William, Prince of Wied
Encyclopedia
William V, Prince of Wied was a German
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...

 officer and politician, elder son of Hermann, Prince of Wied
Hermann, Prince of Wied
Hermann, Prince of Wied was a German nobleman, elder son of Johann August Karl, Prince of Wied. He was the father of Queen Elisabeth of Romania.-Early life:...

. He was the father of William, Prince of Albania and brother of Queen Elisabeth of Romania
Elisabeth of Wied
-Titles and styles:*29 December 1843 – 15 November 1869: Her Serene Highness Princess Elisabeth of Wied*15 November 1869 – 26 March 1881: Her Royal Highness The Princess of Romania...

.

Early life

William was the second child and first son of Hermann, Prince of Wied
Hermann, Prince of Wied
Hermann, Prince of Wied was a German nobleman, elder son of Johann August Karl, Prince of Wied. He was the father of Queen Elisabeth of Romania.-Early life:...

 (1814–1864), son of Johann August Karl, Prince of Wied and Princess Sophie Auguste of Solms-Braunfels, and his wife, Princess Marie of Nassau
Princess Marie of Nassau
Princess Marie of Nassau 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:...

 (1825–1902), daughter of William, Duke of Nassau
William, Duke of Nassau
Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg was the father of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Queen Sophia .-Biography:Wilhelm was the eldest son of Frederick...

 and his first wife Princess Louise of Saxe-Hildburghausen
Princess Louise of Saxe-Hildburghausen
Princess Charlotte Luise Friederike Amalie Alexandrine of Saxe-Hildburghausen, full German name: Charlotte Luise Friederike Amalie Alexandrine, Prinzessin von Sachsen-Hildburghausen was a member of the House of Saxe-Hildburghausen and a Princess of Saxe-Hildburghausen Princess Charlotte Luise...

. Through her mother he was descendant of George II of Great Britain
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...

.

Military career

During the Austro-Prussian War
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...

 in 1866, he was a lieutenant general staff of the 2nd Army. During 1870-71 he attended Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...

.

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
À la suite was a military title, given to those who were entitled to wear a regimental uniform but otherwise had no official position. It can best be translated as "in the entourage of".In Prussia, these were:...

.

Politics

Politically, William was a supporter of colonial policy
German colonial empire
The German colonial empire was an overseas domain formed in the late 19th century as part of the German Empire. Short-lived colonial efforts by individual German states had occurred in preceding centuries, but Imperial Germany's colonial efforts began in 1884...

. Between 1891 and 1892 he was chairman of the German anti-slavery committees. This funded include expeditions to unexplored areas in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. Since 1897, he was a member of the Colonial Council
Colonial Council
The Colonial Council was an advisory body of the Government of Germany that existed from 1890 to 1907 again from 1911 to 1913. It advised the Imperial Colonial Office, a part of the Foreign Office, on political and economic matters relevant to the German colonies in Africa and around the world. Its...

. William was co-founder and from 1898 to 1901 President of the Navy League.

Between 1875 and 1886 he was Marshal of Rhine Province
Rhine Province
The Rhine Province , also known as Rhenish Prussia or synonymous to the Rhineland , was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822-1946. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg...

 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
Prussian House of Lords
The Prussian House of Lords was the first chamber of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1850-1918. The second chamber was the Prussian House of Representatives . The House of Lords was created on January 31, 1850 with the adoption of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Prussia...

. Which he was president from 1897 to 1904

Marriage

William married on 18 July 1871 in Wassenaar
Wassenaar
Wassenaar is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. A fairly affluent suburb of The Hague, Wassenaar lies 10 km north of that city on the N44 highway near the North Sea coast. It is part of the Haaglanden region...

, Princess Marie of the Netherlands
Princess Marie of the Netherlands
Princess Marie of the Netherlands was the fourth child and younger daughter of Prince Frederick of the Netherlands and wife of William, 5th Prince of Wied...

 (1841–1910), younger daughter of Prince Frederick of the Netherlands
Prince Frederick of the Netherlands
Prince Frederick of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau , was the second son of king William I of the Netherlands and his wife, Wilhelmine of Prussia....

 (1792–1839) second son of William I of the Netherlands
William I of the Netherlands
William I Frederick, born Willem Frederik Prins van Oranje-Nassau , was a Prince of Orange and the first King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg....

, and his wife, Princess Louise of Prussia (1808–1870), daughter of Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel .-Early life:...

.

They had six children:
  • William Frederick, Prince of Wied
    William Frederick, Prince of Wied
    William Frederick, Prince of Wied was a German nobleman, eldest child of William, Prince of Wied. He was brother of William, Prince of Albania.-Early life:...

     (27 June 1872 – 18 June 1945) married Princess Pauline of Württemberg
    Princess Pauline of Württemberg (1877–1965)
    Princess Pauline of Württemberg was the only daughter of William II of Württemberg and wife of William Frederick, Prince of Wied. She was the last Princess of Württemberg, as well the last senior member of the House of Württemberg....

     (1877–1965), had issue.
  • Prince Alexander of Wied (28 May 1874 – 15 January 1877)
  • William, Prince of Albania (26 March 1876 – 18 April 1945) married Princess Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg
    Princess Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg
    Princess Sophie Helene Cecilie of Schönburg-Waldenburg was the wife of Prince William of Wied. With her husband's ascension to the Albanian throne she became the Princess of Albania .-Family and marriage:...

     (1885–1936), had issue.
  • Prince Victor of Wied (7 December 1877 – 1 March 1946) married Countess Gisela of Solms-Widenfels (1891–1976), had issue.
  • Princess Louise of Wied (24 October 1880 – 29 August 1965)
  • Princess Elisabeth of Wied (28 January 1883 – 14 November 1938)

Titles and styles

  • 22 August 1845 – 5 March 1864: His Serene Highness Prince William of Wied
  • 5 March 1864 – 22 October 1907: His Serene Highness The Prince of Wied

Ancestry

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