Frederick William III (3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was king of
Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He ruled Prussia during the difficult times of the
Napoleonic Wars and the end of the
Holy Roman Empire. Steering a careful course between France and her enemies, after a major military defeat in 1806, he eventually and reluctantly joined the coalition against Napoleon in the
Befreiungskriege. Following Napoleon's defeat he was King of Prussia during the
Congress of Vienna which assembled to settle the political questions arising from the new, post-Napoleonic order in Europe. He was determined to unify the Protestant churches, to homogenize their liturgy, their organization and even their architecture. The long-term goal was to have fully centralized royal control of all the Protestant churches in the
Prussian Union of churches.