William II, Elector of Hesse

William II
William II
Preceded by	William I
Succeeded by	Frederick William
Personal details
Born	28 July 1777; Schloss Philippsruhe, Hesse
Died	20 November 1847 (aged 70); Frankfurt, Hesse
Spouse(s)	Princess Augusta of Prussia; Emilie Ortlöpp; Caroline of Berlepsch

Coin of William II, Elector of Hesse, struck 1823

Obverse: (German) WILHELM II, KURF S.L.V. HESSEN G.H.V. FULDA, in English: "William II, Elector of Hesse."	Reverse: (German) EINEN THALER, in English: "One Thaler."

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

Biography[]

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.

Marriage and issue[]

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

Wilhelm (9 April 1798 – 25 October 1800)
Karoline (29 July 1799 – 28 November 1854)
Luise (3 April 1801 – 28 September 1803)
Friedrich (20 August 1802 – 6 June 1875), later Frederick William, Elector of Hesse
Marie Fredericka (6 September 1804 – 4 January 1888), married Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Ferdinand (9 October 1806 – 21 November 1806)

Morganatic marriages[]

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:

Luise Wilhelmine Emilie (26 February 1813 – 3 October 1883), married Karl Count von Bose
Julius Wilhelm Albrecht (4 October 1815 – 15 January 1822)
Gustav Karl (24 August 1818 – 26 September 1861), married Clementine Richter
Amalie Wilhelmine Emilie (21 December 1816 – 28 December 1858), married Wilhelm Count von Lückner, then Karl Baron von Watzdorf
Emilie (8 June 1820 – 30 January 1891), married Felix Count Zichy-Ferraris
Friederike (16 December 1821 – 23 February 1898), married Wilhelm Baron von Dungern
Wilhelm (29 June 1824 – 19 January 1866), married Helene Amelie Baroness Goeler von Ravensburg (ancestors of Ameli, Duchess of Oldenburg and Count Luitpold of Castell-Castell)
Helene (8 August 1825 – 14 March 1898), married Oswald Baron von Fabrice (4x great grandparents of Princess Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark)

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 (Speckswinkel, 25 January 1782 – Kassel, 5 April 1845) and wife Melusine Jul. Chr. von Kruse (4 August 1780 – 29 September 1856), created Countess of Bergen in 1846. This marriage was childless. She later married on 28 October 1851 Karl Adolf Graf von Hohenthal (27 November 1811 – 1875), by whom she had two sons: Karl Adolf (b. 1853) and Karl Ludwig (b. 1857).

Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark, the wife of Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark, son of King Constantine II of Greece is a descendant of William II of Hesse.

Titles, styles, honours and arms[]

Titles and styles[]

28 July 1777 - 31 October 1785 His Serene Highness Prince Wilhelm of Hesse-Kassel
31 October 1785 - 15 May 1803 His Serene Highness The Hereditary Prince of Hesse-Kassel
15 May 1803 - 27 February 1821 His Serene Highness The Electoral Prince of Hesse
27 February 1821 - 20 November 1847 His Royal and Serene Highness The Elector of Hesse

Ancestry[]

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Footnotes[]

↑ 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.

Sources[]

Marek, Miroslav. "Genealogy of the Hesse-Kassel line". Genealogy.EU. http://genealogy.euweb.cz/brabant/brabant8.html#W1. ^{[better source needed]}

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to William II, Elector of Hesse.

Regnal titles
William II, Elector of Hesse House of Hesse-Kassel Born: 28 July 1777 Died: 20 November 1847
Preceded by William I	Elector of Hesse 27 February 1821 - 20 November 1847	Succeeded by Frederick William

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[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.

[1]