Frederick was a close relative of the Dano-Norwegian royal family, and had a military career from a very young age. He became colonel already in 1778, major general in 1783 and lieutenant general in 1789. He headed the King's Regiment from 1795 to 1800, and from 1800 to 1808 Prince Frederick was governor in
Rendsborg and inspector general for the footmen in the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. In 1808 he was made general in the infantry. The following year, he was appointed to lead a Danish army from
Zealand to
Scania, as a part of the
Dano-Swedish War. The campaign was dropped by the Danish government. Frederick was the commanding general in the southern part of the country. In 1813–1814, the prince led the
Danish Auxiliary Corps in Holstein. This was during the
War of the Sixth Coalition, in which Denmark-Norway fought on the French side. The main task for his corps was to assist the forces of
Louis-Nicolas Davout. When France suffered a loss at the
Battle of Leipzig, Frederick's corps had to retreat, and in December 1813 he led his troops from
Rostock to
Rendsborg, saving the army from annihilation. He even led his troops to a victory in the
Battle of Sehested on 10 December 1813. He then planned an attack on the Russian and Swedish occupational forces in Holstein. This attack was abandoned after the peace settlement between Sweden and Denmark-Norway, the
Treaty of Kiel of 14 January 1814. From 1815 to 1818, the prince led the Danish occupational forces in
France. After returning home, he was once again made commanding general in Schleswig and Holstein, and governor of Rendsborg. From 1836 to 1842 he served as governor-general over Schleswig and Holstein, succeeding his late father Charles. Frederick was also promoted to
field marshal. He had been decorated with the
Order of the Elephant in 1801 and became a
Grand Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog after his success in 1813. Prince Frederick spent his last years at the family estate
Panker by the
Baltic Sea. He died here in February 1845. ==Ancestry==