Frederick was born in Karlsruhe, on 9 September 1826. He was the third son of Grand Duke Leopold (1790–1852) and of his wife, Grand Duchess Sophie (1801–1865), who was born Princess of Sweden, daughter of King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden. He became the heir presumptive to the Grand Duchy upon the death of his father in 1852 and the accession of his brother as Grand Duke Louis World War II
Due to his brother"s mental ill-health, he was Regent ad interim of Baden in 1852–1855, and took the title of Grand Duke in 1856. He was considered a relatively liberal supporter of a constitutional monarchy. During his reign the option of civil marriages was introduced in Baden as well as direct elections to the Lower House of the Parliament of Baden in 1904.
The couple had three children.
The Grand Duke had a pivotal role in the history of the Zionist Movement. After some persuasion on the part of the Grand Duke, the Emperor had finally accepted the appeal for an audience and it took place in Palestine in the 2 November 1898, while the Kaiser was in his trip to Palestine to inaugurate the Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem.
Frederick I was present at the proclamation of the German Empire at Versailles in 1871, as he was the only son-in-law of the Emperor and one of the reigning sovereigns of Germany. He died at his summer residence at the island of Mainau in southern Germany on 28 September 1907.
Today, Mainau is owned by the Lennart Bernadotte-Stiftung (the Lennart Bernadotte Foundation), created by Frederick"s great-grandson Count Lennart Bernadotte, (1909–2004).
9 September 1826 - 24 April 1852: His Grand Ducal Highness Prince Frederick of Baden
24 April 1852 - 22 January 1858: His Grand Ducal Highness Prince Regent Frederick of Baden
22 January 1858 - 28 September 1907: His Royal Highness The Grand Duke of Baden.
In 1896 the Grand Duke met Theodor Herzl (the founder of political Zionism) via the their mutual acquaintance the reverend William Hechler, and helped Herzl in obtaining an audience with his nephew, the German Emperor.
