdam the “Rococo Jewel,” namely King Frederick the Great. The palaces in Postdam are on the UNESCO world heritage list. Most historians agree that Frederick the Great was a homosexual. He was the Prussian king from until he died in While well-known to contemporaries there was a significant aspect of his life that people tried to erase from history — he was gay.

For Pride Month we are doing a special looking into the queerness of Frederick the Great. This post is not intended to be a thorough biography of the Prussian king but rather a look into how we know about his sexuality, how he expressed himself, and the legacies of this. Before we start we have to actually define what we are talking about as labels can be both restrictive and emancipatory.

For one, the terms we use today — gay and homosexual — either meant something else or would not be coined for a further century respectively. To early modern Europeans there was just sexuality where same-sex relations were deviations from this sexuality. As a result lesbian sex was seen as masturbation which was not as strictly taboo, although women could be charged if they dressed as a man or used a dildo during sex.

Sex was not the only factor determining whether you would be persecuted for same-sex relations. In Spain and its colonies your position determined how guilty you were with the one doing the penetrating being seen as extending their position as a man. Position in society could also determine whether someone would be persecuted for same-sex relations or crossing the gender line.

These men could engage in homosexual and bisexual relations because they were aristocrats. If it was in private then they could freely go against gender stereotypes with little fear of persecution, although this could easily be a fine line. Accusations of lesbianism was levelled at Marie Antoinette providing justification for other political criticisms of her.

His concept of masculinity was also out of tune with other leaders of Europe at the time. For many aristocrats and nobles engaging in the arts, writing poetry, and playing instruments was a sign of masculinity, something Frederick William disagreed with. Instead, he placed masculinity as being solely tied to militarism and warfare, something linked to his own state-building project which aimed to position Prussia as a military power in central Europe.

Out of step with the rest of Europe including his own father Frederick William positioned the arts as being feminine. This was an issue in regards to his eldest son, the eventual Frederick II. Even from a young age Frederick was noted for his love for the arts — apparently on his sixth birthday he abandoned the lead toy soldiers he had been gifted and soon was serenading the ladies at court with a new book of French melodies.

From childhood through teenage years Frederick was known as a lover of philosophy aided by a vibrant printing press , a flutist, and a fan of French fashion, all of which angered his father.

frederick the great wife

We have two possible lovers during his teenage years, and it reflects a type that would continue throughout his life: both of these figures were older and more effeminate. The young Peter was dismissed as a page and eventually Frederick would find another lover. The relationship with Katte has often been the one that has been glossed over the most in the historiography until recently, something we will go more into later.

The overbearing nature of Frederick William and his open disdain for his son led to the two lovers wanting to escape. What followed was a tragedy. Frederick and Hermann had been plotting their escape from Prussia when a grievous mistake happened. In August Frederick tried to slip away from the royal family to rendezvous with Katte in Potsdam but both were caught and imprisoned in Kustrin.

Apocalyptic with rage Frederick William wanted to have his own son executed, using the fact that Frederick was in the military making his escape an act of treason, until the Holy Roman Emperor himself intervened. Instead, Frederick would face internal exile and, even worse, was forced to watch the execution of his love. Luckily for Frederick he fainted just as the swordsman swung his blade.

For the next two years Frederick William aimed to disinherit his son and replace him with one of his brothers — ironically Prince Henry would also be open about his preference for men years later. In Frederick was allowed back to Berlin if he accepted Elizabeth Christine of Brunswick as his wife. It is not surprising that this was a loveless marriage done entirely out of convenience.