Frederick William III (German: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840.
He ruled Prussia during the difficult times of the Napoleonic Wars and the end of the Holy Roman Empire.
Steering a careful course between France and her enemies, after a major military defeat in 1806, he eventually and reluctantly joined the coalition against Napoleon in the Befreiungskriege.
Following Napoleon's defeat, he was King of Prussia during the Congress of Vienna, which assembled to settle the political questions arising from the new, post-Napoleonic order in Europe.
He was determined to unify the Protestant churches, to homogenize their liturgy, their organization, and even their architecture.
The long-term goal was to have fully centralized royal control of all the Protestant churches in the Prussian Union of Churches.
19th-century portrait painting of men, with Anonymous, Unspecified, Not mentioned, Unidentified, or Unknown artist.
Source: Macht und Dienst. Zur Darstellung des brandenburgisch-preußischen Herrscherhauses in Gemälde und Graphik 1650-1900. Hrsg. im Auftrag des Preußen-Museums Nordrhein-Westfalen von Dr. Veit Veltzke. Minden Wesel: Das Museum, [1993], S. 39. file: James Steakley License: CC-PD-Mark PD-Art (PD-old-100)