Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany
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Missing image KPWilhelm.jpg Crown Prince Wilhelm |
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Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia (6 May 1882 - 20 July 1951), Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor August Ernst Kronprinz von Preussen, was born 6 May 1882 at Marmorpalais, Potsdam, Germany. He was the son of Wilhelm II of Germany (1859-1941) and his first wife Augusta of Schleswig-Holstein-Augustenburg (1858-1921). He was the last crown prince of Prussia and the German Empire.
Around 1901-1906 he had a brief affair, which initiated a lifelong friendship, with opera singer Geraldine Farrar (1882-1967).
On 6 June 1905 at Berlin he married Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (20 September 1886 - 6 May 1954), the daughter of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1851-1897) and his wife Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia (1860-1922)
Their children were:
- Wilhelm (1906-1940)
- Louis Ferdinand (1907-1994)
- Hubertus (1909-1950)
- Friedrich (1911-1966)
- Alexandrine (1915-1980)
- Cecilie (1917-1975)
He had received little command experience when he was given charge of the Fifth army in August 1914, shortly after the outbreak of World War I. After a quick victory in Ardennes his military reputation rose. During the remainder of the war he served on the western front. While on the Western front he notably headed the Verdun offensive against the French in February 1916. Despite a German victory in May 1918, Wilhelm realized that defeat was just a matter of time. After the abolition of the German monarchy in 1918 he fled with his father to Doorn in the Netherlands on November 12, 1918. He signed an abdication renouncing his rights to the throne.
He returned to Germany in November 1923 after he had assured Chancellor Gustav Stresemann that he would not participate in any political affairs. There was some discussion of his running in the 1932 presidential election, as the candidate of the Harzburg Front, but his father refused to allow it, and he passed up the opportunity, ultimately endorsing Hitler. He soon fell out with the Nazis, and refused to join the Nazi Party. He died 20 July 1951 at Hechingen of a heart attack.nl:Wilhelm van Pruisen de:Wilhelm von Preußen pl:Wilhelm von Hohenzollern