Wilhelm Karl von Urach

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Wilhelm von Urach

Wilhelm (II.), Duke of Urach , Count of Württemberg (born March 3, 1864 in Monaco , † March 24, 1928 in Rapallo , Italy), from 1869 head of the House of Urach , a Württemberg branch, general of the cavalry in the Württemberg Army , was discussed several times as a candidate for the throne for various European crowns, so in 1910 for Monaco, 1913 for Albania and during the First World War for Poland as well as for a newly created Grand Duchy of Alsace-Lorraine . In July 1918 he was accepted by the Taryba, the Lithuanian Provincial Council, was elected King of Lithuania - as such he should bear the name Mindaugas II . However, he did not accept the crown as the German authorities did not recognize the election. By November 1918, the Taryba also revoked the election.

Life

Born as Wilhelm Karl Florestan Gero Crescentius, Count of Württemberg , he was the eldest son of Wilhelm (I) Duke of Urach, Count of Württemberg , and his second wife, Princess Florestine of Monaco , daughter of Prince Florestan of Monaco .

He grew up in Stuttgart and at Lichtenstein Castle and graduated from the Karlsgymnasium in Stuttgart. He then embarked on a military career. At the beginning of the First World War he was lieutenant general and commander of the 26th division . On January 5, 1917 Wilhelm was commanding general of General Command 64 and in this position was promoted to General of the Cavalry on February 25, 1917. He kept this command until the end of the war.

Wilhelm was considered several times as a candidate for a vacant throne, for example during a popular uprising in Monaco in 1910, when his cousin Albert I threatened to overthrow; but this finally agreed to the demands for the introduction of a constitution and the separation of state and private finances and was able to stay on the throne. In 1913, Wilhelm was considered, among others, for the throne of the new Principality of Albania . Further applications followed as a monarch of a possible Grand Duchy of Alsace-Lorraine and as King of Poland during the First World War . As head of a branch line of the House of Württemberg , he also had vague hopes of being able to succeed King Wilhelm II after the death of King Wilhelm II . But these were nullified when the king appointed Duke Albrecht from the Württemberg-Altshausen branch as heir to the throne.

In 1918, Duke Wilhelm apparently still had success with his throne ambitions and was elected King of Lithuania by the Lithuanian Provincial Council, the Taryba , on July 11, 1918 . Germany had occupied Lithuania, which was part of Russia, in 1915, and since then it has been under military administration by the Commander-in-Chief East . In principle, the German side wanted to make Lithuania an independent but dependent satellite state . The initiative for this came from the parliamentary group leader of the Center Party in the German Reichstag, Matthias Erzberger (1875–1921). However, this proposal came at an inopportune moment for the German government and reacted hesitantly, possibly under the influence of the Supreme Army Command . Ultimately, Duke Wilhelm did not receive the repeatedly announced consent to accept the king's election. When the new government of Max von Baden finally promised Lithuania full self-determination in October 1918 , the situation had changed so much that on November 2, 1918 the Taryba decided unanimously not to carry out the earlier decision to appoint Wilhelm as King of Lithuania . Instead, Lithuania adopted a republican constitution .

The event of Wilhelm's election as King of Lithuania was dealt with by the writer Arnold Zweig in his 1937 novel Appointment of a King .

Most recently he had good prospects for the succession to the throne in Monaco, as his cousin Albert I had a son Louis , but he only had an illegitimate daughter with a variety dancer. The Monegasque relatives thwarted Wilhelm's claims, however, in that Charlotte was legitimized in 1919 with the support of France and declared heir to the throne. Wilhelm denied the legitimacy of her claim to the throne all her life. In order to make the successor claims of the Duke of Urach ineffective, the legitimate princess renounced the rights of the throne in 1944, a few years before the death of her father Louis II, in favor of her son Rainier , in order to install him as hereditary prince during the reign of his grandfather . After Prince Louis II had transferred the business of government to his grandson Rainier on May 5, 1949, shortly before his death, the latter followed him a few days later as Rainier III. in rule over the principality after.

After the war and his retirement Wilhelm devoted II. Duke of Urach scientific activities and in 1922 at the University of Tübingen with a dissertation on the urban geography of Reutlingen Dr. phil. PhD .

Urach was a knight of the Order of Malta .

He died in Rapallo in 1928 and was buried in the castle church in Ludwigsburg .

family

Wilhelm Herzog von Urach with family around 1907, still without the youngest daughter

His first marriage was on July 4, 1892 in Tegernsee Amalie Maria Duchess in Bavaria . He had nine children with her:

Amalie died in childbed in 1912. On November 26, 1924 Wilhelm married Wiltrud Marie Alix Princess of Bavaria, daughter of Ludwig III. of Bavaria . This marriage remained childless.

Orders and decorations

Literature and Sources

Fiction

Web links

Commons : Mindaugas II of Lithuania  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Military Ordinance Sheet. No. 9 of February 25, 1917, p. 41.
  2. ^ Memoirs of the Lithuanian politician of the "Union des Nationaliotés" Juozas Gabrys (1880–1951) in: Eberhard Demm, Christina Nikolajew (ed.) On guard for the nation. Memories, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften Frankfurt / Main, 2013, p. 326 f.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Prussian War Ministry (ed.): Ranking list of the Royal Prussian Army and the XIII. (Royal Württemberg) Army Corps for 1914. ES Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1914, p. 1160.
  4. ↑ Württemberg Military Ordinance Gazette. No. 48 of July 30, 1915, p. 413.
  5. ↑ Württemberg Military Ordinance Gazette. No. 68 of November 6, 1915, p. 607.
  6. ↑ Württemberg Military Ordinance Gazette. No. 11 of March 10, 1916, p. 145.
  7. ↑ Württemberg Military Ordinance Gazette. No. 23 of May 10, 1916, p. 243.
  8. ↑ Württemberg Military Ordinance Gazette. No. 49 of September 12, 1916, p. 538.
  9. ↑ Württemberg Military Ordinance Gazette. No. 58 of October 16, 1916, p. 611.
  10. ↑ Württemberg Military Ordinance Gazette. No. 40 of September 15, 1917, p. 318.
  11. ↑ Otto von Moser : Die Württemberger in the world wars. 2nd expanded edition, Chr.Belser AG, Stuttgart 1928.
  12. ↑ Württemberg Military Ordinance Gazette. No. 20 of May 15, 1918, p. 178.
  13. ↑ Württemberg Military Ordinance Gazette. No. 37 of August 31, 1918, p. 306.
personal data
SURNAME Urach, Wilhelm Karl von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wilhelm Duke of Urach Count of Württemberg; Wilhelm II Duke of Urach, Count of Württemberg; Wilhelm Karl Florestan Gero Crescentius Duke of Urach Count of Württemberg; Mindaugas II (as King of Lithuania)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Chief of the House of Urach and General of the Cavalry in the Württemberg Army
DATE OF BIRTH March 3, 1864
PLACE OF BIRTH Monaco
DATE OF DEATH March 24, 1928
Place of death Rapallo