Philipp, Duke of Württemberg (30 July 1838 – 11 October 1917) was a German prince, head of the Roman Catholic

cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of the

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

which ruled the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806. Geogr ...

Biography

He was the son of Duke Alexander and of Princess Marie d'Orléans, a daughter of

Louis Philippe, King of the French Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

. His mother died when he was a few months old, causing him to be raised by his grandparents in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. When he was ten, the royal family of France had to flee from France, staying in exile in Great Britain. Duke Philipp became engaged to Duchess Sophie in Bavaria, sister of the

Empress Elisabeth of Austria Elisabeth (born Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria; 24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898), nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and List of Hungarian consorts, Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Franz Joseph I of Austri ...

. But the Duke dissolved the engagement. He married Archduchess Maria Theresia and the couple had a splendid palace built at the Ringstrasse in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. They moved in during 1865, but as Duchess Marie Therese never liked the palace it was sold to a banker and investor in 1871. Two years later, the renovated palace was opened on the occasion of the

1873 Vienna World's Fair The 1873 Vienna World's Fair () was the large world exposition that was held from 1 May to 31 October 1873 in the Austria-Hungarian capital Vienna. Its motto was "Culture and Education" (). History As well as being a chance to showcase Austro- ...

as the Hotel Imperial. To this day it remains one of the most famous hotels in the world, and while renovated multiple times it has retained many elements of the original neo-Renaissance elements in the Ducal Palace. After selling their palace in Vienna the couple bought a much smaller city palace named Strudelhof. They had a grand villa built at

Altmünster Altmünster (; In the local dialect: ''Oidmünsta''), also known as Altmünster am Traunsee, is a market town located about 3 kilometres south of Gmunden in the Austrian state of Upper Austria, on the west shore of the Traunsee. Its economic base ...

on the shore of the

Traunsee Traunsee ( , ) is a lake in the Salzkammergut, Upper Austria, Austria. Its surface is approximately 24.5 km2 and its maximum depth of 191 metres makes it the deepest and by volume largest lake located entirely within Austrian territory; only ...

, not far away from the Emperor's summer residence at

Bad Ischl Bad Ischl (Austrian German ) is a spa town in Austria. It lies in the southern part of Upper Austria, at the river Traun in the centre of the Salzkammergut region. The town consists of the Katastralgemeinden ''Ahorn'', ''Bad Ischl'', ''Haiden ...

. Around 1900, the couple moved to Stuttgart where they lived near their sons, at the Prinzenbau. Upon the death of his cousin Duke Nicholas of Württemberg in 1903,

Almanach de Gotha The ''Almanach de Gotha'' () is a directory of Europe's royalty and higher nobility, also including the major governmental, military and diplomatic corps, as well as statistical data by country. First published in 1763 by C. W. Ettinger in ...

, ''Haus Württemberg (Maison de Wurtemberg)''. Gotha.

Justus Perthes Johann Georg Justus Perthes (11 September 1749 – 2 May 1816) was a Germans, German publisher and founder of Justus Perthes (publishing company), the publishing house that bears his name. Life He was born in the Thuringian town of Rudolstadt, t ...

, 1944), pp. 131-132, (French). he became

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

to the royal throne of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

until his death in 1917. But he was ten years older than King Wilhelm II of Württemberg, and so his eldest son Duke Albrecht (1865–1939) was considered and raised as the next king. On 29 November 1918 Württemberg's monarchy was abolished in the collapse of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

following

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, while his kinsman of the senior branch of the dynasty,

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

, was still king (and lived, after his abdication, until 2 October 1921).

Marriage and issue

In 1865 Philip of Württemberg married Archduchess Maria Theresa of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, daughter of Archduke Albert, Duke of Teschen and

Princess Hildegard of Bavaria Princess Hildegard of Bavaria (German language, German: ''Hildegard Luise Charlotte Theresia Friederike von Bayern''; 10 June 1825 – 2 April 1864) was the seventh child and fourth daughter of Ludwig I, King of Bavaria, Ludwig I of Bavaria and T ...

. They had five children: *

Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg Albrecht, Duke and Crown Prince of Württemberg (Albrecht Maria Alexander Philipp Joseph; 23 December 1865 – 31 October 1939) was the last crown prince of the Kingdom of Württemberg, a German military commander of World War I, and the head of ...

(23 December 1865 – 31 October 1939) he married Archduchess Margarete Sophie of Austria on 24 January 1893. They had seven children. * Duchess Marie Amélie of Württemberg (24 December 1865 – 16 December 1883) died at the age of seventeen. * Duchess Maria Isabella of Württemberg (30 August 1871 – 24 May 1904) she married Prince Johann Georg of Saxony on 5 April 1894. * Duke Robert of Württemberg (14 January 1873 – 12 April 1947) he married Archduchess Maria Immakulata of Austria on 29 October 1900. * Duke Ulrich of Württemberg (13 June 1877 – 13 June 1944)

Ducal branch of the royal dynasty

Philip of Württemberg belonged to the fifth branch (called the "Ducal branch") of the

House of Württemberg The House of Württemberg is an uradel, ancient German nobility, German dynasty and former royal family of the Kingdom of Württemberg. History County The House probably originated in the vicinity of the Salian dynasty. Around 1080 the ancestors ...

