Wilhelm Christian Karl, 3rd Prince of Solms Braunfels (9 January 1759, in

Braunfels Braunfels () is a town in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. It is located on the German Timber-Frame Road. Geography Location The climatic spa of Braunfels lies at a height of some 100 m above the Lahn valley. It is 9 km southwes ...

– 20 March 1837, in Braunfels) was by succession an immediate

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 ...

, then a nobleman and head of the Princely House of Solms-Braunfels, a Prussian major general and Hessian deputy.

Life

Family

William was a member of the Princely House of Solms-Braunfels. His grandfather

Frederick William The name Frederick William usually refers to several monarchs and princes of the Hohenzollern dynasty: * Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (1620–1688) * Frederick William, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1675–1713) * Frederick William I of ...

(1696–1761) was the first Prince of

Solms-Braunfels Solms-Braunfels was a County and later Principality with Imperial immediacy in what is today the federal Land of Hesse in Germany. History Solms-Braunfels was a partition of Solms, ruled by the House of Solms, and was raised to a Princi ...

. His parents were the imperial

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

and

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

of the United Provinces Ferdinand Wilhelm Ernst (1721–1783) and Countess Sophie Christine Wilhelmine of Solms-Laubach. first daughter and second child of Christian August, Count of Solms-Laubach. Prussian Major General

(1770–1814) was one of his younger brothers. On 6 October 1792, he married Wild- und Rheingräfin Auguste of Salm-Grumbach (1771–1810) half-sister of Friedrich, Prince of Salm-Horstmar. They had four children: * Wilhelmine (1793–1865) ∞

Alexius, Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt Alexius Frederick, Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt (20 January 1781 – 3 November 1866) was a German nobleman. Life He descended from the younger branch of the House of Bentheim-Steinfurt. His father was Prince Louis William Geldricus Erne ...

(1781–1866) and had issue * Sophie Auguste (1796–1855) ∞ Johann August Karl, Prince of Wied (1779–1836) and had issue; they were the paternal grandparents 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 ...

* Ferdinand, 4th Prince of Solms-Braunfels (1797–1873) ∞ Countess Ottilie of Solms-Laubach (1807–1884), without issue * Karl Wilhelm Bernhard (1800–1868), General of Cavalry By his maitresse Anna Elisabeth Becker (1779–1852), whom he married morganatically once widower, he had three children who received

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

''Wilhelmi''Familie Wagner - Dillkreis,
Anna Elisabeth Becker
' (retrieved 2 August 2015)

Ancestry

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:William, Prince of Solms-Braunfels 1759 births 1837 deaths People from Braunfels People from Solms-Braunfels House of Solms-Braunfels Princes of the Holy Roman Empire Major generals of Prussia Military personnel from Hesse