Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia

Eitel Friedrich
Prince of Prussia
Prince Eitel Friedrich as captain of the First Regiment of Foot Guards, Potsdam
Born	(1883-07-07)7 July 1883 Marmorpalais, Potsdam, Prussia
Died	8 December 1942(1942-12-08) (aged 59) Potsdam, Brandenburg
Burial	Antique Temple, Potsdam, Germany
Spouse	Duchess Sophia Charlotte of Oldenburg
House	Hohenzollern
Father	Wilhelm II, German Emperor
Mother	Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein

Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia (Wilhelm Eitel Friedrich Christian Karl; 7 July 1883 – 8 December 1942) was the second son of Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany by his first wife, Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein. He was born and died in Potsdam, Germany.

Life and activities

On 27 February 1906, Prince Eitel married Duchess Sophia Charlotte of Oldenburg (2 February 1879 Oldenburg – 29 March 1964 Westerstede) in Berlin. They were divorced on 20 October 1926 and had no children.

Raised at the cadet corps of Plön Castle, Prince Eitel was in the front line from the beginning of World War I and was wounded at Bapaume, where he commanded the Prussian First Foot Guards. He temporarily relinquished command to Count Hans von Blumenthal, but returned to duty before the end of the year. The following year, he was transferred to the Eastern Front. During the summer of 1915, he was out in a field in Russia when he had a chance encounter with Manfred von Richthofen, who had just crashed with his superior officer, Count Holck. The two men were hiding in a nearby tree line from what they thought was the advancing Russian army and who turned out to be the grenadiers, guardsmen, and officers of Prince Eitel.

After the war, he was engaged in monarchistic circles and the Stahlhelm paramilitary organization. In 1921, the Berlin criminal court found him guilty of the fraudulent transfer of 300,000 Marks and sentenced him to a fine of 5000 Marks.

From 1907 to 1926, he was Master of the Knights (Herrenmeister) of the Order of St. John (Johanniterorden). He received the Pour le Mérite order in 1915. His body is buried at the Antique Temple in Sanssouci Park.

Regimental Commissions

• Hauptman (captain) and commander of the Leibkompagnie (Life-company), 1. Garderegiment zu Fuß (1st Regiment of Foot Guards)
• à la suite, Grenadierregiment König Friedrich Wilhelm IV.(1. Pommersches) Nr. 2
• à la suite, 1. Gardelandwehrregiment (Guard Reserve Regiment)
• Hauptmann (captain), Austria-Hungary K.u.K. Infantry Regiment "Wilhelm I., Deutscher Kaiser und König von Preußen" Nr. 34
• Hauptmann (captain), Saxon Army
• à la suite, 7. Königsinfanterieregiment (King's Infantry Regiment) Nr. 106
• First Brigade of Imperial Guards, commander, 1914-15

Chivalric Orders

Master of Knights, Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg) (appointed as 34th Master of Knights in 1907 and resigned in 1926 in favor of his brother, Prinz Oskar)

Knight, Order of the Black Eagle

Knight Grand Cross with Crown, Order of the Red Eagle

Knight, First Class, Order of the Prussian Crown

Knight Grand Commander, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern

Honor Cross, First Class, Princely House Order of Hohenzollern

Knight, Second Class, Imperial Order of the Double Dragon, China

Knight, First Class with Crown, Mecklenburg Order of the Wendish Crown

Knight, First Class, Order of the Netherlands Lion, Netherlands

Knight Grand Cross (with Chain), Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, Norway

Knight Grand Cross, Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen, Empire of Austria-Hungary

Knight, First Class, Order of the Lion and the Sun, Kingdom of Persia (Iran)

Knight Grand Cross, Order of Tower & Sword, Portugal

Knight Grand Cross, Order of the Romanian Crown, Kingdom of Romania

Knight, Order of the Rue Crown, Kingdom of Saxony

Knights of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri, Kingdom of Siam (Thailand)

Knight Grand Cross, Order of the Crown of Siam, Kingdom of Siam (Thailand)

Knight, Order of Glory, Ottoman Empire (Turkey)

Knight, First Class (with diamonds), Osminieh Order, Ottoman Empire (Turkey)

Knight Grand Cross, Order of the Württemberg Crown (1899)

Cross of the Mount of Olives (1909)

Knight of the Military Order of St. Henry (20 March 1915)

Two ships were named after Prince Eitel, the passenger ship Prince Eitel Friedrich (1901) and the Reich postal steamer Prince Eitel Friedrich (1904).

Military Decorations (1914-1918)

Iron Cross, Second Class, ca. 1914

Iron Cross, First Class, ca. 1914

Pour le Mérite (22 March 1915); with Oak Leaves (14 May 1915)

Ancestry

Family of Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia

16. Frederick William III of Prussia 8. Wilhelm I, German Emperor 17. Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz 4. Frederick III, German Emperor 18. Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach 9. Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach 19. Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia 2. Wilhelm II, German Emperor 20. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 10. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 21. Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg 5. Victoria, Princess Royal 22. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn 11. Victoria of the United Kingdom 23. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld 1. Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia 24. Frederik Christian II, Duke of Augustenborg 12. Christian, Duke of Augustenborg 25. Princess Louise Auguste of Denmark 6. Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein 26. Christian-Conrad, Count of Danneskiold-Samsøe 13. Countess Louise Sophie of Danneskiold-Samsøe 27. Johanna Kaas of Mur 3. Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein 28. Charles Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg 14. Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg 29. Countess Amalie Henriette of Solms-Baruth 7. Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg 30. Emich Carl, 2nd Prince of Leiningen 15. Princess Feodora of Leiningen 31. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (= 23)

Sources

Schench, G. Handbuch über den Königlich Preuβischen Hof und Staat fur das Jahr 1908. Berlin, Prussia, 1907.