Prince William Victor Charles Augustus Henry Sigismund of Prussia (; 27 November 1896 at

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

– 14 November 1978 at Esparza,

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

), was the second son of Prince Henry of Prussia and Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine.Eilers, Marlene. Queen Victoria's Descendants. Rosvall Royal Books, Falkoping, Sweden, 1997. pp. 27-28, 131, 173. He was the nephew of

Kaiser 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 his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...

and Tsarina Alexandra of Russia. As the great-grandson of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

through both his parents, he was the only one of three brothers who did not have the

hemophilia Haemophilia (British English), or hemophilia (American English) (), is a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to make blood clots, a process needed to stop bleeding. This results in people bleeding for a long ...

common among her descendants.de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. Coutant de Saisseval, Guy. Le Petit Gotha. Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery. Paris. 2002. pp. 78, 91-93 (French)

Life

Marriage and issue

On 11 July 1919 at Hemmelmark, he married Princess Charlotte of

Saxe-Altenburg Saxe-Altenburg () was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in present-day Thuringia. It was one of the smallest of the German states with an area of 1323 square kilometers and a population of 207,000 (190 ...

(4 March 1899 – 16 February 1989), the eldest daughter of

Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg Ernst II (31 August 1871 – 22 March 1955) was the last reigning duke of Saxe-Altenburg and a German general active during World War I. Early life He was the fourth child and only son of Prince Moritz, the youngest son of Georg, Duke of Saxe- ...

. They had two children: * Barbara Irene Adelheid Viktoria Elisabeth Bathildis (2 August 1920 – 31 May 1994), married in 1954 Duke Christian Louis of Mecklenburg, with issue. * Alfred Friedrich Ernst Heinrich Conrad (17 August 1924 – 3 June 2013), married in 1984 Maritza Farkas (6 August 1929, Gombaszog,

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

– 1 November 1996), without issue.

Costa Rica

Prior to emigrating from Europe to Central America, he served as a marine officer. In 1927, Sigismund and his family resettled in Costa Rica three years after his son Alfred (1924–2013) had been born in

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. He planned to engage in banana and coffee planting on land he owned there. In 1957, Sigismund returned to Germany to meet with

Anna Anderson Anna Anderson (born Franziska Schanzkowska; 16 December 1896 – 12 February 1984) was an impostor who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia. Anastasia, the youngest daughter of the last Tsar and Tsarina of Russia, Nicholas II ...

whom he recognized as his cousin Grand Duchess Anastasia. During this visit he also met and acknowledged Marga Boodts who claimed to be Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia and Ceclava Czapska who claimed to be Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna. In 1972, he once again reaffirmed his belief when talking to BBC journalists Anthony Summers and Tom Mangold, who were writing the File on the Tsar. Sigismund died in

Puntarenas, Costa Rica Puntarenas () is a city in the Puntarenas Province, on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. As the seat of the Municipality of Puntarenas canton, it is awarded the title of city, which comprises the Puntarenas, Chacarita and El Roble districts. As ...

, on 14 November 1978.

Honours and awards

Prince Sigismund received the following awards: Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat
(1918), Genealogy p.3 *

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle () was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

, Knight (

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

) *

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle () was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, o ...

, Grand Cross with Crown (Kingdom of Prussia) * Order of the Prussian Crown, Grand Cross (Kingdom of Prussia) * Royal

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 ...

, Grand Commander (Kingdom of Prussia) * Princely

, Cross of Honour 1st Class (

House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen () was a principality in southwestern Germany. Its rulers belonged to the junior House of Hohenzollern#Swabian branch, Swabian branch of the House of Hohenzollern. The Swabian Hohenzollerns were elevated to princes in 162 ...

)

Ancestry

References