German Prince
Encyclopedia
Definition
The term German PrincePrince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
or Princess
Princess
Princess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
is often used to refer to members of royalty that were from a German state. Today Germany is one nation, but up until 1914, Germany and Central Europe was ruled over by a large number of independent states. Up until World War I, the term German could have referred to peoples from areas of what is today the states Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, and even Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and the Netherlands. From 1815 to 1860 this number was 35 separate German sovereign states plus another 4 free cities (including Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
), who together formed the German Confederation
German Confederation
The German Confederation was the loose association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to coordinate the economies of separate German-speaking countries. It acted as a buffer between the powerful states of Austria and Prussia...
. Prior to 1789 there were over 300 independent sovereign states and thousands of other bishoprics, lordships, and free cities that made up the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
..
Why use Germans?
When the term German Prince or Princess is used, it is referring to a member of one of the many ruling sovereign houses of the Central Europe region. They were often used as suitable marriage candidates, simply due to the fact there were so many of them. Also, as all of the European royalty were related, it helped to use a German prince/princess to keep the marriage "in the family", so to speak, or sometimes the opposite: to broaden the gene pool. The only other area of Europe that was close to be being ruled over by some many different sovereign states was Italy which after 1815 was made up of at least 11 different states, with the rest of Europe being ruled over by large states.Examples
- King George I was a German Prince, the Elector of Hanover, before and after he became King of Great Britain.
Queen Mary of United Kingdom, queen consort of King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
. She was originally the Princess of Teck
Teck
Teck was a ducal castle in the kingdom of Württemberg, immediately to the north of the Swabian Jura and south of the town of Kirchheim unter Teck , taking its name from the ridge, 2544 feet high, which it crowned. It was destroyed in the German Peasants' War...
, a small principality in Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
, and was married in 1893.
- Queen Caroline of United Kingdom, queen consort of George IVGeorge IV of the United KingdomGeorge IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
. She was originally the Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, and married her first cousin in 1795. - Empress Catherine II of Russia, better known as Catherine the Great. She was born Princess of Sophia Augusta Frederica Anhalt-ZerbstAnhalt-ZerbstAnhalt-Zerbst was a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is bounded by the districts Potsdam-Mittelmark and Wittenberg, the city of Dessau and the districts of Köthen, Schönebeck and Jerichower Land.- History :...
, from Stettin in PrussiaPrussiaPrussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, marrying the future Emperor Peter III of Russia in 1745. In 1762 she replaced her husband as ruler of Russia, after a bloodless palace coup. - Queen Anne Catherine of Denmark and Norway, queen consort of King Christian IV of DenmarkChristian IV of DenmarkChristian IV was the king of Denmark-Norway from 1588 until his death. With a reign of more than 59 years, he is the longest-reigning monarch of Denmark, and he is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects...
. She was originally Anne Catherine of BrandenburgAnne Catherine of BrandenburgAnne Catherine of Brandenburg was queen-consort of Denmark and Norway from 1597 to 1612 as the first spouse of King Christian IV of Denmark.-Biography:...
, in 1597 marrying King Christian IV, becoming Queen.