Charles, Prince of Nassau-Usingen

Charles, Prince of Nassau-Usingen
Charles, Prince of Nassau-Usingen
Spouse(s)	Duchess Christine Wilhelmine of Saxe-Eisenach
Noble family	House of Nassau
Father	William Henry, Prince of Nassau-Usingen
Mother	Charlotte Amalie, Countess of Nassau-Dillenburg
Born	31 December 1712(1712-12-31) Usingen
Died	21 June 1775(1775-06-21) (aged 62) Biebrich

Usinger Memorial in Castle Park

Charles, Prince of Nassau-Usingen (born: 31 December 1712 in Usingen; died: 21 June 1775 in Biebrich), was from 1718 to 1775 Prince of Nassau-Usingen.

Family

Charles was the son of William Henry of Nassau-Usingen and Charlotte Amalie, Countess of Nassau-Dillenburg.

His father died in 1718, when he was still a minor. His mother acted as regent for Charles and his younger brother William Henry II. In 1728, he inherited the counties Nassau-Ottweiler, Nassau-Idstein, and Nassau-Saarbrücken from his second cousin Frederick Louis. These counties were then added to his county of Nassau-Usingen.

Is 1734, he was declared an adult by Emperor Charles VI. In 1735, he and William Henry II divided their inheritance. Charles received Usingen, Idstein, Wiesbaden and Lahr; William Henry II recevied Nassau-Saarbrücken and some smaller territories. He then moved his residence from Usingen in the Taunus to Schloss Biebrich in Biebrich and continued the progressive policies of his mother.

Charles died in 1775 and was succeeded by his son Charles William.

Marriage and issue

On 26 December 1734 Charles married Christine Wilhelmine Duchess of Saxe-Eisenach (born: 1711), a daughter of John William III of Saxe-Eisenach. The marriage produced four children:

• Charles William (1735-1803), Prince of Nassau-Usingen
• Christine (1736-1741)
• Frederick Augustus (1738-1816), Prince of Nassau-Usingen (1803-1806) and later Duke of Nassau (1815-1816)
• John Adolph (1740-1793), Prussian general

In the second, morganatic, marriage, Charles married Magdalene Gross from Wiesbadener (born: 1712). From this marriage also had four children:

• Philippa Catherine of Biburg (born: 17 May 1744; died: 17 July 1798), married Karl Friedrich Kruse (1738-1806)
• Charles Philip of Weilnau (born: 25 March 1746; died: 15 August 1789)
• Sophie Christine (born: 20 June 1750; died: 16 November 1750)
• William Henry (born: 15 February 1755; died: 6 April 1755)

References

• Ernst Joachim (1882) (in German). "Karl von Nassau-Usingen". In Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). 15. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot. p. 313–313.

This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the German Wikipedia.

Footnotes

Charles, Prince of Nassau-Usingen House of Nassau Born: 31 December 1712 Died: 21 June 1775
Preceded by William Henry	Prince of Nassau-Usingen 1718-1775	Succeeded by Charles William
Preceded by Frederick Louis as Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken	Prince of Nassau-Saarbrücken 1728-1735	Succeeded by William Henry II

Persondata
Name	Charles, Prince of Nassau-Usingen
Alternative names	Charles of
Short description	Fürst Karl von Nassau-Usingen
Date of birth	31 December 1712
Place of birth	Usingen
Date of death	21 June 1775
Place of death	Biebrich