Mr. and Mrs. King: Fritz - Elisabeth Christine: The Correspondence

[mildred_of_midgard]

selenak's write-up on the correspondence between Fritz and EC:

The letters to and sometimes from his unwanted wife, in which our antihero comes across as surprisingly three dimensional, i.e. only sometimes a jerk, and at other times friendly; once or twice, even endearing.


Firstly, to end on a positive note, let's get one of the Fritzian speciality condolence letters out of the way.

Madame,
I deplored the death of your brother Prince Albert; but he died as a good man, although he died reckless and without necessity. It has been a while since I warned the Duke of what could not fail to happen; I have often said this to the deceased, but he only followed his own head, and I am surprised that he was not killed a long time ago.

Prince Ferdinand has a bruised knee, but he is going out and doing well. I pity you, Madame, for the sorrow that it is natural for you to feel the death of your loved ones; but these are events for which there is no remedy. I am with esteem, etc

See, if Fritz had died earlier, then we'd have a set up for the perfect Agatha Christie murder mystery. Everyone has a motive! Heinrich is the main and obvious suspect! But really, it was EC!

Except not. I know from Lehndorff's diaries the woman could sometimes lose her temper, but in her few letters towards her husband, she comes across as amazingly sweet-natured. He, in turn, wasn't always like that. Seems they had a regular exchange of delicious fruit grown in their respective residences going, which leads to letters like this:

Madame,
I thank you for the beautiful fruits that you were kind enough to send me. I will eat them to your health, and I count on the fact that that Sans-Souci will not be outdone, and will in turn provide them for Schönhausen. I am with great esteem, etc.
My compliments to Madame Camas.

The most interesting of the not very large collection of letters are those dealing with AW's death. As a reminder, AW was EC's brother-in-law twice over, since he was married to her sister Louise. Who was pregnant at the time of his death with their fourth child.

Sire,
What a sad circumstance makes me take the pen in my hand to tell you of the death of the Prince of Prussia, which happened this morning at half past three in the morning! I offer you my condolences on the death of the prince. First after I learned it, I went here to see how to tell my sister, especially in the circumstances in which she is, so that it does not harm her, and, if it is possible, to keep the fruit she bears. She doesn't know it yet. I recommend her, until she can write herself, to the honor of your good graces and protection, having, after the great loss she has suffered, only you as her support and protector. I'll be at the palace, but my sister doesn't know it yet; the doctor and everything one needs is here. God grant you health, and keep you until the most remote age of human life, for the happiness of your subjects and in particular for that of which all happiness depends on it! I recommend myself in your good graces, and am with the most perfect attachment, complete devotion and all the tenderness imaginable, etc.

Madame,
You have done very well to hide from my sister-in-law the great loss she has just suffered, and I have no doubt that you will use all the circumspection possible to inform her. At the same time, you will say to her that one could not be more devastated by this misfortune than I am, and that I will contribute in all that will depend on me to her happiness, and that by my friendship I will try to soften the heaviness of her loss, as much as such losses can be softened; that I look to her children as my own, and that she can count on me to take the greatest care of them, keeping the image of my poor brother imprinted in the bottom of my heart, where death alone can erase it.
I am, Madame, with great esteem, etc.

As letters from Fritz apropos AW's death go, this one is the least infuriating by far, and the most helpful to the actual recipient.

Sire,
It is with perfect gratitude that I received your letter. Regarding my sister's pregnancy, it is going well, and we have taken every conceivable precaution so that the alteration does not harm her. Doctor and surgeon were there first. She is now halfway there. As my sister is in this state, and besides that in great mourning, I hope that you will allow the Duchess my mother to come to Berlin, and lodge in the castle, and that you will have the grace to give your orders on it. I sincerely promise you that we will not cause the slightest trouble; for myself, I hate it as much as we can hate it, and I have had all my life a horror of it. Surely, I will not do more than is necessary for expenses, and I believe that my mother will be able to content herself with the way I ordinarily live. I avoid all expenses, and cut myself off on everything; but the mourning and the trip never stopped costing me, although everything was done with the greatest economy in the world. You can count on me, you can be sure I will not do anything in the world which you may not like. Your graces and kindness are always too precious to me, and surely it will not be through my fault that I could have the misfortune to lose them; I would not console myself with my life for it, and my conduct is very simple and focused, as everyone can tell you and testify. God grant you health, keep your and give you happiness in all your endeavors! I recommend myself in honor to your good graces and kindness, and remain with the most perfect attachment, complete devotion and all the imaginable tenderness, etc

Madame,
I learned with pleasure the happy deliverance of my sister-in-law. May this child be happier than his uncles!

