Charles Gonthier, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (german: Karl Günther, Fürst von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen; 7 August 1830 – 28 March 1909) was the ruler of the principality of

Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a small principality in Germany, in the present day state of Thuringia, with its capital at Sondershausen. History Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a county until 1697. In that year, it became a principality, which ...

, a constituent state of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

, and head of the

House of Schwarzburg The House of Schwarzburg was one of the oldest noble families of Thuringia. Upon the death of Prince Friedrich Günther in 1971, a claim to the headship of the house passed under Semi-Salic primogeniture to his elder sister, Princess Marie An ...

from 17 July 1880 until his death.

Hereditary Prince

Prince Charles Gonthier was born in

Arnstadt Arnstadt () is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, on the river Gera about south of Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia. Arnstadt is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia, and has a well-preserved historic centre with a partially preserved town ...

, the third child of Hereditary Prince Gonthier Frederick Charles and his first wife, Princess Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. The death of his elder brother Prince Gonthier in 1833 put Charles Gonthier in direct line for the throne. As such, upon the abdication of his grandfather, Prince Gonthier Frederick Charles I, on 19 August 1835, he became Hereditary Prince and heir apparent to his father, who became Prince Gonthier Frederick Charles II. In 1850 Prince Charles Gonthier enrolled at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...

to begin his studies in law and literature. Also in 1850, he embarked upon a career in the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

, being appointed an

Oberleutnant () is the highest lieutenant officer rank in the German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. Austria Germany In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Trans ...

. Two years later he was promoted to the rank of

Rittmeister __NOTOC__ (German and Scandinavian for "riding master" or "cavalry master") is or was a military rank of a commissioned cavalry officer in the armies of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A ''Rittmeister'' is typic ...

before once gaining promotion to the rank

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in 1855. On 12 June 1869 Prince Charles Gonthier was married in

Altenburg Altenburg () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located south of Leipzig, west of Dresden and east of Erfurt. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district and part of a polycentric old-industrial textile and metal production region betw ...

to Princess Marie Gasparine of Saxe-Altenburg, Duchess of Saxony, the daughter of

Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg (Hildburghausen, 3 July 1804 – Munich, 16 May 1852), was a German prince of the ducal house of Saxe-Hildburghausen (of Saxe-Altenburg from 1826). Family He was the seventh but fourth surviving son of Frederic ...

Ruling prince

On 17 July 1880, following the abdication of his father due to an eye condition, Hereditary Prince Charles Gonthier succeeded him as ruling prince and head of the House of Schwarzburg. During his reign, he made advancements to the education system of the principality, opening a state school and teacher-training facility. As the marriage of Prince Charles Gonthier was childless, the heir presumptive to the throne was his younger brother, Prince Leopold. In 1890 the two brothers caused a scandal in Germany when they came to blows after Prince Leopold, who desired to marry, took offence to his brother's suggestion that he marry a commoner if no royal woman would agree to marry him. As his brother remained unmarried and Charles Gonthier childless, the Schwarzburg-Sondershausen branch of the House of Schwarzburg was on the verge of extinction, with no other princes remaining. The princely house of Schwarzburg consisted of two branches, Sondershausen being the senior line and

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia, Germany, with its capital at Rudolstadt. History Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of Schwarzburg dynasty lands. Since th ...

the junior. According to a family pact from 7 September 1713, upon the extinction of one of the branches, the principality would pass to the surviving one. However, as the Rudolstadt branch was also threatened with extinction on 21 April 1896, Prince Charles Gonthier agreed with the remaining dynasts, his brother Prince Leopold and cousin Prince Günther Victor of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, that their morganatic relative Prince Sizzo of Leutenberg was to become a member of the princely house with full succession rights. Their decision became law on 1 June 1896. In 1906 Prince Charles Gonthier suffered a serious injury in a hunting accident. He spent the remaining years of his life confined to a hospital bed and died in a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

. As his brother and heir Prince Leopold had died in 1906, Prince Charles Gonthier was succeeded by his cousin, Prince Günther Victor, in whom both Schwarzburg principalities became vested in a

personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...

Titles and honours

Titles

*7 August 1830 - 19 August 1835: ''

His Serene Highness His/Her Serene Highness (abbreviation: HSH, second person address: Your Serene Highness) is a style (manner of address), style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Thailand. Over the past 400 years, it has also used as ...

'' Prince Charles Gonthier of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen *19 August 1835 - 17 July 1880: ''His Serene Highness'' the Hereditary Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen *17 July 1880 - 28 March 1909: ''His Serene Highness'' the Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen

Honours and awards

* Colonel-in-Chief of the Third Regiment of

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

n Infantry * Ascanian duchies: Grand Cross of the

Order of Albert the Bear The House Order of Albert the Bear (German: ''Hausorden Albrechts des Bären'' or ''Der Herzoglich Anhaltische Hausorden Albrechts des Bären'') was founded in 1836 as a joint House Order by three dukes of Anhalt from separate branches of the fam ...

, ''2 August 1850'' * : Knight of the

Order of Saint Hubert The Royal Order of Saint Hubert (german: Sankt Hubertus Königlicher Orden), or sometimes (german: Königlicher Orden des Heiligen Hubertus) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood founded in 1444 or 1445 by Gerhard VII, Duke of Jülic ...

, ''1850'' * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the White Falcon Order of the White Falcon (german: Hausorden vom Weißen Falken) is a grand-ducal order of Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, founded by Duke Ernest Augustus on 2 August 1732, and renewed in 1815 by Charles Augustus. Description In the early 2 ...

, ''20 July 1861'' *

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

: ** Knight of the

Royal Order of the Crown The Order of the Crown (french: Ordre de la Couronne, nl, Kroonorde) is a national Order (decoration), order of the Belgium, Kingdom of Belgium. The Order is one of Belgium's highest honors. History The Order was established on October 15, 189 ...

, 1st Class, ''14 June 1864'' ** Knight of the

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle (german: Roter Adlerorden) was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful se ...

, 3rd Class with Swords, ''1866''; Grand Cross with Swords on Ring, ''5 April 1875'' ** Member of Honour of the Johanniter Order, ''1884''; Knight of Honour, ''24 September 1889'' ** Knight of the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle (german: Hoher Orden vom Schwarzen Adler) was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I, King ...

, ''3 November 1892'' * : Grand Cross of the House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Golden Crown, ''9 June 1869'' *

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

: Grand Cross of the

House Order of the Wendish Crown The House Order of the Wendish Crown (german: Hausorden der Wendischen Krone) was an Order of the House of Mecklenburg, jointly instituted on 12 May 1864 by Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Grand Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of ...

, with Crown in Ore, ''25 January 1882'' * : Grand Cross of the Order of the Württemberg Crown, ''1889''''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg'' (1896), "Königliche Orden
p. 29
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Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles Gonthier, Prince Of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen 1830 births 1909 deaths House of Schwarzburg People from Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Generals of Infantry (Prussia)