Prince Waldemar of Prussia (Joachim Friedrich Ernst Waldemar; 10 February 1868 – 27 March 1879) was the sixth child and youngest son of the German Crown Prince and Crown Princess, later Emperor Frederick III and Empress Victoria. Prince Waldemar was a grandson of both

William I, German Emperor Wilhelm I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 1861 and German Emperor from 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united Germany. ...

, and

Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days, which was longer than th ...

Biography

Early life

Prince-waldemar-of-prussia-with-his-sisters-in-june-1878-v0-hevcg07c2xqc1

Waldemar was the favourite of both the Princess Royal and her husband. He was a lively, cheerful boy, boisterous and high-spirited, with a sensible, independent and honest nature. He was quick to learn and his mother found him a pleasure to teach. Waldemar had a "fun loving" character and a great sense of humour and love for animals and sports. On one occasion, when visiting his grandmother, Queen Victoria, Waldemar let loose his pet crocodile in her study, much to the shock of the middle-aged queen. The Princess Royal wrote that she would be unhappy when Waldemar went off to school, "as he is my very own boy." She seemed to prefer Waldemar over his elder brothers Wilhelm and Heinrich.

Death

Less than four months after the deaths of his maternal aunt, Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and cousin, Marie, Waldemar became seriously ill with

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacteria, bacterium ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild Course (medicine), clinical course, but in some outbreaks, the mortality rate approaches 10%. Signs a ...

and died in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

on 27 March 1879. He was buried in the royal mausoleum attached to the

Friedenskirche The Protestant Church of Peace () is situated in the Marly Gardens on the Green Fence (''Am Grünen Gitter'') in the palace grounds of Sanssouci Park in Potsdam, Germany. The church was built according to the wishes and with the close involve ...

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, near the main altar and his elder brother Prince Sigismund of Prussia. His parents were later buried not far away in the centre of the mausoleum directly under the dome.

Ancestry

Notes

References

Richard Hough Richard Alexander Hough (; 15 May 1922 – 7 October 1999) was a British author and historian specializing in maritime history. Personal life Hough married the author Charlotte Woodyatt, whom he had met when they were pupils at Frensham Heigh ...

, ''Advice to a Grand-daughter. Letters from Queen Victoria to Princess Victoria of Hesse''. London, 1975, p. 12,

External links

* Prussian princes House of Hohenzollern 1868 births 1879 deaths Infectious disease deaths in Germany Deaths from diphtheria Sons of emperors German royalty who died as children Children of Frederick III, German Emperor Sons of kings {{Germany-noble-stub