Duke Wilhelm in Bavaria, full

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

name: ''Wilhelm, Herzog in Bayern'' (born 10 November 1752 in

Gelnhausen Gelnhausen () is a town, and the capital of the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located approximately 40 kilometers east of Frankfurt am Main, between the Vogelsberg mountains and the Spessart range at the river Kinzig. It is one of ...

Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen was a state of the Holy Roman Empire seated in Gelnhausen in the south of modern Hesse, Germany. Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen was partitioned from Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler in 1654. It was a mediate st ...

; died 8 January 1837 in

Landshut Landshut (; bar, Landshuad) is a town in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also t ...

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...

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 ...

) was Count Palatine of Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen between 1789 and 1799 and first

Duke in Bavaria Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...

from 16 February 1799 until his death in 1837. From 17 December 1803 to 20 March 1806, Wilhelm was titled

Duke of Berg Berg was a state—originally a county, later a duchy—in the Rhineland of Germany. Its capital was Düsseldorf. It existed as a distinct political entity from the early 12th to the 19th centuries. The name of the county lives on in the modern ...

Early life

Wilhelm was born on 10 November 1752 in

to John, Count Palatine of Gelnhausen and his wife Wild- and Rhinegravine Sophie Charlotte of Salm-Dhaun. In 1778, Wilhelm became an honorary member of the

Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (german: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften) is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledg ...

Marriage and issue

Wilhelm married

Countess Palatine Maria Anna of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld Countess Palatine Maria Anna of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler (18 July 1753 – 4 February 1824) was Countess Palatine of Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen and Duchess in Bavaria, through her marriage to Duke Wilhelm in Bavaria. Maria Anna was a gr ...

, sister of the first King of Bavaria Maximilian I, daughter of

Frederick Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken Frederick Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (Ribeauvillé, Alsace, 27 February 1724 – 15 August 1767 in Schwetzingen) was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty. He was the son of Christian III of Palatinate-Zweibrücken and Ca ...

and his wife

Countess Palatine Maria Franziska of Sulzbach Countess Palatine Maria Francisca of Sulzbach (''Maria Franziska, Pfalzgräfin von Sulzbach''; 15 June 1724 – 15 November 1794), was a Countess Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld by marriage to Frederick Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrü ...

, on 30 January 1780 in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

. Wilhelm and Maria Anna had two children: *unnamed son (6 May 1782) * Duchess Maria Elisabeth Amalie Franziska in Bavaria (5 May 1784 – 1 June 1849) married the French Marshall

Louis Alexandre Berthier Louis-Alexandre Berthier (20 November 1753 – 1 June 1815), Prince of Neuchâtel and Valangin, Prince of Wagram, was a French Marshal of the Empire who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was twice Minister ...

, 1st Prince de Wagram and had issue. *

Duke Pius August in Bavaria Duke ''Pius August'' in Bavaria, full German name: ''Pius August Herzog in Bayern'' (born 1 August 1786 in Landshut, Electorate of Bavaria; died 3 August 1837 in Bayreuth, Kingdom of Bavaria) was a Duke in Bavaria as a member of the Palatine Birk ...

(1 August 1786 – 3 August 1837)

Duke in Bavaria

On 16 February 1799, the head of the House of Wittelsbach

Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria Charles Theodore (german: link=no, Karl Theodor; 11 December 1724 – 16 February 1799) reigned as Prince-elector and Count Palatine from 1742, as Duke of Jülich and Berg from 1742 and also as prince-elector and Duke of Bavaria from 1777 to his ...

died. At the time there were two surviving branches of the Wittelsbach family: Zweibrücken (headed by Duke Maximilian Joseph) and Birkenfeld (headed by Count Palatine Wilhelm). Maximilian Joseph inherited Charles Theodor's title of Elector of Bavaria, while Wilhelm was compensated with the title of Duke ''in'' Bavaria. The form Duke ''in'' Bavaria was selected because in 1506

primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

had been established in the House of Wittelsbach resulting in there being only one Duke ''of'' Bavaria at any given time.

Death

Wilhelm was interred at the family burial crypt of the Dukes in Bavaria at

Tegernsee Abbey Tegernsee Abbey (German Kloster Tegernsee, ''Abtei Tegernsee'') is a former Benedictine monastery in the town and district of Tegernsee in Bavaria. Both the abbey and the town that grew up around it, are named after the Tegernsee, the lake on th ...

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilhelm in Bavaria, Duke 1752 births 1837 deaths People from Gelnhausen House of Wittelsbach Dukes in Bavaria Members of the Bavarian Reichsrat