Friedrich Wilhelm Kettler was born in 1692 in Mitau (now Jelgava) in the family of Friedrich Casimir and his second wife Elizabeth Sophia. At the age of seven, after his father's death, on 22 January 1698 he was appointed as the Duke of Courland and Semigallia, however, until the age of majority state was governed by his mother and uncle Ferdinand Kettler, who resided in Danzig.
When in 1701 Semigallia was occupied by the Swedes, Friedrich Wilhelm and his mother went to his uncle Frederick, who later was crowned the first king in Prussia. He stayed in Prussia until 1709 when, after Russian victories against Sweden, at the age of 17 he was engaged to Anna, daughter of Tsar Ivan V who himself was half brother of Peter the Great. The Council of the Duchy in 1709 recognized Friedrich Wilhelm as an adult and the young Duke arrived in the Libau (now Liepaja) in 1710.
He married Anna of Russia on 11 November 1710 (31 October, after the old style) in a grand wedding held in the new Russian capital St. Petersburg, which presented the power of the emerging Russian Empire and its court brilliance. However, on the way back from St. Petersburg, Friedrich Wilhelm died on 21 January 1711 in the postal station, and his widow Anna, together with the Duke's corpse, arrived in Mitau only on 4 March.
After his death, Anna took on the regency of the Duchy. In 1730 she became Empress of Russia and the Duchy passed to Friedrich Wilhelm's uncle Ferdinand Kettler, but was de facto controlled by Russia. It was restored to independence in 1737, when it passed to the lover of Tsarina Anna, Ernst Johann von Biron.
At the same time in the duchy began the epidemic of Great plague, which killed a large part of the population.
frederick, william, duke, courland, frederick, william, german, friedrich, wilhelm, july, 1692, january, 1711, duke, courland, semigallia, from, 1698, 1711, frederick, wilhelm, friedrich, kasimir, kettler, duke, courland, semigallia, princess, elisabeth, sophi. Frederick William German Friedrich Wilhelm 19 July 1692 21 January 1711 was Duke of Courland and Semigallia from 1698 to 1711 Frederick Wilhelm was the son of Friedrich Kasimir Kettler Duke of Courland and Semigallia and Princess Elisabeth Sophie of Brandenburg During his reign the duchy was occupied by Swedish and later by Russian troops Friedrich Wilhelm KettlerDuke of Courland and SemigalliaReign22 January 1698 21 January 1711PredecessorFrederick Casimir KettlerSuccessorFerdinand KettlerBorn 1692 07 19 19 July 1692Mitau Jelgava Duchy of Courland and SemigalliaDied21 January 1711 1711 01 21 aged 18 Kippinghof Russian EmpireBurialDucal Crypt of Schloss MitauSpouseAnna of Russia m 1710 wbr NamesFrederick WilliamHouseKettlerFatherFrederick Casimir KettlerMotherMargravine Elisabeth Sophie of BrandenburgReligionLutheranismBiography editFriedrich Wilhelm Kettler was born in 1692 in Mitau now Jelgava in the family of Friedrich Casimir and his second wife Elizabeth Sophia At the age of seven after his father s death on 22 January 1698 he was appointed as the Duke of Courland and Semigallia however until the age of majority state was governed by his mother and uncle Ferdinand Kettler who resided in Danzig When in 1701 Semigallia was occupied by the Swedes Friedrich Wilhelm and his mother went to his uncle Frederick who later was crowned the first king in Prussia He stayed in Prussia until 1709 when after Russian victories against Sweden at the age of 17 he was engaged to Anna daughter of Tsar Ivan V who himself was half brother of Peter the Great The Council of the Duchy in 1709 recognized Friedrich Wilhelm as an adult and the young Duke arrived in the Libau now Liepaja in 1710 He married Anna of Russia on 11 November 1710 31 October after the old style in a grand wedding held in the new Russian capital St Petersburg which presented the power of the emerging Russian Empire and its court brilliance However on the way back from St Petersburg Friedrich Wilhelm died on 21 January 1711 in the postal station and his widow Anna together with the Duke s corpse arrived in Mitau only on 4 March After his death Anna took on the regency of the Duchy In 1730 she became Empress of Russia and the Duchy passed to Friedrich Wilhelm s uncle Ferdinand Kettler but was de facto controlled by Russia It was restored to independence in 1737 when it passed to the lover of Tsarina Anna Ernst Johann von Biron At the same time in the duchy began the epidemic of Great plague which killed a large part of the population Ancestry editAncestors of Frederick William Duke of Courland8 William Kettler Duke of Courland4 Jacob Kettler Duke of Courland9 Duchess Sophie of Prussia2 Frederick Casimir Kettler Duke of Courland10 George William Elector of Brandenburg5 Princess Louise Charlotte of Brandenburg11 Countess Palatine Elisabeth Charlotte1 Frederick William Kettler Duke of Courland12 George William Elector of Brandenburg 10 6 Frederick William Elector of Brandenburg13 Countess Palatine Elisabeth Charlotte 11 3 Princess Elisabeth Sophie of Brandenburg14 Philip Duke of Schleswig Holstein Sonderburg Glucksburg7 Princess Dorothea Sophie of Schleswig Holstein Sonderburg Glucksburg15 Princess Sophie Hedwig of Saxe Lauenburg Regnal titles Preceded byFrederick Casimir Kettler Duke of Courland1698 1711 Succeeded byFerdinand Kettler nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frederick Wilhelm Kettler nbsp This article about a member of the German nobility is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Frederick William Duke of Courland amp oldid 1187686655, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
