Crown prince Frederick became close friends with Hans Hermann von Katte, a Prussian officer several years older than Frederick who served as one of his tutors. When he was 18, Frederick plotted to flee to England with Katte. Frederick and Katte were subsequently arrested and imprisoned in Küstrin. Because they were army officers who had tried to flee Prussia for Great Britain, Frederick William leveled an accusation of treason against the pair. The king forced Frederick to watch the decapitation of his confidant Katte, leading the crown prince to faint right before the fatal blow was struck.
