Carl Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Leiningen (; 14 August 1724 – 9 January 1807), was a Prince of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

and the first and only sovereign ruler of the

Principality of Leiningen The Principality of Leiningen () was a short-lived principality ruled by the Prince of Leiningen. It was created in 1803 as part of compensation for the House of Leiningen losing land to France but was mediatized three years later to become par ...

from 1803 to 1806.

Life

Carl Friedrich Wilhelm was the eldest son of Friedrich Magnus, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg (1703–1756), and his wife, Countess Anna Christine Eleonore von

Wurmbrand-Stuppach The House of Wurmbrand-Stuppach is an old noble family of Austria. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Counts of Wurmbrand-Stuppach gained notability in wars against the Ottoman Empire, Turks in the Balkans. They were highly decorated advisors ...

(1698–1763). He succeeded his father on the latter's death, 28 October 1756. On 3 July 1779, he was made a

Prince of the Holy Roman Empire Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (, , cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors of the princely title bore it as immediate vassal ...

, becoming the first

Prince of Leiningen The title of Prince of Leiningen () was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, Joseph II, who elevated Carl Friedrich Wilhelm, 1st Prince of Leiningen, Carl Friedrich Wilhelm, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hardenburg (a yo ...

. In 1801, he was deprived of his lands on the left bank of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

, namely Hardenburg, Dagsburg and Durkheim, by France, but in 1803 received the secularized

Amorbach Abbey Amorbach Abbey () was a Rule of St. Benedict, Benedictine Princely abbeys and imperial abbeys of the Holy Roman Empire, imperial abbey of the Holy Roman Empire located at Amorbach. It was later the residence of the rulers of the short-lived Princi ...

as an ample compensation for these losses. Hitherto his titles were: ''Imperial Prince of Leiningen,

Count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an or ...

Mosbach Mosbach (; South Franconian: ''Mossbach'') is a town in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the seat of the Neckar-Odenwald district and has a population of approximately 25,000 distributed in six boroughs: Mosbach Town, Lohrbach, ...

, Count of

Düren Düren (; Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne, on the river Rur (river), Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the ter ...

, Lord of

Miltenberg Miltenberg () is a town in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the Miltenberg (district), like-named district and has a population of over 9,000. Geography Location The old ...

, Amorbach, Bischofsheim, Boxberg, Schüpf and Lauda.'' A few years later, the short-lived

at Amorbach was mediatized into the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

Marriage

On 24 June 1749, the Prince married his

first cousin A cousin is a relative who is the child of a parent's sibling; this is more specifically referred to as a first cousin. A parent of a first cousin is an aunt or uncle. More generally, in the lineal kinship, kinship system used in the English-s ...

Countess Christiane Wilhelmine Luise of Solms-Rödelheim and Assenheim (1736–1803), daughter of Wilhelm Carl Ludwig, Count of Solms-Rödelheim and Assenheim (1699–1778), by his wife, Countess Maria Margareta Leopolda von

(1701–1756). His wife died on 6 January 1803. They had a son and three daughters: * Princess Elisabeth Christiane Marianne of Leiningen (27 October 1753 – 16 February 1792); married on 17 May 1768 to Count Karl Ludwig of Salm-Grumbach. * Princess Charlotte Luise Polyxena of Leiningen (27 May 1755 – 13 January 1785); married 1 September 1776 to Franz, Count of Erbach-Erbach. * Princess Karoline Sophie Wilhelmine of Leiningen (4 April 1757 – 18 March 1832); married 21 September 1773 Count Friedrich Magnus I of Solms-Wildenfels. * Emich Karl, Prince of Leiningen (27 September 1763 – 4 July 1814); succeeded his father as second Prince of Leiningen.

Ancestry

References

Sources include: * {{Authority control 1724 births 1807 deaths People from Bad Dürkheim Princes of the Holy Roman Empire Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Carl Friedrich Wilhelm, 1st Prince of Leiningen