---
title: Frederick William II of Prussia
author: Johan Frederick Clemens
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/21729/frederick-william-ii-of-prussia/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
updated: 2026-04-01
---
# Frederick William II of Prussia
_Authored by Johan Frederick Clemens_
## Image File
[](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/21729.jpg)
## Image Caption
Portrait of Frederick William II of Prussia, print by Johan Frederick Clemens, London, 1793.
Nephew of [Frederick the Great](https://www.worldhistory.org/Frederick_the_Great/), King Frederick William II ruled Prussia from 1786 until his [death](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Death/) in 1797. Often overlooked in favor of his uncle, he is seen by many as a less effectual king than his military minded predecessor; on the other hand, his patronage of the arts enriched court [culture](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/culture/) by having promoted musicians like Mozart and Beethoven.
The British Museum, London.
## Cite This Work
### APA
Clemens, J. F. (2026, April 01). Frederick William II of Prussia. *World History Encyclopedia*.
### Chicago
Clemens, Johan Frederick. "Frederick William II of Prussia." *World History Encyclopedia*, April 01, 2026. .
### MLA
Clemens, Johan Frederick. "Frederick William II of Prussia." *World History Encyclopedia*, 01 Apr 2026, .
## License & Copyright
The British Museum has released this image under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International ([CC BY-NC-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)) license. You can read more about the British Museum and Creative Commons [here](https://www.britishmuseum.org/about_this_site/terms_of_use/copyright_and_permissions.aspx). [Original image](https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1871-0812-4258?selectedImageId=432799001) by [**Johan Frederick Clemens**](https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1871-0812-4258?selectedImageId=432799001). Submitted by [Franco R. Batista Garcia](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/francobatista022/ "User Page: Franco R. Batista Garcia"), published on 01 April 2026. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.