Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia (german: Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Karl Ernst Alexander Heinrich von Preußen; 12 July 18809 March 1925) was a member of the
House of Hohenzollern, great-grandson of King
Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, wh ...
.
Early life and education
Friedrich Wilhelm was born at Kamenz Palace in
Kamenz,
Kingdom of Prussia, (now
Kamieniec Ząbkowicki
Kamieniec Ząbkowicki (german: Kamenz Lower Silesia, N.S.) is a town in Ząbkowice Śląskie County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Kamieniec Ząbkowicki. Th ...
,
Poland) youngest child of
Prince Albert of Prussia (1837–1906), (son of
Prince Albert of Prussia and
Princess Marianne of the Netherlands) and his wife,
Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg (1854–1898), (daughter of
Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg and
Princess Agnes of Anhalt-Dessau). He was great-grandson of
King Frederick William III of Prussia and
King William I of the Netherlands. He was second cousin of
Wilhelm II, German Emperor.
During his youth, he spent time in
Berlin, also at his
grandmother's Reinhartshausen Castle in
Erbach Erbach may refer to:
Places
*Erbach im Odenwald, a town in Hesse, Germany
*Erbach an der Donau, a town on the Danube River in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
*Erbach, Rheingau, a district of Eltville, Hesse, Germany
*Erbach, Rhineland-Palatinate, a mun ...
and in
Brunswick, where his father served as regent. A few years later he studied law at the
University of Bonn, where he received the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy. His main interests were in literature and music.
[Mark Gaworski, Palace in Kamieniec Ząbkowickim. Architecture and owners, 2009, p. 106]
Political career
After marriage, the Prince lived with his wife in
Rudy. In 1912, was elected
Landrat of Frankenstein District, where it remained until 1918, until the
abolition
Abolition refers to the act of putting an end to something by law, and may refer to:
* Abolitionism, abolition of slavery
* Abolition of the death penalty, also called capital punishment
* Abolition of monarchy
*Abolition of nuclear weapons
*Abol ...
of the
German monarchy and the establishment of the
Weimar Republic. Previously, he participated actively in hostilities during the
First World War, for which he was promoted to the rank of
major general. Much of the time he traveled through Europe and the world, sometimes in important diplomatic missions, representing
Emperor Wilhelm II. Sensing the fall of the monarchy in Germany, at the end of the war, he took up for discussion and exchange views with university professors on the reconstruction of the existing system of government, proposing the introduction of a
constitutional monarchy modeled on the form of government of the
United Kingdom.
In 1918, he was considered for the office of the
King of Finland. However, his wife's Catholicism prevented this, and the Finns chose
Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse (who was Lutheran as was his wife) instead.
After the war and the establishment of the republic in Germany, Friedrich Wilhelm became involved with the
monarchists, proposing the restoration of the German Empire. He was determined to take over the role of regent until the
heir to the throne reached the age of majority. He died in 1925, aged 44 in Weisser Hirsch, a residential district in
Dresden.
Marriage and issue
Friedrich Wilhelm married 8 June 1910 at
Potsdam to Princess Agathe Charlotte Pauline Marie of
Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst (1888–1960), daughter of
Victor II, Duke of Ratibor, and his wife,
Countess Maria Breunner-Enkevoirth.
They had four daughters:
*Princess Marie Therese of Prussia (2 May 1911– 3 January 2005), married in 1932 to Aloys Rudolph Hug, had issue.
*Princess Luise Henriette of Prussia (21 July 1912 – 12 October 1973), married in 1936 to Wilhelm Schmalz, had issue.
*Princess Marianne of Prussia (23 August 1913 – 1 March 1983), married in 1933 to Prince Wilhelm of
Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld, had issue.
*Princess Elisabeth of Prussia (9 February 1919 – 24 August 1961), married in 1948 to Heinz Mees, no issue.
Honours and awards
He received the following decorations:
Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat
' (1918), Genealogy p. 5
Ancestry
Notes and sources
*L'Allemagne dynastique, Huberty, Giraud, Magdelaine, Reference: vol V page 242
*The Royal House of Stuart, London, 1969, 1971, 1976, Addington, A. C., Reference: page 298.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prussia, Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Of
1880 births
1925 deaths
People from Ząbkowice Śląskie County
People from the Province of Silesia
Friedrich Wilhelm
Friedrich Wilhelm
Major generals of Prussia
Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class
German Army generals of World War I