Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenzollern

Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenzollern (German: Friedrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Joseph Maria Manuel Georg Meinrad Fidelis Benedikt Michael Hubert Fürst von Hohenzollern; 3 February 1924– 16 September 2010)[1] was the head of the Princely House of Hohenzollern for over 45 years.

Friedrich Wilhelm
Prince of Hohenzollern
Portrait by Günter Rittner, 2003.
Head of the Princely House of Hohenzollern[1]
Tenure6 February 1965 – 16 September 2010[1]
PredecessorFrederick
SuccessorKarl Friedrich
Born(1924-02-03)3 February 1924
Schloss Umkirch, Umkirch, Weimar Republic
Died16 September 2010(2010-09-16) (aged 86)
Sigmaringen
Spouse
(m. 1951; died 1994)
IssueKarl Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern
Prince Albrecht
Prince Ferdinand
Full name
German: Friedrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Joseph Maria Manuel Georg Meinrad Fidelis Benedikt Michael Hubert Fürst von Hohenzollern
HouseHohenzollern-Sigmaringen
FatherFrederick, Prince of Hohenzollern
MotherPrincess Margarete Karola of Saxony

Biography

Friedrich Wilhelm was born in Schloss Umkirch. He was the eldest son of Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern (1891–1965) and his wife, Princess Margarete Karola of Saxony (1900–1962), the daughter of the last King of Saxony Frederick Augustus III.[1] He became the head of the House of Hohenzollern on 6 February 1965 following the death of his father Prince Friedrich, and remained so until his death on 16 September 2010. [1]

According to the Romanian succession laws of the kingdom's last democratic Constitution of 1923, Friedrich Wilhelm's descendants would have a claim to the Romanian throne (see "Line of succession to the former Romanian throne") upon the demise of former King Michael.[1]

Marriage and issue

Friedrich Wilhelm married Princess Margarita of Leiningen (1932–1996) on 3 February 1951. She was a child of Karl, 6th Prince of Leiningen, and his wife, Grand Duchess Maria Kirillovna of Russia.[2]

They had three children:[3]

  • Karl Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern (born 1952), who succeeded Friedrich Wilhelm as head of the House of Hohenzollern;
  • Prince Albrecht of Hohenzollern (born 1954), married Nathalie Rocabado de Viets and had two children;
  • Prince Ferdinand of Hohenzollern (born 1960), married Countess Ilona Kálnoky de Köröspatak and had three children.

Courtesy titles and styles

  • 3 February 1924 – 22 October 1927: His Serene Highness Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Hohenzollern[4]
  • 22 October 1927 – 6 February 1965: His Serene Highness The Hereditary Prince of Hohenzollern[2]
  • 6 February 1965 – 16 September 2010: His Highness The Prince of Hohenzollern, Burggrave of Nuremberg, Count of Sigmaringen and Veringen, Count of Berg, Lord of Haigerloch and Werstein, etc[3]

Honours

Ancestry

References

  1. Obituary of His Highness Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, The Daily Telegraph, 13 October 2010
  2. Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels (1953). P 71-72
  3. Almanach de Gotha (2004) P 163
  4. Gothaischer Hofkalender genealogisches Taschenbuch der fürstlichen Häuser (1926). Page 71, 72.

Sources

Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenzollern
Cadet branch of the House of Hohenzollern
Born: 3 February 1924
German nobility
Preceded by
Frederick
Prince of Hohenzollern
6 February 1965 – 16 September 2010
Succeeded by
Karl Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern
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