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May 6, 1954: Death Duchess Cecilie Auguste Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, German Crown Princess and Crown Princess of Prussia

06 Friday May 2022

Posted by liamfoley63 in Abdication, Empire of Europe, Featured Royal, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Genealogy, Royal House, Royal Mistress, Royal Titles, royal wedding, This Day in Royal History

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Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia, Duchess Cecilie Auguste Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, German Crown Princess and Crown Princess of Prussia, German Emperor Wilhelm II, Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia, Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, King Christian X of Denmark, Princess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Princess Charlotte of Prussia

Duchess Cecilie Auguste Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (September 20, 1886 – May 6, 1954) was the last German Crown Princess and Crown Princess of Prussia as the wife of Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, the son of German Emperor Wilhelm II.

Cecilie was a daughter of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia.

Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia was the daughter of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia was the fourth son and seventh child of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia.

On August 16, 1857, Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia married Princess Cecilie of Baden (1839–1891), daughter of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden and Sophie of Sweden.

Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was the son of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and his first wife Princess Augusta Reuss of Köstritz.

Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and her husband, Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia were cousins. Both were descendants of Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia, and Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (from a collateral branch of the Mecklenburg Royal House).

Cecilie was a granddaughter of Charlotte of Prussia the eldest surviving daughter and fourth child of Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia, while her husband was a great-grandson of Charlotte’s brother, Wilhelm I, German Emperor and King of Prussia.

She was brought up with simplicity. and her early life was peripatetic, spending summers in Mecklenburg and the rest of the year in the south of France. After the death of her father, she traveled every summer between 1898 and 1904 to her mother’s native Russia.

She spent most of her childhood in Schwerin, at the royal residences of Ludwigslust Palace and the Gelbensande hunting lodge, only a few kilometres from the Baltic Sea coast. Her father suffered badly from asthma and the wet damp cold climate of Mecklenburg was not good for his health.

As a result, Cecilie spent a large amount of time with her family in Cannes in the south of France, favoured at the time by European royalty, including some whom Cecilie met such as Empress Eugénie and her future husband’s great-uncle, Edward VII.

During the winter visit of 1897, Cecilie’s sister, Alexandrine, met her future husband, Crown Prince Christian, later Christian X of Denmark, shortly before the death of their father at the age of 46. After returning to Schwerin, Cecilie spent time with her widowed mother in Denmark.

The wedding of her sister took place in Cannes in April 1898. After the death of her father, she traveled every summer, from 1898 to 1904, visiting her relatives in Russia. Cecilie lived there in Mikhailovskoe on Kronstadt Bay, the country home of her maternal grandfather, Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia.

Engagement

Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and the Wilhelm, Crown Prince of Germany in 1905.

During the wedding festivities of her brother Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in Schwerin in June 1904, the 17-year-old Duchess Cecilie got to know her future husband, Wilhelm, German Crown Prince.

German Emperor Wilhelm II had sent his eldest son to the festivities as his personal representative. Taller than most women of her time at 182 centimetres (over 5’11”), Cecilie was as tall as the German Crown Prince. Wilhelm was struck by her great beauty, and her dark hair and eyes.

On September 4, 1904, the young couple celebrated their engagement at the Mecklenburg-Schwerin hunting lodge, Gelbensande. The Emperor as an engagement present had a wooden residence built nearby for the couple. On September 5, the first official photos of the couple were taken.

Wedding

The wedding of Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and the German Crown Prince Wilhelm took place on June 6, 1905 in Berlin. Arriving from Schwerin at Berlin’s Lehrter Station, the future Crown Princess was greeted on the platform with a gift of dark red roses.

She was greeted at Bellevue Palace by the entire German Imperial Family and later made a joyeuse entrée through the Brandenburg Gate to a gun salute in the Tiergarten. Crowds lined the sides of the Unter den Linden as she passed on the way to the Berlin Royal Palace.

Emperor Wilhelm II greeted her at the palace and conducted her to the Knight’s Hall where over fifty guests from different European royal houses awaited the young bride including Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria as well as representatives from Denmark, Italy, Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands. On her wedding day, Emperor Wilhelm II presented his daughter-in-law with the Order of Louise.

