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Prince Henry of Prussia (1726-1802)

Prince Frederick Henry Louis of Prussia (18 January 1726-3 August 1802) was a Prussian general and the brother of King Frederick the Great.

Biography[]

Friedrich Heinrich Ludwig von Hohenzollern was born in Berlin, Prussia, the thirteenth child of Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover. His brother Frederick the Great made him a colonel of the Prussian Army in 1740, despite the friction between the brothers over Frederick's bullying of Henry and Henry resenting living in his brother's shadow. Henry, unlike his brother, was never defeated on the battlefield due to his caution. Henry, like his brother, was homosexual, with his intimates including general Friedrich Adolf von Kalckreuth and his aid Christian Ludwig von Kaphengst. Henry distinguished himself at the Battle of Prague in 1757 and the Battle of Freiberg in 1762, with his brother crediting the "honor of breaking down Austrian obstinacy" to Henry alone. Henry, as a diplomat, planned out the First Partition of Poland (twice failing to be chosen as King of Poland-Lithuania) before returning to a field command during the War of the Bavarian Succession. In 1786, some leaders of the nascent United States considered appointing Henry as "King of America", but withdrew the offer before Henry could formally decline. Henry died in 1802.

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