Background
He belonged to the House of Hohenzollern, and was the youngest son of Frederick William I of Prussia by his wife Queen Sophia Dorothea.
He belonged to the House of Hohenzollern, and was the youngest son of Frederick William I of Prussia by his wife Queen Sophia Dorothea.
He was also a younger brother of King Frederick the Great (Frederick II of Prussia), Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden, and Wilhelmine Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. Already at the age of 5, he joined the Infantry regiment „Kronprinz“. He fought in the Battle of Breslau and the Battle of Leuthen.
But in 1758, bad health forced him to leave the army.
On September 12, 1763, Ferdinand was elected as Master of the Knights of the Bailiwick of Brandenburg of the Order of Saint John, a post he held until 1812. Ferdinand is also remembered for having the Schloss Bellevue in the Berliner Tiergarten built.
