William, Duke of Nassau

Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau (Given names: "Georg Wilhelm August Heinrich Belgicus zu Nassau") (14 June, 1792, Kirchheimbolanden - 20 August/30 August, 1839, Bad Kissingen) was the father of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

Family

Wilhelm was the eldest son of Frederick William, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg and his wife Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg.

Frederick William was the eldest surviving son of Karl Christian of Nassau-Weilburg and Princess Wilhelmine Carolina of Orange-Nassau.

Wilhelmine Carolina was a daughter of William IV, Prince of Orange and Anne, Princess Royal. Anne was in turn the eldest daughter of George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach.

Duke of Nassau

He was the heir to his father since the time of his birth. Frederick William died on 9 January, 1816 and Wilhelm succeeded him as Prince of Nassau-Weilburg and Duke of Nassau. Nassau-Weilburg ceased to exist as a separate state later that same year. He kept the title of Duke of Nassau for the rest of his reign.

Marriages and children

On 24 June, 1813, Wilhelm married his first wife Louise of Saxe-Altenburg (28 January 1794 Thüringen - 6 April 1825 Weilburg). She was a daughter of Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (who, until 1826, had been the last Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen) and his wife Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. They had eight children:

*Auguste Luise Friederike Maximiliane Wilhelmine of Nassau-Weilburg (12 April - 3 October, 1814).
*Therese Wilhelmine Friederikke of Nassau-Weilburg (17 April, 1815 - 8 December, 1871). Married Duke Peter of Oldenburg. Their grandson was the Tsarist General Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia the Younger.
*Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (24 July, 1817 - 17 November, 1905). The Present Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg descends from him.
*Wilhelm Karl Heinrich Friedrich of Nassau-Weilburg (8 September, 1819 - 22 April, 1823).
*Moritz of Nassau-Weilburg (21 November, 1820 - 23 March, 1850).
*Marie Wilhelmine Luise Friederike Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg (5 April, 1822 - 3 April, 1824).
*Wilhelm Karl August Friedrich of Nassau-Weilburg (12 August, 1823 - 28 December, 1828).
*Marie Wilhelmine Friederike Elisabeth of Nassau-Weilburg (29 January, 1825 - 24 March, 1902). Married Hermann, Prince of Wied. Their daughter Elisabeth married King Carol I of Romania.

Wilhelm married his second wife and niece of his first wife, Pauline of Württemberg on 23 April, 1829. Pauline was a daughter of Prince Paul of Württemberg and his wife Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Her paternal grandparents were Frederick I of Württemberg and his wife Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Augusta was the eldest daughter of Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg and Princess Augusta of Wales, elder sister George III of the United Kingdom.

Wilhelm and Pauline had four children:

*An unnamed daughter 27 April - 28 April, 1830).
*Helene of Nassau-Weilburg (12 April, 1831 - 27 October, 1880. She married Georg Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and had issue:
**Marie, who married King William II of Württemberg.
**Emma, who married King William III of the Netherlands. The present Dutch royal family descends from this marriage.
**Helena who married British Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany. Amongst her children was Charles Edward, last reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
**Friedrich, last reigning prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont.
*Nikolaus Wilhelm of Nassau-Weilburg (20 September, 1832 - 17 September, 1905). Married, morganatically, Natalia Alexandrovna Pushkina, Countess of Merenberg. She was a daughter of Alexander Pushkin and his wife Natalya Goncharova.
*Sofia of Nassau (9 July, 1836 - 30 December, 1913). Married King Oscar II of Sweden. The present Belgian, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish royal families descends from this marriage.

External links

* [http://genealogy.euweb.cz/nassau/nassau6.html#HAF A listing of descendants of the House of Nassau-Weilburg]