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What was Voltaire’s relationship with Frederick II of Prussia?

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Life-sized plaster sculpture Seated Voltaire by Jean-Antoine Houdon shows Voltaire draped in a robe, seated with a thoughtful expression and a ribbon crown, against a dark background. — Voltaire *Voltaire*, plaster sculpture by Jean-Antoine Houdon; in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California.

Voltaire’s relationship with Frederick II of Prussia began with mutual admiration but ultimately devolved into a bitter conflict. Exasperated by professional setbacks in France, Voltaire accepted Frederick’s invitation and moved to Berlin and Potsdam in 1750.1

Initially, Voltaire was enchanted by his stay, but tensions soon emerged. Voltaire became embroiled in a lawsuit and various quarrels with prominent noblemen, eventually sparking a public controversy with Maupertuis, the president of the Berlin Academy of Science. Voltaire mocked Maupertuis in his pamphlet Diatribe du docteur Akakia (1752), which enraged the king. Frederick ordered the pamphlet to be burned and reprimanded Voltaire severely.1

Voltaire left Prussia in 1753, but the departure was hostile; Frederick was determined to punish him, and Voltaire was briefly held under house arrest at an inn in Frankfurt while traveling. This volatile experience marked the end of their close association, leaving both parties embittered.1