Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern

Leopold
Prince of Hohenzollern
Head of the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
Predecessor Charles Anthony
Successor William
Spouse Infanta Antónia of Portugal
Issue
William, Prince of Hohenzollern
Ferdinand I of Romania
Prince Karl Anton
Full name
German: Leopold Stephan Karl Anton Gustav Eduard Tassilo
Father Charles Anthony, Prince of Hohenzollern
Mother Princess Josephine of Baden
Born 22 September 1835(1835-09-22)
Krauchenwies
Died 8 June 1905(1905-06-08) (aged 69)
Berlin

Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern[1][2] (German: Leopold Stephan Karl Anton Gustav Eduard Tassilo Fürst von Hohenzollern)[1][2] (22 September 1835 – 8 June 1905)[1][2] 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.

He was born into the dynasty's surviving Sigmaringen branch, which inherited all the dynasty's Swabian lands when the Hohenzollern-Hechingen branch went extinct.

Leopold's parents were Josephine of Baden and Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern.[1][2] Leopold was the older brother[1][2] of King Carol I of Romania and father of the future King Ferdinand of Romania.[1][2] Carol ascended the Romanian throne in 1866, and Leopold renounced his rights to the Romanian succession in favor of his sons in 1880.

Contents

Entry into European controversy

Main article: Franco-Prussian War
Main article: German Unification

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; deliberate or accidental mistranslations of a diplomatic communique, the Ems Telegram, also known as the Ems Dispatch, led to the declaration of war by France. Prussia's speedy mobilization and the support of the other members of the North German Confederation resulted in the defeat and capture of Napoleon, the collapse of his government, the institution of the French Third Republic, and the creation of the German Empire.

Marriage and issue

In 1861 Leopold married Antonia of Portugal, daughter of Queen Maria II of Portugal and King Ferdinand II of Portugal.[1][2] They had the following children:[1][2]

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Darryl Lundy (19 March 2005). "Leopold Stephan Prinz von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen". thePeerage.com. http://www.thepeerage.com/p10175.htm#i101743. Retrieved 2008-12-28. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Paul Theroff. "HOHENZOLLERN". Paul Theroff's Royal Genealogy Site. http://pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff/gotha/hohenzollern.html. Retrieved 2008-12-28. 
Leopold, Prince 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
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
Charles Anthony		 — TITULAR —
Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen
2 June 1885 – 8 June 1905
Reason for succession failure:
Principality annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1850		 Succeeded by
William