List of monarchs of Prussia

Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia

The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman Catholic crusader state and theocracy located along the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. The Teutonic Knights were under the leadership of a Grand Master, the last of whom, Albert, converted to Protestantism and secularized the lands, which then became the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy was initially a vassal of the Kingdom of Poland, as a result of the terms of the Prussian Homage whereby Albert was granted the Duchy as part of the terms of peace following the Prussian War. When the main line of Prussian Hohenzollerns died out in 1618, the Duchy passed to a different branch of the family, who also reigned as Electors of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire. While still nominally two different territories, Prussia under the suzerainty of Poland and Brandenburg under the suzerainty of the Holy Roman Empire, the two states are known together historiographically as Brandenburg-Prussia. Following the Second Northern War, a series of treaties freed the Duchy of Prussia from any vassalage to any other state, making it a fully sovereign Duchy in its own right. This complex situation (where the Hohenzollern ruler of the independent Duchy of Prussia was also a subject of the Holy Roman Emperor as Elector of Brandenburg) laid the eventual groundwork for the establishment of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. For diplomatic reasons, the rulers of the state were known as the King in Prussia from 1701 to 1772; largely because they still owed fealty to the Emperor as Electors of Brandenburg, the "King in Prussia" title (as opposed to "King of Prussia") avoided offending the Emperor. As the Prussian state grew through several wars and diplomatic moves throughout the 18th century, it became apparent that Prussia had become a Great Power that did not need to submit meekly to the Holy Roman Empire. By 1772, the pretense was dropped, and the style "King of Prussia" was adopted. Thus it remained until 1871, when in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War, the King of Prussia Wilhelm I was crowned German Emperor. From that point forward, though the Kingdom of Prussia retained its status as a constituent state of the German Empire, all remaining Kings of Prussia also served as German Emperor, and that title took precedence.

Duchy of Prussia (1525–1701)

Name	Lifespan	Reign start	Reign end	Notes	Family	Image
Albert	(1490-05-17)17 May 1490 – 20 March 1568(1568-03-20) (aged 77)	10 April 1525	20 March 1568		Hohenzollern
Albert Frederick	(1553-05-07)7 May 1553 – 28 August 1618(1618-08-28) (aged 65)	20 March 1568	28 August 1618	Son of Albert	Hohenzollern
John Sigismund	(1572-11-08)8 November 1572 – 23 December 1619(1619-12-23) (aged 47)	28 August 1618	23 December 1619	Cousin of Albert Frederick, also Elector of Brandenburg	Hohenzollern
George William	(1595-11-13)13 November 1595 – 1 December 1640(1640-12-01) (aged 45)	23 December 1619	1 December 1640	Son of John Sigismund, also Elector of Brandenburg	Hohenzollern
Frederick William the Great Elector	(1620-02-16)16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688(1688-04-29) (aged 68)	1 December 1640	29 April 1688	Son of George William, also Elector of Brandenburg	Hohenzollern
Frederick I	(1657-07-11)11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713(1713-02-25) (aged 55)	29 April 1688	18 January 1701	Son of Frederick William, also Elector of Brandenburg	Hohenzollern

Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918)

Name	Lifespan	Reign start	Reign end	Notes	Family	Image
Frederick I the Mercenary King [1]	(1657-07-11)11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713(1713-02-25) (aged 55)	18 January 1701	25 February 1713	Son of Frederick William	Hohenzollern
Frederick William I the Soldier King	(1688-08-14)14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740(1740-05-31) (aged 51)	25 February 1713	31 May 1740	Son of Frederick I	Hohenzollern
Frederick II the Great	(1712-01-24)24 January 1712 – 17 August 1786(1786-08-17) (aged 74)	31 May 1740	17 August 1786	Son of Frederick William I	Hohenzollern
Frederick William II	(1744-09-25)25 September 1744 – 16 November 1797(1797-11-16) (aged 53)	17 August 1786	16 November 1797	Nephew of Frederick II	Hohenzollern
Frederick William III	(1770-07-03)3 July 1770 – 7 June 1840(1840-06-07) (aged 69)	16 November 1797	7 June 1840	Son of Frederick William II	Hohenzollern
Frederick William IV	(1795-10-15)15 October 1795 – 2 January 1861(1861-01-02) (aged 65)	7 June 1840	2 January 1861	Son of Frederick William III; also President of the Erfurt Union (1849-1850)	Hohenzollern
William I	(1797-03-22)22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888(1888-03-09) (aged 90)	2 January 1861	9 March 1888	Brother of Frederick William IV; also President of the North German Confederation (1867-1871) and German Emperor from 1871	Hohenzollern
Frederick III	(1831-10-18)18 October 1831 – 15 June 1888(1888-06-15) (aged 56)	9 March 1888	15 June 1888	Son of William I; also German Emperor	Hohenzollern
William II	(1859-01-27)27 January 1859 – 4 June 1941(1941-06-04) (aged 82)	15 June 1888	28 November 1918 (abdicated) [2]	Son of Frederick III; also German Emperor	Hohenzollern

Timeline

Pretenders to the Throne of Prussia (1918–present)

• William II (28 November 1918 – 4 June 1941)
• Frederick William (4 June 1941 – 20 July 1951)
• Louis Ferdinand (20 July 1951 – 26 September 1994)
• George Frederick (26 September 1994 – present)

See also

• Constitution of Prussia (1850)
• Crown of Frederick I
• Crown of William II
• German Emperor
• History of Germany
• History of Prussia
• Hohenzollern Castle
• King in Prussia
• List of German monarchs
• List of rulers of Brandenburg
• List of Prussian consorts
• Lückentheorie
• Minister President of Prussia
• Neuchâtel Crisis
• Year of the Three Emperors

References

Bibliography

External links

• House of Hohenzollern