Karl Philipp of Weilnau (25 March 1746, in Biebrich – 15 August 1789, in

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 ...

), was the first Count of Weilnau, and a Captain in the Holy Roman Imperial Army.

Family

Karl Philipp was the son of Charles of Nassau-Usingen and Baroness Margareth Maria Magdalena von Biebrich, a title newly created for her. His father married for the second time the daughter of the mayor of

, Margareth Maria Magdalena Groß (born February 26 1714). Because she had no title, and the marriage would be considered

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 ...

, he asked

Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

to create the Barony of Biebrich. Maria Magdalena and her children Philippa Catherine (1744) and Karl Philipp (1746) were designated Barons of Biebrich. In June 1773, his sister Philippa Catherine married Baron Karl Friedrich von Kruse (1738-1806) in the

Schloss Biebrich Biebrich Palace (german: link=no, Schloss Biebrich) is a Baroque residence (''Schloss'') in the borough of Biebrich in the city of Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany. Built in 1702 by Prince Georg August Samuel of Nassau-Idstein, it served as the ducal ...

. He would later become the Prime Minister of the

Principality of Nassau-Usingen Nassau-Usingen was a county of the Holy Roman Empire in the Upper Rhenish Circle that became a principality in 1688. The origin of the county lies in the medieval county of Weilnau that was acquired by the counts of Nassau-Weilburg in 1602. T ...

in December 1768. The next year, Prince

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

promoted him to President of All the Schools and Director of the Court Chamber. The

Nassau Family Pact The Nassau Family Pact was a mutual pact of inheritance and succession made in 1783 by princes of the House of Nassau. It confirmed that Salic Law was to operate in favor of all the agnatic lines of the family, specifically the two senior survivin ...

was implemented in 1783 by the other six adult members of the House, but Karl Philipp, who was 37, was not invited to be a signatory because of his parents' marriage, which they considered to be morganatic.

Footnotes

{{S-end House of Nassau 1746 births 1789 deaths 18th-century German people