Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenzollern
Encyclopedia
William, Prince of Hohenzollern (7 March 1864, Schloss Benrath
, near Düsseldorf
– 22 October 1927, Sigmaringen
) was the eldest son of Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern and Infanta Antónia of Portugal
. His maternal grandparents were Maria II of Portugal and her King consort
Ferdinand II of Portugal
.
William was an older brother of Ferdinand I of Romania
. His maternal first cousins included (among others) Carlos I of Portugal
, Infante Afonso, Duke of Porto
, Frederick Augustus III of Saxony
, and Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony
.
Between 1880 and 1886, William was heir presumptive
to the Romanian throne. On 20 December 1886, he renounced the rights to succeed to the throne of the Kingdom of Romania
.
. Her parents were Prince Louis, Count of Trani
and Mathilde Ludovika, Duchess in Bavaria. Louis was the eldest son of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
and his second wife Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria. Mathilde was the fourth daughter of Maximilian, Duke in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. William and Maria Teresa had three children:
William succeeded his father as Prince of Hohenzollern
on 8 June 1905. His wife died on 1 May 1909. On 20 January 1915, Wilhelm married secondly Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria
. She was a daughter of Ludwig III of Bavaria
and Maria Theresia of Austria-Este. There were no children from this marriage.
His title was effectively abolished with the collapse of the German Empire
in 1918. He continued to use his princely surname anyway.
Having gotten familiar with the situation in Romania, the 22-year-old William renounced all rights to the succession of the kingdom
(since 1881) of Romania
by a letter in French dated on 20 December 1886. Experts view this letter poorly worded for needs of unambiguity, although the desire to renounce unconditionally comes through clearly enough.
In 1914, upon the death of king Carol I of Romania
, William's next brother Ferdinand succeeded in Romania, and none of the sons of William. His sons Frederic and Francis were born in 1891, and already well over 20 years at the time.
Schloss Benrath
Schloss Benrath is a Rococo maison de plaisance near Düsseldorf, Germany, erected for the Elector Palatine Charles Theodore by his garden and building director and garden supervisor, Nicolas de Pigage...
, near Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
– 22 October 1927, Sigmaringen
Sigmaringen
Sigmaringen is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district....
) was the eldest son of Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern and Infanta Antónia of Portugal
Infanta Antónia of Portugal
Infanta Antónia of Portugal , was a Portuguese infanta of the House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, daughter of Queen Maria II of Portugal and her King...
. His maternal grandparents were Maria II of Portugal and her King consort
King consort
King consort is an alternative title to the more usual "prince consort" - which is a position given in some monarchies to the husband of a reigning queen. It is a symbolic title only, the sole constitutional function of the holder being similar to a prince consort, which is the male equivalent of a...
Ferdinand II of Portugal
Ferdinand II of Portugal
Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , named Prince Ferdinand Augustus Francis Anthony of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry, was King of Portugal as husband of Queen Maria II of Portugal from the birth of their son in 1837 to her death in 1853.In keeping with Portuguese law, only after the birth of his son in...
.
William was an older brother of Ferdinand I of Romania
Ferdinand I of Romania
Ferdinand was the King of Romania from 10 October 1914 until his death.-Early life:Born in Sigmaringen in southwestern Germany, the Roman Catholic Prince Ferdinand Viktor Albert Meinrad of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, later simply of Hohenzollern, was a son of Leopold, Prince of...
. His maternal first cousins included (among others) Carlos I of Portugal
Carlos I of Portugal
-Assassination:On 1 February 1908 the royal family returned from the palace of Vila Viçosa to Lisbon. They travelled by train to Barreiro and, from there, they took a steamer to cross the Tagus River and disembarked at Cais do Sodré in central Lisbon. On their way to the royal palace, the open...
, Infante Afonso, Duke of Porto
Infante Afonso, Duke of Porto
Afonso Henriques, Prince Royal of Portugal was a Portuguese prince of the House of Braganza, the son of King Luis I of Portugal and his wife, Maria Pia of Savoy.-Biography:...
, Frederick Augustus III of Saxony
Frederick Augustus III of Saxony
This article is about King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony. For the elector Frederick Augustus III, see Frederick Augustus I of Saxony.Frederick Augustus III was the last King of Saxony and a member of the House of Wettin.Born in Dresden, Frederick Augustus was the son of King George of Saxony...
, and Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony
Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony
Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony was the mother of Emperor Charles I of Austria and the fifth child of George of Saxony and Infanta Maria Anna of Portugal.-Early life:...
.
Between 1880 and 1886, William was heir presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
to the Romanian throne. On 20 December 1886, he renounced the rights to succeed to the throne of the Kingdom of Romania
Kingdom of Romania
The Kingdom of Romania was the Romanian state based on a form of parliamentary monarchy between 13 March 1881 and 30 December 1947, specified by the first three Constitutions of Romania...
.
Family
On 27 June 1889, William married Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Two SiciliesPrincess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Princess Maria Teresa Maddalena of Bourbon-Two Sicilies was the only child of Prince Louis of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Trani and his wife Duchess Mathilde...
