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

Although he was born in Potsdam, Frederick William was raised in Königsberg[1] and studied in Halle. He served in the Prussian Army as a captain in his father's regiment in 1703[1] and as a lieutenant colonel in 1704.[2] He distinguished himself during the Siege of Stralsund (1711–1715) and was promoted to colonel in 1713, when he served in the Regiment Holstein.[1] In 1717, King Frederick William I of Prussia rewarded him with Friedrichshof Palace in Ludwigswalde, East Prussia (now in Lesnoye, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia). In 1719 the king granted the duke another East Prussian manor, also named Friedrichshof, in Kasebalk. Duke Fredrick William subsequently renamed the second manor Holstein (now in Pregolskiy, Kaliningrad). From 1721, he led the infantry regiment #11, which his father had led before.

In 1725, the king invested the duke with the Riesenberg estate, however, he sold it off. In 1732, he purchased Haus Beck, near Ulenburg, Minden-Ravensberg, after which the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck line was named, from Maria Antonia, the widow of his cousin Frederick William I (1682–1719), who had converted to Catholicism and had become a field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire. Frederick William I fell in the Battle of Francavilla, at Francavilla di Sicilia, Sicily.[3]

In 1733 Frederick William II was promoted to lieutenant general.[1] He participated in campaigns along the Rhine in 1734 and 1735 during the War of the Polish Succession. King Frederick II of Prussia was displeased with Frederick William after the Battle of Mollwitz during the First Silesian War in 1741. His regiment had been held in reserve and arrived on the battlefield too late to contribute to the battle. Unaware of the situation, he passed by several Austrian units. Nevertheless, King Frederick the Great was fond of the duke, whom he referred to as gute alte Holsteiner ("good old Holsteiner").[1] The duke was promoted to field marshal later that year and posted in Königsberg, the capital of East Prussia. He was also a recipient of the Order of the Black Eagle.[4]

In 1745, Frederick William II re-sold Haus Beck to Magdalena, Baroness von Ledebur-Königsbrück, but retained the title Duke of Beck. In 1747, he was appointed governor of Berlin. However, due to illness, he was unable to take up this post. He died in Königsberg.

Frederick William was married twice. His first wife was Louise Felicity Eleonora of Loß, Countess of Dabrova (d. 1715). She was the widow of a member of the Czartoryski family and a daughter of the Polish treasurer Wladislav of Loß. This marriage remained childless.

He married his second wife on 3 December 1721. She was Ursula Anna (31 December 1700 – 17 March 1761), the daughter of Burgrave Christopher I, Burgrave and Count of Dohna-Schlodien. 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:
  1. 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)
  2. on 1 January 1750 to Duke George Louis of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp (16 March 1719 – 1763)

• Albinus, Robert (1985). Lexikon der Stadt Königsberg Pr. und Umgebung (in German). Leer: Verlag Gerhard Rautenberg. p. 371. ISBN 3-7921-0320-6.
• Anton Balthasar König, Biographisches Lexikon aller Helden und Militärpersonen: T. G-L, p. 169, Online (in German)
• Gottlob Friedrich Krebel, M. Gottlieb Schumanns genealogisches Hand-Buch, S.272, Digitalisat (in German)
• Richard von Meerheimb (1878), "Friedrich Wilhelm, Herzog von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German), vol. 8, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 23–24 (in German)