Frederick William, Prince von Hessenstein (17 March 1735,

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

— 27 July 1808,

Panker Panker is a municipality in Plön county, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The municipality of Panker includes the villages ''Darry'', ''Gadendorf'', ''Matzwitz'', ''Satjendorf'', ''Todendorf'' and Panker estate. The nearest city is Luetjenburg. P ...

), was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

soldier and statesman. He was an extramarital son of King

Frederick I of Sweden Frederick I ( sv, Fredrik I; 28 April 1676 – 5 April 1751) was prince consort of Sweden from 1718 to 1720, and King of Sweden from 1720 until his death and (as ''Frederick I'') also Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1730. He ascended the throne f ...

and his

royal mistress A royal mistress is the historical position and sometimes unofficial title of the extramarital lover of a monarch or an heir apparent, who was expected to provide certain services, such as sexual or romantic intimacy, companionship, and advice ...

Hedvig Taube Hedvig Ulrika Taube (31 October 1714 – 11 February 1744), also Countess von Hessenstein was a Swedish courtier and countess, a Holy Roman countess of the Empire, and royal mistress to king Frederick I of Sweden from 1731 to 1744. She is regarded ...

Biography

King

Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

treated him with great respect. He was appointed

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

in 1773,

Privy Councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1776, and

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

between 1776 and 1791. Hessenstein was made a

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

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 ...

(in which his father's German realm, the

landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire that was directly subject to the Emperor. The state was created in 1567 when the Lan ...

, was located) on 28 February 1741, and created a Swedish count on 29 March of the following year. He was elevated to

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

von Hessenstein in the Empire in November 1772, and hereditary

von Hessenstein also in Sweden on 28 April 1785. In 1773, he was also made one of the

Lords of the Realm ''Lords of the Realm'' is a turn-based strategy computer game published and developed by Impressions Games. It was first released on June 15, 1994, and is the first game in the ''Lords of the Realm'' series. Summary The game takes place in a medi ...

. According to unverified rumors, he might have been the father of an extramarital daughter by Princess Sofia Albertina,

's sister. Named Sophia, she was allegedly born in 1786, a year before the princess was sent to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

Quedlinburg Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became a center of in ...

.''Fredrik Vilhelm von Hessenstein''
( Nordisk familjebok)

Honors

*Knight of the

Royal Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim ( sv, Kungliga Serafimerorden; ''Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the P ...

*Commander of the Royal

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Or ...

References

Other sources

*Lindquist, Herman (2002) ''Historien om Sverige. Gustavs dagar'' (Norstedts Förlag) ) *Lagerqvist, Lars O. (1976) ''Sveriges regenter - från forntid till nutid'' (Bonnier) 1735 births 1808 deaths People from Plön (district) Illegitimate children of Swedish monarchs Field marshals of Sweden Governors-General of Sweden Swedish Pomerania Swedish nobility Swedish people of German descent 18th-century Swedish military personnel Commanders of the Order of the Sword Sons of kings {{sweden-politician-stub