Frederick IV, German Emperor (In Frederick's Fields)

Frederick IV and I, Emperor of Germany (1831-1900? born Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl von Hohenzollern) was and  (as well as, eventually, King of ) between his father's  death in June 2, 1878, and his own death. Known informally as Fritz, Frederick IV was the only son of Wilhelm I and was raised as the heir from an early age. However, he did not inherit his father's conservative policies; instead, he developed pro-British, Liberal sentiment through his tutors.

Frederick was an extremely influential personality in the German Empire of the late XIX century, as he was the leading force of German liberalism during the and the Sweeping Declarations. He and his liberal advisors arranged for the destruction of the Bismarckian web of alliances, making the nation grow closer to the United Kingdom and Russia (becoming close friends after his succession with Liberal leaders HH Asquith and William Gladstone in Great Britain, and with his cousin Alexander II in Russia]], rather than the previous Austro-Hungarian alliance that had characterised post-unification Germany. He also was the birth of the modern German liberal state, based on the principles of individual protection and collective freedom.

Frederick IV and I was the main reformer of the German constitution, was vital in the liberal-socialist projects regarding the defeat of the junker elites in Prussia and Saxony, and the weakening of the Kingdom of Prussia. Under his direct declarations was the executive of the German Empire heavily weakened, replaced by a British-style legislative government, with large power towards the Reichstag and the Cabinet it elects (however, these events did not properly happen until the 1907 election, during Heinrich VIII's reign). Under Frederick's reign, the SDP and the liberal parties in Parliament grew to extreme prominence, and began developing their modern ideological platforms.

Early Life
Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl von Hohenzollern was born in the New Palace in Potsden, in the Kingdom of Prussia, on October 18 of 1831. Frederick's father, Wilhelm, Prince of Prussia, was a younger brother of the ruling King in Prussia,. Wilhelm had fallen in love with his cousin, the Polish princess Eliza Radziwill, but they were not allowed to marry, as the Prussian nobility believed Radziwill's social status as a Pole and an aristocrat was too low to marry the heir to the German Empire. Instead, Wilhelm married Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar, with whom he had Frederick.

However, Wilhelm and Augusta never loved each other. Augusta was extremely liberal, famously so in the German society of the time. As a princess of the very liberal kingdom of Saxe-Weimar, and as part of the British-influenced House of Wettin, she had very liberal ideas, which she inherited to her son. However, Frederick resented both parents for a long time, given that the constant fights between the two gave him the memories of a lonely and unhappy childhood.

Due to Queen Augusta's ideologies, Frederick was not given only the customary military education given to the Princes of Prussia. He also got a classical education, tutored by Ernst Curtius, a world-renowed archaeologist. Frederick was an intelligent and precocious scholar, becoming fluent in English and French and studying Latin, as well as being skilled in history, geography, politics, physics, music, religion and sports. He studied at the University of Bonn, far from the Prussian court and the junkers, something which was vital for the development of his liberalism.

Crown Prince of Germany
Frederick became Crown Prince of Germany in 1861, after his father's succession to the throne. While his father soon showed his conservative tendencies when opposing the decisions of the Reichstag, Frederick declared himself completely in favour of "essential liberal policies in internal and foreign affairs". In 1862, the Reichstag almost convinced William to abdicate out of anger, before being convinced to return to power by Frederick. However, this led to be a problem in future relationships between father and son, given that, to check the power of the Reichstag, Wilhelm appointed Otto von Bismarck, a conservative authoritarian who often ignored the power of the legislature. While Frederick insisted on peaceful unification, Bismarck imposed his "blood and iron" policies, and eventually led Germany in a direction completely different from what Frederick wanted. Frederick, a pacifist, was forced to fight in wars against Denmark, France, and Austria, and was severely reprimanded several times due to his ideals. This severely depressed Frederick, making him think of suicide and having him visit Britain, where he was allowed far more freedoms by his mother-in-law Queen Victoria. There he gained wide repute amongst both liberals and conservatives as a gentleman who had always behaved perfectly well in war. The Times congratulated Frederick in 1871.

Germany's liberal and socialist bodies hoped for Wilhelm to die quickly in order to Frederick to come on to power, and enact sweeping liberal reforms. However, between 1871 and 1878, this seemed to have no hope, as Wilhelm, despite his advanced age, showed no signs of weakening or growing ill, either physically or mentally. By 1878, the extreme part of these liberals decided they could not wait enough. In May, a first assassination attack failed against Wilhelm; the next month, however, an is successful, and WIlhelm is killed.

Problems with Bismarck
Frederick's early years of government are characterised by the constant fighting between the Emperor himself (supported by the Reichstag) and the Chancellor and his cabinet which Wilhelm had created. This started as soon as the day of the death of Wilhelm, where Frederick decided to take the regnal name of Frederick IV, implying a continuation between the Holy Roman Empire and the German Empire. However, von Bismarck opposed this movement, stating that it might cause large amounts of problems with international law. Despite complaints, Frederick went ahead and adopted Friedrich IV as his official regnal name. This can be seen as the first event of conflict between the Emperor and the Chancellor, something that would be seen until von Bismarck's dismissal in 1880.