Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Wied

Friedrich Wilhelm
Prince of Wied
Spouse Princess Guda of Waldeck and Pyrmont
Princess Sophie of Stolberg-Stolberg
Issue Prince Alexander
Carl, Prince of Wied
Princess Christina
Prince Wolff-Heinrich
Full name
German: Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Konstantin
House House of Wied-Neuwied
Father Prince Hermann of Wied
Mother Countess Marie Antonia of Stolberg-Wernigerode
Born 2 June 1931
Stuttgart, Weimar Republic
Died 28 August 2000 (aged 69)
Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada

Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Wied (German: Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Konstantin Fürst von Wied; 2 June 1931  28 August 2000) was the grandson of William Frederick, 6th Prince of Wied. He was the titular Prince of Wied from 1945 until his death.

If George III of the United Kingdom had died in infancy, as many predicted he would following his premature birth, Friedrich William would have eventually succeeded to the throne of the United Kingdom, through the line of his grandmother, Princess Pauline of Württemberg, who was descended from Princess Augusta (George III's sister) and her eldest daughter, Princess Augusta of Württemberg.

Marriage

Friedrich Wilhelm married on 9 September 1958 in Arolsen to Princess Guda of Waldeck and Pyrmont (b. 1939), youngest daughter of Josias, Hereditary Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his wife, Duchess Altburg of Oldenburg, daughter of Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg. They divorced in 1962.[1]

They had two children:

Friedrich Wilhelm married secondly on 15 July 1967 in Runkel to Princess Sophie of Stolberg-Stolberg (b. 1943), youngest child of Wolff-Heinrich, Prince of Stolberg-Stolberg and Irma Erfert.

They had two children:

Prince of Wied

In 1945, at the age of 14, Friedrich Wilhelm succeeded as head of the House of Wied after the death of his grandfather; his father Hermann had previously died of wounds received in action during World War II in Rzeszów, Poland.[1]

Via the "Arnold Georg AG" and the "AG für Steinindustrie" (both headquartered in Neuwied, Germany) Friedrich Wilhelm invested successfully part of his inherited wealth in a diverse range of industries. Furthermore he owned 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) of forest and 2,000 hectares (4,942 acres) of farmland near his hometown of Neuwied (Germany). In addition he bought 25,000 hectares (61,775 acres) of forest in British Columbia (Canada). In 1974 he established the "Beaumont Timber Company" (Salmo (British Columbia)) to manage his Canadian forest interests. It is now one of the largest private timberland owners in British Columbia.

At the death of Friedrich Wilhelm in 2000, the title and the family fortune was inherited by his second son Carl. (Frederick William's eldest son, Prince Alexander, renounced the title on 4 October 2000.)[2]

Titles and styles

Ancestry

Notes and sources

Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Wied
Cadet branch of the House of Wied
Born: 2 June 1931 Died: 28 August 2000
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
William Frederick
 TITULAR 
Prince of Wied
1945–2000
Reason for succession failure:
German nobility titles abolished
Succeeded by
Carl