Frederick William George Adolphus, Landgrave of Hesse (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Georg Adolf von Hessen-Kassel; 25 November 1820 – 14 October 1884) was the only son of
Wilhelm I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel-Rumpenheim and
Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark
Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark ( da, Charlotte af Danmark; 30 October 1789 – 28 March 1864) was a Danish princess, and a princess of Hesse-Kassel by marriage to Prince William of Hesse-Kassel.
Princess Charlotte was a significant fig ...
.
Early life and marriages
![Prins_Wilhelms_Palæ_(Københavns_Kommune)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Prins_Wilhelms_Pal%C3%A6_%28K%C3%B8benhavns_Kommune%29.JPG)
Prince Frederick William of Hesse-Kassel was born in Copenhagen on 26 November 1820. He moved to Denmark with his family at the age of three, and grew up there. He attended the university in Bonn, and then began a military career. In 1843 he was third in line for the Danish throne after the King's son and brother, Prince Ferdinand.
His siblings included
Louise of Hesse-Kassel
da, Louise Wilhelmine Frederikke Caroline Auguste Julie
, succession = Queen consort of Denmark
, image = Louise of Hesse-Kassel.jpg
, reign = 15 November 1863 – 29 September 1898
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = ...
, future Queen of Denmark,
Princess Marie Luise Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel
Princess Marie Luise Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel (9 May 1814 – 28 July 1895) was a member of the House of Hesse-Kassel by birth. Through her marriage to Prince Frederick Augustus of Anhalt-Dessau, she became a princess of Anhalt-Dessau.
Family
...
and Princess
Auguste Sophie Friederike of Hesse-Kassel.
![Alekszandra Nyikolajevna orosz nagyhercegnő](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Alekszandra_Nyikolajevna_orosz_nagyhercegn%C5%91.jpg)
On 28 January 1844, Frederick married Grand Duchess
Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia at
St Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. Frederick had come to St Petersburg as a prospective bridegroom for her sister
Olga, but fell in love with Alexandra instead on the first evening he spent with the family. Although Olga was the elder daughter and also found Frederick to be an engaging young man, she stepped aside in favour of her sister, and even chaperoned the couple when they wanted to spend time together. The emperor and empress then gave their permission for Alexandra and Frederick to be married.
Alexandra became acutely ill with tuberculosis shortly before her wedding, and this complicated the pregnancy which soon followed. She was never well enough to travel to Hesse and take up her new position with her husband. They stayed in St. Petersburg, where her health rapidly declined. She went into labor prematurely, three months before the child was due, and gave birth to a son, Wilhelm. The infant died shortly after he was born, and Alexandra died later the same day. Her parents were devastated and their grief would last until the end of their lives. She was buried at the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg. The son was buried in Rumpenheim, now a borough of
Offenbach am Main
Offenbach am Main () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Hesse, Germany, on the left bank of the river Main (river), Main. It borders Frankfurt and is part of the Frankfurt urban area and the larger Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Aut ...
, Germany.
In 1849 Frederick William joined
HMS ''Cleopatra'' to train as a
midshipman
A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...
. The ''Cleopatra'' was reassigned to
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
to take the place of
HMS ''Maeander''. She arrived in Singapore from Devonport via Rio de Janeiro under Captain Massie on 14 September 1849 and left with
HMS ''Reynard'' for
Labuan
Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan), is a Federal Territory of Malaysia. Its territory includes and six smaller islands, off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capit ...
and China on 10 October. The Singapore paper mistakenly described the Prince as the son of the
Danish king
This is a list of Monarchy of Denmark, Danish monarchs, that is, the kings and queens regnant of Denmark. This includes:
* The Kingdom of Denmark (up to 1397)
** Personal union of Denmark and Norway (1380–1397)
* The Kalmar Union (1397–1536) ...
but the king had no sons, he was an heir to the throne.
![Princess Anna of Prussia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Princess_Anna_of_Prussia.jpg)
On 26 May 1853, Frederick married Alexandra's first cousin,
Princess Anna of Prussia
Princess Maria Anna Friederike of Prussia (; 17 May 1836 – 12 June 1918), usually called Anna, was a Prussian princess as the granddaughter of King Frederick William III of Prussia. She was the second wife of Prince Frederick William of Hesse-Kas ...
(1836–1918), at
Charlottenburg Palace
Schloss Charlottenburg (Charlottenburg Palace) is a Baroque palace in Berlin, located in Charlottenburg, a district of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough.
