Wilhelm, Prince of Albania (Wilhelm Friedrich Heinrich; , 26 March 1876 – 18 April 1945) was sovereign of the Principality of Albania from 7 March to 3 September 1914. His reign officially came to an end on 31 January 1925, when the country was declared an

Albanian Republic Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to the northwest ...

. Outside the country and in diplomatic correspondence, he was styled "sovereign

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

", but in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, he was referred to as ''mbret'', or king.

Family and early life

William was born on 26 March 1876 in Neuwied Castle, near

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

, in the Prussian Rhineland, as Prince William of Wied (). Born into the mediatised house of

Wied-Neuwied Wied-Neuwied was a German statelet in northeastern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, located northeast of the Rhine River flanking the northern side of the city of Neuwied. Wied-Neuwied emerged from the partitioning of Wied. Its status was elevat ...

, he was the third son of William, 5th Prince of Wied (brother of

Queen Elisabeth of Romania Elisabeth of Wied (Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise; 29 December 18432 March 1916) was the first Queen of Romania as the wife of King Carol I from 15 March 1881 to 27 September 1914. She had been the princess consort of Romania since her marri ...

), and his wife Princess Marie of the Netherlands (sister of Queen Louise of Sweden). He was second cousin of

Wilhelm II, German Emperor 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 ...

. Prince William served as a

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

cavalry officer before becoming a captain in the

German General Staff The German General Staff, originally the Prussian General Staff and officially the Great General Staff (), was a full-time body at the head of the Prussian Army and later, the Imperial German Army, German Army, responsible for the continuous stu ...

in 1911.

Candidate for the Albanian throne

Prince William's aunt, Queen

Elisabeth of Romania Elisabeth of Romania (Elisabeth Charlotte Josephine Alexandra Victoria; , , Romanization, romanized: ''Elisábet''; 12 October 1894 – 14 November 1956) was the second child and eldest daughter of Ferdinand I of Romania, King Ferdinand I an ...

, on learning that the

Great Power A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power ...

s were looking for an aristocrat to rule over Albania, asked

Take Ionescu Take or Tache Ionescu (; born Dumitru Ghiță Ioan and also known as Demetriu G. Ionnescu; – 21 June 1922) was a Romanian Centrism, centrist politician, journalist, lawyer and diplomat, who also enjoyed reputation as a short story author. Sta ...

to attempt to persuade them to appoint her nephew to the post. Great Arms of Prince Wilhelm of Wied

Eventually the European Great Powers –

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 ...

, the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...

, the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...

, 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 ...

, the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

– selected William, a member of the German princely house of Wied, and related to the Queen of the Netherlands to rule over the newly independent Albania. The announcement was made in November 1913 and the decision was accepted by Ismail Kemal, the head of the provisional government. The offer of the Albanian throne was first made to him in the spring of 1913 but he turned it down. Despite rejecting the offer, the Austrians put pressure on Prince William in an attempt to change his mind. Kaiser Wilhelm was not pleased with the selection of the prince as the king of Albania; considering the choice to be unwise. The Kaiser claimed that he tried to have "a Mohammedan Prince chosen, if possible". Europeans consider Albania to be a poor, lawless and backward country, and some foreign opinion was scathing. The French press referred to Wilhelm as "le Prince de Vide", meaning "the prince of emptiness"; vide being a

pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...

on his homeland of Wied.

Prince of Albania

On 7 February 1914, William let the Great Powers know that he would accept the throne. On 21 February 1914 a delegation of Albanian notables led by

Essad Pasha Toptani Essad Toptani (1863/1875 – 13 June 1920) was an Albanian politician who served as the third prime minister of Albania from 1914 to 1916. He previously established the Republic of Central Albania based in Durrës. An Ottoman army officer, he ...

and

Arbëreshë Arbën/Arbër, from which derived Arbënesh/Arbëresh originally meant all Albanians, until the 18th century. Today it is used for different groups of Albanian origin, including: * Arbër (given name), an Albanian masculine given name *Arbëres ...

ones (headed by

Luigi Baffa Luigi (; ) is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Part of Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, he is a kind-hearted, cowardly Italian plumber, and the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario. Like ...

and

Vincenzo Baffa Trasci Vincenzo is an Italian male given name, derived from the Latin name Vincentius (the verb ''vincere'' means to win or to conquer). Notable people with the name include: Art *Vincenzo Amato (born 1966), Italian actor and sculptor * Vincenzo Bell ...

