Wilhelm (

Given names A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

: ''Georg Wilhelm August Heinrich Belgicus''; 14 June 1792,

Kirchheimbolanden Kirchheimbolanden (), the capital of Donnersbergkreis, is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, south-western Germany. It is situated approximately 25 km west of Worms, and 30 km north-east of Kaiserslautern. The first part of the name, ''Kir ...

– 20/30 August 1839,

Bad Kissingen Bad Kissingen is a German spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and seat of the district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale river, it is one of the health resorts, which be ...

) was joint sovereign Duke of Nassau, along with his father's cousin Frederick Augustus, reigning from 1816 until 1839. He was also sovereign Prince of Nassau-Weilburg from 1816 until its incorporation into the duchy of Nassau. Frederick Augustus died on 24 March 1816 and Wilhelm inherited the Usingen territories and became sole sovereign of the

Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what is now the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine and later of the G ...

. He is the father of

Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Adolphe (Adolf Wilhelm August Karl Friedrich; 24 July 1817 – 17 November 1905) was Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 23 November 1890 to his death on 17 November 1905. The first grand duke from the House of Nassau-Weilburg, he succeeded King Willia ...

, and Queen Sophia of Sweden and Norway, consort of

King Oscar II Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...

and a 3rd cousin of

William III of the Netherlands William III (Dutch: ''Willem Alexander Paul Frederik Lodewijk''; English: ''William Alexander Paul Frederick Louis''; 19 February 1817 – 23 November 1890) was King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1849 until his death in 18 ...

, who left a surviving daughter to rule his main realm, but the crown of Luxembourg went through the male line, looking to 17 generations back, to pass to the Duke of Nassau and then his descendants.

Biography

Wilhelm was the eldest son of

Frederick William, Duke of Nassau Frederick William, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg (25 October 1768, The Hague – 9 January 1816, Weilburg) was a ruler of Nassau-Weilburg. He was created Prince of Nassau and reigned jointly with his cousin, Prince Frederick Augustus of Nassau-Usin ...

, and his wife,

Burgravine Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg , title = Princess consort of Nassau-Weilburg , image = Louisa Isabella Alexandrina Augusta von Kirchberg (1772-1827). Echtgenote van Frederik Willem, vorst van Nassau-Weilburg, en schoonzuster van Augusta Maria Carolina van Nassau-W ...

. With the Nassau troops, he was involved on the

Seventh Coalition The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...

's side in the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

Duke of Nassau

On 9 January 1816, he succeeded his father, Duke Frederick William, as the

Prince of Nassau-Weilburg The House of Nassau-Weilburg, a branch of the House of Nassau, ruled a division of the County of Nassau, which was a state in what is now Germany, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1344 to 1806. On 17 July 1806, upon the dissolution of t ...

and joint

Duke of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what is now the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine and later of the G ...

with his cousin, Frederick Augustus, of the

Nassau-Usingen Nassau-Usingen was a county of the Holy Roman Empire in the Upper Rhenish Circle that became a principality in 1688. The origin of the county lies in the medieval county of Weilnau that was acquired by the counts of Nassau-Weilburg in 1602. Tha ...

branch of his family. When his cousin and co-Duke died on 24 March 1816, Wilhelm inherited the Usingen territories and became sole ruler of the

. He kept the title of Duke of Nassau for the rest of his reign.

Marriages and children

On 24 June 1813 in

Weilburg Weilburg is, with just under 13,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg. Geography Location The community lies in the Lahn valley between the Westerwa ...

, Wilhelm married his first wife, Princess Louise of Saxe-Altenburg (28 January 1794

Hildburghausen Hildburghausen (IPA adapted from: ) is a town in Thuringia in central Germany, capital of the district Hildburghausen. Geography It is situated in the Franconian part of Thuringia south of the Thuringian Forest, in the valley of the Werra river ...

Thüringen Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

– 6 April 1825, Biebrich or

). She was a daughter of

Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (29 April 1763 in Hildburghausen – 29 September 1834 in Altenburg), was duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1780–1826) and duke of Saxe-Altenburg (1826–1834). Biography He was the youngest child, but only s ...

(who, until 1826, had been the last

Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, t ...

) and his wife,

Duchess Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz , succession = Duchess consort of Saxe-Hildburghausen , image = Charlottesahi1800.JPG , caption = The Duchess of Saxe-Hildburghausen, 1800 , reign = 3 September 1785 – 14 May 1818 , spouse = , issue = , issue ...

. They had eight children: * Princess Auguste Luise Friederike Maximiliane Wilhelmine of Nassau-Weilburg (Weilburg, 12 April 1814 – Weilburg, 3 October 1814). * Princess ''Therese'' Wilhelmine Friederike Isabelle Charlotte of Nassau-Weilburg (Weilburg, 17 April 1815 –

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, 8 December 1871); married in Biebrich on 23 April 1837

Duke Peter of Oldenburg Duke Constantine Frederick Peter of Oldenburg (german: Konstantin Friedrich Peter; russian: Пётр Гео́ргиевич Ольденбу́ргский, translit=Pëtr Geórgievič Ol'denbúrgskij; – ) was a Duke of the House of Oldenburg. ...