The palace was built at the end of the 17th century and was greatly expanded during th ...
in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. Although they had six children together, Frederick and Anna were never emotionally close, and it is speculated that one reason was because Fritz was unable to overcome his grief for his first wife.
Children
His first wife was
Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia (1825–1844), daughter of Emperor
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , group=pron ( – ) was List of Russian rulers, Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. He was the third son of Paul I of Russia, Paul I and younger brother of his predecessor, Alexander I ...
and
Charlotte of Prussia
Alexandra Feodorovna ( rus, Алекса́ндра Фёдоровна, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandrə ˈfjɵdərəvnə), born Princess Charlotte of Prussia (13 July 1798 – 1 November 1860), was empress consort of Russia, Empress of Russia as the wife of Em ...
.
Alexandra died in childbirth, delivering a son who was born three months prematurely, and who died on the day of his birth:
* Prince Wilhelm (1844–1844)
His second wife was
Princess Anna of Prussia
Princess Maria Anna Friederike of Prussia (; 17 May 1836 – 12 June 1918), usually called Anna, was a Prussian princess as the granddaughter of King Frederick William III of Prussia. She was the second wife of Prince Frederick William of Hesse-Kas ...
(1836–1918), the youngest daughter of
Prince Charles of Prussia
Prince Frederick Charles Alexander of Prussia (german: Friedrich Karl Alexander; 29 June 1801 – 21 January 1883) was a younger son of Frederick William III of Prussia. He served as a Prussian general for much of his adult life and became the fir ...
and
Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.
They had six children:
* Prince
Frederick William III of Hesse
Frederick William (III), Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl, 15 October 1854 – 14 October 1888) was (titular) Electorate of Hesse, Elector of Hesse-Kassel.
Early life
He was the eldest son of Frederick William of ...
(1854–1888); never married; died at sea on a voyage from Batavia to Singapore.
* Princess
Elisabeth Alexandra Charlotte of Hesse (1861–1955); married
Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt
, spouse =Princess Elisabeth of Hesse-Kassel
, issue = Antoinette, Princess Frederick of Schaumburg-Lippe
, house =House of Ascania
, father =Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt
, mother ...
in June 1884 and had issue.
* Prince
Alexander Frederick of Hesse
Alexander Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse (german: Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm Albrecht Georg Landgraf von Hessen, 25 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was a German prince of the House of Hesse.
Biography
He was the son of Prince Frederick Willia ...
(1863–1945); married Baroness Gisela Stockhorner von Starheim.
* Prince
Frederick Charles of Hesse, King of
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
(1868–1940); married
Princess Margaret of Prussia English: Margaret Beatrice Feodora
, house = Hohenzollern
, father = Frederick III, German Emperor
, mother = Victoria, Princess Royal
, birth_date =
, birth_place = New Palace, Potsdam, Prussia, German Empire
, d ...
and had issue.
* Princess Marie-Polyxene of Hesse (1872–1882).
* Princess Sybille Margaret Adelheid Louise of Hesse (1877–1925); married Friedrich Alexander Henry Robert Carl Albert, Baron
von Vincke (divorced 1923).
Elector of Hesse
He is important dynastically as a candidate for both the headship of the Hesse-Kassel dynasty (through his father) and for the Danish throne (through his mother). When
Frederick William, deposed Elector of Hesse died in 1875, his sons were excluded from succession, because of his
morganatic marriage
Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...
. Therefore, Prince Frederick William succeeded the latter as titular Elector of Hesse.
Frederick William died on 14 October 1884 at Hamburg.
Honours and awards
Friedrich Wilhelm received the following awards:
[''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogs Hessen'' (1879), Genealogy p]
5
/ref>
;German decorations
;Foreign decorations
* : Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, ''1860''
* :
** Knight of the Elephant
The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional ...
, ''28 June 1840''
** Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...
, ''28 June 1840''
* Kingdom of Greece
The Kingdom of Greece ( grc, label=Greek, Βασίλειον τῆς Ἑλλάδος ) was established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally recognised by the Treaty of Constantinople, where ...
: Grand Cross of the Redeemer
* :
** Knight of St. Andrew, in Diamonds, ''1 July 1843''
** Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky
** Knight of the White Eagle
** Knight of St. Anna, 1st Class
** Knight of St. George, 4th Class, ''1878''
* Sweden-Norway
Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway ( sv, Svensk-norska unionen; no, Den svensk-norske union(en)), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Sweden ...
: Knight of the Seraphim, ''2 November 1869''
Ancestry
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
External links
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prince Frederick William 02 of Hesse-Kassel
1820 births
1884 deaths
Frederick William
Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary
Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree
Recipients of the Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog