Prince George William of Hesse-Darmstadt (11 July 1722 – 21 June 1782) was a Prince of

Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse betwee ...

. He was born in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

. He was the second son of Landgrave

Louis VIII Louis VIII (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (french: Le Lion), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As prince, he invaded England on 21 May 1216 and was excommunicated by a papal legate on 29 May 1216. On 2 June 1216 ...

and Charlotte Christine Magdalene Johanna of Hanau-Lichtenberg. From 1738 till his death, he commanded an army-regiment of his land. In the 1740s, he also commanded a

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

n regiment. He reached the rank of general of the cavalry. He was the official military adviser to his father, but had a strong rival in his older brother

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the d ...

, who followed his friend's example, the soldier-king

Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

and expanded

Pirmasens Pirmasens (; pfl, Bärmesens (also ''Bermesens'' or ''Bärmasens'')) is an independent town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France. It was famous for the manufacture of shoes. The surrounding rural district was called ''Lan ...

as a garrison town. In 1748, he married

Countess Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg Countess Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg (16 March 1729 – 11 March 1818); also known as ''Princess George'', was heiress to the barony of Broich and by marriage Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt. She was the grandmother and ...

. Through this marriage, he acquired the estates of Broich, Oberstein, Aspermont, Burgel, and Reipolzkirchen. He and Maria had nine children. In 1764, George William received Old Palace in Darmstadt and the associated pleasure garden as a gift from his father, who had always favoured him above his brother

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

. George William had the palace with the White Tower expanded. He represented the reigning family in Darmstadt, as his brother stayed mostly in Pirmasens.

Issue

Ancestry

References

* Johann Friedrich Schannat
Eiflia Illustrata... S. 515
* Philipp Alexander Ferdinand Walther
Darmstadt wie es war und wie es geworden S. 187

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:George William, Landgrave Of Hesse-Darmstadt 1722 births 1782 deaths Princes of Hesse-Darmstadt Landgraves of Hesse-Darmstadt Nobility from Darmstadt Generals of the Holy Roman Empire Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)