josefavomjaaga

[josefavomjaaga]

The celebrations for Napoleon's second marriage lasted several weeks. As per schedule, the first meeting with and solemn reception of Marie Louise was supposed to have taken place in Soissons on 27 March, but Napoleon's impatience had long since overturned his own timetable. The civil wedding took place on the first of April, the church wedding on the second; then it was daily travel, balls and receptions.

These events came to a tragic end with the ball at Prince Schwarzenberg's on the first of July 1810, when a fire broke out and killed several guests. Many more were injured. While the Emperor and Empress were brought to safety in time with relative ease, panic and commotion ensued in the timber-built ballroom as everyone scrambled towards the exit.

Also present were the Viceroy and Vice-Queen of Italy, i.e. Eugène and Auguste. Eugène's old secretary Darnay, in his »Notices historiques sur Son Altesse royale le Prince Eugène« reports only briefly:

[...] On the return from this journey, which constituted another triumph for the Emperor Napoleon, festivals resumed their course. The one of Prince Schwartemberg, intended to be the culmination, and prepared with great expense and care, had, as is only too well known, the most deplorable consequences, and caused the prince himself such cruelly painful losses. The viceroy, on this terrible occasion, had the good fortune to spare the vice queen great anxiety, by arranging for her to evacuate the room, without Her Highness ever knowing the dangers of the moment. This foresight was all the more fortunate as the vice queen, as we have seen, was entering into another pregnancy.

Other sources give more details on what happened. Apparently, Eugène had been off dancing somewhere (well, what else) when the fire broke out. When Napoleon and Marie Louise were led out of the building, and when everybody else rushed to the exits, elbowing each other out of the way, Auguste stayed behind on the platform where the imperial family had been seated, and waited until Eugène had joined her. By then, the roof had already caught fire, people panicked.

Eugène (eyeing the chandelier): I think that thing is about to come down any minute. This is a desperate situation, honey.

Auguste: I tend to agree, my dear.

Eugène: Desperate situations require desperate measures. (opens the service door from the dancing hall to the kitchen through which the servants had brought refreshments throughout the whole evening) After you, darling.

Auguste: Thank you, my love.

And that was that.

[josefavomjaaga]

The least important and thus rightfully least known of the three napoleonic battles that happened on a 14 June. But still a battle, and here it is.

Battle of Raab

Belated happy birthday, Eugène!

As I had already talked about Eugène’s birthday present 1809 (his 28th birthday) here, maybe we could have a look at what had happened a couple of weeks earlier, on June 14th. It’s Eugène’s (tiny) share of napoleonic military glory, after all: the battle of Raab. Rarely mentioned, but astonishinghly considered quite important by Napoleon for psychological reasons, even still on Saint Helena. On 9 March 1821, according to Bertrand’s journal, he calls the victory at Raab »the greatest service Prince Eugène ever did him«, because it erased the memory of the recent defeat at Aspern and Essling and »made quite an impression« on friends and foes alike.

As already mentioned several times, Eugène’s start into independent command had been a sound defeat, at Sacile in April 1809. With Napoleon showering him with reproachful letters over the next weeks and droning on about military responsibility, lack of sufficient information for imperial stepfathers and Masséna and Murat being so much better at this job, Eugène removed all obstacles the Austrians had put in his way through the Alps, met with Napoleon in Austria and was sent in pursuit of archduke Johann (Jean, John) into Hungary, where he managed to beat Johann and his brother Joseph, at Raab on June 14. Funnily enough, the two archdukes (or rather their chief-of-staff Nugent) apparently had wanted to give battle on the 15th and … somehow expected that the French would wait that long? In any case, Eugène didn’t, as this was the anniversary of the battle of Marengo and of Friedland, so he considered it a lucky day. His attack surprised the two archdukes and their entourage during their déjeuner and probably annoyed them a lot.

As happy as Napoleon later was about the victory, I guess he actually didn’t want it to be fought. As usual, he tried to command all military operations himself, from the castle of Schönbrunn close to Vienna, so we have an extensive correspondence between him and Eugène. On June 15, one day after the battle had taken place, Napoleon writes:

Your general instruction is to pursue the Archduke John and to do him as much harm as you can without compromising yourself.

