Prince Frederick William of Solms-Braunfels (22 October 1770 in

Braunfels Braunfels () is a town in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. It is located on the German Timber-Frame Road. Geography Location The climatic spa of Braunfels lies at a height of some 100 m above the Lahn valley. It is 9 km southwest ...

– 13 April 1814 in Slawentzitz) was a Prussian

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

and by birth member of 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 ...

Early life

He was the fourth son of Ferdinand William Ernest, 2nd Prince of Solms-Braunfels (1721–1783) and his wife, 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).

Biography

He became known mainly through his marriage to Princess

Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Frederica Louise Caroline Sophie Alexandrina of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (german: Friederike Louise Caroline Sophie Alexandrine; 3 March 1778 – 29 June 1841) was a German princess who married successively Prince Louis Charles of Prussia, Prince ...

. She was the widow of

Prince Louis Charles of Prussia , house =Hohenzollern , father =Frederick William II of Prussia , mother =Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt , birth_date = , birth_place =Berlin, Prussia , death_date = , death_place ...

(1773–1796). When she became pregnant in 1798, he married her in order to avoid a scandal. The daughter died soon after birth. Frederick William was alleged to have been strongly inclined to consume alcohol and had to quit military service in 1805 for health reasons. He also lost his income and even his brother advised Frederica to divorce. She was initially against it, but when in 1813, she met

Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover Ernest Augustus (german: Ernst August; 5 June 177118 November 1851) was King of Hanover from 20 June 1837 until his death in 1851. As the fifth son of King George III of the United Kingdom and Hanover, he initially seemed unlikely to become a ...

(1771–1851), she, too, wanted the divorce. Before they got around to it, however, Frederick William died, in 1814 in Sławięcice.

Marriage and issue

From his marriage to Duchess Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the following children are known: * Princess Sophie of Solms-Braunfels (born: 27 February 1799; died: 20 October 1799)Dagmar von Gersdorff: ''Queen Louise and Frederick William III'', 2002 * Prince Frederick Wilhelm (born: 11 September 1800; died: 14 September 1800). * Prince Frederick William Henry Casimir of Solms-Braunfels (1801–1868); married in 1831 Countess Maria Anna Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (1809–1892). * Princess Louise Auguste of Solms-Braunfels (1804–1865); married in 1827 Prince Albert of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1867 Prince) (1798–1869). * Unnamed daughter (1805–1805). * Prince Alexander Frederick Louis of Solms-Braunfels (1807–1867); married in 1863 Baroness Louise von Landsberg-Velen (1835–1894). * Prince Frederick William ''Carl'' of Solms-Braunfels (1812–1875); married firstly from 1834-1841 (

morganatic marriage 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 spous ...

) Louise Beyrich, and secondly, in 1845, Princess Sophie von Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1814–1876).

Ancestry

External links

* http://www.thepeerage.com/p10584.htm#I105840 *

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Solms-Braunfels 1770 births 1814 deaths People from Braunfels People from Solms-Braunfels House of Solms-Braunfels German princes Major generals of Prussia