The Unorthodox Nature of Frederick the Unique
Frederick the Great (1712-1786) (also Frederick II and the
King of Prussia from 1740 to 1786) perhaps epitomized the 'Great Men'
of history, whose force of personality and charisma left lasting impression on
the German legacy. Possessed of a mysterious character whose true nature cannot
be fully discerned from his writings, Frederick was a loquacious yet mysterious persona. Frederick harbored personal animus toward his
militaristic, controlling father (Frederick William), not least because of the
trauma he suffered under his care. The conflict between controlling father and
wayward son was a recurring theme in the story of succession of the
Hohenzollern family. Yet even in light of the perennial tensions between
Hohenzollern monarch and Crown Prince, according to the renown historian
Christopher Clark, ‘never had the struggle between father and son been waged
with such emotional and psychological intensity’.