Which I take to mean as: Pursue him, chase him off, but don’t do anything dangerous! - Of course, by the time Eugène received the letter, it had become rather pointless, and Eugène had already written one of his own:

From headquarters close to Raab, 14 June 1809.

Sire, I hasten to report to Your Majesty that I gave battle today to Prince John, and that I had the good fortune to win it. It was the anniversary of a day too beautiful for anything to happen to us.

Which is so Eugène. After Sacile, he simply wrote »I lost the battle«, taking full responsibility. Now that he’s won, it’s due to »good fortune« and the anniversary of Marengo. (He does show a little more pride in his letter to his wife though, going as far as to admit that his mamluke Petrus had been wounded in the head by a bullet »while standing behind me – all those little events are over now, so I can tell you about them«. Which, I assume, did not keep Auguste from freaking out when she imagined that bullet passing so close to her precious husband.)

Speaking of the vice-queen: We do know what Napoleon was doing when he learned about the battle of Raab: He was just replying to a letter from Auguste.

Schönbrunn, 15 June 1809

My daughter, I have received your letter of 2 June. I thank you for your words. I was informed of the good conduct you maintained during the affairs in Italy and of the courage you showed. I am very happy about these new claims you have made on my esteem. Eugène is in Hungary, where he is fighting the enemy.

Napol

P.S. At the very moment, I receive the news that Eugène won, on the 14th, anniversary of the battle of Marengo, a victory at Raab in Hungary against the Archduke John and the Archduke Palatine, took from them 3,000 men, several pieces of cannon and four flags.

Girl! Your boy won a battle. - Dumbfounded. Nap.

This was only the first of several letters in which Napoleon, more or less clearly proud, included a remark about this victory. The first – of course - went to Josephine.

Schönbrunn, 16th June 1809

I am sending you a page to announce to you that on the 14th, anniversary of Marengo, Eugène won a battle against the Archduke John and the Archduke Palatine, at Raab, in Hungary, took from them three thousand men, several pieces of cannon, four flags and pursued them very far on the road to Buda. Napoleon

(Just on a sidenote: this seems like a rather cool letter. No greetings, no good wishes, no »entirely yours« or some other polite phrase. It is only a couple of months before Josephine will get the boot, after all. But still: Josephine, Josephine! Our boy won a battle! Who would have thought!)

According to Jean de Bourgoing, there was another letter congratulating king Max of Bavaria for the fact his son-in-law had won a battle, but he did not cite it, so I can’t quote it.

Davout, at the head of 3rd corps, got a much more businesslike letter:

Schönbrunn, 16 June 1809, four hours after midday

My cousin, Prince Eugène’s officer who passed by your outposts, who left on the 15th at two o'clock in the afternoon, arrived, and two hours afterwards arrived General Caffarelli, who left on the 14th in the evening. They brought me the report of the battle of the 14th, anniversary of Marengo and Friedland. The day was beautiful; the combined armies of Archduke John and Archduke Palatine were routed. […]

So, Davout, not sure if you’ve heard of it already, but … the boy won a battle! My boy! A real battle, Davout!

(And I can just imagine Monsieur Auerstedt’s reaction: Well, with two sides going into battle, one of them winning tends to happen, indeed…)

And then there’s a letter on 17 June to Jérôme, king of Westphalia, containing the usual mix of reproaches and instructions, but ending:

The attached order of the day will let you know in what way the right wing of my army celebrated the anniversary of Marengo.

And that attached order then sang the praise of Eugène’s Italian army. Which was probably a particularly stinging way of telling Jérôme: You know, that Beauharnais bit player you all dislike so much just won me a battle – and you can’t even deal with that one Schill guy!

