Friedrich Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

Friedrich Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (6 November, 1793 - 28 June, 1867) was a sovereign prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.

Biography

He was born in Rudolstadt the second son of the reigning prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Ludwig Friedrich II and his wife Landgravine Caroline of Hesse-Homburg (1771-1854). His grandfather Friedrich Karl had died seven months before his birth and so he was born as heir apparent and Hereditary Prince. His father died on April 28 1807 when he was fourteen so his mother acted as regent until he turned twenty one on November 6, 1814 when he assumed control of the principality. [ [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/German_States4.html#Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Worldstatesmen] ]

His reign spanning sixty years saw the creation of a Diet which he introduced in 1816 during the early years of his personal reign. [cite book| last =Hawkins| first =Francis Bisset| title =Germany: The Spirit of Her History, Literature, Social Condition, and National Economy| year =1838| publisher =J.W. Parker| pages =452| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=QlEHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA452&dq] When he ascended the throne in 1807, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine which was dissolved in 1813 with the Treaty of Paris on May 30, 1814 declaring the independence of the former Confederation states with Prince Friedrich Günther becoming the ruler of an independent principality. In 1815 the German Confederation was created and Schwarzburg-Rudolstadtalong with other German monarchies joining. The last years of his reign saw the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 where Prince Friedrich Günther kept Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt neutral and following the conclusion of the war the creation of the North German Confederation.

Following his death at Heidecksburg castle he was succeeded as prince by his brother Prince Albert as all his son's by his first wife had predeceased him and his son by his second wife Prince Sizzo of Leutenberg was born from a morganatic marriage. [ [http://www.btinternet.com/~allan_raymond/Mecklenburg_Strelitz_Royal_Family.htm#24.7336 Monarchies of Europe] ]

Marriages and children

Prince Friedrich Günther was married three times. His first wife was Princess Auguste of Anhalt-Dessau (1793-1854) who he married on April 15, 1816 at Dessau. They had three children.

*Prince Friedrich Günther (1818-1821)
*Prince Günther (1821-1845)
*Prince Gustav (1828-1837)

He married and secondly Countess Helene of Reina (1835-1860) on August 7, 1855 at Dresden. This marriage was morganatic and there children were created Prince and Princess of Leutenberg. [ [http://www.heraldica.org/topics/royalty/HGSchwarzburg.htm House Laws of Schwarzburg] ]

*Princess Helene (1860-1937)
*Prince Sizzo (1860-1926)

His third wife was Marie Schultze (1840-1909) who he married at Schwarzburg on September 24, 1861. This marriage was also morganatic and in 1864 he created the title Countess of Brockenburg for his wife. The marriage was childless.

Ancestry

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1= Friedrich Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
2= Ludwig Friedrich II, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
3= Landgravine Caroline of Hesse-Homburg
4= Friedrich Karl, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
5= Princess Friederike of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
6= Landgrave Friedrich V Ludwig of Hesse-Homburg
7= Landgravine Karoline of Hesse-Darmstadt
8= Ludwig Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
9= Countess Sophie Elisabeth Reuss von Unter-Greiz
10=Johann Friedrich, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
11=Princess Bernhardine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
12=Landgrave Friedrich IV Karl of Hesse-Homburg
13=Ulrike Luise of Solms-Braunfels
14=Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
15=Karoline of Zweibrücken

References

External links

* [http://pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff/gotha/schwarzburg.html Online Gotha]
* [http://genealogy.euweb.cz/schwburg/schwburg1.html Genealogy of the House of Schwarzburg]