Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (1906–1940)

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On his tenth birthday in 1916, Wilhelm was created a lieutenant in the 1st Guards Regiment, and was given the Order of the Black Eagle by his grandfather. [Wilhelm von Preußen (1906–1940) - Wikipedia, Die freie Enzyklopädie.] Two years later, when he was only 12, the German monarchy was abolished. Wilhelm and his family remained in Germany, though his grandfather, the former emperor, went into exile in The Netherlands. The former Crown Prince and his family remained in Potsdam, where Wilhelm and his younger brothers attended the local gymnasium.

After graduating from secondary school, Wilhelm went on to study at the Universities of Königsberg, Munich and Bonn. In 1926, while a student at the University of Bonn, Wilhelm joined the Borussia Corps, a student organization of which his father, grandfather, and other members of the Prussia royal family were members. [cite news
author=
title=KAISER'S FRATERNITY NOW IN DISGRACE; Borussia Corps of the University of Bonn Is Suspended for Hazing. ALL THE PRINCES MEMBERS Leading Organization of German University Life Guilty of Disorder -- Students Not Expelled.
date=
work=New York Times
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9901E4DC143EE033A25752C2A9679D946897D6CF
accessdate=2008-08-10]

Marriage and children

While a student at Bonn, Wilhelm fell in love with a fellow student, Dorothea von Salviati. His grandfather did not approve of the marriage of a member of the minor nobility with the heir presumptive to the German throne. At the time, the former kaiser still believed in the possibility of a Hohenzollern restoration, [cite news
author=
title=MONARCHY WILL RETURN, BUT NOT I, SAYS EX-KAISER; Ebert Capable, but Republic Is Only a Temporary Affair, Former Ruler Holds. SEES NATION AGAIN A POWER Hopes for an Economic Union in Central Europe, but Disapproves Austrian Alliance.ASSAILS THE SOVIET TREATYTslka on Many Current Issues With Baron Clemens von Radowitz-Nel, One of a Group Of Callers at Doorn.
date=
work=New York Times
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D05EEDB1039E133A25750C0A9619C946395D6CF
accessdate=2008-08-10] and he would not permit his grandson to make an unequal marriage. William told his grandson: "Remember, there is every possible form of horse. We are thoroughbreds, however, and when we conclude a marriage such as with Fräulein von Salviati, it produces mongrels, and that may not happen." [cite book | last = MacDonogh | first = Giles | title = The Last Kaiser: The Life of Wilhelm II | location= New York City | publisher = St. Martin's Griffin | year = 2003 | isbn = 9780312305574]

However, Wilhelm was determined to marry Dorothea. He renounced any rights to the succession for himself and his future children in 1933. [cite book | last = Eilers | first = Marlene A. | title = Queen Victoria's Descendants | location= Baltimore | publisher = Genealogical Publishing Co. | year = 1987 | isbn = 9780806312026 | oclc = 17370791 ] [http://histclo.com/royal/ger/rgerfwwh.htm boys clothing: German royalty -- Wilhelm Hohenzollern] ] Wilhelm and Dorothea married on 3 June, 1933 in Bonn. They had two daughters. In 1940, the marriage was recognised as dynastic and the girls were given the title and style of princesses of Prussia. [ [http://www.geocities.com/henrivanoene/genprussia11.html Genealogy of the Royal Family of Prussia: HRH Prince Wilhelm and his descendants] ]
*HRH Princess "Felicitas" Cecilie Alexandrine Helene Dorothea of Prussia, born 7 June, 1934 at Bonn, she is fifth in an unbroken line of first-born children starting with Queen Victoria's eldest child, Victoria, Princess Royal. The line has continued with Felicitas' eldest daughter, Friederike von der Osten, and "her" daughter, Felicitas von Reiche.
*HRH Princess "Christa" Friederike Alexandrine Viktoria of Prussia, born 31 October, 1936 at Schloß Klein-Obisch, near Głogów

Military services

During the Weimar Republic, Wilhelm inadvertently caused a public scandal by attending army manoeuvres in the uniform of the old imperial First Foot Guards without first seeking government approval. The commander of the Reichswehr, Hans von Seeckt, was forced to resign as a result. ["Hans von Seeckt." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 6 July 2008 [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/532365/Hans-von-Seeckt] .]

At the beginning of World War II, Wilhelm was among a number of princes from the former Germany monarchies who enlisted to serve in the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Germany.

Death and reaction

In May 1940, Wilhelm took part in the invasion of France. He was wounded during the fighting in Valenciennes and died in a field hospital in Nivelles on 26 May, 1940. His funeral service was held at the Church of Peace, and he was buried in the Hohenzollern family masoleum in the Antique Temple in Sanssouci Park. The service drew over 50,000 mourners.

His death and the ensuing sympathy of the German public toward a member of the former German royal house greatly bothered Hitler, and he began to see the Hohenzollerns as a threat to his power. Shortly after Wilhelm's death, a decree known as the "Prinzenerlass", or Prince's Decree, was issued, barring all members of the former German royal houses from service in the military.de icon cite web| url=http://www.preussen.de/de/geschichte/kronprinz_wilhelm/kinder/wilhelm.html| title=Wilhelm Prinz von Preussen (in German)| publisher=Preussen.de| accessdate=2008-07-12] [Petropoulos, Jonathan. (2006) " [http://books.google.com/books?id=rJNoVaft2PoC&pg=RA2-PA42&dq=as+the+%22Prinzenerlass,%22+or+the+decree+that&sig=ACfU3U0KaKedV9dWBCTqXGyXh42sIkMPAQ Royals and the Reich: The Princes Von Hessen in Nazi Germany.] " Page 242. Published - Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195161335]

References

Ancestry

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1= 1. Prince Wilhelm of Prussia
2= 2. William, German Crown Prince
3= 3. Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
4= 4. William II, German Emperor
5= 5. Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein
6= 6. Frederick Francis III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
7= 7. Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia
8= 8. Frederick III, German Emperor
9= 9. Victoria, Princess Royal
10= 10. Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
11= 11. Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
12= 12. Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
13= 13. Princess Auguste Reuss of Köstritz
14= 14. Grand Duke Michael Nicolaevich of Russia
15= 15. Princess Cecilie of Baden
16= 16. William I, German Emperor
17= 17. Augusta of Saxe-Weimar
18= 18. Albert, Prince Consort
19= 19. Victoria of the United Kingdom
20= 20. Christian, Duke of Augustenborg
21= 21. Countess Lovisa-Sophie Danneskjold-Samsøe
22= 22. Ernst, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
23= 23. Princess Feodora of Leiningen
24= 24. Paul Frederick, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
25= 25. Princess Alexandrine of Prussia
26= 26. Heinrich LXIII, Prince Reuss of Köstritz
27= 27. Countess Eleonore of Stolberg-Wernigerode
28= 28. Nicholas I of Russia
29= 29. Princess Charlotte of Prussia
30= 30. Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden
31= 31. Princess Sophie of Sweden