Of course Napoleon also wrote to Eugène himself. He even almost let himself be carried away a little at first:

Schönbrunn, 16 June 1809, five o'clock in the evening

My son, the officer whom you made leave on the 15th at two hours after midday arrived first; two hours afterwards arrived general Caffarelli. I congratulate you on the battle of Raab, it is a grand-daughter of Marengo and Friedland […]

But of course he would not be Napoleon if he didn’t find a fly in the ointment and immediately take the occasion to play the teacher:

Since you attacked in echelons from the right, why did you not put twenty-five cannon at the head of your echelons? That would have strengthened your attack and intimidated the enemy. The cannon, like all other weapons, must be massed if one wants to obtain an important result.

After a long to-do list he adds:

I enclose a copy of the order of the day. Please convey my satisfaction to the army.

Napoleon

P.S. I have written to the empress and the vice queen.

Which is probably as close to »Well done, I’m kinda proud of you, I guess« as Napoleon would ever utter.

He would do his very best to erase all sentimentalism over the next days by replacing Eugène’s chief-of-staff without even informing Eugène first, arguing that the general who had held that position at Raab had done a very bad job (Eugène immediately spoke up for his subordinate and even received a pension for him), and by continuing with his usual grumbling and nagging – probably just to make sure Eugène didn’t get any ideas about Napoleon letting him out from under his thumb.

An example:

My son, I receive your letter of the 16th, brought to me by the staff officer Fontenilles. I notice two omissions: 1. you do not put the time; 2. you do not mention which of my letters you are replying to.

Just so you know, you’re still not done with your homework, son.

[josefavomjaaga]

Portraits of Eugene de Beauharnais Viceroy of Italy 1805

L.C. Ruotte

[josefavomjaaga]

Yes, today April 10 is the birthday of the year, kisses kisses

[josefavomjaaga]

If Eugène counts as a relative despite not being blood-related, the answer is clear.

Other than that, I can never quite make up my mind between Louis (who I feel was both the most humane and most principled of the Bonaparte brothers) and ... Jérome. I can't help but admire the chutzpah with which he just refused to do the slightest bit of work and expected to be fed by somebody else throughout his life, while weathering big brother's fury and managing to be a constant pain in Napoleon's imperial ass.

Any of you guys got a favourite Bonaparte relative? I’m quite partial to Louis, homie did his best.

His drip was immaculate as well.

[josefavomjaaga]

”The Empress’ Shoes”

(Y/N X Napoleon)

I really like to write, so I figured I’d take a crack at a little fan fiction! Napoleon fans, enjoy your well-crafted slop 👇👇👇

It’s a warm spring afternoon at the Chateau, with birds chirping throughout the property and your precious roses peeking from their buds. You’ve spent the morning in the garden, wandering the grounds and trimming the flowers that needed it. After a simple lunch of pasta, you decide you ought to check on your husband. 

You peer into the library, where Napoleon is sitting writing on parchment, furrowing his brow.

“Napoleon?”

He looks up from the pages and smiles. “Y/N! Do come in!”

You step into the room and join him at the desk, and you notice that his writing is more illegible than usual. He appears exhausted, but always happy to see your sweet face. You take a seat beside him, but he quickly reaches for your hand to hold. 

“How was your morning, my love?” He gazes at you with weary eyes that hold the sparkle they always have.

“Oh, it’s been pleasant. I spent some time in the garden, then I had my lunch. What are you writing, honey?”

“This?” He looks down at the papers. “It’s a report for our surgeons. The stack to the left is for the marshals.” He holds onto your hand gently, with his thumb moving up and down upon yours. “I’m rather glad you came in.”

“Eh? Why is that?” 

“I’m becoming quite tired.”

You laugh a little, as his state is quite obvious to you. His eye bags have become pronounced, with his skin looking pale in contrast.

“I believe I advised you to go to sleep early last night…”

He looks away, a tad embarrassed. Many of the shots you call are for the best, and this is one of those instances.

“Next thing you know, you will-”

“Why don’t you rest for the remainder of the day?”

And so he does, per his dear Y/N’s request. 

…

There’s a light snicker throughout the halls as the chateau’s servants happen upon a sweet sight. On the sofa, the emperor reclines with the empress on his chest, your soft hands on him as the two of you doze the afternoon away. 

“For such a private man, the Emperor loves to show off his wife…”

“Do you think he forgot where his bedroom was?”

