Prince Wilhelm of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

Prince Wilhelm

Born

(1853-12-21)21 December 1853
Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg

Died

15 December 1924(1924-12-15) (aged 70)
Baden-Baden, Germany

Spouse

Princess Gerta of Ysenburg and Büdingen

Issue

Prince Hermann
Prince Albrecht Wilhelm
Princess Sophie

Names
German: Wilhelm Karl Bernhard Hermann Prinz von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach^[1]

House

House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

Father

Prince Hermann of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

Mother

Princess Augusta of Württemberg

Prince Wilhelm Karl Bernhard Hermann of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (21 December 1853 – 15 December 1924) was a member of the House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.^[1]

Life

Prince Wilhelm of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach was born on 21 December 1853 in Stuttgart. He was the eldest son of the Prince Hermann of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Princess Augusta of Württemberg (1826-1898). Prince Wilhelm also has had his own financial problems, and has been forced by the Grand Duke to live outside Weimar. Wilhelm is heir presumptive to the throne as the young Grand Duke Wilhelm Ernst is a widower. His wife, Karoline of Reuss died in January 1905.

Prince William had a problem with his eldest son. Prince Hermann morganatically married Wanda Paola Lottero on 5 September 1909 in London.^[2] Lottero was an Italian stage actress, and due to Hermann's rollicking lifestyle, the ducal family forced him to renounce his rights of succession to the Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach throne, as well as his royal status, title and prerogatives, granting him a lesser, noble title, Count Ostheim, along with a small allowance on the grounds that he stay out of the duchy.^[3] Prince Wilhelm also had a bad reputation. His behavior aroused the dissatisfaction of the head of the family.^[4] Prince Wilhelm fled to the United States in his youth, served as a riding master, clerk, book agent and even as a restaurant waiter in New York City, but was finally persuaded to return to Germany, marry his second cousin, and live on a small pension from the head of the house.

Marriage and family

Prince Wilhelm married Gerta Princess of Ysenburg and Büdingen (1863-1945), daughter of Ferdinand Maximilian I, Prince of Ysenburg and Büdingen (1824-1903) and Auguste Marie Gertrude Princess of Hanau and Horowitz (1829-1887), on 11 April 1885 at Wächtersbach, Germany. Augusta Marie Gertrude was daughter of Frederick William, Elector of Hesse. Wilhelm and Gerta had three children:

Prince Hermann of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach^[2] (14 February 1886 – 6 June 1964)
Prince Albrecht of Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach^[5] (23 December 1886 - 9 September 1918), killed in action during World War I
Princess Sophie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach^[6] (25 July 1888 - 18 September 1913)

Honours and arms

He received the following orders and decorations:^[7]

Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Grand Cross of the White Falcon, 1853^[8]
Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order, 1878^[9]
Schaumburg-Lippe: Cross of Honour of the House Order of Lippe, 1st Class
Siam: Grand Cross of the White Elephant
Württemberg: Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown, 1871^[10]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Prince Wilhelm of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

16. Ernest Augustus II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

8. Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

17. Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

4. Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

18. Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt

9. Landgravine Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt

19. Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken

2. Prince Hermann of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

20. Anton Ulrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen

10. Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen

21. Princess Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Philippsthal

5. Princess Ida of Saxe-Meiningen

22. Christian Albrecht, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

11. Princess Louise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

23. Caroline of Stolberg-Gedern

1. Prince Wilhelm of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

24. Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg (= 28)

12. Frederick I of Württemberg

25. Margravine Friederike of Brandenburg-Schwedt (= 29)

6. William I of Württemberg

26. Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

13. Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

27. Princess Augusta of Great Britain

3. Princess Augusta of Württemberg

28. Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg (= 24)

14. Duke Louis of Württemberg

29. Margravine Friederike of Brandenburg-Schwedt (= 25)

7. Princess Pauline Therese of Württemberg

30. Charles Christian, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg

15. Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg

31. Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau

References

^ ^a ^b Lundy, Darryl. "The Peerage: Wilhelm Karl Bernhard Hermann Prinz von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach". Retrieved 10 May 2003.
^ ^a ^b Lundy, Darryl. "The Peerage: Hermann Karl Graf von Ostheim". Retrieved 17 August 2010.
^ "Princess Who Cost A Throne Is Visiting Here", The New York Times, 27 November 1910
^ Fontenoy, Marquise de (2 October 1918), "Boy of 6, Saxe-Weimar Scion", The Washington Post
^ Lundy, Darryl. "The Peerage: Albrecht Wilhelm Prinz von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach". Retrieved 10 May 2003.
^ Lundy, Darryl. "The Peerage: Sophie Augustine Prinzessin von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach". Retrieved 17 August 2010.
^ Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1913), "Genealogie", p. 5
^ Staatshandbuch ... Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1913), "Großherzogliche Hausorden", p. 9
^ Staatshandbücher für das Herzogtum Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (1890), "Herzogliche Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden" p. 46
^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1907), "Königliche Orden" p. 27