The son of the elector Frederick III, later Frederick I, king of Frederick William himself was named after his grandfather, Frederick William … Frederick William himself was named after his grandfather, Frederick William … Born in 1712, Frederick William II, known as Frederick the Great, was the third Hohenzollern King of Prussia. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel. He gave Prussia its famous, disciplined army. King Frederick William I of Prussia (aka “The Soldier King”) was a skilled leader—adept at running his country’s economy and the military. In 1688 Frederick succeeded to the FREDERICK WILLIAM (BRANDENBURG) (1620 – 1688; ruled 1640 – 1688), elector of Brandenburg and duke of Prussia. Frederick William had no love for Louis XIV and the alliance between Brandenburg-Prussia and France during the Thirty Years War had been one of pure convenience. The son of the elector Frederick III of Brandenburg and of Sophie Charlotte of Hanover, Frederick William I was … Frederick William I (German: Friedrich Wilhelm I.; 14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740), known as the "Soldier King" (German: Soldatenkönig[1]), was the King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death in 1740, as well as Prince of Neuchâtel. Frederick William I (14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740) of the House of Hohenzollern, was the King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg (as Frederick William II) from 1713 until his death.He is popularly known as "the Soldier-King". The official name of Frederick William’s regiment was “The Grand Grenadiers of Potsdam” but they were almost universally known as “The Potsdam Giants” or “The Long Guys”. The father of Fredrick successfully got the title king from the Holy Roman Emperor and now this newly founded kingdom was succeeded by Fredrick William I. King Frederick William I of Prussia, also know as “The Soldier King”, was undoubtedly a leader, skilled to running his country’s economy and the military. Such was the impact of Frederick William, that Prussia was to dominate the previously all-powerful Sweden in the Baltic. Frederick I, elector of Brandenburg (as Frederick III), who became the first king in Prussia (1701–13), freed his domains from imperial suzerainty, and continued the policy of territorial aggrandizement begun by his father, Frederick William, the Great Elector. Frederick also ensured that Russia remained a lesser power during his reign. Frederick William – or the self-titled ‘Great Elector’ – took Brandenburg-Prussia from obscurity to become one of Europe’s most dominant powers. The official name of Frederick William’s regiment was “The Grand Grenadiers of Potsdam” but they were almost universally known as “The Potsdam Giants” or “The Long Guys”.