When you wake up, you’ll find Napoleon right where you left him, and he will be thankful you convinced him.

—————————————————————————

I hope you enjoyed my writing! Have a wonderful week! 🫶

[josefavomjaaga]

Imagine your favorite historical figure getting their hand trapped in a jar

[josefavomjaaga]

If you see this you’re legally obligated to reblog and tag with the book you’re currently reading

[josefavomjaaga]

When discussing Eugene, you often write that he remained a child throughout his entire life. Why's that?

First of all, thanks for the Ask! 💖 Seeing any kind of interest in Eugène always makes me happy!

As to the question ... It's not so much a question of childishness but one of refusing to grow up and come into his own. - I've not seen much of "Game of Thrones" but I understand there was an episode called "Kill the boy" (i.e., Jon Snow was told to kill the child-like innocence in himself and to "become a man", i.e., a leader, which includes making dubious decisions, disobeying orders and occasionally follow another path than the one prescribed by obedience and honour - in short: fighting for yourself and for your own good).

Eugène seems to never have gotten that message.

It makes it, in my opinion, very easy to like him, but equally easy to ignore and forget him. He's far too timid and restrained to be one of the heroes of the era, like the marshals were. Throughout all his life he looks up to others, often to a father figure, works his ass off to receive other people's appreciation (often in vain), and barely ever demands anything for himself, expecting that, as a good boy, he'll receive the recognition and respect (and financial compensation, let's not forget that!) that is due to him anyway. - Which sometimes worked and oftentimes didn't.

But he never ever fought for himself. Not when Napoleon refused to call him to the army in 1805 and 1806, not when Napoleon kicked out his mother and took the Italian crown from him, not when the Allies offered him a throne - even as late as 1814, when he joined the Vienna Congress in order to demand the principality that had been guaranteed to him by the treaty of Paris, he kept arguing "Look, it's not for me. It's because of my wife..."

Of course this did not work out. In a pack of predators, somebody like Eugène did not have a chance. As I'm not very fond of human beings behaving like a bunch of baboons, elbowing each other out of the way, constantly fighting for dominance, it's actually one reason why I like him. But it also means that he was the ultimate "normal guy", utterly boring when compared to the glorious figures of the era, even to the mere politicians, even to Napoleon's brothers, despite having held one of the major posts of the empire and done an excellent job in it for the most part.

And of course, there's the not so small aspect of how people, from Hoche to Napoleon to Macdonald to Max Joseph to even Alexander, started acting all paternal towards Eugène as soon as they met him. Eugène must have had one huge, blinking, neon-coloured "Are you my new Daddy now?" sign hovering over his head.

And yes, as even his biographer Kérautret notes, it would be fun speculating where that comes from. But it would remain speculation, and I'm not a psychologist.

Thank you once more for the Ask! and for the interest; I hope I could answer your question appropriately.

[josefavomjaaga]

Similar experience from my long ago school days. The era was shown to us as one of constant bloodshed and oppression, dark and gloomy, with people mostly busy being ruined and getting killed.

How did my history teacher look at me when I told her that I liked the Napoleonic era...

I always get that sentence: “Oh, but he was a tyrant, he killed people.” oh no way! I didn't know that!

(It's humor... But it's true)

[josefavomjaaga]

I just realized something: After the battle of Valutina Gora, when Napoleon threatened to take command of 8th corps away from Junot and give it to Rapp, and Rapp refused and together with some other folks succeeded in calming Napoleon down, this may only have been for the moment. At the battle of Borodino three weeks later, Junot was apparently under tutelage: Ney in his official report - that was published together with the bulletins - says that Napoleon had put 8th corps under Ney's command. The reports of all commanders are cited after the bulletin - Junot is not among them.

I can see why Junot was disheartened. But also, this must have been a real problem for Laure when she was writing her memoirs. There was no way she could criticise the guy who by the late 1820s had already taken on the role of martyr and THE hero of the Russian campaign. No matter if he had "stolen" her husband's potential laurels.

