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List of Prussian monarchs

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"King of Prussia" redirects here. For the Pennsylvania town, see King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. For other uses, see King of Prussia (disambiguation).
Monarchy of Prussia
Royal Coat of arms
Wilhelm II
Details
First monarchAlbert (as Duke)
Formation10 April 1525
ResidenceStadtschloss, Berlin (last)
AppointerHereditary
Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia

The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman Catholic crusader state and theocracy located along the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. The Teutonic Knights were under the leadership of a Grand Master, the last of whom, Albert, converted to Protestantism and secularized the lands, which then became the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy was initially a vassal of the Kingdom of Poland, as a result of the terms of the Prussian Homage whereby Albert was granted the Duchy as part of the terms of peace following the Prussian War. When the main line of Prussian Hohenzollerns died out in 1618, the Duchy passed to a different branch of the family, who also reigned as Electors of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire. While still nominally two different territories, Prussia under the suzerainty of Poland and Brandenburg under the suzerainty of the Holy Roman Empire, the two states are known together historiographically as Brandenburg-Prussia. Following the Second Northern War, a series of treaties freed the Duchy of Prussia from any vassalage to any other state, making it a fully sovereign Duchy in its own right. This complex situation (where the Hohenzollern ruler of the independent Duchy of Prussia was also a subject of the Holy Roman Emperor as Elector of Brandenburg) laid the eventual groundwork for the establishment of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. For diplomatic reasons, the rulers of the state were known as the King in Prussia from 1701 to 1772; largely because they still owed fealty to the Emperor as Electors of Brandenburg, the "King in Prussia" title (as opposed to "King of Prussia") avoided offending the Emperor. As the Prussian state grew through several wars and diplomatic moves throughout the 18th century, it became apparent that Prussia had become a Great Power that did not need to submit meekly to the Holy Roman Empire. By 1772, the pretense was dropped, and the style "King of Prussia" was adopted. Thus it remained until 1871, when in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War, the King of Prussia Wilhelm I was crowned German Emperor. From that point forward, though the Kingdom of Prussia retained its status as a constituent state of the German Empire, all remaining Kings of Prussia also served as German Emperor, and that title took precedence.

Duchy of Prussia (1525–1701)

Main article: Duchy of Prussia
NameLifespanReign startReign endNotesFamilyImage
Albert(1490-05-17)17 May 1490 – 20 March 1568(1568-03-20) (aged 77)10 April 152520 March 1568HohenzollernAlbert, Duke of Prussia
Albert Frederick(1553-05-07)7 May 1553 – 28 August 1618(1618-08-28) (aged 65)20 March 156828 August 1618Son of AlbertHohenzollernAlbert Frederick, Duke of Prussia
John Sigismund(1572-11-08)8 November 1572 – 23 December 1619(1619-12-23) (aged 47)28 August 161823 December 1619Cousin of Albert Frederick, also Elector of BrandenburgHohenzollernJohn Sigismund, Duke of Prussia
George William(1595-11-13)13 November 1595 – 1 December 1640(1640-12-01) (aged 45)23 December 16191 December 1640Son of John Sigismund, also Elector of BrandenburgHohenzollernGeorge William, Duke of Prussia
Frederick William
  • the Great Elector
(1620-02-16)16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688(1688-04-29) (aged 68)1 December 164029 April 1688Son of George William, also Elector of BrandenburgHohenzollernFrederick William, Duke of Prussia
Frederick I(1657-07-11)11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713(1713-02-25) (aged 55)29 April 168818 January 1701Son of Frederick William, also Elector of BrandenburgHohenzollernFrederick I, Duke of Prussia

Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918)

Main article: Kingdom of Prussia
NameLifespanReign startReign endNotesFamilyImage
Frederick I
  • the Mercenary King
    [1]
(1657-07-11)11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713(1713-02-25) (aged 55)18 January 170125 February 1713Son of Frederick WilliamHohenzollernFrederick I of Prussia
Frederick William I
  • the Soldier King
(1688-08-14)14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740(1740-05-31) (aged 51)25 February 171331 May 1740Son of Frederick IHohenzollernFrederick William I of Prussia
Frederick II
  • the Great
(1712-01-24)24 January 1712 – 17 August 1786(1786-08-17) (aged 74)31 May 174017 August 1786Son of Frederick William IHohenzollernFrederick II of Prussia
Frederick William II(1744-09-25)25 September 1744 – 16 November 1797(1797-11-16) (aged 53)17 August 178616 November 1797Nephew of Frederick IIHohenzollernFrederick William II of Prussia
Frederick William III(1770-07-03)3 July 1770 – 7 June 1840(1840-06-07) (aged 69)16 November 17977 June 1840Son of Frederick William IIHohenzollernFrederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William IV(1795-10-15)15 October 1795 – 2 January 1861(1861-01-02) (aged 65)7 June 18402 January 1861Son of Frederick William III; also President of the Erfurt Union (1849-1850)HohenzollernFrederick William IV of Prussia
William I(1797-03-22)22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888(1888-03-09) (aged 90)2 January 18619 March 1888Brother of Frederick William IV; also President of the North German Confederation (1867-1871) and German Emperor from 1871HohenzollernWilliam I of Prussia
Frederick III(1831-10-18)18 October 1831 – 15 June 1888(1888-06-15) (aged 56)9 March 188815 June 1888Son of William I; also German EmperorHohenzollernFrederick III of Prussia
William II(1859-01-27)27 January 1859 – 4 June 1941(1941-06-04) (aged 82)15 June 188828 November 1918
(abdicated)
[2]		Son of Frederick III; also German EmperorHohenzollernWilliam II of Prussia

Timeline

William II, German EmperorFrederick III, German EmperorWilliam I, German EmperorFrederick William IV of PrussiaFrederick William III of PrussiaFrederick William II of PrussiaFrederick the GreatFrederick William I of PrussiaFrederick I of PrussiaFrederick William, Elector of BrandenburgGeorge William, Elector of BrandenburgJohn Sigismund, Elector of BrandenburgAlbert Frederick, Duke of PrussiaAlbert, Duke of Prussia

Pretenders to the Throne of Prussia (1918–present)

Main article: Line of succession to the former German throne

See also

References

  1. ^ Spencer, Charles, Blenheim, Chapter 22: Vindication, p.316
  2. ^ Statement of Abdication of William II

Bibliography

  • Hull, Isabel V. (2004), The Entourage of Kaiser Wilhelm II, 1888–1918.
  • Horne, Charles F. (2009), Source Records of the Great War, Kessinger Publishing, ISBN 1104855534
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