Charles William, Prince of Nassau-Usingen

Charles William, Prince of Nassau-Usingen
Born	(1735-11-09)9 November 1735 Usingen
Died	17 May 1803(1803-05-17) (aged 67) Biebrich
Noble family	House of Nassau
Spouse(s)	Countess Caroline Felizitas of Leiningen-Dagsburg
Father	Charles, Prince of Nassau-Usingen
Mother	Christina Wilhelmina of Saxe-Eisenach

Charles William (9 November 1735 in Usingen – 17 May 1803) was Prince of Nassau-Usingen from 1775 until his death. From 1797 until his death, he was also titular Prince of Nassau-Saarbrücken, however, Nassau-Saarbrücken was occupied by France during that period.

He was the eldest son of Prince Charles of Nassau-Usingen and his wife, Christina Wilhelmina, the daughter of Duke John William III of Saxe-Eisenach.

In 1770, Charles William became Lieutenant-General in the Dutch army. In 1789, he was promoted to general and in 1790 to colonel of the Walloon regiment and captain of the grenadiers.

In 1775, he succeeded his father as Prince of Nassau-Usingen. In 1783, he concluded a treaty of inheritance with the princes of Nassau-Saarbrücken, Nassau-Weilburg and Nassau-Dietz (i.e., Orange-Nassau), in which it was agreed that the Nassau lands were inidivisible and that mutual succession among the various branches based on primogeniture would be observed.

In 1797, Prince Henry Louis of Nassau-Saarbrücken died childless and Charles William inherited his principality. However, under the Treaty of Lunéville, the territories on the left bank of the Rhine were lost to France. The Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803 compensated Charles William with territories taken from the Electorate of Mainz, the Electorate of Cologne, Electorate of the Palatinate and Hesse.

Charles William died later that year. Since he had no male heir, he was succeeded by his younger brother Frederick Augustus.

Marriage and issue

Charles William married Countess Caroline Felizitas of Leiningen-Dagsburg, the daughter of Christian Karl Reinhard of Leiningen-Dachsburg-Falkenburg-Heidesheim. Charles William and Carolina Felicitas had one daughter:

• Caroline (1762-1823), who married Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel (1747-1837), the son of Landgrave Frederick II and Princess Mary of Great Britain and the founder of the cadet branch Hesse-Kassel-Rumpenheim.

Ancestry

Family of Charles William, Prince of Nassau-Usingen

16. William Louis, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken 8. Walrad, Prince of Nassau-Usingen 17. Margravine Anna Amalia of Baden-Durlach 4. William Henry, Prince of Nassau-Usingen 18. Eustache II, Count of Croÿ-Roeulx 9. Princess Catharine Françoise de Croÿ-Roeulx 19. Baroness Theodora Maria Gertrud of Kettler zu Lage 2. Charles, Prince of Nassau-Usingen 20. George Louis, Prince of Nassau-Dillenburg 10. Henry, Prince of Nassau-Dillenburg 21. Duchess Anna Auguste of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 5. Countess Charlotte Amalie of Nassau-Dillenburg 22. George III of Brieg 11. Princess Dorothea Elisabeth of Brieg 23. Sophie Katharina Poděbrady 1. Charles William, Prince of Nassau-Usingen 24. Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar 12. John George I, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach 25. Princess Eleonore Dorothea of Anhalt-Dessau 6. John William III, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach 26. Ernest, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn 13. Johannette, Countess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn-Altenkirchen 27. Countess Louise Juliane of Erbach 3. Princess Christiane Wilhelmine of Saxe-Eisenach 28. Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels 14. Johann Adolf I, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels 29. Princess Anna Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 7. Duchess Magdalene Sibylle of Saxe-Weissenfels 30. Frederick William II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg 15. Duchess Johanna Magdalena of Saxe-Altenburg 31. Princess Magdalene Sibylle of Saxony

References

• Ernst Joachim: Karl Wilhelm von Nassau-Usingen. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Band 15, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1882, S. 315.