absence of the king. By the end of the war, Zieten belonged to the elite of the kingdom and the inner circle of friends of the monarch. Aging years After the Seven Years' War, Zieten retired from active service, widely considered a hero. During the War of the Bavarian Succession, Frederick forbade him to go, so he stayed on his estate at Wustrau with his niece, Johanna von Blumenthal, whose son was serving in his regiment. During this period she gathered his reminiscences for a biography. In the subsequent years of peace, the old army commander remained a tireless instructor of his now legendary Hussar regiment. In his last years of life, Zieten alternated between Berlin, where he bought a house in 1763 on Kochstrasse No. 61–62. and on his property at Wustrau, where he devoted himself mainly to charity. At the same time, he worked with great care to improve his property. He enjoyed the special trust of Frederick, who frequently visited "his old father Zieten." In one visit with the King, at Sanssouci, after a long conversation, the King ordered a chair to be placed on which he invited the 85-year-old man to sit. Despite his infirmities, Zieten refused to sit in the presence of the monarch; the King said: "Sit down, Zieten, or I will go away." On 26 January 1786, Zieten died in his bed in Berlin, a remarkable age considering his hair-trigger temper and his reputed 74 duels. He was buried on 31 January 1786 on the Wustrau cemetery next to the village church. His estate was valued at 65,057 thalers. Apart from property at Wustrau, he left no fortune. The furniture of the Berlin house had to be auctioned after his death, and his widow was only freed from debt by a gift from King Frederick of ten thousand thalers. Marriages and children From his first marriage with Judith von Jürgaß (1703–19 March 1756) (married on 5 November 1737) came a daughter, Johanna (1747–7 June 1829). She married Karl von Jürgaß (1702–19 March 1756), the son of Joachim von Jürgaß and Luise von Zieten. After the death of his first wife, he married on 24 August 1764 to Hedwig von Platen (1738–6 September 1818). His only son, Friedrich von Zieten (6 October 1765–29 June 1854), whose baptism Frederick witnessed, was first a captain of hussars and from 1800–1824 councilor of Ruppin. In 1840 he