), made a formal request, which he accepted thereby becoming ''By the grace of the powers and the will of the people the Prince (Mbret) of Albania''. One month after accepting the throne on 7 March, he arrived in his provisional capital of

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...

and started to organise his government, appointing Turhan Pasha Përmeti to form the first Albanian cabinet. This first cabinet was dominated by aristocrats, with prince

as minister of defence and foreign affairs, prince Gjergj Adhamidhi bej Frashëri as minister of finances, and prince Aziz Pasha Vrioni as minister of agriculture. His brief reign proved a turbulent one. Immediately following his arrival, revolts of Muslims broke out in central Albania against his Chief Minister, Essad Pasha, and against foreign domination that was not Turkish.

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

encouraged the formation of a separatist provisional government in North Epirus. William's position was also undermined by his own officials, notably Essad Pasha himself, who actually accepted money from Italy to finance a revolt and to stage a coup against William. The plot was exposed, Pasha was arrested on 19 May 1914, tried for treason and sentenced to death. Only the intervention of the Italian government saved his life and he escaped to exile in Italy. The outbreak of

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 ...

presented more problems for Prince William as

demanded that he send Albanian soldiers to fight alongside them. When he refused, citing the neutrality of Albania in the Treaty of London, the

remuneration Remuneration is the pay or other financial compensation provided in exchange for an employee's ''services performed'' (not to be confused with giving (away), or donating, or the act of providing to). Remuneration is one component of reward managem ...

that he had been receiving was cut off.

Reign in exile, overthrow, and death

Prince William left the country on 3 September 1914 originally heading to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. Despite leaving Albania he did so insisting that he remained head of state. In his proclamation he informed the people that "he deemed it necessary to absent himself temporarily." He was also styled Skanderbeg II, in homage to

Skanderbeg Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanians, Albanian Albanian nobility, feudal lord and military commander who led Skanderbeg's rebellion, a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, ...

, the national hero. He returned to Germany and rejoined the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

under the pseudonym "Count of Kruja" (). The name derived from the city of

Krujë Krujë ( sq-definite, Kruja; see also the etymology section) is a town and a municipality in north-central Albania. Located between Mount Krujë and the Ishëm River, the city is 20 km north of the capital of Albania, Tirana. Krujë was ...

in Albania. When the Austro-Hungarians forced the

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

and Montenegrin armies out of Northern Albania in the early months of 1916, William's hopes of being restored were raised although ultimately they came to nothing. After the war, he still harboured ambitions that he might be restored, but the participants at the

Paris Peace Conference Agreements and declarations resulting from meetings in Paris include: Listed by name Paris Accords may refer to: * Paris Accords, the agreements reached at the end of the London and Paris Conferences in 1954 concerning the post-war status of Germ ...

were unlikely to restore the throne to someone who had just fought against them. Although several of the factions competing for power in post-war Albania billed themselves as regencies for William, once central authority was definitively restored in 1924, the country was declared a

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

on 31 January 1925, officially ending his reign. With the monarchy in Albania set to be restored with President

Ahmet Zogu Zog I (born Ahmed Muhtar Zogolli; 8 October 18959 April 1961) was the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27, he first served as Albania's youngest ever Prime Minister (1922–1924), then as president (1925–1928), and finally as King ...

becoming king, Prince William reaffirmed his claim to the throne announcing he still claimed the throne for himself and his heirs. Prince William died in

Predeal Predeal (; ) is a town in Brașov County, Muntenia, Romania. Predeal, a mountain resort town, is the highest town in Romania. It is located in the Prahova Valley, Muntenia at an elevation of over . The town administers three villages: Pârâu ...