, descended from the seventh son of

Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg Friedrich Eugen, Duke of Württemberg (21 January 1732 – 23 December 1797) was the fourth son of Karl Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, and Princess Maria Augusta of Thurn and Taxis. He was born in Stuttgart. From 1795 until 1797, he was Duke ...

. On the extinction of the eldest branch in 1921, the Catholic ducal line remained the only

dynastic A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. Historians ...

branch of the formerly reigning family. The House of Württemberg's two

morganatic 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 ...

branches - that of the

Dukes of Teck Duke of Teck () is a title which was created twice in Germanic lands. It was first borne from 1187 to 1439 by the head of a cadet line of the German ducal House of Zähringen, known as the "first House of Teck". The seat of this territory was Cas ...

(extinct in the male line in 1981), and of the Dukes of Urach - were genealogically senior to the Ducal branch, but had been ineligible to succeed to the throne. Philip is the direct ancestor of the current

claimant A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the ...

to the Kingdom of Württemberg:

Wilhelm, Duke of Württemberg Wilhelm Herzog von Württemberg (born ''Wilhelm Friedrich Carl Philipp Albert Nikolaus Erich Maria''; 13 August 1994) is the head of the House of Württemberg and a German businessman. He is Chair of the Hofkammer des Hauses Württemberg, the co ...

Honours

* : ** Order of the Württemberg Crown, Grand Cross (1852)''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg'' (1908), "Departement des Kriegswesen" p
224
/ref> **

Friedrich Order The Friedrich Order ( or ''Friedrichsorden'') was an order of merit of the German Kingdom of Württemberg. It was instituted on 1 January 1830 by the second king of Württemberg, Wilhelm I in remembrance of his father, King Friedrich I. In 1918, ...

, Grand CrossKriegsministerium (Hrsg.): ''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee und des XIII. (Königlich Württembergischen) Armeekorps für 1914'', E.S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin, 1914, p. 1180 ** Wilhelm Cross with Crown and Swords (5 October 1916) ** Officer's Service Decoration 1st Class ** Jubilee Medal in Gold *

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

: **

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

, Knight (1865) **

Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary The Order of Saint Stephen () is an order of chivalry founded in 1764 by Maria Theresa. In 1938, Miklós Horthy took the rights and activities of Grand Master as Regent of Hungary. The name of the Order changed to the Royal Hungarian Order of ...

, Grand Cross (1900) ** Military Jubilee Medal * :

Order of Saint Hubert The Royal Order of Saint Hubert (), or sometimes () is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood founded in 1444 or 1445 by Gerhard VII, Duke of Jülich-Berg. He sought to commemorate his victory over the House of Egmond at the Battle of ...

, Knight (1893) * : Order of Leopold, Grand Cordon (civil division) (21 July 1861) *

Duchy of Brunswick The Duchy of Brunswick () was a historical German state that ceased to exist in 1918. Its capital city, capital was the city of Braunschweig, Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ...

: Order of Henry the Lion, Grand Cross (1863) *

Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin () was a territory in Northern Germany held by the House of Mecklenburg residing at Schwerin. It was a sovereign member state of the German Confederation and became a federated state of the North German C ...

House Order of the Wendish Crown The House Order of the Wendish Crown () is a dynastic order that was jointly instituted on 12 May 1864 by Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Grand Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. It is the oldest and most s ...

, Grand Cross with Crown in Ore * :

Order of the Rue Crown The Order of the Rue Crown () or Order of the Crown of Saxony was a dynastic order of knighthood of the Kingdom of Saxony. The order takes its name from the green floral crown of rue ('' crancelin'') found in the coat of arms of Saxony. It occup ...

, Knight (1894) *

Saxon Duchies The Ernestine duchies (), also known as the Saxon duchies (, although the Albertine appanage duchies of Weissenfels, Merseburg and Zeitz were also "Saxon duchies" and adjacent to several Ernestine ones), were a group of small states whose number ...

: Ducal

Saxe-Ernestine House Order The Saxe-Ernestine House Order ()Hausorden
Herzogliche Haus Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha was a ...

, Grand Cross with Swords (1864) with Swords * : Royal and Distinguished

Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III (, originally ; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OC3) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bes ...

, Grand Cross (10 January 1884)

Biography

Marriage and issue

Ducal branch of the royal dynasty

Honours

Ancestry

References

Further reading