[josefavomjaaga]

Letter from Duroc to Oudinot

This letter was written four weeks after the battle of Austerlitz, and in a way caused by one Jean Andoche Junot: When Junot had unexpectedly shown up at headquarters on the eve of the battle, all orders of command had already been given. But Junot now needed a post. So Napoleon gave him that of Duroc, who was placed under Oudinot's orders instead and commanded a unit of grenadiers. Duroc, as shown below, took it in stride and with his customary amiability.

Translated from the book Correspondance du grand maréchal du palais de Napoléon Ier, edited by Samoyault/Vial, Paris 2023, page 422

Munich, 3 January 1806 – To General Oudinot I can only thank you, my dear general, for the kind manner in which you speak of what concerns me at the battle of Austerlitz; I would have wished for the occasion to have provided me with the means of proving to you the pleasure I had of serving there under your orders and of commanding some of your brave grenadiers. I will never forget your kindness towards me, I wish to have shown you by my conduct how much I appreciated it, and I am delighted to have established a more personal relationship with you. Receive, my dear General, the assurance of my attachment and my most distinguished consideration. Duroc.

[josefavomjaaga]

About Adèle, about my novel, about me!

It's been almost a year now since I started working on a concept for a novel about Adèle Duchâtel and her lovestory with Emperor Napoléon. What started out as little thought bubbles eventually formed into a story that I think is definitely worth reading and isn't bad at all! My desire to write something about a lady from the court of Napoléon and Joséphine was to bring Adèle Duchâtel out of darkness into the light. My story is not a biographical novel, as research of Adèle's life is almost impossible, she is literally unknown. There isn't a single biographical work about her. Nevertheless, Adèle has her place in world history! Napoléon honoured her on Saint Helena by speaking kindly of her (while he had few kind words for most of the other women in his life).

Through her forced marriage to the state minister Charles Duchâtel, who was thirty-one years older than her, Adèle came to the court of the First Consul Bonaparte when she was twenty years old in 1802. She remained loyal to Napoléon until his last day in Malmaison, on June 29, 1815.

Adèle was a lady-in-waiting to both Empresses, Joséphine and Marie-Louise. She was popular at court for her harp playing, her dancing talent, and, not least for her beauty and fashionable elegance!

My story tells of Adèle's love for Napoléon. I chose the erotic narrative form because it best illustrates the fulfillment both, Napoléon and Adèle, experienced in their longing for love and sexual freedom. (Perhaps the title "Fifty Shades of Napoléon" would fit better! 😉) I always wanted to read a story like this about Napoléon, but I have not been able to find such a permissive work about him. Despite his numerous love affairs and two marriages, I believe Napoléon never found true fulfillment in his sexual desires and dreams of love! Madame de Rémusat aptly said of him: "Napoléon would have been a better human, if he had been better loved!" I rather think he just didn't allow himself to be truly loved. Well, in my novel I make his wildest dreams come true! (And one can believe me when I say I had a blast of writing it!!!)

These 55 novel fragments form the first book of two. In the second book, I recount the birth of Adèle's daughter, her return to Paris, and Adèle's elevation to "Countess". She returns to court, but remains at a distance from the Emperor. Due to the Walewska crisis, Joséphine becomes closer to Adèle again, and the two women seek comfort and strength together to deal with the sudden appearance of this official mistress of the Emperor. Heartbroken, Adèle flees from Napoléon's advances but loses her resistance in the winter of 1809-1810, when Napoléon was divorced, alone, free, and full of desire for Adèle. She experiences her second honeymoon with the Emperor, eventually becoming Marie-Louise's lady-in-waiting and living under the same roof as the Emperor. Adèle triumphs with her grace in the "War of the Quadrilles" in 1811, she becomes the favorite aunt of the young King of Rome and ultimately has her love, Emperor Napoléon, to slip off from her arms to march into Russia with his Grande Armée....

Well, I won't share the sequel of my story on Tumblr. I was looking for a place to publish my first fragments, and I found it here. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my readers for their attention! ❤️🙏

What I would like to achieve above all is that an author (please not an old man! I would prefer a young authoress!!!) discovered the life and love of Adèle Duchâtel, wrote it and published it as hard- or softcover.

