Carl Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Leiningen (german: Fürst zu Leiningen; 14 August 1724 – 9 January 1807) was a Prince of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

and the first ruler of the

Principality of Leiningen The Principality of Leiningen (german: Fürstentum Leiningen) was a short-lived principality ruled by the Prince of Leiningen. History The principality emerged in 1803 in the course of secularization and was created when the princely branch of ...

Life

Carl Friedrich Wilhelm was the eldest son of Friedrich Magnus, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg (1703-1756), and his wife, Countess Anna Christine Eleonore von Wurmbrand-Stuppach (1698-1763). He succeeded his father on the latter's death, 28 October 1756. On 3 July 1779, he was made a

Prince of the Holy Roman Empire Prince of the Holy Roman Empire ( la, princeps imperii, german: Reichsfürst, cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised as such by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors o ...

, becoming the first

Prince of Leiningen The title of Prince of Leiningen (german: Fürst zu Leiningen) was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, who elevated Carl Friedrich Wilhelm, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hardenburg (a younger branch of the House of Leiningen) to the rank ...

. In 1801, he was deprived of his lands on the left bank of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

, namely Hardenburg, Dagsburg and Durkheim, by France, but in 1803 received the secularized

Amorbach Abbey Amorbach Abbey (german: Kloster Amorbach) was a Benedictine imperial abbey of the Holy Roman Empire located at Amorbach. It was later the residence of the rulers of the short-lived Principality of Leiningen, before that became part of the Kingdom ...

as an ample compensation for these losses. Hitherto his titles were: ''Imperial Prince of Leiningen,

Count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...

Mosbach Mosbach (; South Franconian: ''Mossbach'') is a town in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the seat of the Neckar-Odenwald district and has a population of approximately 25,000 distributed in six boroughs: Mosbach Town, Lohrbach, N ...

, Count of

Düren Düren (; ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne on the river Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the territory of the Eburones, a people ...

, Lord of

Miltenberg Miltenberg () is a town in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named district and has a population of over 9,000. Geography Location The old town lies on the Main ...

Amorbach Amorbach () is a town in the Miltenberg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany, with some 4,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the small river Mud, in the northeastern part of the Odenwald ...

, Bischofsheim, Boxberg, Schüpf and Lauda.'' A few years later, the short-lived

at Amorbach was

mediatized Mediatization or mediatisation may refer to: * German mediatisation German mediatisation (; german: deutsche Mediatisierung) was the major territorial restructuring that took place between 1802 and 1814 in Germany and the surrounding region by ...

into the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German E ...

Marriage

On 24 June 1749, the Prince married his

first cousin Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, " ...

Countess Christiane Wilhelmine Luise of Solms-Rödelheim and Assenheim, daughter of Wilhelm Carl Ludwig, Count of Solms-Rödelheim and Assenheim (1699-1778), by his wife, Countess Maria Margareta Leopolda von Wurmbrand-Stuppach (1701-1756). His wife died on 6 January 1803, having borne him a son and three daughters: * Princess Elisabeth Christiane Marianne of Leiningen (27 October 1753 – 16 February 1792); married on 17 May 1768 to Count Karl Ludwig of

Salm-Grumbach Salm is the name of several historic countships and principalities in present Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. History Origins The County of Salm arose in the tenth century in Vielsalm, in the Ardennes region of present Belgium. It was ...

. * Princess Charlotte Luise Polyxena of Leiningen (27 May 1755 – 13 January 1785); married 1 September 1776 to

Franz, Count of Erbach-Erbach Antique collection in the Erbach Palace Franz Graf zu Erbach-Erbach (29 October 1754 – 8 March 1823) was a German nobleman and art collector. Early life Franz was born in Erbach im Odenwald in 1754 as the only son of Count Georg Wilhelm ...

. * Princess Karoline Sophie Wilhelmine of Leiningen (4 April 1757 – 18 March 1832); married 21 September 1773 Count Friedrich Magnus of

Solms-Wildenfels Solms-Wildenfels was a minor County around Wildenfels in south-western Saxony, Germany. The House of Solms had its origins at Solms, Hesse. Solms-Wildenfels was a partition of Solms-Baruth. In 1741 it was partitioned between itself and Solms-Sa ...

. *

Emich Karl, Prince of Leiningen Emich Carl, Prince of Leiningen (27 September 1763 – 4 July 1814) was a German nobleman. He is an ancestor of various European royals, including Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Felipe VI of Spain, and Constantine II of Greece. After his death, his wi ...

(27 September 1763 – 4 July 1814); succeeded his father as second Prince of Leiningen.

Ancestry

References

Sources include: * {{Authority control 1724 births 1807 deaths People from Bad Dürkheim

Carl Friedrich Wilhelm, 1st Prince of Leiningen Carl Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Leiningen (german: Fürst zu Leiningen; 14 August 1724 – 9 January 1807) was a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire and the first ruler of the Principality of Leiningen. Life Carl Friedrich Wilhelm was the eldest ...

Carl Friedrich Wilhelm