'The Gay Lives of Frederick the Great and William Iii\r'

'The Gay Lives of Frederick the long and William III Frederick the Great of Prussia and William III of the Dutch Republic were both head cognise extensive leaders of Europe. They lived decades a blow up, William from 1650 to 1702, and Frederick from 1712 to 1786, yet had uncannily interchangeable lives, in umteen an(prenominal) aspects. These leaders, because of a somewhat controversial past, impart mazed humankindy grave clues ab come on what their lives were really bid. Nonetheless, it is known for sure that both were knowlight-emitting diodege able-bodied, coarse military leaders, champions of justice, and genuinely likely homosexual.\r\n unrival conduct of the few dissimilarities between Frederick and William was the religion they were raised on, which of course was to influence the rest of their lives, oddly in philosophy. At a boylike age, William was sent to a Calvinist inculcate which emphasized the Calvinist values like modesty and theory like predestinati on. Although his views were distant from conservative, he did tend to dress to a spaciouser extent than simply, and kept a truly imperturbable and reserved appearance. William to a fault was born a week after his fuck offs death, leaving him without a powerful figure to emulate.\r\nIf this had any put in on William, it was not app arnt, for he securely believed that he was destined for great things, and his goody became one of his strongest skills. All of Williams security in his childhood did not exist for Frederick. Frederick endured a horrible abusive childhood with his magisterial aim. Frederick was very well educated and a lover of all things french- art, philosophy and literature. He was a true dandy- he dressed to the nines(p) ostentatiously, and did very fashionable things.\r\nHe in addition had a very mop up masculine friend- Hans Hermann Von Katte who was more or less 8 years sr.er. They ran forth together, but what exactly their relationship was is unc lear. Frederick was scrupulous to destroy any differentiate so as to escape his fathers wrath. But it didnt plow, Fredericks father had the two arrested, and very cruelly had Von Katte decapitated in front of Fredericks eyes. Frederick was bed-ridden and hallucinatory for days. William II also had a closemouthed friend, who as luck would befool it did not suffer the same fate. Willem Bentick and William became inseperable at 14.\r\nThey were so close that when William contracted smallpox, Willem divided up his bed, as it was thought that another soul with the sick person could draw outside(a) some of the disease. Willem and William remained very close, but anterior Williams ascension to the throne, it was decided that he would invite to be married. He married bloody shame Stuart, his cousin and daughter of the Duke of York, and very oft(prenominal) disliked her. They were polar opposites: Mary wanted affection and was very emotional, darn William had his stoical Calv inist mindset.\r\nIt was sort of the reverse for Frederick: he had a very simple bride, Elizabeth Christine Brunswick, while he was more outgoing, sociable individual. though the marriage was chosen by Fredericks father, the prince was conformable and unders similarlyd the importance of the appearance of a strong union. In fact, Frederick had a younger, more openly gay brother who he â€Å"[forced]… to marry ,to save appearances” (Dynes 429). Although their marriages were not ensample for either, both William and Frederick stayed with their wives until the end.\r\nFrederick coped by buying a palace for his wife; William actually grew to keep his wife and rely on her diplomatic charm. In fact, following her death in 1694 and later his in 1702, William â€Å"was found to be wearing Marys wedding ring and a lock of her hair close to his fancy” (William III). patch both kings had decent marriages, Frederick and William were also known for their love of men. Wi lliams relationships were less well known, although it was common knowledge that William was relateed in men. â€Å"There was a rumour that William was traitorous to Mary.\r\nHer meddling English servants warned her that she would catch him rising from the bedroom of one of her ladies, Elizabeth Villiers, in the primeval hours of the morning. There was a scene, with William trying to picture Mary that it was not how it looked… Certainly William was no womaniser and, if anything, his sexual inclinations might have veered more towards young men” (William III) Frederick had many well known lovers. It is said that his father arranged his marriage with Christine to prove Fredericks straightness in addition to producing an heir.\r\nFrederick, as a military leader, also was known to have relationships with his friends from the battlefield. Though, to his credit, he never throw overboarded any relationships to arbitrate with his run for or compromise his integrity. mayha p Fredericks best known and interesting skirmish was with the celebrated cut poet Voltaire. Fredericks love for French culture encouraged him to reach out to Voltaire, and in 1736 the 24 year old prince sent a letter to the 22 year old, already quite famous philosopher.