Prince of Prussia

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The title Prince of Prussia originally referred to the Prussian prince who, in the absence of a crown prince (i.e. if the monarch had no son born from a legitimate marriage), was entitled to inheritance according to Salian law . Since the end of the monarchy and the abolition of the nobility in 1918, Prince of Prussia has been part of the surname of male members of the Brandenburg-Prussian line of the House of Hohenzollern . Female members of this line have the name Princess of Prussia as a family name . The members of the Swabian line use the name of Hohenzollern as a family name in addition to the prince or princess .

The first bearer of the title was August Wilhelm , who received it on June 30, 1744 as the next older brother of the childless Friedrich II .

After August Wilhelm's death in 1758, the title passed - by no means automatically - to his son, who later became King Friedrich Wilhelm II . Rather, the latter was not appointed as his successor by Friedrich II until 1760.

The third and last holder of the title, before the abolition of the monarchy in Germany in 1918, was Wilhelm I (since 1840, presumptive heir to the throne from 1828/29), as the successor to his childless brother, Friedrich Wilhelm IV.

The remaining male members of the Prussian ruling house were princes in Prussia. When addressing them, the title prince was put in front of them, followed by first names and designation of origin of Prussia , such as Prince Heinrich of Prussia. In the case of the Princes of Prussia, however, the first name was prefixed to the title, i.e. August Wilhelm , Prince of Prussia.

The following members of the Brandenburg-Prussian line of the House of Hohenzollern were or will be called the Prince of Prussia:


Prince of Prussia is the name

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon, Volume 2. Leipzig 1905, p. 119 [1]