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Frederick II, Grand Duke of Baden

Frederick II (9 July 1857 – 9 August 1928; German: Großherzog von Baden Friedrich II.) was the last sovereign Grand Duke of Baden, reigning from 1907 until the abolition of the German monarchies in 1918. The Weimar-era state of Baden originated from the area of the Grand Duchy of Baden.

Life

Friedrich "Fritz" Wilhelm Ludwig Leopold August Prinz von Baden was born on 9 July 1857, in Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg to Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden and Princess Louise of Prussia.

As a student at the University of Heidelberg, Frederick was a member of the Suevia Corps, a student fraternal organization. Frederick became the head of the House of Zähringen on 28 September 1907, after the death of his father Frederick I, who was the sovereign grand duke of Baden reigning from 1856 to 1907. He abdicated on 22 November 1918, amidst the tumults of the German Revolution of 1918–1919 which resulted in the abolition of the grand duchy. After the death of his cousin Carola of Vasa, he became the representative of the descent of the Kings of Sweden of the House of Holstein-Gottorp. On 20 September 1885 in Schloss Hohenburg, he married Princess Hilda of Nassau, the only daughter of the exiled Duke Adolphe of Nassau who later succeeded as Grand Duke of Luxembourg. There was no surviving issue from the marriage.

He was à la suite the Royal Prussian Regiments Erstes Garde-Regiment zu Fuß (1st Guard Foot Regiment) and 1. Garde-Ulanen-Regiment and à la suite the Imperial 1st Seebataillon. He was also Regimentschef of the 4. Königlich Sächsisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 103, which was also known as Infanterie-Regiment „Großherzog Friedrich II. von Baden“ (4. Königlich Sächsisches) Nr. 103.

Promotions

1875 : Sekondeleutnant (= Leutnant)
1881 : Premierleutnant (= Oberleutnant)
1882 : Hauptmann
1884 : Major
1889 : Oberst
1891 : Generalmajor
1893 : Generalleutnant
1897 : General der Infanterie
1905 : Generaloberst with the rank of Generalfeldmarschall

Death

After his death in 1928, the headship of the house was transferred over to his first cousin who was the last Chancellor of Imperial Germany, Prince Maximilian of Baden.

Honours and awards

German orders and decorations

Foreign orders and decorations

Austria-Hungary:
- Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1885
- Military Jubilee Cross, 14 August 1908
Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold
Empire of Brazil: Grand Cross of the Southern Cross
Denmark: Knight of the Elephant, 13 October 1897
Kingdom of Italy: Knight of the Annunciation, 10 September 1897
Netherlands: Grand Cross of the Netherlands Lion
Kingdom of Romania:
- Grand Cross of the Order of Carol I, with Collar
- Grand Cross of the Star of Romania
Russian Empire: Knight of St. Andrew
Sweden-Norway:
- Knight of the Seraphim, with Collar, 20 September 1881
- Grand Cross of St. Olav, 27 September 1897
United Kingdom: Honorary Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, 16 June 1905