William V, Prince of Wied (; 22 August 184522 October 1907) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

army officer and politician, elder son of Hermann, Prince of Wied. He was the father of

William, Prince of Albania 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 w ...

and 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 ...

. By birth he was a member of the House of Wied.

Early life

William was the second child and first son of Hermann, Prince of Wied (1814–1864), son of Johann August Karl, Prince of Wied (1779-1836) and Princess Sophie Auguste of Solms-Braunfels (1796-1855), and his wife,

Princess Marie of Nassau Princess Marie of Nassau (; 29 January 182524 March 1902) was the eighth child and fourth daughter of William, Duke of Nassau and wife of Hermann, 4th Prince of Wied. She was the mother of Queen Elisabeth of Romania. Early life Marie was born a ...

(1825–1902), daughter of

William, Duke of Nassau Wilhelm (Given names: ''Georg Wilhelm August Heinrich Belgicus''; 14 June 1792, Kirchheimbolanden – 20/30 August 1839, Bad Kissingen) was joint sovereign Duke of Nassau, along with his father's cousin Frederick Augustus, reigning from 1816 unti ...

and his first wife,

Princess Louise of Saxe-Hildburghausen Princess Louise of Saxe-Hildburghausen (''Charlotte Luise Friederike Amalie Alexandrine''; 28 January 1794 – 6 April 1825) was a member of the House of Saxe-Hildburghausen, and a Princess of Saxe-Hildburghausen by birth. Through her marriage ...

. Through his mother he was descendant of

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

Stadtholder In the Low Countries, a stadtholder ( ) was a steward, first appointed as a medieval official and ultimately functioning as a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...

of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

George II of Great Britain George II (George Augustus; ; 30 October / 9 November 1683 – 25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Electorate of Hanover, Hanover) and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Em ...

Military career

During the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...

in 1866, he was a lieutenant general staff of the 2nd Army. During 1870-71 he attended

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

. Between 1893 and 1897 he was the Imperial commissioner and military Chief of volunteer nurses in the army. In 1893 he was appointed as General of Infantry

à la suite À la suite (, ''in the entourage f') was a military title given to those who were allotted to the army or a particular unit for honour's sake and were entitled to wear a regimental uniform but otherwise had no official position. In Prussia ...

Politics

Politically, William was a supporter of colonial policy. Between 1891 and 1892 he was chairman of the German anti-slavery committees. This funded include expeditions to unexplored areas in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. Since 1897, he was a member of the Colonial Council. William was co-founder and from 1898 to 1901 President of the Navy League. Between 1875 and 1886 he was Marshal of

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. ...

parliament. He was from 1888 to 1894 and from 1899 to 1901 Chairman of the Rhine Province parliament. Since 1878, he was a member of the

Prussian House of Lords The Prussian House of Lords () in Berlin was the upper house of the Landtag of Prussia (), the parliament of Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the lower house, the House of Representatives (), it formed the Prussian bicameral legislature ...

. Which he was president from 1897 to 1904.

Marriage

William married on 18 July 1871 in

Wassenaar Wassenaar (; population: in ) is a municipality and town located in the province of South Holland, on the western coast of the Netherlands. An affluent suburb of The Hague, Wassenaar lies north of that city on the N44/A44 highway near the Nort ...

, Princess Marie of the Netherlands (1841–1910), younger daughter of

Prince Frederick of the Netherlands Prince Frederick of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau (full names: Willem Frederik Karel; 28 February 1797, in Berlin – 8 September 1881, in Wassenaar), was the second son of William I of the Netherlands and his wife, Wilhelmine of Pr ...

(1792–1839) second son of

William I of the Netherlands William I (Willem Frederik; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was King of the Netherlands and List of monarchs of Luxembourg, Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1815 until his abdication in 1840. Born as the son of William V, Prince of Orange, ...

, and his wife,

Princess Louise of Prussia Louise of Prussia (Luise Marie Elisabeth; 3 December 1838 – 23 April 1923) was Grand Duchess of Baden from 1856 to 1907 as the wife of Grand Duke Frederick I. Princess Louise was the second child and only daughter of Wilhelm I, German E ...

(1808–1870), daughter of

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...

. They had six children: * Friedrich, Prince of Wied (27 June 1872 – 18 June 1945) married

Princess Pauline of Württemberg Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for t ...

(1877–1965), had issue. *Prince Alexander of Wied (28 May 1874 – 15 January 1877) *

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

(26 March 1876 – 18 April 1945) married Princess Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg (1885–1936), had issue. *Prince Victor of Wied (7 December 1877 – 1 March 1946) married Countess Gisela of Solms-Wildenfels (30 December 1891,

Wildenfels Wildenfels () is a municipality in Germany, Landkreis Zwickau in Saxony. It is situated 9 km southeast of Zwickau. The construction of Wildenfels castle was begun before 1200 by the lords of Wildenfels. Between 1440 and 1706 it was a fief w ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

– 20 August 1976,

Oberammergau Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. The small town on the Ammer River is known for its woodcarvers and woodcarvings, for its NATO School, and around the world for its 380-year tradition of ...

) on 6 June 1912, had issue: **Marie Elisabeth of Wied (14 March 1913 - 30 March 1985,

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

) **Benigna Viktoria of Wied (23 July 1918 - 1972). Married Ernst Hartmann, Baron of

Schlotheim Schlotheim is a town and a former municipality in the Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated east of Mühlhausen. Since December 2019, it is part of the town Nottertal-Heilinger Höhen. Notable residents *Werner ...

(27 December 1914,

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

- 31 October 1952,

) on 19 December 1939. They had two daughters: ***Viktoria Elisabeth, Baroness of Schlotheim (b. 11 April 1948,

) ***Christine, Baroness of Schlotheim (b. 22 July 1950,

) *Princess Louise of Wied (24 October 1880 – 29 August 1965) *Princess Elisabeth of Wied (28 January 1883 – 14 November 1938)

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:''Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat'' (1905), Herrenhau
p. 210
/ref>

Ancestry

Notes and sources

*The Royal House of Stuart, London, 1969, 1971, 1976, Addington, A. C., Reference: 336 Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:William, Prince of Wied 1845 births 1907 deaths Members of the Prussian House of Lords People from Neuwied House of Wied-Neuwied Recipients of the Iron Cross, 1st class Knights Third Class of the Military Order of William Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order