Wilhelm, German Crown Prince
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- This article is about the man who was Crown Prince Wilhelm. For German ships of the same name, please see the WWI auxiliary cruiser Kronprinz Wilhelm or the WWI battleship SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm.
| Pretender: William, German Crown Prince | |
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| Born | May 6, 1882 Potsdam, Germany |
| Died | July 20, 1951 Hechingen, Germany |
| Regnal name claimed | William III |
| Title(s) if any | Crown Prince |
| Throne claimed | Germany, Prussia |
| Pretend from | {{{pretend from}}} |
| Monarchy abolished | 1918 |
| Last monarch | William II of Germany |
| Connection with | eldest son |
| Royal House | Hohenzollern |
| Father | William II of Germany |
| Mother | Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein |
| Spouse | Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin |
| Children | Wilhelm, Louis Ferdinand, Hubertus, Ferderick, Alexandrine, Cecilie |
Wilhelm, German Crown Prince and Crown Prince of Prussia (born Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor August Ernst; 6 May 1882 - 20 July 1951) was the last Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Prussia and the German Empire.
[edit] Biography
Wilhelm was born in the Marble Palace of Potsdam in the German Empire. He was the eldest son of William II, German Emperor (1859-1941), and his first wife Princess Augusta of Schleswig-Holstein-Sønderburg-Augustenburg (1858-1921).
As a young man, the Crown Prince became associated with the militaristic clique within Germany's highest circles. A widely acknowledged playboy, he had received little command experience when he was given charge of the 5th Army in August 1914, shortly after the outbreak of World War I. After a quick victory in the Ardennes, his military reputation rose. During the remainder of the war he served on the Western Front. While there he notably headed the Verdun Offensive against the French in February 1916.
After outbreak of the German Revolution in 1918, both Emperor William II and the Crown Prince signed the document of abdication. Father and son went into exile in Doorn, in the Netherlands. In 1923, the former Crown Prince returned to Germany after giving assurances that he would no longer engage in politics. The former Crown Prince held some political ambitions, and was apparently interested in the idea of running for Reichspräsident as the right-wing candidate opposed to Paul von Hindenburg in 1932, until his father forbade the idea.
Although, unlike some of his relations, the Crown Prince never joined the Nazi party, he acquiesced in Nazi rule and allowed himself to be used by the National Socialist government in various symbolic actions, and he lived as a private citizen on his family's estates throughout World War II. Upon his father's death in 1941, Wilhelm succeeded him as head of the German imperial family. In 1951, the former Crown Prince died of a heart attack in Hechingen, in the ancestral lands of his family in southwest Germany, the family's estates in Brandenburg having been seized by the Soviet Union.
[edit] Family and children
Around 1901-1906 Wilhelm had a brief affair, which initiated a lifelong friendship, with opera singer Geraldine Farrar (1882-1967).
Wilhelm married Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (20 September 1886 - 6 May 1954) in Berlin on 6 June 1905. Cecilie was the daughter of Grand Duke Frederick Francis III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1851-1897) and his wife, Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia (1860-1922).
Their children were:
- Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (1906-1940), he renounced his succession right.
- Princess Felicitas of Prussia (born 1934)
- Princess Christa of Prussia (born 1936)
- Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia (1907-1994)
- Prince Hubertus of Prussia (1909-1950)
- Princess Anastasia of Prussia (born 1944)
- Princess Marie-Christine of Prussia (1947-1966)
- Prince Frederick of Prussia (1911-1966)
- Prince Frederick Nicholas of Prussia (born 1946)
- Prince Andrew of Prussia (born 1947)
- Princess Victoria of Prussia (born 1952)
- Prince Rupert of Prussia (born 1955)
- Princess Antonia of Prussia (born 1955)
- Princess Alexandrine of Prussia (1915-1980)
- Princess Cecilie of Prussia (1917-1975)
| House of Hohenzollern Born: 6 May 1882; Died: 20 July 1951 | ||
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| Titles in pretence | ||
| Preceded by: Wilhelm II | * NOT REIGNING * German Emperor (1941-1951) | Succeeded by: Louis Ferdinand |
| * NOT REIGNING * King of Prussia (1941-1951) | ||
de:Wilhelm von Preußen (1882–1951) nl:Wilhelm van Pruisen ja:ヴィルヘルム・フォン・プロイセン (1882–1951) pl:Wilhelm von Hohenzollern sv:Wilhelm (tysk kronprins)