The plural is interesting here, Fritz. Anyway, he's been in amiable mode towards EC for too long. After she asks him what the newborn kid should be called, we get back to "why is this woman bothering me when I have a war to fight?"

Madame,
As long as my nephew is not called Jacques, Xavier or Joseph, what does it matter? If he was my son, I would call him Charles-Émile; but that is not important. I have the honor to be, etc.

Prince Karl-Emil is is, the only one of the Hohenzollern to be called that. Sadly, he doesn't survive the year. Incidentally, I can guess why not Joseph - MT's son, which is all Fritz knows about him at that point - nor Xavier - very Catholic South German name accociated with Jesuits - but what Fritz' beef with Jacques aka Jakob/James is, I don't know. Not wanting to piss off his one remaining ally the Hannover cousin in England?

[mildred_of_midgard: Maybe? Total 180 after the war started, if so. And I guess "Jacob" is the eponymous name for the Jacobites, but the claimant who caused the most trouble fifteen years ago was named Charles, and he's still around making occasional noise, so...

I don't know. Fritz's taste in baby names takes me by surprise.]

Also, Mildred, is there a Charles-Émile/Karl Emil among the boyfriends?

[mildred_of_midgard: Not that I know of! I saw this when I was compiling and uploading the letters, and I was hoping you would know what the appeal of this name was all about. I only found one predecessor in the Hohenzollerns, and he doesn't seem like someone Fritz would go for (although an ideal son for FW). I will keep an eye out for possible candidates, though.

Later addition: Ferdinand's first son, according to English Wikipedia (German wiki doesn't give the full names) is named...Friedrich Heinrich Emil Karl!

I'm thinking this was a name that was occasionally used by the Hohenzollerns.]

EC's mother dies. Time for a Fritzian condolence letter again. Has he learned how to do it by now?

Madame,
I learned with pain of the death of your mother. I offer you my condolences. She was old and sickly; now, she is sheltered from all the misfortunes that plagues humanity, and however long we live, we take the same path, one a little earlier, the other a little more later. One day we will all be there, when everyone has finished the role they are forced to play in the world.
After all the misfortunes and bad news that have been daily for six years, it is really time that we receive more pleasant ones. I hope this time comes soon, assuring you of all the esteem with which I am, etc.

Granted, if one bears in mind how the deaths of his own loved ones are always a terrible blow that demand universal grief, it's a tad hypocritical, but still, marks for effort, Fritz. You're getting there.

Next: EC has an open leg. This offers our anti hero the chance to a) provide medical advice, and b) write a rare concerned "get well" letter that does not include "live for me!"

Madame,
I was very sorry yesterday to see you in the state you were in. As I judge your illness, I believe that the cause comes from an acrid and corrosive blood. It is imperative that the doctor gives you beverages made of vulnerable herbs and simple, to correct the blood, and then your wound will close soon, and you will be healed. But do not waste time taking this remedy; you have to eat a lot of vegetables, which are all good for the blood, and with this diet I am sure you will heal yourself. But if the doctor doesn't give you these potions, there is a risk that the inflammation will start on your leg overnight, and then the danger could become serious. The advice I give you is crucial for your recovery. Please speak to the doctor; in the meantime, I wish for your recovery, assuring you of the perfect esteem with which I am, etc.

Poor Louise, after her late flourishing as the suprise most popular in-law among the entire Hohenzollern clan, dies. Now, since future FW2's first marriage ended and Elisabeth the younger was banished to Stettin, Louise had been raising Elisabeth's and FW2's only daughter Friederike. What shall become of her?

Madame,
I offer you my condolences on the death of your sister and my sister-in-law, whom we have just lost. Her virtue deserves our regrets, but we cannot resuscitate her. There is this poor child who remains of her, who can only find asylum in your home. You would give me great pleasure, if you wanted to take care of her education, as her late grandmother has done so far. You can easily guess the reasons I have for arranging this case. The apartments in the palace will not provide any difficulty, and this can be done under the pretext of your attachment to everything that remains of the late Princess.

I am with all respect, etc.

Note that Fritz does not consider sending little Friederike to her other grandmother, his sister Charlotte. And apparently nephew FW and wife No.2 aren't an option. "My niece of Holland" is Wilhelmine Minor, AW's now married daughter, his favourite niece.

