Frederick I of Württemberg
Friedrich I of Württemberg, or Frederick I of Württemberg (November 6, 1754 - October 30, 1816) became Duke of Württemberg in 1797 on the death of his father: he assumed the title of Elector in 1803, and the title of King in 1806.
He married firstly, Princess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, eldest daughter of Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg and Princess Augusta Charlotte of Wales. They had four children:
Frederick married secondly, Princess Charlotte of Great Britain, Princess Royal, the oldest daughter of King George III and Queen Charlotte. The had one child, a stillborn daughter, born in 1798.
In 1800, the French army occupied Württemberg and the Duke and Duchess fled to Vienna. The following year, Duke Friedrich concluded a private treaty ceding Montbeliard to France and receiving Ellwanger in exchange two years later. He assumed the title Elector of Württemberg on 25 February 1803. In exchange for providing France with a large auxiliary force, Napoleon recognized the Elector as King of Württemberg on 26 December 1805. Elector Friedrich became King when he formally ascended the throne on 1 January and was crowned as such on the same day at Stuttgart, Germany. Württemberg seceded from the Holy Roman Empire and joined Napleon's short-lived Confederation of the Rhine. However, the new elevated king's alliance with France technically made him the enemy of his father-in-law, George III. In 1813, King Friedrich changed sides and went over the Allies, where his status as the brother-in-law of the Prince Regent (later George IV) helped his standing. After the fall of Napoleon, he attended the Congress of Vienna and was confirmed as King. He died in October 1816.
When he became King, he styled his children and further male-line descendants as HRH Princes and Princesses of Württemberg, and he styled his siblings as Royal Highnesses and Dukes and Duchesses of Württemberg.
He was obese: behind his back he was known as "The Great Belly-Gerent", and Napoleon I of France later remarked that God had created the Prince to demonstrate the utmost extent to which the human skin could be stretched without bursting.
| Preceded by: Friedrich II Eugen |
Duke of Württemberg 1797-1803 |
Succeeded by: became Elector of Württemberg |
| Preceded by: Duke of Württemberg |
Elector of Württemberg 1803-1805 |
Succeeded by: became King of Württemberg |
| Preceded by: Elector of Württemberg |
King of Württemberg 1805-1816 |
Succeeded by: Wilhelm I |
