Landgrave William of Hesse-Cassel

Prince William of Hesse (24 December 1787, Biebrich – 5 September 1867, Copenhagen), son of Prince Frederick of Hesse and Caroline of Nassau-Usingen.

His paternal grandparents were Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) and Princess Mary of Great Britain.

Ancestry

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1= 1. William of Hesse
2= 2. Prince Frederick of Hesse
3= 3. Princess Caroline Polyxene of Nassau-Usingen
4= 4. Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse
5= 5. Princess Mary of Great Britain
6= 6. Karl Wilhelm, Prince of Nassau-Usingen
7= 7. Caroline Felizitas of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg
8= 8. William VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel
9= 9. Dorothea Wilhelmine of Saxe-Zeitz
10= 10. George II of Great Britain
11= 11. Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach
12= 12. Karl, Prince of Nassau-Usingen
13= 13. Christiane Wilhelmine of Saxe-Eisenach
14= 14. Christian Karl Reinhard, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg
15= 15. Katharina Polyxena of Solms-Rödelheim and Assenheim
16= 16. Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel
17= 17. Maria Amalia of Courland
18= 18. Maurice Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Zeitz
19= 19. Marie Amalie of Brandenburg
20= 20. George I of Great Britain
21= 21. Sophia Dorothea of Celle
22= 22. Johann Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach
23= 23. Eleanor Erdmuthe Louise of Saxe-Eisenach
24= 24. Wilhelm Heinrich of Nassau-Usingen
25= 25. Charlotte Amalie of Nassau-Dillenburg
26= 26. John William III, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach
27= 27. Magdalene Sibylle of Saxe-Weissenfels
28= 28. Johann Karl August of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Heidesheim
29= 29. Johanna Magdalena of Hanau-Lichtenberg
30= 30. George Ludwig, Count of Solms-Rödelheim
31= 31. Charlotte Sibylle of Ahlefeld-Langeland

Marriage and children

On 10 November, 1810, William was married in Amalienborg Palace to Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark (1789-1864) daughter of Hereditary Prince Frederick of Denmark and Norway (1753-1805) and Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1758-1794).

Children of marriage:
* Karoline Friederike Marie of Hesse-Kassel (15 August, 1811 - 10 May, 1829).
* Marie Luise Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel (9 May, 1814 - 28 July, 1895). Married Prince Frederick Augustus of Anhalt-Dessau.
* Louise of Hesse (7 September, 1817- 29 September, 1898). Married King Christian IX of Denmark.
* Friedrich Wilhelm (26 November, 1820 - 14 October, 1864). Head of House of Hesse-Kassel. Married first Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaievna of Russia, a daughter of Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia, and second Anna of Prussia.
* Auguste Sophie Friederike of Hesse-Kassel (30 October, 1823 - 17 July, 1899. Married Charles Frederick, Baron of Nasbyholm (Blixen-Fineke).
* Sophie Wilhelmine of Hesse-Kassel (18 January - 20 December, 1827).

Mayer Amschel Rothschild and Prince William:
*The early fortunes of the Rothschild family were made through a conjunction of financial intelligence and the wealth of Prince William. In 1785 the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel died, leaving his immense wealth (largely gained through the loan of Hessian mercenaries,not least to Great Britain during the American Revolution) to the young Prince William. During the Napoleonic wars the Prince saw necessary to have his fortune hidden from Napoleon by using his long standing Jewish friend's home in Frankfurt. This money then saw its way through to Nathan Mayer, (N.M.) in London, where it helped fund the British movements through Portugal and Spain. The interest made from this venture was reaped by the budding jewish bankers, who used it to swiftly develope their fortune and prestige in Europe and Britain. It was not long before their riches outweighed that of their benefactor, the Prince William of Hesse-Kassel.