That is my greatest wish! (...on March 29, 2025!) 🌹

[josefavomjaaga]

Happy Birthday, Marshal Soult!

This is probably a rather weird birthday post. Also, it has little to do with Napoleon. But as it sums up Soult’s life in a way, I do find it strangely appropriate: Soult’s letter of resignation to King Louis Philippe (quoted and translated from L. Muél, »Gouvernements, ministères et constitutions de la France«, 2nd edition, Paris 1891, and the memors of François Guizot).

Soult-Berg (Tarn), 15 September 1847.

Sire,

I was at the service of my country, sixty-three years ago, when the old monarchy was still standing, before the first glimmers of our national revolution. A soldier of the Republic and a lieutenant of the Emperor Napoleon, I took part unceasingly in this immense struggle for the independence, liberty and glory of France, and I was one of those who supported it until the last day. Your Majesty deigned to believe that my services could be useful in the new and no less patriotic struggle which God and France have called upon her to wage for the consolidation of our constitutional order; I thank Your Majesty for this. It is the honour of my life that my name thus occupies a place in all the military and civil activities which have assured the triumph of our great cause. Your Majesty’s confidence supported me in the last services which I tried to render. My devotion to Your Majesty and to France is absolute; but I feel that my strength betrays this devotion. May Your Majesty allow me to devote what is left of it to recollection, having reached the end of my laborious career. I have dedicated to you, Sire, the activity of my last years; give me the respite from my old services, and allow me to deposit at the foot of Your Majesty’s throne my resignation from the presidency of the Council with which Your Majesty had deigned to invest me. I shall enjoy this repose amidst the general safety which Your Majesty’s firm wisdom has given to France and to all those who have served your Majesty and who love him. My gratitude for Your Majesty’s kindnesses, my wishes for His prosperity and that of His august family will follow me in this rest until my last day; they will not cease to equal the unalterable devotion and the profound respect with which I am

Sire, of Your Majesty, the most humble and obedient servant,

Maréchal Duc de Dalmatie.

At the time he wrote this, Soult was 78 years old. He would live for another three years. As to Louis Philippe’s July Monarchy, it would last for another five months after Soult’s resignation – it’s almost as if everybody had just waited for him to leave. In February 1848, the monarchy was overthrown, and the Second French Republic installed - who, another four months later, would bloodily oppress the workers’ uprisings, killing 5,000 and incarcerating over 10,000, and who in December of the same year 1848 already would elect a certain Louis Napoléon Bonaparte as president, thus paving the way for the Second Empire.

Soult died six days before future Napoleon III’s coup d’état.

By the way, his letter of resignation would be commented on in a book called »Histoire de la révolution de 1848 et de la présidence de Louis-Napoléon«, Paris 1850, as follows:

[…] On September 19 the Moniteur published long awaited news: in a letter to the king, in which the courtier can be found in its entirety, Marshal Soult resigned from his functions as president of the council, justifying his decision on the grounds of his old age and his urgent need to rest in the general safety that the wisdom of Louis Philippe had given to France! This meant closing with a lie a career which had originally been glorious, but which had been seriously compromised by a passion for gain, by a restless ambition and by servile complacency.

[josefavomjaaga]

... and most people in the fandom would probably not even notice ...

Imagine your favorite historical figure going out to buy milk but gets lost and is never seen again

[josefavomjaaga]

"There are only bears here"

I may have translated this letter earlier, but I couldn’t find it anymore. Sorry if it's a duplicate.

Translated from Mémoires et correspondance politique et militaire du Prince Eugène, Volume 8

Eugène to the vice-queen Moscow, 24 September 1812 […] The day before yesterday, after I had written to you, we all mounted our horses and took up arms; an enemy force had thrown itself on our rear, but it was soon repulsed: yesterday, cannon were fired again on the Podolsk side; it was the Duke of Istria who, with an advance guard, encountered a Russian rearguard. On the roads I am guarding, everything is very quiet so far. […]

The Duke of Istria of course being Bessières. In the evening, Eugène adds:

[…] As I don't know whether our communications will still be free later on, I'm taking advantage of the departure of this courier to send you your New Year's gift; it's the nicest fur I could find to buy in all this mess; it's a long time in advance for New Year's gifts, but it's still possible that everything will be finished by then, and then I'll come myself..... I'll try to find something for my little angels, but it's very difficult: there are only bears here, and that's to the letter.

