The carousel in Berlin 1750

In Gustav III's opinion, the 18th century had witnessed only two princely carousels of any note. One of these, in Berlin in 1750, was occasioned by a visit by the Margravin Fredrique Sophie Wilhelmine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth in August. She was Fredrik the Great's favourite sister and the plans for her month-long visit had been made by the King in person. During these weeks in August, the royal company were entertained with brilliant festivities at the castles of Potsdam, Sans-Souci and Charlottenburg, Concerts, theatrical performances, tremendous banquets, promenades in illuminated park landscapes, masked balls and firework displays succeeded one another.

The festivities culminated with the carousels which took place on the night on 25th August. The parade ground behind the royal garden in Berlin had been turned into lists with stands for several thousand spectators. The arena was lit up with 30,000 lamps. In it four quadrilles of six knights each, representing four different nations, competed with one another. The quadrilles were led by the King's three brother and one brother-in-law.

The Romans were led by Prince August Wilhelm, the Carthaginians by Prince Heinrich, the Greeks by Prince Ferdinand and the Persians by the Margrave Karl of Brandenburg. The spectators were greatly impressed by the participants lavish tailoring.

Wearing embroidered customes, richly adorned with gold, pearls, precious stones and plumes, they competed with each other in tilting at rings and at the Turk's head. The whole proceedings were accompanied by choral singing and the playing of trumpets, drums, oboes and flutes. The supreme prize - a portrait of the Margravin set with brilliant diamonds - was won by Prince August Wilhelm, who received it from the hand of his sister Amalia. Brother and sister together then opened the domino ball which followed.

Most of the King Fredrik's siblings were gathered in Berlin for these August festivities, but his sister Lovisa Ulrika, Queen of Sweden, had to make do with following the course of events by correspondence. To give her some idea of the splendid accoutrements of the participants in the carousel, her brother August Wilhelm had a series of watercolours sent to her, showing a representative selection of knights, pages, squires, and so on.

Thirty-five of these watercolours are now in the collections of National museum, Stockholm. They were done before the carousel took place. Some of the drawings have ink inscriptions showing that the numbering of the quadrilles does not tally with their actual order, nor has an exact date been fixed for the carousel. Probably the watercolour drawings served as a dual purpose - first that of costume sketches, and then as a description for Lovisa Ulrika.