The king trained and drilled his own regiment every day. He liked to paint their portraits from memory. He tried to show them to foreign visitors and dignitaries to impress them. At times he would try to cheer himself up by ordering them to march before him even if he was in his sickbed. This procession, which included the entire regiment, was led by their mascot, a

bear. Of course it was difficult to get soldiers who were 6 feet 2 inches tall so the king were recruited from other countries. In fact the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Tsar Peter the Great of Russia both sent him soldiers to be members of the Potstam Giants so that they could encourage friendly relations with Prussia.

And did that help build good relations between the two countries?

It did. After Peter the Great sent giants from Russia, King Frederick William was so pleased that he gave the Tsar a famous artistic achievement known as the Amber Room. The Amber Room was a gorgeous chamber that was lavishly decorated with amber panels, gold leaf and mirrors. It originally was in the Berlin City Palace and after it was given to the Tsar it was moved to the St. Catherine Palace in the Royal Family Residence in St. Petersburg. The Amber Room was so impressive that it was referred to as the 8th Wonder of the World and during World War II Adolf Hitler decided to gift it back to himself so he had Nazi troops sent to steal it and bring it back to Germany. Though it mysteriously vanished before the end of the war and we may have a future episode of Mysterious World looking at the mystery of the Amber Room. Unfortunately, there is a reconstruction of the Amber Room that you can visit today. So King Frederick William was really impressed with the giant guards that Peter the Great sent him and he gifted them the Amber Room as a result.