Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern
Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern[1] (German: Leopold Stephan Karl Anton Gustav Eduard Tassilo Fürst von Hohenzollern;[1] 22 September 1835 – 8 June 1905)[1] was the head of the Swabian branch of the House of Hohenzollern, and played a fleeting role in European power politics, in connection with the Franco-Prussian War.
| Leopold | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince of Hohenzollern | |||||
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| Head of the Princely House of Hohenzollern | |||||
| Predecessor | Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern | ||||
| Successor | William | ||||
| Born | 22 September 1835 Krauchenwies | ||||
| Died | 8 June 1905 (aged 69) Berlin | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | William, Prince of Hohenzollern Ferdinand I of Romania Prince Karl Anton | ||||
| |||||
| House | Hohenzollern | ||||
| Father | Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern | ||||
| Mother | Princess Josephine of Baden | ||||
He was born into the dynasty's surviving Sigmaringen branch, which inherited all the dynasty's Swabian lands when the Hohenzollern-Hechingen branch became extinct.
Leopold's parents were Josephine of Baden and Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern.[1] Leopold was the older brother[1] of King Carol I of Romania and father of the future King Ferdinand of Romania.[1] Carol ascended the Romanian throne in 1866, and Leopold renounced his rights to the Romanian succession in favor of his sons in 1880.[2]
Entry into European controversy
After the Spanish Revolution of 1868 that overthrew Queen Isabella II, Leopold was offered the Spanish Crown by the new government. This offer was supported by the Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck, but opposed by the French Emperor Napoleon III on the grounds that the installation of a relative of the Prussian king would result in the expansion of Prussian influence and the encirclement of France. Leopold was forced to decline the offer.
Additional demands made by the French government heightened diplomatic tensions between Paris and Berlin. The deliberate or accidental mistranslation of a diplomatic communiqué, the Ems Telegram, also known as the Ems Dispatch, led to the declaration of war by France. Prussia's speedy mobilization, together with the support of the other members of the North German Confederation, resulted in French defeat, the consequences of which were:
- the capture of Napoleon III and the collapse of his government marking the end of the Second French Empire
- the French loss of Alsace and a part of Lorraine
- the imposition upon France of huge war reparations (five billion gold francs) to be paid within five years
- institution of the French Third Republic
- creation of the German Empire.
Marriage and issue
On 12 September 1861, Leopold married Infanta Antónia of Portugal, daughter of Queen Maria II of Portugal and King Ferdinand II of Portugal.[1] They had the following children:[1]
- William, Prince of Hohenzollern (7 March 1864 – 22 October 1927) he married Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies on 27 June 1889. They had three children. He remarried Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria on 20 January 1915.
- Prince Ferdinand of Hohenzollern (25 August 1865 – 20 July 1927) he married Princess Marie of Edinburgh on 10 January 1893. They had six children.
- Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern (1 September 1868 – 21 February 1919) he married Princess Joséphine Caroline of Belgium on 28 May 1894. They had four children.
Had Leopold succeeded to the Spanish throne, he could possibly have founded a second German dynasty in Spain, following the extinction of the House of Austria less than two centuries earlier.
Honours
Leopold received the following decorations and awards:[3]
Hohenzollern: Cross of Honour of the Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, 1st Class with Swords.svg.png.webp)
Prussia:
- Knight of the Black Eagle, with Collar
- Grand Cross of the Red Eagle
- Grand Commander of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, with Swords
- Iron Cross, 2nd Class
- Service Award Cross
Duchy of Anhalt: Grand Cross of Albert the Bear, 24 March 1865[4].svg.png.webp)
Baden:[5]
- Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, 1858
- Grand Cross of the Zähringer Lion, 1858
.svg.png.webp)
Kingdom of Bavaria: Knight of St. Hubert.svg.png.webp)
.svg.png.webp)
.svg.png.webp)
Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order, April 1864[6]
Grand Duchy of Hesse: Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order
Mecklenburg: Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore.svg.png.webp)
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Grand Cross of the White Falcon, 6 March 1869[7].svg.png.webp)
Kingdom of Saxony: Knight of the Rue Crown
Schaumburg-Lippe: Military Merit Medal with Swords
Württemberg: Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown, 1875[8].svg.png.webp)
Austria-Hungary:
- Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Leopold, 1878[9]
- Grand Cross of St. Stephen, 1904[10]
.svg.png.webp)
Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Royal Order of Leopold.svg.png.webp)
Kingdom of Portugal:
- Grand Cross of the Sash of the Two Orders
- Grand Cross of the Tower and Sword
Kingdom of Romania:
Russian Empire: Knight of St. Stanislaus, 1st Class
Ancestry
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References
- Darryl Lundy (19 March 2005). "Leopold Stephan Prinz von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen". thePeerage.com. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
- Renunciation letter of Leopold de Hohenzollern, in French, dated 22 November 1880
- Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Preußen (1905), Genealogy p. 5
- Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Herzogtum Anhalt (1867) "Herzoglicher Haus-orden Albrecht des Bären" p. 18
- Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1868), "Großherzogliche Orden" pp. 50, 61
- Staatshandbücher für das Herzogtums Sachsen-Altenburg (1869), "Herzogliche Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden" p. 21
- Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1869), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" pp. 12-13
- Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1896), "Königliche Orden" p. 28
- "Ritter-Orden: Leopold-orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1904, p. 66, retrieved 8 June 2020
- "A Szent István Rend tagjai" Archived 22 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern House of Hohenzollern Cadet branch of the House of Hohenzollern Born: 22 September 1835 Died: 8 June 1905 | ||
| German nobility | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Charles Anthony |
Prince of Hohenzollern 2 June 1885 – 8 June 1905 |
Succeeded by William |
Authority control  |
|---|