, house =

Wied-Neuwied Wied-Neuwied was a German statelet in northeastern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, located northeast of the Rhine River flanking the northern side of the city of Neuwied. Wied-Neuwied emerged from the partitioning of Wied. Its status was elevated ...

, father =

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 ...

, mother = Princess Marie of Nassau , birth_date = , birth_place =

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 ...

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 ...

, death_date = , death_place =

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

William V, Prince of Wied (german: Wilhelm Adolph Maximilian Karl Fürst von Wied; 22 August 184522 October 1907) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

officer and politician, elder son of

. He was the father of

William, Prince of Albania Prince Wilhelm of Wied ( German: ''Wilhelm Friedrich Heinrich Prinz zu Wied'', 26 March 1876 – 18 April 1945), reigned briefly as sovereign of the Principality of Albania as Vilhelm I from 7 March to 3 September 1914, when he left for exile. ...

and brother of Queen Elisabeth of Romania. By birth he was a member of the

House of Wied The County of Wied () was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire located on the river Wied where it meets the Rhine. Wied emerged as a County earlier than many other German states. From 1243–1462, Wied was united with an Isenburgian County as I ...

Early life

William was the second child and first son of

(1814–1864), son of Johann August Karl, Prince of Wied and Princess Sophie Auguste of

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 ...

, and his wife, Princess Marie of Nassau (1825–1902), daughter of

William, Duke of Nassau Wilhelm (Given names: ''Georg Wilhelm August Heinrich Belgicus''; 14 June 1792, Kirchheimbolanden – 20/30 August 1839, Bad Kissingen) was joint sovereign Duke of Nassau, along with his father's cousin Frederick Augustus, reigning from 1816 unt ...

and his first wife

Princess Louise of Saxe-Hildburghausen , image = Luise von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.jpg , succession = Princess consort of Nassau-Weilburg , reign = 1816 , succession1 = Duchess consort of Nassau , reign1 = 1816—1825 , spouse = , issue = ...

. Through his mother he was descendant of

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

stadtholder of the Netherlands and

George II of Great Britain , house = Hanover , religion = Protestant , father = George I of Great Britain , mother = Sophia Dorothea of Celle , birth_date = 30 October / 9 November 1683 , birth_place = Herrenhausen Palace,Cannon. or Leine ...

Military career

During the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, he was a lieutenant general staff of the 2nd Army. During 1870-71 he attended Franco-Prussian War. Between 1893 and 1897 he was the Imperial commissioner and military Chief of volunteer nurses in the army. In 1893 he was appointed as General of Infantry

à la suite À la suite (, ''in the entourage f') was a military title given to those who were allotted to the army or a particular unit for honour's sake, and entitled to wear a regimental uniform but otherwise had no official position. In Prussia, these w ...

Politics

Politically, William was a supporter of colonial policy. Between 1891 and 1892 he was chairman of the German anti-slavery committees. This funded include expeditions to unexplored areas in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. Since 1897, he was a member of the

Colonial Council The Colonial Council was an advisory body of the Government of Germany that existed from 1890 to 1907 again from 1911 to 1913. It advised the Imperial Colonial Office, a part of the Foreign Office, on political and economic matters relevant to the G ...

. William was co-founder and from 1898 to 1901 President of the Navy League. Between 1875 and 1886 he was Marshal of Rhine Province parliament. He was from 1888 to 1894 and from 1899 to 1901 Chairman of the Rhine Province parliament. Since 1878, he was a member of the

Prussian House of Lords The Prussian House of Lords (german: Preußisches Herrenhaus) in Berlin was the upper house of the Landtag of Prussia (german: Preußischer Landtag), the parliament of Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the lower house, the House of Re ...

. Which he was president from 1897 to 1904.

Marriage

William married on 18 July 1871 in

Wassenaar Wassenaar (; population: in ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and Dorp (town), town located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, on the western coast of the Netherlands. An affluent suburb of The ...

Princess Marie of the Netherlands , house = Orange-Nassau , father =Prince Frederick of the Netherlands , mother =Princess Louise of Prussia , birth_date = , birth_place =Wassenaar, Netherlands , death_date = , death_place =Neuwied, Kingdom of Prussia Pr ...

(1841–1910), younger daughter of

Prince Frederick of the Netherlands Prince Frederick of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau (full names: Willem Frederik Karel; 28 February 1797, in Berlin – 8 September 1881, in Wassenaar), was the second son of William I of the Netherlands and his wife, Wilhelmine of Pru ...

(1792–1839) second son of

William I of the Netherlands William I (Willem Frederik, Prince of Orange-Nassau; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was a Prince of Orange, the King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He was the son of the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, who went ...

, and his wife,

Princess Louise of Prussia Princess Louise Marie Elisabeth of Prussia (; 3 December 1838 – 23 April 1923) was Grand Duchess of Baden from 1856 to 1907 as the wife of Grand Duke Frederick I. Princess Louise was the second child and only daughter of Wilhelm I, German ...

(1808–1870), daughter of Frederick William III of Prussia. They had six children: * Friedrich, Prince of Wied (27 June 1872 – 18 June 1945) married

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 ...

(1877–1965), had issue. *Prince Alexander of Wied (28 May 1874 – 15 January 1877) *

Wilhelm, Prince of Albania Prince Wilhelm of Wied (German: ''Wilhelm Friedrich Heinrich Prinz zu Wied'', 26 March 1876 – 18 April 1945), reigned briefly as sovereign of the Principality of Albania as Vilhelm I from 7 March to 3 September 1914, when he left for exile. Hi ...

(26 March 1876 – 18 April 1945) married Princess Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg (1885–1936), had issue. *Prince Victor of Wied (7 December 1877 – 1 March 1946) married Countess Gisela of

Solms-Wildenfels Solms-Wildenfels was a minor County around Wildenfels in south-western Saxony, Germany. The House of Solms had its origins at Solms, Hesse. Solms-Wildenfels was a partition of Solms-Baruth. In 1741 it was partitioned between itself and Solms- ...

(30 December 1891,

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 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

– 20 August 1976,

Oberammergau Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. The small town on the Ammer River is known for its woodcarvers and woodcarvings, for its NATO School, and around the world for its 380-year tradition of ...

) on 6 June 1912, had issue: **Marie Elisabeth of Wied (14 March 1913 - 30 March 1985,

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...

) **Benigna Viktoria of Wied (23 July 1918 - 1972). Married Ernst Hartmann, Baron of Schlotheim (27 December 1914,

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 ...

- 31 October 1952,

) on 19 December 1939. They had two daughters: ***Viktoria Elisabeth, Baroness of Schlotheim (b. 11 April 1948,

) ***Christine, Baroness of Schlotheim (b. 22 July 1950,

) *Princess Louise of Wied (24 October 1880 – 29 August 1965) *Princess Elisabeth of Wied (28 January 1883 – 14 November 1938)

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:''Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat'' (1905), Herrenhau
p. 210
/ref>

Ancestry

Notes and sources

*The Royal House of Stuart, London, 1969, 1971, 1976, Addington, A. C., Reference: 336 Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:William, Prince of Wied 1845 births 1907 deaths Members of the Prussian House of Lords People from Neuwied House of Wied-Neuwied Recipients of the Iron Cross, 1st class Knights Third Class of the Military Order of William Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order