Prince Wolfgang of Hesse

Prince and Landgrave Wolfgang of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) ("Wolfgang Moritz") (6 November 1896, Castle Rumpenheim, Offenbach, Germany - 12 July 1989), was the designated Hereditary Prince of the monarchy of Finland, and as such, already called the Crown Prince of Finland officially until 14 December, 1918, and also afterwards by some monarchists.

Wolfgang was the second-born of a pair of twins, the fourth child and son born to Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse (1868-1940) and Princess Margaret of Prussia (1872-1954). His maternal uncle was the German Emperor William II. Wolfgang's father Frederick Charles of Hesse was elected King of Finland on 9 October 1918, to replace his first cousin once removed, the deposed Russian emperor, Nicholas II, who was titled "Grand Duke of Finland". However, Frederick Charles renounced the throne in December, 1918, and the title was never actually held by the family.

Wolfgang would have been his father's heir as King of Finland instead of his elder twin Prince Philipp of Hesse (1896–1980), apparently because Wolfgang was with his parents in 1918 and ready to travel to Finland (where rumoredly a wedding to a Finnish lady already was in the preparation for the coming Crown Prince). Philip was in the military and incommunicado at the time.

Wolfgang married on September 17, 1924 Princess Marie Alexandra of Baden (1902-44), daughter of Prince Maximilian of Baden and Princess Marie Louise of Hanover; they had no children. When Wolfgang died, his nephew Prince Heinrich of Hesse succeeded him in the claims to the throne of Finland. [cite news | last = Baer | first = Katarina | coauthors = Kuvat Pekka Elomaa | title = Suomen Kuningas | language = Finnish | publisher = Helsingin Sanomat | url = http://www2.hs.fi/extrat/digilehti/kuukausiliite/arkisto/2002/08/ | accessdate =2008-02-14 ]

Wolfgang adopted his nephew, Prince Karl Adolf of Hesse (born 1937), elder son of his younger brother Christoph who was killed in action in 1943.

At the time of his death at the age of 92, Wolfgang was the only surviving great-grandchild of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom who had been born in her lifetime. Victoria died in 1901 and Wolfgang was born in 1896.

Ancestry

ahnentafel top|Ancestry of Prince and Landgrave Wolfgang of Hesseahnentafel-compact5
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1= 1. Prince Wolfgang of Hesse
2= 2. Landgrave Frederick Charles of Hesse-Kassel
3= 3. Princess Margaret of Prussia
4= 4. Landgrave Frederick William of Hesse-Kassel
5= 5. Princess Anna of Prussia
6= 6. Frederick III, German Emperor
7= 7. Victoria, Princess Royal
8= 8. Landgrave William of Hesse-Kassel
9= 9. Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark & Norway
10= 10. Prince Charles of Prussia
11= 11. Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar
12= 12. William I, German Emperor
13= 13. Augusta of Saxe-Weimar
14= 14. Albert of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha
Prince Consort
15= 15. Victoria of the United Kingdom
16= 16. Landgrave Frederick of Hesse-Kassel
17= 17. Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen
18= 18. Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark and Norway
19= 19. Duchess Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
20= 20. Frederick William III of Prussia
21= 21. Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
22= 22. Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
23= 23. Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia
24= 24. Frederick William III of Prussia (= #20)
25= 25. Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (= #21)
26= 26. Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (= #22)
27= 27. Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (= #23)
28= 28. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
29= 29. Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
30= 30. Edward, Duke of Kent
31= 31. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeldahnentafel bottom

References

External links

* [http://www2.hs.fi/extrat/digilehti/kuukausiliite/arkisto/2002/08/ Article about the House of Hesse and the throne of Finland] Helsingin Sanomat fi icon