William II of Württemberg
Template:Short description Template:Expand German Template:Refimprove
Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". William II (Template:Langx; 25 February 1848 – 2 October 1921) was the last King of Württemberg. He ruled from 6 October 1891 until the dissolution of the kingdom on 30 November 1918. He was the last German ruler to abdicate in the wake of the November Revolution of 1918.
Early years
William was born the son of Prince Frederick of Württemberg (1808–1870) by his wife Princess Catherine Frederica of Württemberg (1821–1898), herself the daughter of King William I of Württemberg (1781–1864). His parents were first cousins, being the children of two brothers, and William was their only child.
William's growing years coincided with a progressive diminution of Württemberg's sovereignty and international presence, concomitant with the process of German unification. In 1870, Württemberg took the side of Prussia in the Franco-German War. In 1871, Württemberg became a state of the German Empire, a significant limitation on its sovereignty.
King of Württemberg
William's father died in 1870, but his mother lived to see him seated on the throne of Württemberg. In 1891, William succeeded his childless maternal uncle, King Charles I (1823–1891) and became King of Württemberg. This was not, as it may seem, a departure from the Salic law which governed succession in the German states; his claim to the throne came because he was the nearest agnatic heir of his uncle, as the senior male-line descendant of Frederick I of Württemberg through his younger son Prince Paul.
King William became a Generalfeldmarschall during World War I. In 1918, he was deposed from the throne along with the other German rulers. King William finally abdicated on 30 November 1918,[1] ending over 800 years of the House of Württemberg rule. He died in 1921 at Bebenhausen.
Personality and interests
Considered to be a popular monarch, William had the habit of walking his two dogs in public parks in Stuttgart without being attended by bodyguards or the like. During these excursions, he would often be greeted by his subjects with a simple Herr König ("Mister King").
Despite living in a landlocked kingdom, William II was a yachting enthusiast. The king was instrumental in the establishment of the Württembergischer Yacht Club (formerly "Königlich Württembergischer Yacht-Club" or Royal Yacht Club of Württemberg) in 1911 on Lake Constance.
Marriages and children
On 15 February 1877 at Arolsen he married Princess Marie of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1857–1882). They had three children:
- Princess Pauline of Württemberg (19 December 1877Template:Spaced ndash7 May 1965); married in 1898 William Frederick, Prince of Wied (1872–1945), and had issue.
- Prince Ulrich of Württemberg (28 July 1880Template:Spaced ndash28 December 1880), died in infancy
- A stillborn daughter (24 April 1882)
Marie died on 30 April 1882 in Stuttgart, from complications resulting from the birth of their third child. William, already depressed by the death of his only son, is said never to have recovered from this blow.
Nevertheless, he was King and it was his duty to secure the succession. On 8 April 1886, at Bückeburg, he married Princess Charlotte of Schaumburg-Lippe (1864–1946). They had no children.
Succession
On William II's death in 1921 without male issue, the royal branch of the House of Württemberg became extinct, and the headship of the house devolved to Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg, head of the Catholic cadet branch of the dynasty, based at Altshausen. Albrecht was a descendant of Alexander of Württemberg, the 7th son of Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg (1732–1797).
Honours
- German awards[2]
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- Foreign awards[2]
- Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon Austria-Hungary:
- Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1886[15]
- Military Merit Cross, 1st Class
- Template:Country data Kingdom of Italy: Knight of the Annunciation, 25 September 1893[16]
- File:Merchant flag of Japan (1870).svg Empire of Japan: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum, 23 May 1896[17]
- File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands: Grand Cross of the Netherlands Lion
- File:Flag of Russia.svg Russian Empire:
- Knight of St. Andrew
- Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky
- Knight of the White Eagle
- Knight of St. Anna, 1st Class
- Knight of St. Stanislaus, 1st Class
- Knight of St. George, 4th Class
- Template:Flagcountry: Knight of the Golden Fleece, 3 May 1892[18]
- File:Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden: Knight of the Seraphim, 9 July 1913[19]
- Template:Flagcountry: Stranger Knight Companion of the Garter, 23 February 1904[20] (expelled in 1915)
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Arms
| File:Royal Monogram of King Wilhelm II of Wurttemberg.svg Royal Monogram of King Wilhelm II of Württemberg |
File:Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Württemberg 1817-1921.svg Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Württemberg, 1817 |
File:Royal Monogram of King Wilhelm II of Wurttemberg, Variant.svg Royal Monogram of King Wilhelm II of Württemberg, Variant |
File:Coat of Arms of Charles I and William II of Württemberg (Order of the Golden Fleece).svg Coat of Arms of King Wilhelm II as a Knight of the Golden Fleece |
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Ancestry
See also
References
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- ↑ Abdication text (in German)
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- ↑ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1889), "Königliche Orden" pp. 26, 56, 60
- ↑ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1886/7) "Königliche Orden" p. 52
- ↑ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch für des Herzogtum Anhalt (1894), "Herzoglicher Haus-Orden Albrecht des Bären" p. 17
- ↑ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1910), "Großherzogliche Orden" p. 39
- ↑ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreichs Bayern (1906), "Königliche Orden" p. 7
- ↑ Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Herzogtums Braunschweig für 1905. Braunschweig 1905. Meyer. p. 11
- ↑ Staatshandbücher für das Herzogtum Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (1884), "Herzogliche Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden" p. 32
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- ↑ Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach Template:Webarchive (1900), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 16
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- ↑ Shaw, Wm. A. (1906) The Knights of England, I, London, p. 72
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External links
Template:Final hereditary rulers in the German Empire Template:Princes of Württemberg Script error: No such module "Navbox". Template:Authority control
- Pages with script errors
- Pages with broken file links
- 1848 births
- 1921 deaths
- 19th-century kings of Württemberg
- 20th-century kings of Württemberg
- Nobility from Stuttgart
- Field marshals of the German Empire
- Kings of Württemberg
- 19th-century German landowners
- Members of the Württembergian Chamber of Lords
- Monarchs who abdicated
- Burials at Alter Friedhof, Ludwigsburg
- Generals of the cavalry of the Kingdom of Württemberg
- German Army generals of World War I
- Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)
- Extra Knights Companion of the Garter
- Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain
- Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Max Joseph
- Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary
- Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
- Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class
- Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia)
- Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree
- Recipients of the Iron Cross, 2nd class
- Pretenders to the throne of Württemberg
- 20th-century German landowners