Prince Wolfgang of

Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire that was directly subject to the Emperor. The state was created in 1567 when the Lan ...

(or Hesse-Cassel) (''Wolfgang Moritz''; 6 November 1896 – 12 July 1989) was the designated Hereditary Prince of the monarchy of Finland (with the

irredentist Irredentism is usually understood as a desire that one state annexes a territory of a neighboring state. This desire is motivated by ethnic reasons (because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to the population of the parent sta ...

pretension to

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

), and as such, already called the

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

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 ...

officially until 14 December 1918, and also afterwards by some monarchists. Wolfgang was born at

Castle Rumpenheim Rumpenheim Castle is a ''Schloss'' located in the banks of the Main (river), Main river in the German city of Offenbach am Main. History The origin of the palace dates back to the manor house of Johann Georg Seifert von Edelsheim, a politician ...

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 ...

. He was the second-born of a pair of twins, the fourth child and son born to

Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse Frederick Charles Louis Constantine, Prince and Landgrave of Hesse (german: Friedrich Karl Ludwig Konstantin Prinz und Landgraf von Hessen-Kassel; fi, Fredrik Kaarle; 1 May 1868 – 28 May 1940), was the brother-in-law of the German Empe ...

(1868–1940) and

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 ...

(1872–1954). His maternal uncle was the

German Emperor The German Emperor (german: Deutscher Kaiser, ) was the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the offi ...

William II. Wolfgang's father Frederick Charles of Hesse was elected

King of Finland This is a list of monarchs and heads of state of Finland; that is, the kings of Sweden with regents and viceroys of the Kalmar Union, the grand dukes of Finland, a title used by most Swedish monarchs, up to the two-year regency following the inde ...

on 9 October 1918, to replace his first cousin once removed, the deposed Russian emperor,

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...

, who was titled ''

Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approxi ...

of Finland''. However, Frederick Charles renounced the throne on 14 December 1918, and the title was never actually held by the family. Wolfgang would have been his father's heir as King of Finland instead of his elder twin

Prince Philipp of Hesse Philipp, Prince and Landgrave of Hesse (6 November 1896 – 25 October 1980) was head of the Electoral House of Hesse from 1940 to 1980. He joined the Nazi Party in 1930, and, when they gained power with the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancel ...

(1896–1980), who was the next heir of the rights over the defunct

Electorate of Hesse The Electorate of Hesse (german: Kurfürstentum Hessen), also known as Hesse-Kassel or Kurhessen, was a landgraviate whose prince was given the right to elect the Emperor by Napoleon. When the Holy Roman Empire was abolished in 1806, its prin ...

, but apparently because Wolfgang was with his parents in 1918 and ready to travel to Finland (where a wedding to a Finnish lady was reportedly being prepared for the coming Crown Prince). Philipp was on active service and incommunicado at the time. Wolfgang married on 17 September 1924 Princess Marie Alexandra of Baden (1902–1944), daughter of

Prince Maximilian of Baden Maximilian, Margrave of Baden (''Maximilian Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm''; 10 July 1867 – 6 November 1929),Almanach de Gotha. ''Haus Baden (Maison de Bade)''. Justus Perthes (publishing company), Justus Perthes, Gotha, 1944, p. 18, (French). a ...

and

Princess Marie Louise of Hanover Princess Marie Louise of Hanover and Cumberland (11 October 1879 – 31 January 1948) was the eldest child of Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover, and Princess Thyra of Denmark, the youngest daughter of Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of ...

; they had no children. Wolfgang adopted his nephew, Prince Karl Adolf of Hesse (born 1937), elder son of his younger brother

Christoph Christoph is a male given name and surname. It is a German variant of Christopher. Notable people with the given name Christoph * Christoph Bach (1613–1661), German musician * Christoph Büchel (born 1966), Swiss artist * Christoph Dientzenho ...

who was killed in action in 1943. At the time of his death in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

at the age of 92, Wolfgang was the last surviving descendant of 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 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

who had been born in her lifetime. Victoria died in 1901 when Wolfgang was four years old. He married secondly Ottilie Moeller (1903-1991), the daughter of Ludwig Moeller and Eleanore Steinmann, in September 1948.

Ancestry

References

* Sjöström (2013) "Suomen kuningas" kuoli. Suomen Kuvalehti 22/2013 page 17.

External links

Article about the House of Hesse and the throne of Finland

Helsingin Sanomat ''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfgang Of Hesse, Prince 1896 births 1989 deaths Finnish royalty House of Hesse-Kassel German twins Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 3rd Class Princes of Hesse Taunus