William I of Württemberg
Encyclopedia
William I was the second King of Württemberg from October 30, 1816 until his death.

He was born in Lüben
Lubin
Lubin is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in south-western Poland. From 1975–1998 it belonged to the former Legnica Voivodeship. Lubin is the administrative seat of Lubin County, and also of the rural district called Gmina Lubin, although it is not part of the territory of the latter,...

, the son of King Frederick I of Württemberg
Frederick I of Württemberg
Frederick I William Charles of Württemberg was the first King of Württemberg. He was known for his size: at and about , he was in contrast to Napoleon, who recognized him as King of Württemberg.-Biography:...

 (1754–1816) and his wife Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was a German princess, and first wife of Frederick of Württemberg...

 (1764–1788).

First marriage

On June 8, 1808, in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, he married Princess Charlotte of Bavaria (1792–1873), daughter of King Maximilian I of Bavaria (1756–1825) and Princess Augusta Wilhelmina of Hesse-Darmstadt (1765–1796). They divorced in 1814.

Second marriage

On January 24, 1816, in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

, he married his first cousin Catherine Pavlovna of Russia
Catherine Pavlovna of Russia
Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia was the fourth daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia and Princess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. She became the Queen of Württemberg upon her marriage to her first cousin Crown Prince William who eventually became King William I of Württemberg in...

 (1788–1819), daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia (1754–1801) and Princess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg (1759–1828). Later that year, he succeeded his father as King of Württemberg. With Catherine, he had two daughters:
  • Marie (1816–1887), married Count Alfred von Neipperg (1807–1865)
  • Sophie
    Sophie of Württemberg
    Princess Sophia Frederika Mathilde of Württemberg was Queen of the Netherlands as the first wife of King William III of the Netherlands.-Biography:...

     (1818–1877), married King William III of the Netherlands
    William III of the Netherlands
    William III was from 1849 King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg until his death and the Duke of Limburg until the abolition of the Duchy in 1866.-Early life:William was born in Brussels as son of William II of the Netherlands and...

     (1817–1890)

Third marriage

On April 15, 1820, in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

, he married another first cousin Duchess Pauline Therese of Württemberg
Pauline Therese of Württemberg
Duchess Pauline Therese Luise of Württemberg was a daughter of Louis of Württemberg and Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg...

 (1800–1873), daughter of Duke Louis of Württemberg
Duke Louis of Württemberg
Duke Louis of Württemberg was the second son of Friedrich II Eugen, Duke of Württemberg and Margravine Sophia Dorothea of Brandenburg-Schwedt...

 (1756–1817) and Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg
Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg (1780-1857)
Princess Henriëtte van Nassau-Weilburg, then van Nassau was a daughter of Prince Charles Christian, Duke of Nassau-Weilburg and Carolina of Orange-Nassau, daughter of William IV, Prince of Orange.-Marriage and children:She married in Hermitage, near Bayreuth, on 28 January 1797 Duke Louis of...

 (1780–1857).

By his third wife, he had three children:
  • Catherine (1821–1898), whom by her husband Prince Frederick of Württemberg
    Prince Frederick of Württemberg
    Prince Frederick Charles Augustus of Württemberg was a General in the Army of Württemberg and the father of William II of Württemberg...

     (1808–1870) was mother to King William II of Württemberg
    William II of Württemberg
    William II was the fourth King of Württemberg, from 6 October 1891 until the abolition of the kingdom on 30 November 1918...

  • Charles
    Charles I of Württemberg
    Charles was the third King of Württemberg, from 25 June 1864 until his death in 1891.-Early life:He was born 6 March 1823 at Stuttgart, as HRH Charles Frederick Alexander, Crown Prince of Württemberg the son of William I, King of Württemberg and his third wife Pauline Therese of Württemberg .He...

     (1823–1891), succeeded as King of Württemberg
  • Augusta (1826–1898), married Prince Hermann of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1825–1901); one of their daughters, Pauline of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach married Charles Augustus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

Reign

Wilhelm codified the insignia of Württemberg
Coat of arms of Württemberg
The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Württemberg shows an impalement of the three black antlers that represent Württemberg on the dexter side; and the three black lions passant of medieval Swabia on the sinister side, both on a gold field.It was formally adopted by King William on 30 December 1817,...

 in 1816-17. He dealt moderately during the 1848 revolution, to survive, but finally ended the rump parliament that met at Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

 on 6–18 June 1848. His reign saw the start of the Württemberg railway system
History of the railway in Württemberg
The History of railways in Württemberg describes the beginnings and expansion of rail transport in Württemberg from the first studies in 1834 to today.- Starting points :...

 and some industrial expansion. William I died at Schloss Rosenstein
Rotenberg
Rotenberg is an area within the Untertürkheim district of Stuttgart, Germany . The area overlooks Untertürkheim and the Neckar valley and lies on the north and east slopes of the hill known as Württemberg...

 in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

.

Legacy

At the Schlossplatz at the center of Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

 there remains a tall monument erected in 1841 to mark the 25th anniversary of William I s rule. The bas-relief at the base shows the king sitting in a throne leaning upon lions, holding a sword in one hand and a scroll in the other. and being cheered by gathered soldiers and notables.

Ancestry



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