\r\nThus began their friendship, and they kept a close friendship, or possibly more throughout their lives. Still, there was a conflict of interest between them. Preceding Fredericks coronation, Voltaire â€Å"Never drop of comparing Frederick to Apollo, Alcibiades and the youthful Marcus Aurelius” (Strachey 170). But Voltaire wanted to see a peaceful, united Europe, and formerly Frederick took the throne of Prussia he seemed only fire in war. Frederick tried to keep Voltaire around, steady offering him positions in the court as he still very often valued Voltaires opinions.\r\nVoltaire and Frederick still exchanged writings, Fredericks work still often implying his sexual preferences. It became a probl em when Frederick was on his deathbed, and he had Voltaire arrested for possessing his work. Voltaire was freed not to long after and went on to anonymously publish a book virtually Frederick, The Private Life of the King of Prussia, which was essentially an expose on Fredericks crotchet. But by the judgment of conviction of Fredericks death, the two men were on very good terms, so much so that Voltaire was the first to coin him as â€Å"Frederick the Great”.\r\nWilliam did not have a vengeful lover to put usher of his same-sex love in the open. He was too diplomatic and calculating to allow for much(prenominal) things to happen. Although his tact left little evidence of his love life, it does tell a great deal about his philosophy about civil rights. Both William and Frederick were champions of civil rights. Furthermore, it would not be ridiculous to think that their homosexuality played a large part in shaping their views, expecially during a time when sodomites were being viciously punished.\r\nWilliam was outright disobedient about defending the liberties of his people, which actually make him the English crown in 1689. While in power, William championed religious freedom and peoples rights. He created the Bill of Rights, which was one of the most important text files in English history, perhaps horizontal the world. It forbid unfair taxation, it did not allow the government to infringe upon protest and it demanded a trial with fair, humane punishment for criminals. This document was the predecessor for other rights documents, including that of the United States.\r\nLikewise, in Prussia Frederick promoted religious tolerance, reduced harsh penalties and sentences, and horizontal pardoned prisoners that held beliefs that he disagreed with. He encouraged the work of artists, musicians, scientists and philosophers to make Prussia a wholly great nation. Finally, and most well known are the twos military accomplishments. William led the Nether lands in a small united force against the French, and though it ultimately was defeated, it heavily drained French resources while keeping the Netherlands in tact.\r\nWilliam also drove out James II of England which, as aforementioned, resulted in him obtaining the English Crown. William love being on the battlefield, in fact â€Å"Too often he got stuck into the scrap when he should have been in the plagiarize making decisions for the battlefield as a whole” (William III). He kept many of his war companions as his closest confidantes, often drawing criticism for making rulings on their advice and discussions. Whereas William had been more eye-level with his soldiers, Frederick ran his military with an iron rod.\r\nThe frivolous, fun-loving man who passed so many laws concerning peoples safety and rights tolerated zipper in his military. Disobedience and disloyalty meant painful and brutal physical repercussions. But he was able to defeat France and Russia in the Seven lo ng time War, making Prussia a superpower and treble its armed forces. And like William. Frederick risked his life on the front line, and too often came close to being killed. William III and Frederick II were two men, who, despite their very different upbringings, coincidently ruled in two very similar styles.\r\nFrederick would have known of William III, in fact he had been very shake up by the Bill of Rights William created, but with very little contact they still led uncannily similar lives. It could be attributed to their similar lifestyles: two men that were devoted to their country and their duties, but also had their secrets to hide. Their homosexuality did plausibly contribute to their similitude, but it was their wit and strong-mindedness that led them both to unconventional and unexpectedly strong leadership. Works Cited Crompton, Louis. â€Å"Frederick the Great. Homosexuality & Civilization. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 2003. 505-12. Print. Dynes, Way ne R. , warren Johansson, William A. Percy, and Stephen Donaldson. â€Å"Frederick II (The Great) of Prussia (1712-1786). ” Encyclopedia of Homosexuality. New York: lei Pub. , 1990. 428-29. Print. Strachey, Lytton. â€Å"Voltaire and Frederick the Great. ” Books and Characters, French & English,. New York: Harcourt, Brace and, 1922. 167-99. Print. Waller, Maureen, David Onnekink, and Jason McElligot. â€Å"William III. ” BBC †Homepage. BBC. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. .\r\n'