Prince Frederick William of Solms-Braunfels (11 January 1696 in Braunfels – 24 February 1761, Braunfels) was the first

Prince 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. T ...

Solms-Braunfels Solms-Braunfels was a County and later Principality with Imperial immediacy in what is today the federal Land of Hesse in Germany. Solms-Braunfels was a partition of Solms, ruled by the House of Solms, and was raised to a Principality of th ...

. He was the son of Count Wilhelm Moritz of Solms-Braunfels (1651–1724) and his wife Princess Magdalene Sophie of

Hesse-Homburg Hesse-Homburg was formed into a separate landgraviate in 1622 by the landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt; it was to be ruled by his son, although it did not become independent of Hesse-Darmstadt until 1668. It was briefly divided into Hesse-Homburg and ...

(1660–1720), a daughter of William Christoph, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, and his first wife Princess Sophia Eleonore of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Life

Frederick William received an aristocratic education. When his father died on 18 February 1724, he became Count of Solms-Braunfels, Greifenstein and

Hungen Hungen () is a town in the district of Gießen, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 20 km southeast of Gießen, and 18 km northeast of Friedberg. Surrounding towns are Laubach to the north, Nidda to the east, Wölfersheim to the south ...

, Tecklenburg, Kriechingen and

Lingen Lingen (), officially Lingen (Ems), is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. In 2008, its population was 52,353, and in addition there were about 5,000 people who registered the city as their secondary residence. Lingen, specifically "Lingen (Ems)" is ...

, Lord of Münzenberg,

Wildenfels Wildenfels is a municipality in Germany, Landkreis Zwickau in Saxony. It is situated 9 km southeast of Zwickau. The construction of Wildenfels castle was begun before 1200 by the lords of Wildenfels. Between 1440 and 1706 it was a fief with ...

, Sonnewalde,

Püttlingen Püttlingen () is a town in Saarland, Germany, 10 km northwest of Saarbrücken. Geography The town lies in the Köller Valley, approximately 20 km to the northwest of Saarbrücken and 5 km north of Völklingen. Going in a clockwi ...

, Dortweiler and Beaucourt. However, because of his poor health, he did not rule much personally. He did, however, succeed in his marriage policy, which allowed his children to marry into powerful families around the country. Financial difficulties forced him to sell the city of

Butzbach Butzbach () is a town in the Wetteraukreis district in Hessen, Germany. It is located approximately 16 km south of Gießen and 35 km north of Frankfurt am Main. In 2007, the town hosted the 47th Hessentag state festival from 1 to 10 June ...

, which his family had owned since 1478, to

Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse betwee ...

on 17 March 1741. On 22 May 1742, Emperor Charles VII raised the

House of Solms-Braunfels A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

to the rank of

Imperial Prince Prince of the Holy Roman Empire ( la, princeps imperii, german: Reichsfürst, cf. '' Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised as such by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors ...

. When Friedrich Wilhelm died in 1761, he was succeeded by his son Ferdinand Wilhelm Ernst.

Marriage and issue

He was married three times. His first wife was Princess Magdalena Henrietta 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 ...

(1691-1725), the daughter of John Ernst of Nassau-Weilburg. They had the following children: * Ferdinand, Prince of Solms-Braunfels (8 February 1721 – 2 October 1783), married Countess Sophie Christine Wilhelmine of

Solms-Laubach Solms-Laubach was a County of southern Hesse and eastern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The House of SolmsSee German article on the '' House of Solms'' or French article '' Maison de Solms. had its origins in Solms, Hesse. History Solms-Laubach ...

(1741-1772) * Magdalena Polyxena Maria Casimira (17 July 1722 – 17 November 1722) * Charlotte Henriette Magdalene Wilhelmine (15 August 1725 – 29 April 1785) On 9 May 1726 he married his second wife, Countess Sophia Magdalena Benigna of Solms-Utphe, the daughter of Count Karl Otto of Solms-Laubach-Utphe-Tecklenburg and Countess Louise Albertine of Schönburg-Waldenburg. They had the following children: * Charles William Louis (14 June 1727 –14/15 December 1812) * William Christopher (20 June 1732 – 8 December 1811) * Rudolph Louis William (25 August 1733 – 2 January 1809) * William Alexander (7 March 1736 – 12 March 1738) * Anton Friedrich William (3 September 1739 – 7 February 1812) * Elizabeth Marie Louise Benigna (5 August 1728 – 19 June 1795) * Ulrike Louise (30 April 1731 – 12 September 1792), married on 10 October 1746

Frederick IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg Frederick IV Charles Louis William of Hesse-Homburg (15 April 1724 in Braunfels – 7 February 1751 in Bad Homburg), was Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg. Life Frederick Charles was born at Castle Braunfels as the first child of Prince Casimir ...

(1724–1751) * Amalie Eleonore (22 November 1734 – 19 April 1811), married on 16 December 1765 Prince Charles Louis, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym (1723–1806) * Carolina Albertina (12 December 1740 – 26 February 1742) * Magdalena Sophie (4 June 1742 – 21 January 1819), married on 22 April 1778 to Prince

Victor Amadeus of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym Victor Amadeus of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym (21 May 1744 in Schaumburg – 2 May 1790), was a German prince of the House of Ascania from the Anhalt-Bernburg branch through the sub-branch of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym and a Russian G ...

(1744-1790) * Christine Friederike Charlotte (30 August 1744 – 16 December 1823), married on 26 March 1780 to

Simon August, Count of Lippe-Detmold Simon August, Count of Lippe (12 June 1727 – 1 May 1782), ruled the Principality of Lippe-Detmold from 1734 until 1782. He was born in Detmold, the son of Simon Henry Adolph and Johanna Wilhelmine of Nassau-Idstein. Simon August ruled until ...

(1727–1782) His third wife was the Countess Palatine Charlotte Catherine of Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen (1699–1785), the daughter of

John Charles, Count Palatine of Gelnhausen John Charles, Count Palatine of Birkenfeld at Gelnhausen (17 October 1638 – 21 February 1704), was a German prince and ancestor of the cadet branch of the King of Bavaria, royal family of Bavaria known, from the early 19th century, as Duke in ...

and his second wife Esther Maria of Witzleben-Elgersburg. This marriage remained childless.

References

* ''Geschichte des Grafen- und Fürstenhauses Solms''
online

External links

*
House of Solms
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick William of Solms-Braunfels House of Solms-Braunfels House of Solms Counts of Solms 1696 births 1761 deaths 18th-century German people