One frustrated customer in burned down Moscow. Sounds like the viceroy of Italy is about to write a scathing yelp review.

[josefavomjaaga]

Hello, I'm a Napoleonic Era fan who's interested in learning more about Frederick William III (and his wife)!

I've been struggling to find resources as language barriers have proven difficult (I am an English speaker), and Frederick just doesn't get enough coverage like other Napoleonic figures.

You're the only Frederick enthusiast I can find on this site, so I'd love to hear any facts you have about him or any resources/articles/books if possible!

I'd love to learn more about the Hohenzollern dynasty in general, they seem like interesting folk! :-)

Hallo! I'm very happy to talk about Friedrich Wilhelm III and Luise :D

First, let me direct you to my partners blog @waifu-napoleon! They also have a lot of information about Friedrich.

The books I am usually reading are unfortunately all in German, and I can't really find any useful information on English books. Sorry! But I can provide translated book passages on my blog, which I will soon resume (hopefully sooner than later).

10 little facts about Friedrich:

1. He had a very funny/abrupt way of talking. My tag '#Frederick Williams speech pattern' has a few examples of this, where I loosley translated quotes from my books.

2. Directly after the battle of Jena-Auerstedt, he was evading French troops for 26 hours, without food and only his horse as a companion. He was awake the entire time and was asking around in villages for the nearest safe city where he then collapsed as soon as he knew he was safe.

3. He was always seen as a bit weird and "dry", even around his troops in his days as crown prince. But everyone directly noticed a change in his behaviour as soon as he and Luise were engaged. He seemed happier and more relaxed, and even made "dirty" jokes, which Luise taught him in their letters to each other.

4. When he and his family where in exile in Königsberg in East Prussia, he apparently liked to go swimming in the Baltic Sea.

5. In general the Royal family liked to play "hit the pot" or "blindsman buff". I'd like everyone to picture Friedrich Wilhelm, crawling on the floor with a blind fold around his eyes, trying to hit a pot. Possible getting attacked by his kids because we all know if dad is already on the ground, it's the best way to tackle him even further (it was stated in my books that he did roll around with his kids on the floor).

6. Luise and him had a little summer residence called "Paretz". In there, they had three rooms for themselves: his office, her living room and their shared bedroom (which was very uncommon in that time, that a royal couple would share a bedroom). The other rooms were for the kids, dining, balls, servants etc.

7. He liked uniforms very much, so much so that when he was still a younger crown prince, he would try different ones on in his room in secret.

8. He stuck a rowanberry up his nose when he was a kid and was scolded by his teacher for it.

9. His relationship with his father was very bad. His father said upon hearing of Friedrich Wilhelm's birth that he wished "that thing would've never seen the light". So Friedrich actually grew up without having felt proper love towards himself most of his life. His father preferred his kids from his other wives and mistresses. But when he died, Friedrich Wilhelm let his way younger half-brothers and sisters come before him and Luise and said: Look, these are my father's other kids. I shall love them like they're my own.

10. He hated tragedies, whether as books or as plays. He preferred lighter stories and used them also to distract himself from bad situations. When one of his and Luises sons died young, he went to the theatre for example. He often just sat between the common folk and tried to blend in with them by wearing a simple black coat.

And a bonus fact I just remembered!

Friedrich hated being the centre of attention. So much that he often tried to get to places unseen, such as when he was still a crown Prince. Him, his brother and his father were staying in a city and were supposed to be picked up the next morning by carriages and bought to their military camps while the attention of the city was upon them. But Friedrich snuck out of his room and went all the way by foot an hour earlier so he could get away without being seen or noticed.

So... those were a lot of facts about him haha. I hope I could somewhat help, but feel free to always ask more, I am always happy to talk about him!