William II, Elector of Hesse
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William II, Elector of Hesse (German:Wilhelm II, Kurfürst von Hessen) (born Hanau, 28 July 1777; died Frankfurt am Main, 20 November 1847) was the penultimate Elector of Hesse.
William was the eldest surviving son of William I, Elector of Hesse and Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark and Norway. 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.
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 (6 September 1804 - 4 January 1888), married Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
- Ferdinand (9 October 1806 - 21 November 1806)
William also had eight children by his mistress, Emilie Ortlöpp (1791-1843), 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)
- Julius Wilhelm Albrecht (4 October 1815 - 15 January 1822)
- Gustav Karl (24 August 1818 - 26 September 1861)
- Amalie Wilhelmine Emilie (21 December 1816 - 28 December 1858)
- Emilie (8 June 1820 - 30 January 1891)
- Friederike (16 December 1821 - 23 February 1898)
- Wilhelm (29 June 1824 - 19 January 1866)
- Helene (8 August 1825 - 14 March 1898)
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, Freiherren von Berlepsch (1820-1877), created Countess of Bergen in 1846. This marriage was childless.
[edit] Ancestry
[edit] Source
- [1] - Genealogy of the Hesse-Kassel line.
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William II, Elector of Hesse
Born: 28 July 1777 Died: 20 November 1847 |
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| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William I |
Elector of Hesse 1821 — 1847 |
Succeeded by Frederick William |