Madame,
After having carefully examined the palace, there are only the rooms that my niece from Holland occupied that can be given to the little girl; I first have them accommodated for this purpose, and the little girl will be able to move in tomorrow. Those above them would be good as well, but they are cold, and when foreigners of quality come here, we would have to dislodge the little one, which otherwise is not necessary. She can therefore enter it tomorrow. I am, Madame, etc.

Mr. Micromanagement thinking through which rooms are most suitable for a child is oddly...nice. Anyway, EC is not yet done with losing family members. Next, it's the turn of the brother of hers married to Charlotte, "the dear duchess".

Sire,
It is with a heart full of gratitude that I mark my most humble thanks for the gracious attention you have had for me in making me announce with caution the sad news of the death of my dear brother. The part which you take there can be used for my consolation. It is very sad, in the space of two and a half months, to lose a brother and a sister. The dear duchess makes me very sad, knowing the tender attachment she had for my dear brother, and this loss must be very overwhelming. God grant to preserve your days and give you a perfect health, and that you live until the most remote age of the world, for the happiness of all your country, and in particular for her who utterly depends on it, and who is sincerely attached to you, and who is with all the devotion imaginable, etc.

Okay, Fritz. Last chance to write a good condolence letter to EC about a sibling of hers!

Madame,
I rightly feared that the devastation that death has just caused in your family would affect you too deeply, especially because these fatal blows followed each other so closely. But what is left to take? We cannot raise the dead; we can only submit to the eternal order which subjects our friends, relatives and ourselves to the common law. With regard to the Duke, I am convinced that death is a kind of happiness for him, because he was only dragging out the languid remains of his existence; deprived of speech for four weeks, deprived of the action of his arms and legs for a few years, it was dependent on itself, and a spectacle of pity and tenderness for his loved ones. I wish, Madame, that this is the last domestic grief that happens to you, and that the sky watches over your days, being with all possible esteem, etc.


mildred_of_midgard adds: In addition to all the wonderful content-ful excerpts and summaries you provided, I also wish to present the array of Fritz's excuses for not writing to her, which constitute 15 of 117 of the letters (and don't include the excuses for not visiting her):

I leave you to judge whether, in these conditions, we are able to write long letters.

You will learn by all the news of the day the progress that has been made here, and besides I am led to believe that you do not take much interest in it; so I refer you to public news, begging you to believe me all yours.

I will no longer be able to write to you.

I will only tell you in two words that everything is fine here...I am so overwhelmed with a dreadful headache that it is impossible for me to tell you more.

I don't have time to tell you more.

If I don't write to you often, it won't be my fault, because we have little time traveling.

I have much to do; another time, my letter will be longer.

f I haven't written to you for a long time, it's because I didn't have time for me.

If I hadn't been tired, I would have thanked you myself. However, I will take my time to do it at the first opportunity.

The multitude of cases has prevented me from writing to you so far; It is therefore to take leave of you that I address this letter to you.

I only have time to assure you of my perfect friendship, to tell you that we are all doing very well, and to ask you to return them included to their addresses.

Communication is not yet as free as you think.

I am currently so overloaded with work, that I hardly have a moment left for me; which obliges me to finish my letter.

I would thank you for it in more detail, if the legions of affairs gave me the time.

And of course, the very last letter he wrote to her:

I am very much obliged to you for the vows which you deign to make; but a high fever which I took prevents me from answering you.

selenak:

More golden Trier archive index crossreferencing quotes: Barbe „Babette“ Cochois, the dancer and actress who first lived with D‘Argens and eventually and most scandalously for the Ancien Regime times married him, and who co-authored several of his later books with him as well as having learned several languages so she could do research; this really interesting sounding lady, who had of course already lived with D‘Argens in Prussia (specifically, on the Sanssouci grounds, where Fritz had given him living rights and a house) writes a condolence letter to Elisabeth Christine after Fritz‘ death. And EC (supposedly scandalized by Algarotti once upon a time in Rheinsberg, but here not sounding scandalized at all) writes back. Bear in mind that D‘Argens has died before Fritz, so they‘re both widows now, the former actress and the Queen:

I have always, my dear Marquise, distinguished your late husband as a a very estimable man, and above all by his attachment to the late King, my husband of glorious memory whose death plunges me into the most severe pain. Rest assured that I am very sensitive to the sympathy that you show and I will always be delighted that having fulfilled all your duties towards your husband, you are rewarded by all the possible happiness. These are the feelings that I will always have for you.
Your good Queen: Elisabeth