Friedrich was not exactly elated with his father's choice of a bride.
Princess Elizabeth Christine von Braunschweig-Bevern, a Protestant
relative of the Imperial Habsburgs, was the type of woman that
Friedrich was not fond of. When he requested only certain virtues in
any future spouse, he distinctly asked that she at least not be stupid or
poorly mannered. Princess Elizabeth Christine was slightly timid and
only seventeen years old when they first met, and Friedrich was not
especially pleased with her looks. She had a pale complexion, blond
curly hair and light blue eyes, but rather poor posture topped with bad
teeth. However, both answered under oath at their betrothal in March
of 1732 that, yes, they were of the same opinion as their parents in
desiring the marriage.
Newly wed to Elizabeth, Friedrich had more interest in intellectual topics and a great ambition to
improve his mental capacity. He had a tower room constructed wherein he could retreat and read,
study and perform scientific experiments. In the music rooms he played his flute and composed. He
surrounded himself with the poets, artists, philosophers, musicians, and composers of his day. It is
said that after the first couple years of their marriage, he barely saw his wife, except for short formal
visits once or twice a week. Yet he recounted those years as the happiest of his life.
Friedrich succeeded to the throne seven years after their marriage took place. After Friedrich became
King, Elisabeth lived apart from him in Niederschöenhausen Castle, north of Berlin. When he was
gone performing his military obligations in his younger days, he wrote to her only occasionally and
his missives remained colorless and courteously dull, but the letters which he wrote to her later in life
were far more affectionate. Perhaps, since his succession was already secured by the offspring of his
younger brother August Wilhelm and his wife Luise Amalie (Elisabeth Christine's younger sister),
they had no need of children. Although they were ill-suited for one another, with time they developed
mutual respect and admiration. When Friedrich died in 1786 at age 74, he left a hefty allowance for
her, saying that she "had never caused him the least discontent and that her incorruptible virtue was
worthy of love and consideration." She died eleven years later at age sixty-four.
Friedrich might have found his bride rather dull after knowing spirited
Anna Karolina Orzelska (1707- 1769), the beautiful and adventuress
illegitimate daughter of August II the Strong, Elector of Saxony and
King of Poland. The girl had lived with her mother, a French
merchant's wife living in Warsaw, in complete obscurity with no
outward support from her biological father until 1723 when her half-
brother presented the sixteen-year-old to the King. On September 19,
1724, August the Strong officially acknowledged her as his daughter
and gave her the title of "Countess Orzelska". She soon became one of
Augustus's favorite children and, proud of her great beauty and keen
resemblance to himself, he ensured that she became a prominent
addition to court life.
Anna excelled in dancing, riding and the hunt, but also managed to emulate her father's prodigious
appetite for drinking, smoking and having numerous affairs. She scandalously appeared in men's
clothing and even in military uniforms from time to time. In 1728, the Countess Orzelska met Crown
Prince Friedrich who had accompanied his father on a visit to court, and she was reputed to be his
first mistress and possibly first love. In early 1729, Orzelska secretly arrived in Berlin in order to
spend time with the Prussian heir, who dedicated poetry and musical compositions to her. Orzelska
later unhappily married another and eventually requested a divorce, after which time she lived on her
own and participated in several escapades until her eventual death in France at age 62 in 1769
There have always been rumors about Friedrich's
sexual persuasions, or lack thereof, especially in
modern times with the intense preoccupation with such
things. Only one thing is known for certain: he devoted
almost all of his adult life to his country and his people.
He was, as most Prussians were, discreet to the
utmost, and he was raised with a strict set of values
and virtues. Whether or not he took an occasional roll
in the hay just for laughs is something we will probably
never know for sure.
Fred's Fun
Unlike some representations of him, he was a man's
man in all senses. He rode and fought with his troops.
He endured the dirt, heat, cold, sweat and blood of
battle, and was one of the guys on the battlefield where
in dull moments he enjoyed being lightened up by the
latest barracks jokes while he spun a few yarns
himself. At the 1757 Battle of Kolin, in one of the last
horrific attacks against the Austrian line, Friedrich
directly cried out to his men to work harder: “Bastards!
Do you want to live forever?”  A musketeer reportedly
replied, “Fritz, we’ve earned our 50 cents for today!”
He had no less than six horses shot from under him during battle. More importantly, he is often
admired as one of the greatest tactical geniuses of all time, especially for his usage of the oblique
order of battle. He was as not foppish, effeminate or silly as some modern historians like to portray
him. After all, the Prussians made Spartan simplicity a virtue, causing one defeated French officer to
whine to his Prussian captors, “Sirs, you are an army. We are a traveling whorehouse” (with)  
“valets, servants, cooks, hairdressers, courtesans, priests and actors, dressing gowns, hairnets,
sunshades, nightgowns and parrots.”