. Her parents were Prince Louis, Count of Trani
Prince Louis, Count of Trani
Prince Louis Maria of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Count of Trani was the eldest son of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria....
and Mathilde Ludovika, Duchess in Bavaria. Louis was the eldest son of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
Ferdinand II was King of the Two Sicilies from 1830 until his death.-Family:Ferdinand was born in Palermo, the son of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his wife and first cousin Maria Isabella of Spain.His paternal grandparents were King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and Queen Marie...
and his second wife Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria. Mathilde was the fourth daughter of Maximilian, Duke in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. William and Maria Teresa had three children:
- Augusta Victoria of HohenzollernAugusta Victoria of Hohenzollern-SigmaringenPrincess Augusta Victoria of Hohenzollern was a German princess...
(19 August 1890 – 29 August 1966). Married first Manuel II of PortugalManuel II of PortugalManuel II , named Manuel Maria Filipe Carlos Amélio Luís Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Francisco de Assis Eugénio de Bragança Orleães Sabóia e Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha — , was the last King of Portugal from 1908 to 1910, ascending the throne after the assassination of his father and elder brother Manuel...
and secondly Robert, Count Douglas. - Prince Frederick Victor of HohenzollernFriedrich, Prince of HohenzollernFrederick, Prince of Hohenzollern He was the eldest son of William, Prince of Hohenzollern and Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies...
(30 August 1891 – 6 February 1965). Married Princess Margarete Karola of SaxonyPrincess Margarete Karola of SaxonyPrincess Margarete Karola Wilhelmine Viktoria Adelheid Albertine Petrusa Bertram Paula of Saxony, Duchess of Saxony was the fifth...
. She was a daughter of Frederick Augustus III of SaxonyFrederick Augustus III of SaxonyThis article is about King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony. For the elector Frederick Augustus III, see Frederick Augustus I of Saxony.Frederick Augustus III was the last King of Saxony and a member of the House of Wettin.Born in Dresden, Frederick Augustus was the son of King George of Saxony...
and Archduchess Luise, Princess of TuscanyArchduchess Luise, Princess of TuscanyLuise of Tuscany was a daughter of Ferdinand IV of Tuscany and his second wife, Alice of Bourbon-Parma, daughter of Duke Charles III and Louise...
. - Prince Francis Joseph of Hohenzollern, adopted the title Prince of Hohenzollern-Emden (30 August 1891 – 3 April 1964). He married Princess Maria Alix of SaxonyPrincess Maria Alix of SaxonyPrincess Maria Alix Luitpolda Anna Henriette Germana Agnes Damiana Michaela of Saxony, Duchess of Saxony was the sixth child and third-eldest...
, also a daughter of Frederick Augustus III of SaxonyFrederick Augustus III of SaxonyThis article is about King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony. For the elector Frederick Augustus III, see Frederick Augustus I of Saxony.Frederick Augustus III was the last King of Saxony and a member of the House of Wettin.Born in Dresden, Frederick Augustus was the son of King George of Saxony...
and Archduchess Luise, Princess of TuscanyArchduchess Luise, Princess of TuscanyLuise of Tuscany was a daughter of Ferdinand IV of Tuscany and his second wife, Alice of Bourbon-Parma, daughter of Duke Charles III and Louise...
.
William succeeded his father as Prince of Hohenzollern
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
-Noble jurisdictions:Prince Karl Eitel of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, and descendants of his nephew Ferdinand ruled over the Kingdom of Romania, as Karl Eitel did not have children...
on 8 June 1905. His wife died on 1 May 1909. On 20 January 1915, Wilhelm married secondly Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria
Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria (1870–1958)
Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria was a Princess of Bavaria by birth and Princess of Hohenzollern through her marriage to William, Prince of Hohenzollern...
. She was a daughter of Ludwig III of Bavaria
Ludwig III of Bavaria
Ludwig III , was the last King of Bavaria, reigning from 1913 to 1918.-Early life:...
and Maria Theresia of Austria-Este. There were no children from this marriage.
His title was effectively abolished with the collapse of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
in 1918. He continued to use his princely surname anyway.
Romanian succession
On 22 November 1880, William's father, Prince Leopold, renounced his rights to the succession of the principality of Romania in favor of his sons.Having gotten familiar with the situation in Romania, the 22-year-old William renounced all rights to the succession of the kingdom
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
(since 1881) of Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
by a letter in French dated on 20 December 1886. Experts view this letter poorly worded for needs of unambiguity, although the desire to renounce unconditionally comes through clearly enough.
In 1914, upon the death of king Carol I of Romania
Carol I of Romania
Carol I , born Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was reigning prince and then King of Romania from 1866 to 1914. He was elected prince of Romania on 20 April 1866 following the overthrow of Alexandru Ioan Cuza by a palace coup...
, William's next brother Ferdinand succeeded in Romania, and none of the sons of William. His sons Frederic and Francis were born in 1891, and already well over 20 years at the time.
Titles and styles
- 7 March 1864 – 3 September 1869: His Serene Highness Prince William of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
- 3 September 1869 – 2 June 1885: His Serene Highness Prince William of Hohenzollern
- 2 June 1885 – 8 June 1905: His Serene Highness The Hereditary Prince of Hohenzollern
- 8 June 1905 – 23 September 1910: His Highness The Prince of Hohenzollern
- 23 September 1910 - 22 October 1927: His Royal Highness The Prince of Hohenzollern