Frederick William II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck

Frederick William II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck (18 June 1687 – 11 November 1749) was a Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck. He served as Prussian field marshal and was appointed Governor of Berlin, but never filled the latter position.

Frederick William II was the eldest son of Duke Frederick Louis (1653–1728) and his wife Louise Charlotte of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (1658–1740). His siblings included Dorothea, Peter August and Charles Louis. In 1728, Frederick William II succeeded his father as Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Beck. After his death, he was succeeded by his son Frederick William III, who fell in battle in 1757. The title was then inherited by Frederick William II's brother, Charles Louis.

Life Although he was born in Potsdam, Frederick William was raised in Königsberg and studied in Halle. He served in the Prussian Army as a captain in his father's regiment in 1703 He distinguished himself during the Siege of Stralsund (1711–1715) and was promoted to colonel in 1713, when he served in the Regiment Holstein.

In 1733 Frederick William II was promoted to lieutenant general.

In 1745, Frederick William II re-sold Haus Beck in North Rhine-Westphalia to Magdalena Dorothea, Baroness von Ledebur-Königsbrück, née von Nagel zu Wallenbrück (d. 1750), but retained the title Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, although in name only, without an allodial estate. In 1747, he was appointed governor of Berlin. However, due to illness, he was unable to take up this post. He died in Königsberg, on 11 Nov 1749, at the age of 62.

Marriage and issue Frederick William was married twice:

1) His first wife was Louise Felicitas Eleonora of Loß, Countess of Dabrova (d. 1715). She was the widow of a Prince Antoni Dominik Czartoryski (1673-1695) and a daughter of the Polish treasurer Wladislav of Loß, Duke of Marienborg and his Swedish wife, Baroness Barbara Gyllenstierna. This marriage remained childless.

2) He married his second wife on 3 December 1721. She was Countess Ursula Anna of Dohna-Schlodien (31 December 1700 – 17 March 1761), the daughter of Burgrave Christopher I, Burgrave and Count of Dohna-Schlodien and his wife, Friederike Marie, Countess of Dohna. This marriage produced two children:

Frederick William III (4 November 1723 – 6 May 1757), served as a colonel in the Prussian army and fell in the Battle of Prague Sophia Charlotte (31 December 1722 – 7 August 1763), married: on 5 June 1738 to the Prussian Major General Alexander Emilius, Burgrave of Dohna-Wartenberg-Schlodien (7 July 1704 – 6 October 1745, fell in the Battle of Soor) on 1 January 1750 to Duke George Louis of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp (16 March 1719 – 1763)

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