Peter Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Oldenburg (3 January 1754 in Eutin Castle,

Eutin Eutin () is the district capital of Ostholstein, Eastern Holstein county located in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. As of December 2022, the town had some 17,000 inhabitants. History The name Eutin (originally Utin) is of Slavic ...

– 2 July 1823 in Schloss Plön,

Plön Plön (; ) is the district seat of the Plön district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and has about 8,700 inhabitants. It lies right on the shores of Schleswig-Holstein's biggest lake, the Great Plön Lake, as well as on several smaller lakes, ...

.) was a ruling Duke of Oldenburg from 1784 to his death.

Life

Wilhelm was the son of Frederick Augustus I, Duke of Oldenburg and Princess Ulrike Friederike Wilhelmine of Hesse-Kassel. He succeeded his father, Frederick Augustus I, Duke of Oldenburg as the

Duke of Oldenburg 120px, Shield of the Counts of Oldenburg 120px, Shield of the Counts of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst This is a list of the counts, dukes, grand dukes, and prime ministers of Oldenburg. Counts of Oldenburg * 1088/1101–1108 Elimar I * 1108–1143 ...

in 1785. Due to mental illness, Wilhelm was duke in name only, with his cousin

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, Prince-Bishop of Lübeck, acting as regent throughout his entire reign. In October 1799, his sister the Swedish Princess Charlotte, later Queen of Sweden, met him in Lübeck on her journey back to Sweden. She described the meeting between them in her famous journal: :"Here we had arranged for a meeting with my brother. It was a great joy for me to meet him but heart breaking to find him so saddened and in such a difficult position. ..My cousin the Prince-Bishop of Lübeck visited and stayed for dinner. I do not know his intentions toward my brother but I hope for the best. He is sadly not in good hands and is treated quite badly by his courtiers. In this the Prince-Bishop cannot interfere, as the matter is in the hands of the Russian and Danish courts." In a letter to her sister-in-law

Sophia Albertina of Sweden Sophia most commonly refers to: * Sophia (wisdom), a central idea in Hellenistic philosophy and religion * Sophia (Gnosticism), a feminine figure in Gnosticism * Sophia (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters named Sophia ...

, she described his condition: :"Sometimes he does appear to be distant and peculiar, but sometimes he speak as wise and sensible as any ordinary person and can even make witty remarks. He has a polite manner but he is entirely as a child, speaks of every subject but normally without any context to it and his sensible moments are temporary. He was very conformable with me and I could make him do anything, but his courtiers claims that he can be quite mean, particularly when he does not get what he wants. Between us, dear sister, I was dissatisfied with his courtiers and the prince bishop, whom I met in Lübeck, was not pleased either. If my brother had been treated differently to begin with, he might have been different than he is now. Now it is too late. The only thing left to us is to make his life as comfortable as possible and hope that he is content." His title became

Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly: * in ...

in 1815, but Wilhelm never used the elevated style. It was not used until 1829 by the son of Wilhelm's cousin and successor, Peter I.

References

1754 births 1823 deaths Dukes of Oldenburg People from Eutin Sons of counts {{Europe-noble-stub