Prince Wilhelm Karl Bernhard Hermann of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (21 December 1853 – 15 December 1924) was a member of the

House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (german: Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) was a historical German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was raised ...

Life

Prince Wilhelm of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach was born on 21 December 1853 in Stuttgart. He was the eldest son of the

Prince Hermann of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach 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 ...

and Princess Augusta of Württemberg (1826-1898). Prince Wilhelm also has had his own financial problems, and has been forced by the Grand Duke to live outside

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

. Wilhelm is heir presumptive to the throne as the young Grand Duke Wilhelm Ernst is a widower. His wife, Karoline of Reuss died in January 1905. Prince William had a problem with his eldest son. Prince Hermann

morganatically 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 spou ...

married Wanda Paola Lottero on 5 September 1909 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Lottero was an Italian stage actress, and due to Hermann's rollicking lifestyle, the ducal family forced him to renounce his rights of succession to the Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach throne, as well as his royal status, title and prerogatives, granting him a lesser, noble title, Count Ostheim, along with a small allowance on the grounds that he stay out of the duchy. Prince Wilhelm also had a bad reputation. His behavior aroused the dissatisfaction of the head of the family. Prince Wilhelm fled to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in his youth, served as a riding master, clerk, book agent and even as a restaurant waiter in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, but was finally persuaded to return 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 ...

, marry his second cousin, and live on a small pension from the head of the house.

Marriage and family

Prince Wilhelm married Gerta Princess of Ysenburg and Büdingen (1863-1945), daughter of Ferdinand Maximilian I, Prince of Ysenburg and Büdingen (1824-1903) and Auguste Marie Gertrude Princess of Hanau and Horowitz (1829-1887), on 11 April 1885 at Wächtersbach,

. Augusta Marie Gertrude was daughter of

Frederick William, Elector of Hesse Frederick William I (20 August 1802 – 6 January 1875) was, between 1847 and 1866, the last Prince-elector of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel). Early life He was born at Hanau on 20 August 1802. He was the son of Prince William, later William ...

. Wilhelm and Gerta had three children: *

(14 February 1886 – 6 June 1964) * Prince Albrecht of Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (23 December 1886 - 9 September 1918), killed in action during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

* Princess Sophie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (25 July 1888 - 18 September 1913)

Honours and arms

Coat of Arms of the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

He received the following orders and decorations: * : Grand Cross of the White Falcon, ''1853'' *

Ernestine duchies The Ernestine duchies (), also known as the Saxon duchies (, although the Albertine appanage duchies of Weissenfels, Merseburg and Zeitz were also "Saxon duchies" and adjacent to several Ernestine ones), were a group of small states whose num ...

: Grand Cross of the

Saxe-Ernestine House Order The Saxe-Ernestine House Order (german: link=yes, Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden)Hausorden
Herz ...

, ''1878'' * : Cross of Honour of the House Order of Lippe, 1st Class *

Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

: Grand Cross of the White Elephant * : Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown, ''1871''''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg'' (1907), "Königliche Orden" p
27
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Ancestry

References

External links

* ttp://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2008/07/princess-sophie-of-saxe-weimar.html Royal Musings Retrieved 28 August 2010
Princess Sophie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilhelm of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Prince House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Princes of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Disinherited European royalty 1853 births 1924 deaths