, near

Sinaia Sinaia () is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Muntenia. The town was named after the Sinaia Monastery of 1695, around which it was built. The monastery, in turn, is named after ...

, in

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 ...

, leaving his son, Hereditary Prince Carol Victor, as heir to his Albanian claims. He was buried at the in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Marriage and children

On 30 November 1906 at

Waldenburg, Saxony Waldenburg () is a town in the district Zwickau in Saxony, Germany. The castle was owned by the House of Schönburg from 1378 until 1945. The pottery town of Waldenburg lies in the valley of the Zwickauer Mulde. The environment is characterized by ...

, Prince William married Princess Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg (1885–1936), member of the

House of Schönburg A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...

, daughter of

Hereditary Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

Otto Karl Viktor I von Schönburg-Waldenburg (1856-1888) and his wife, Princess Lucie zu

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was one of several imperial counties and later principalities ruled by the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein. Most of the former county is located in the present district of Siegen-Wittgenstein (in the modern state of North ...

(1859-1903). She had remotely distant Albanian roots, through

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Ghica family The House of Ghica r Ghika(; }; , ''Gikas'') was an Albanian noble family whose members held significant positions in Wallachia, Moldavia and later in the Kingdom of Romania, between the early 17th century and late 19th century. The Ghica famil ...

. They had two children: * Princess Marie Eleonore (1909–1956) ⚭ Prince Alfred of Schönburg-Waldenburg (1905–1941), son of Prince Heinrich of Schönburg-Waldenburg and Princess Olga of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg ⚭ Ion Octavian Bunea (1899–1977) * Hereditary Prince Carol Victor (1913–1973) ⚭ Eileen de Coppet (1922–1985)

Honors

Gallery

File:Wied 4668751141 31471205f5 o.jpg, 1909 File:Albania 5050938671 1eb7eb6b79 o.jpg, 1913 (circa) File:Prince and Princess of Albania 5051566232 1c17f6c1bc o.jpg, 1913 File:Dmme12.jpg, Prince Wilhelm of Wied,

Isa Boletini Isa Boletini (; 15 January 186423 or 24 January 1916) was an Albanian revolutionary commander and politician and rilindas from Kosovo. As a young man, he joined the Albanian nationalist League of Prizren and participated in a battle against Ott ...

and officers of the

International Gendarmerie The International Gendarmerie was the first law enforcement agency of the Principality of Albania. It was established by the decision of the ambassadors of the six Great Powers that participated in the London Conference of 1913, London Peace Confe ...

: Duncan Heaton-Armstrong and Colonel Thomson near Durrës in June 1914 File:Wilhelm zu Wied, Prince (Mbret) of Albania.jpg, 1914 File:Princ Vidi (portret).jpg, 1914 File:Dmme02.jpg, Prince Wilhelm on horseback in front of the palace in Durrës. File:Royal Monogram of Prince Wilhelm of Wied.svg, Royal Monogram

Ancestry

In popular culture

Prince Wilhelm is portrayed in the 2008 Albanian film '' Time of the Comet (based on

Ismail Kadare Ismail Kadare (; 28 January 1936 – 1 July 2024) was an Albanian novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter and playwright. He was a leading international literary figure and intellectual, focusing on poetry until the publication of his first novel ...

's novel "The dark year" (Viti i mbrapshtë)'', which takes place during his reign. He is played by the German actor Thomas Heinze.

Notes

References

External links

Wilhelm zu Wied:Memorandum on Albania
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilhelm, Prince of Albania 1876 births 1945 deaths 20th-century monarchs in Europe 20th-century Albanian people People from Neuwied People from the Rhine Province Members of the Prussian House of Lords Albanian monarchs Protestant monarchs House of Wied-Neuwied Albanian nobility German Army personnel of World War I Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order German emigrants Immigrants to Albania Pretenders