William_II,_Elector_of_Hesse

William II, Elector of Hesse

William II, Elector of Hesse

Elector of Hesse

William II (German: Wilhelm II; 28 July 1777 – 20 November 1847) was the penultimate Elector of Hesse.[1]

Quick Facts Elector of Hesse, Reign ...

Early life

William was the eldest surviving son of William I, Elector of Hesse and Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark and Norway. With the Hessian troops, he was involved in the War of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon in 1813. He succeeded as Elector of Hesse (a title that was moribund after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806) on his father's death in 1821.

Personal life

On 13 February 1797 in Berlin, William married Princess Augusta of Prussia, fourth daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia. They had six children:

Second marriage

William also had eight children by his second wife, Emilie Ortlöpp (1791–1843), daughter of Johann Christian Ortlöpp and wife Agnese Luise Sophie Wiessenberg, created (1821) Countess of Reichenbach-Lessonitz. The children bore the title Count/Countess of Reichenbach-Lessonitz:

Emilie Ortlöpp, Countess of Reichenbach-Lessonitz
More information Coin of William II, Elector of Hesse, struck 1823 ...

Third marriage

Several months after Augusta's death on 19 February 1841, William morganatically married his mistress and their children were legitimated. Emilie Ortlöpp died less than two years after the marriage in 1843.

Again, months after his second wife's death, William married (morganatically) Caroline, Baroness of Berlepsch (1820–1877), daughter of Ludwig Hermann, Baron of Berlepsch and Melusine Jul. Chr. von Kruse. William created the title of Countess of Bergen for Caroline in 1846. This marriage was childless. After his death, she married on 28 October 1851 Karl Adolf Graf von Hohenthal (1811–1875), by whom she had two sons: Karl Adolf (b. 1853) and Karl Ludwig (b. 1857).

William died on 20 November 1847 and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Frederick William, the last Elector of Hesse.

Descendants

Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark, the wife of Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark, is a descendant of William II, through her mother's side.

Honours

Ancestry

More information Ancestors of William II, Elector of Hesse ...

Footnotes

  1. [1]
    After 1806, the title of Elector was meaningless, since no more Holy Roman Emperors could be elected, because the Empire had been dissolved. Nevertheless, the rulers of Hesse-Kassel still used the title.
  2. [2]
    Hessen-Kassel (1820). "Geneaologie". Handbuch des Kurhessischen Militair-, Hof- und Civil-Staats: auf das Jahr ... 1820. pp. 1–2.
  3. [3]
    Hessen-Kassel (1820). "Ritter-orden". Handbuch des Kurhessischen Militair-, Hof- und Civil-Staats: auf das Jahr ... 1820. pp. 11, 24, 30.
  4. [4]
    Hessen-Kassel (1784). "Ritter-orden". Hochfürstl.-Hessen-Casselischer Staats- und Adreß-Calender: 1784. Waisen- u. Findelhaus. p. 8.
  5. [5]
    Staat Hannover (1846). Hof- und Staatshandbuch für das Königreich Hannover: 1846. Berenberg. p. 54.
  6. [6]
    Jørgen Pedersen (2009). Riddere af Elefantordenen, 1559–2009 (in Danish). Syddansk Universitetsforlag. p. 470. ISBN 978-87-7674-434-2.
  7. [7]
    "A Szent István Rend tagjai" Archived 22 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  8. [8]
    Staatshandbücher für das Herzogtum Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (1847), "Herzogliche Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden" p. 23

Sources

Media related to William II, Elector of Hesse at Wikimedia Commons

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