Wilhelm Kettler (20 June 1574 – 7 April 1640) was the Duke of Courland, a

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

region in today's

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. Wilhelm ruled the western

Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia ...

portion of the

Duchy of Courland and Semigallia The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia ( la, Ducatus Curlandiæ et Semigalliæ; german: Herzogtum Kurland und Semgallen; lv, Kurzemes un Zemgales hercogiste; lt, Kuršo ir Žiemgalos kunigaikštystė; pl, Księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii) was ...

, while his brother Friedrich ruled the eastern

Semigallia Semigallia, also spelt Semigalia, ( lv, Zemgale; german: Semgallen; lt, Žiemgala; pl, Semigalia; liv, Zemgāl) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands located in the south of the Daugava river and the north of the Saule region of Samogitia. ...

portion.

Life and family

Born in

Mitau Jelgava (; german: Mitau, ; see also other names) is a state city in central Latvia about southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants (2019). It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the united D ...

in 1574, Wilhelm Kettler was the youngest son of

Gotthard Kettler Gotthard Kettler, Duke of Courland (also ''Godert'', ''Ketteler'', german: Gotthard Kettler, Herzog von Kurland; 2 February 1517 – 17 May 1587) was the last Master of the Livonian Order and the first Duke of Courland and Semigallia. Biography K ...

and his wife,

Anna of Mecklenburg Anna of Mecklenburg (14 October 15334 July 1602), was a Duchess consort of Courland by marriage to the Duke of Courland, Gotthard Kettler. She was the daughter of Albrecht VII, Duke of Mecklenburg and Anna of Brandenburg. Anna is the first woman ...

. After their father's death in 1587, Wilhelm and his brother Friedrich inherited the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. The brothers divided the duchy between themselves, and Wilhelm ruled the Courland portion, with the seat in Kuldīga. In 1609, William married Princess Sophia of Brandenburg-Prussia (1582–1610), daughter of

Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia Albert Frederick (german: Albrecht Friedrich; pl, Albrecht Fryderyk; 7 May 1553 – 27 August 1618) was the Duke of Prussia, from 1568 until his death. He was a son of Albert of Prussia and Anna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He was the sec ...

, receiving as a dowry the territory of

Grobiņa Grobiņa (; german: Grobin) is a town in South Kurzeme Municipality in the Courland region of Latvia, eleven kilometers east of Liepāja. It was founded by the Teutonic Knights in the 13th century. Some ruins of their Grobina castle are still ...

. Due to conflicts with the local nobility, he lost control of the duchy in 1617 and emigrated. Thereafter, his brother Friedrich became the sole ruler of the duchy. He died in the Kucklow abbey in

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

on 7 April 1640. His son, Jacob Kettler, succeeded Friedrich as Duke of Courland and Semigallia in 1642. Wilhelm's remains were returned to Courland in 1642, and he was interred in the ducal tomb on 23 February 1643. 1574 births 1640 deaths People from Jelgava People from the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia Baltic-German people Dukes of Courland 17th-century Latvian people 16th-century Latvian people Burials in the Ducal Crypt of the Jelgava Palace {{latvia-bio-stub