Wilhelm of Mecklenburg

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Duke Wilhelm of Mecklenburg

Wilhelm, Duke of Mecklenburg [-Schwerin] (* March 5, 1827 in Ludwigslust ; † July 28, 1879 in Heidelberg ; full name: Friedrich Wilhelm Nicolas ) was a member of the grand ducal house of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Prussian general of the cavalry . On December 9, 1865, he married his cousin Alexandrine of Prussia (1842–1906), the daughter of Prince Albrecht of Prussia and Princess Marianne of Orange-Nassau .

Life

Wilhelm was the third child and second son of Grand Duke Paul Friedrich and his wife Alexandrine of Prussia (1803-1892) . He became a Prussian officer. Wilhelm was known as a player in Berlin court circles and was nicknamed "Prince Schnaps".

As a student, Wilhelm followed in the footsteps of his brother, but without being allowed to follow his path to the throne. In the 1840s they took him to the Vitzthumsche Gymnasium in Dresden . His governor, Chamberlain Major Count Finck von Finckenstein, accompanied him there . Wilhelm was able to bluntly write home from Dresden in 1844 of the school principal's silver wedding anniversary: ​​“With a few exceptions, the teachers were all drunk and puked like pigs; you could still see it on the 2nd day. "

In 1865 he married his cousin, Princess Alexandrine of Prussia (1842–1906). The prince was now 38 years old, 15 years older than the bride, a notorious gambler, philanderer, and spendthrift, and certainly hardly the right husband for a young girl. The couple had a daughter, Charlotte Duchess of Mecklenburg (1868–1944).

Duke Wilhelm of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Princess Alexandrine of Prussia.

Duke Wilhelm embarked on a military career. From 1859 to 1864 he was in command of the Brandenburg Cuirassier Regiment (Emperor Nicolaus I of Russia) No. 6 in Brandenburg an der Havel and rose from major to colonel in this role. In 1864 he handed the regiment over to Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Bonaventura von Rauch .

During the German War , Wilhelm commanded the 2nd Light Cavalry Brigade in the Cavalry Corps of the 1st Army as major general . With this large association Wilhelm fought in the battle of Königgrätz and was awarded the order Pour le Mérite for his achievements . In the war against France , he was now lieutenant general and commanded the 6th Cavalry Division . He fought near Vionville and was wounded on September 9, 1870 in the explosion of the Laon Citadel . Wilhelm then took part in the siege of Paris and the battle of Le Mans . His achievements were honored with the award of both classes of the Iron Cross and the Grand Commander's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with swords.

After the peace agreement , Wilhelm was appointed commander of the 22nd division on March 23, 1873 . However, at his request, he was released from this command on November 10, 1873. He was then transferred to officers of the army while retaining the powers of a division commander until further notice and on March 22, 1875 was promoted to general of the cavalry.

Due to his hip injury in Laon, Wilhelm had to undergo an operation in Heidelberg in July 1879 . Shortly after the surgery, the Duke suffered blood poisoning , which resulted in his death on July 28th. His body was brought to Schwerin with his nephew Duke Paul Friedrich zu Mecklenburg and was buried there on August 2nd in the Holy Blood Chapel of Schwerin Cathedral . In November 1974 his brass sarcophagus was moved to the cathedral's crypt .

Awards

In 1878, Duke Wilhelm was the holder of the following orders and decorations:

literature

  • Kurt von Priesdorff : Soldier leadership . Volume 7, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1939], DNB 367632829 , pp. 407-408, no. 2365.
  • René Wiese: Duke Wilhelm zu Mecklenburg (1827–1879) - cavalry general, bankrupt and unwilling world traveler. In: Mecklenburgische Jahrbücher. Ed .: Association for Mecklenburg History a. Antiquity. Volume 125, Schwerin 2010, pp. 225-250.
  • Bernd Kasten : Prince Schnaps - Duke Wilhelm of Mecklenburg (1827-1879). In: Ders .: Prince Schnaps. Black sheep in the Princely House of Mecklenburg. Rostock 2009. ISBN 3-356-01334-3 . Pp. 12-18.
  • Gustav von Glasenapp : Military Biographies of the Officer Corps of the Prussian Army. Berlin 1868, p. 185.

Web links

Commons : Wilhelm zu Mecklenburg  - collection of pictures

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Karl Eduard Vehse : History of the German courts since the Reformation. Volume 37, Hoffmann and Campe. Hamburg 1856. P. 49 ( digitized version ), so also in Karl August Varnhagen von Ense's diary entry of February 11, 1855, from the estate of Varnhagen von Ense. Volume 11. Hoffmann and Campe Hamburg 1869. p. 436. Vehse was sentenced to six months imprisonment in 1856 for defamation of Wilhelm; see Bayerisches Volksblatt 8 (1856), p. 98.
  2. ^ René Wiese: Duke Wilhelm zu Mecklenburg (1827–1879). Cavalry general, bankrupt and unwilling world traveler. In: Mecklenburgische Jahrbücher. Association for Mecklenburg History a. Antiquity. Schwerin 2010. Vol. 125, p. 226.
  3. ↑ René Wiese, op.cit., P. 226.
  4. ↑ Bernd Kasten: Prince Schnaps. Black sheep in the Princely House of Mecklenburg. Rostock 2009, p. 15.
  5. ^ Bernhard von Rogge: History of the field artillery regiment Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria (Magdeburg) No. 4. ES Mittler & Sohn. Berlin 1898, p. 312 ff.
  6. ^ Ludwig von Hirschfeld: Friedrich Franz II., Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and his predecessors. Volume 2. Verlag von Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1891, p. 370.
  7. ↑ Mecklenburg-Schwerin State Calendar. 105 (1880), p. 345.
  8. ↑ LKAS inventory: Oberkirchenrat, spec. Schwerin, Cathedral, No. 136, Cathedral Building Conference of March 6, 1975.
  9. ↑ After Mecklenburg-Schwerin shear Staatskalender 103 (1878), p. 4
personal data
SURNAME Wilhelm of Mecklenburg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Friedrich Wilhelm Nicolas, Duke of Mecklenburg; Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Wilhelm Herzog von (wrong name form)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian general of the cavalry
DATE OF BIRTH March 5, 1827
PLACE OF BIRTH Ludwigslust
DATE OF DEATH July 28, 1879
Place of death Heidelberg