William, Prince of Hohenzollern
William | |||||
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Prince of Hohenzollern Crown Prince of Romania | |||||
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Head of the Princely House of Hohenzollern | |||||
Predecessor | Leopold | ||||
Successor | Frederick | ||||
Born | Schloss Benrath, near Düsseldorf, Rhine Province, Prussia | 7 March 1864||||
Died | 22 October 1927 Sigmaringen, Province of Hohenzollern, Germany | (aged 63)||||
Spouse |
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Issue | Augusta Victoria, Queen of Portugal Frederick, Prince of Hohenzollern Francis Joseph, Prince of Hohenzollern-Emden | ||||
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House | Hohenzollern | ||||
Father | Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern | ||||
Mother | Infanta Antónia of Portugal |
William, Prince of Hohenzollern[1][2] (German: Wilhelm August Karl Joseph Peter Ferdinand Benedikt Fürst von Hohenzollern[1][2]) (7 March 1864 in Schloss Benrath, near Düsseldorf[1][2] – 22 October 1927 in Sigmaringen[1][2]) was the eldest son[1][2] of Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern and Infanta Antónia of Portugal.[1][2]
William was an older brother of Ferdinand 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 his rights to the throne in favor of his brother Ferdinand.[3][4]
Family
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Maria_Teresa_di_Borbone.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/bc/PrinceofHohenzollern.jpg/220px-PrinceofHohenzollern.jpg)
On 27 June 1889, William married Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.[1][2] 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:[1][2]
- Augusta Victoria of Hohenzollern (19 August 1890 – 29 August 1966). Married first Manuel II of Portugal and secondly Robert, Count Douglas.
- Prince Frederick Victor of Hohenzollern (30 August 1891 – 6 February 1965). Married Princess Margarete Karola of Saxony. She was a daughter of Frederick Augustus III of Saxony and Archduchess Luise, Princess of Tuscany.
- Prince Francis Joseph of Hohenzollern, adopted the title Prince of Hohenzollern-Emden (30 August 1891 – 3 April 1964). He married Princess Maria Alix of Saxony, also a daughter of Frederick Augustus III of Saxony and Archduchess Luise, Princess of Tuscany.
William succeeded his father as Prince of Hohenzollern on 8 June 1905. Maria Teresa 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.
William's title was effectively abolished[citation needed] with the collapse of the German Empire 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[5][4] in favour of his sons.
Having become 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.[3]
In 1914, upon the death of king Carol I of Romania, William's next brother Ferdinand succeeded in Romania.
Titles and styles
- 7 March 1864 – 22 November 1880: His Serene Highness Prince William of Hohenzollern
- 22 November 1880 – 14 March 1881: His Serene Highness The Hereditary Prince of Romania
- 14 March 1881 – 2 June 1885: His Royal Highness The Crown Prince of Romania
- 2 June 1885 – 20 December 1886: His Royal Highness The Crown Prince of Romania, The Hereditary Prince of Hohenzollern
- 20 December 1886 – 8 June 1905: His Serene Highness The Hereditary Prince of Hohenzollern
- 8 June 1905 – 9 November 1918: His Royal Highness The Prince of Hohenzollern
- 9 November 1918 – 22 October 1927: His Highness The Prince of Hohenzollern
Honours
- German decorations[6]
Prussia:
- Order of the Black Eagle, Knight with Collar[7]
- Order of the Red Eagle, Grand Cross
- Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Grand Commander
- Iron Cross, 1st Class
- Military Honor Medal
- Red Cross Medal, 1st Class in Gold
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen: Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, Cross of Honour 1st Class with Swords
Anhalt:
- Order of Albert the Bear, Grand Cross
- Friedrich Cross
Baden:
- House Order of Fidelity, Knight
- Military Karl-Friedrich Merit Order, Grand Cross
- Order of the Zähringer Lion, Grand Cross with Gold Collar
Bavaria:
- Order of St. Hubert, Knight[7]
- Military Merit Order, Grand Cross with Swords
Brunswick:
- Order of Henry the Lion, Grand Cross
- War Service Cross
Ernestine duchies:
- Saxe-Ernestine House Order, Grand Cross with Swords
- Duke Ernst Medal with Crown (Saxe-Altenburg)
- Cross for Merit in War (Saxe-Meiningen)
Hesse and by Rhine:
- Ludwig Order, Grand Cross
- Medal of Bravery
Mecklenburg:
- House Order of the Wendish Crown, Grand Cross with Crown in Ore
- Gold Military Merit Cross (Mecklenburg-Schwerin)
- Cross for Distinction in War, 1st Class (Mecklenburg-Strelitz)
Oldenburg: House Merit Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, Grand Cross with Golden Chain and Crown
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Order of the White Falcon, Grand Cross
Saxony: Order of the Rue Crown, Knight[7]
Württemberg: Order of the Württemberg Crown, Grand Cross with Swords
- Foreign decorations[8]
Austria-Hungary:
- Order of the Golden Fleece, Knight[7]
- Order of St. Stephen of Hungary, Grand Cross
- Imperial Order of Leopold, Grand Cross
Belgium: Royal Order of Leopold, Grand Cordon
Principality of Bulgaria: Order of St. Alexander, Grand Cross
Kingdom of Greece: Order of the Redeemer, Grand Cross
Kingdom of Italy: Order of the Annunciation, Knight[7]
Holy See: Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, Grand Cross
Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion[7]
Two Sicilian Royal Family: Order of Saint Ferdinand and of Merit, Grand Cross
Ottoman Empire: Order of the Medjidie, 1st Class
Kingdom of Portugal:
- Sash of the Two Orders
- Order of the Tower and Sword, Grand Cross with Collar
Kingdom of Romania:
- Order of Carol I, Collar
- Order of the Star of Romania, Grand Cross
- Order of the Crown of Romania, Grand Cross
- Decoration of Bene Merenti of the Royal House
Russian Empire: Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called, Knight[7]
Spain:
- Order of Charles III, Grand Cross with Collar
- Order of Military Merit, Grand Cross
French Tunisia: Order of Glory, Grand Cross
United Kingdom: Venerable Order of St. John, Bailiff Grand Cross (expelled in 1915)
Ancestry
Ancestors of William, Prince of Hohenzollern |
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References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Lundy, Darryl (10 May 2003). "Wilhelm Fürst von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen". thePeerage.com. Retrieved 2008-12-28.[unreliable source]
- ^ a b c d e f g h Paul Theroff. "HOHENZOLLERN". Paul Theroff's Royal Genealogy Site. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
- ^ a b Renunciation letter of Guillaume de Hohenzollern, in French, dated on 20 December 1886
- ^ a b (in French) Gheorghe Bengescu (1907)- Bibliographie franco-roumaine depuis le commencement du XIXe siècle jusqu'à nos jours.
- ^ Renunciation letter of Leopold de Hohenzollern, in French, dated on 22 November 1880"
- ^ Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat (1918), Genealogy p.6
- ^ a b c d e f g Justus Perthes, Almanach de Gotha 1922 (1922) p. 77
- ^ Handbuch über den Königlich Preussischen Hof und Staat, 1908, p. 5
- "The Book of Kings: A Royal Genealogy" by C. Arnold McNaughton.