Friedrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Joseph Maria Manuel Georg Meinrad Fidelis Benedikt Michael Hubert Fürst von Hohenzollern (3 February 1924 – 16 September 2010)
/ref> was the head of the

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...

for over 45 years.

Biography

Friedrich Wilhelm was born in

Schloss ''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cogn ...

Umkirch. He was the eldest son of Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern (1891–1965) and his wife, Princess Margarete Karola of Saxony (1900–1962), the daughter of the last King of Saxony Frederick Augustus III. He became the head of the House of Hohenzollern on 6 February 1965 following the death of his father Prince Friedrich, and remained so until his death on 16 September 2010. According to the

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n succession laws of the kingdom's last democratic Constitution of 1923, Friedrich Wilhelm's descendants have had a claim to the throne of Romania since 2017, when former King

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

died.

Marriage and issue

Friedrich Wilhelm married Princess Margarita of Leiningen (1932–1996) on 3 February 1951. She was a child of Karl, 6th Prince of Leiningen, and his wife,

Grand Duchess Maria Kirillovna of Russia Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation) ...

. They had three sons: * Karl Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern (born 1952), married Katharina Maria "Nina" de Zomer and had four children. * Prince Albrecht Johannes Hermann Meinrad Hubertus Michael Stephan of Hohenzollern (born 3 August 1954), married Nathalie Rocabado de Viets and had two daughters. * Prince Ferdinand Maria Fidelis Leopold Meinrad Valentin of Hohenzollern (born 14 February 1960), married Countess Ilona Kálnoky de Köröspatak and had three children.

Courtesy titles and styles

*3 February 1924 – 22 October 1927: ''His Serene Highness'' Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of HohenzollernGothaischer Hofkalender genealogisches Taschenbuch der fürstlichen Häuser (1926). Page 71, 72. *22 October 1927 – 6 February 1965: ''His Highness'' The Hereditary Prince of HohenzollernGenealogisches Handbuch des Adels (1953). P 71-72 *6 February 1965 – 16 September 2010: ''His Highness'' The Prince of Hohenzollern

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 ...

(2004) P 163

Honours

* Grand Master of the

House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern ( or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various versions of the order were crosses an ...

Knight of the Seraphim (1961) * Sacro Militare Ordine Costantiniano di San Giorgio

Knight Grand Cross of Justice of the

Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (; ), also historically referred to as the Imperial Constantinian Order of Saint George and the Order of the Constantinian Angelic Knights of Saint George, is a dynastic order of knighthood ...

. *

Knight of Saint Hubert. * GER Bundesverdienstkreuz 3 BVK 1Kl

Officer's Cross (Merit Cross 1st Class) of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

. *

Knight of the Black Eagle. * Order of the Golden Fleece ribbon bar

Knight of the Golden Fleece This article contains a list of knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Burgundian Golden Fleece 15th century !Year of induction!!Name!!Born!!Died!!Notes , - , rowspan=25, 1430, , Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, , 1396, , 1467, , Founde ...

. * Bailiff Grand Cross Honour and Devotion of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...

* Grand Cross of the

Order of Carol I The Order of Carol I () was the highest ranking of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Romania, Romanian honours of the Kingdom of Romania until the founding of the Order of Michael the Brave in 1916 by King of Romania, King Ferdinand I of Ro ...

Ancestry

References

Sources

Obituary of His Highness Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, The Daily Telegraph, 13 October 2010

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prinz von Hohenzollern, Friedrich Wilhelm 1924 births 2010 deaths Princes of Hohenzollern 20th-century German landowners People from Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald Knights of the Golden Fleece Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg Pretenders