. Their grandson was the Imperial Russian General Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia the Younger. *

(24 July 1817 – 17 November 1905); the present

Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg The Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg constitutes the House of Luxembourg-Nassau, headed by the sovereign Grand Duke, and in which the throne of the grand duchy is hereditary. It consists of heirs and descendants of the House of Nassau-Weilburg, w ...

, which became extinct in the male line in 1912, descends from him. * Prince Wilhelm Karl Heinrich Friedrich of Nassau-Weilburg (Biebrich, 8 September 1819 – Biebrich, 22 April 1823). * Prince Moritz Wilhelm August Karl Heinrich of Nassau-Weilburg (Biebrich, 21 November 1820 –

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, 23 March 1850), unmarried and without legitimate issue. * Princess Marie Wilhelmine Luise Friederike Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg (Biebrich, 5 April 1822 – Biebrich, 3 April 1824). * Prince Wilhelm Karl August Friedrich of Nassau-Weilburg (Biebrich, 12 August 1823 – Biebrich, 28 December 1828). * Princess ''Marie'' Wilhelmine Friederike Elisabeth of Nassau-Weilburg (Biebrich, 29 January 1825 –

Neuwied Neuwied () is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne. Th ...

, 24 March 1902), married in Biebrich on 20 June 1842

Hermann, Prince of Wied Hermann, Prince of Wied (german: link=no, Wilhelm Hermann Karl Fürst zu Wied; 22 May 18145 March 1864) was a German nobleman, elder son of Johann August Karl, Prince of Wied. He was the father of Queen Elisabeth of Romania and grandfather of Wil ...

(Neuwied, 22 May 1814 – Neuwied, 5 March 1864). Their daughter Elisabeth married

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Carol I of Romania Carol I or Charles I of Romania (20 April 1839 – ), born Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (''Domnitor'') from 1866 to 1881, and as King from 1881 to 1914. He w ...

. Wilhelm married, as his second wife, his first wife's niece,

Princess Pauline of Württemberg Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

(

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

, 25 February 1810 –

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

, 7 July 1856) on 23 April 1829 in

. Pauline was a daughter of

Prince Paul of Württemberg Prince Paul of Württemberg (Paul Heinrich Karl Friedrich August; 19 January 1785 – 16 April 1852) was the fourth child and second son of King Frederick I and his wife, Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Early life Paul was born in St. ...

and his wife Charlotte of

Saxe-Hildburghausen Saxe-Hildburghausen () was an Ernestine duchy in the southern side of the present State of Thuringia in Germany. It existed from 1680 to 1826 but its name and borders are currently used by the District of Hildburghausen. History After the Duk ...

. Wilhelm and Pauline had four children: * An unnamed daughter (Biebrich, 27 April 1830 – Biebrich, 28 April 1830). * Princess Helene Wilhelmine Henriette Pauline Marianne of Nassau (

, 12 April 1831 –

Bad Pyrmont Bad Pyrmont (, also: ; West Low German: ) is a town in the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont, in Lower Saxony, Germany, with a population close to 19,000. It is located on the river Emmer, about west of the Weser. Bad Pyrmont is a popular spa resort ...

, 27 October 1888), married in Wiesbaden on 26 September 1853

George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont George Victor (14 January 1831 – 12 May 1893) was the 3rd sovereign Prince of the German state of Waldeck and Pyrmont. He was born in Bad Arolsen the son of George II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his wife Princess Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg- ...

and had issue. The Dutch royal family descends from this marriage through their daughter Emma who married

King William III of the Netherlands William III (Dutch: ''Willem Alexander Paul Frederik Lodewijk''; English: ''William Alexander Paul Frederick Louis''; 19 February 1817 – 23 November 1890) was King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1849 until his death in 18 ...

. *

Prince Nikolaus Wilhelm of Nassau Prince Nikolaus Wilhelm of Nassau (20 September 1832 – 17 September 1905), was the only son of William, Duke of Nassau by his second wife Princess Pauline of Württemberg. Marriage and issue He married morganatically in London on 1 July 1868 w ...

(20 September 1832 – 17 September 1905). Married,

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 ...

, Natalia Alexandrovna Pushkina, Countess of Merenberg. She was a daughter of

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

and his wife, Natalya Goncharova. They had issue, now extinct in male line. * Princess Sophia Wilhelmine Marianne Henriette of Nassau (9 July 1836 – 30 December 1913). Married

Oscar II of Sweden Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...

. The present Belgian, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish royal families and the Luxembourg grand ducal family descend from this marriage.

Ancestry

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:William of Nassau, Duke 1792 births 1839 deaths People from Kirchheimbolanden House of Nassau-Weilburg German commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Burials in the Royal Crypt of Weilburg Schlosskirche Dukes of Nassau