The wedding ceremony took place in the Royal Chapel and also the nearby Berlin Cathedral. The royal couple received as wedding presents jewellery, silverware and porcelain. At the wish of the bride, Richard Wagner’s famous wedding march from Lohengrin was played along with music from The Meistersinger from Nuremberg conducted by Richard Strauss.

On her wedding day, Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin became Her Imperial and Royal Highness The German Crown Princess and Crown Princess of Prussia. She was expected to one day become German Empress and Queen of Prussia.

German Crown Princess

As German Crown Princess, Cecilie quickly became one of the most beloved members of the German Imperial House. She was known for her elegance and fashion consciousness. It was not long before her fashion style was copied by many women throughout the German Empire.

However, her husband was a womanizer and the marriage was unhappy.

After the fall of the German monarchy, at the end of World War I, Cecilie and her husband lived mostly apart. During the Weimar Republic and the Nazi period, Cecilie lived a private life mainly at Cecilienhof Palace in Potsdam.

With the advance of the Soviet troops, she left the Cecilienhof in February 1945, never to return. She settled in Bad Kissingen until 1952 when she moved to an apartment in the Frauenkopf district of Stuttgart. In 1952, she published a book of memoirs. She died two years later, on May 6, 1954, which would have been her husband’s 72nd birthday.

May 6, 1882: Birth of Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, Crown Prince of Prussia

06 Friday May 2022

Posted by liamfoley63 in Abdication, Empire of Europe, Featured Royal, Kingdom of Europe, Royal House, This Day in Royal History

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Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia, German Emperor Wilhelm II, Head of the House of Prussia, House of Hohenzollern, King of Prussia, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, World War I

Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, Crown Prince of Prussia (Friedrich Wilhelm Victor August Ernst; May 6, 1882 – July 20, 1951) was the eldest child of the last German Emperor, Wilhelm II, and his consort Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. As Emperor Wilhelm’s heir, he was the last Crown Prince of the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia.

Wilhelm was born on May 6, 1882 as the eldest son of the then Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, and his first wife, Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. He was born in the Marmorpalais of Potsdam in the Province of Brandenburg, where his parents resided until his father acceded to the throne.

When he was born, his great-grandfather Wilhelm I was the German Emperor and King of Prussia while his grandfather Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm was the heir apparent, making Wilhelm third in line to the throne.

His birth sparked an argument between his parents and his grandmother Crown Princess Victoria. Before Wilhelm was born, his grandmother, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, had expected to be asked to help find a nurse, but since her son did everything he could to snub her, the future Wilhelm II asked his aunt Princess Helena to help instead. His mother was hurt and his grandmother, Queen Victoria, who was the younger Wilhelm’s great-grandmother, was furious.

Wilhelm became crown prince at the age of six in 1888, when his grandfather Friedrich III died and his father became emperor.

Wilhelm married Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (September 20, 1886 – May. 6, 1954) in Berlin on June 6, 1905. After their marriage, the couple lived at the Crown Prince’s Palace in Berlin in the winter and at the Marmorpalais in Potsdam.

Cecilie was 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 eldest son, Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, was killed fighting for the German Army in France in 1940.

However, Crown Prince Wilhelm was a womanizer and the marriage was unhappy. After the fall of the German monarchy, at the end of World War I, Wilhelm and Cecilie lived mostly apart.

Wilhelm was crown prince for 30 years until the fall of the German Empire on November 9, 1918. During World War I, he commanded the 5th Army from 1914 to 1916 and was commander of the Army Group German Crown Prince for the remainder of the war.

After his return to Germany in 1923, he fought the Weimar Republic and campaigned for the reintroduction of the monarchy and a dictatorship in Germany.

After his plans to become president had been blocked by his father, Wilhelm supported Adolf Hitler’s rise to power, but when Wilhelm realised that Hitler had no intention of restoring the monarchy, their relationship cooled.

Wilhelm became head of the House of Hohenzollern on June 4, 1941 following the death of his father. Although the Monarchy had been abolished, to his supporters and monarchists he had become Wilhelm III, German Emperor and King of Prussia. He held the position until his own death on July 20, 1951. He was succeeded in the headship of the House of Hohenzollern by his second son, Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia.

May 6, 1882: Birth of Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia.

06 Thursday May 2021

Posted by liamfoley63 in Empire of Europe, Featured Royal, This Day in Royal History

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Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia, Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, German Emperor, German Empire, Wilhelm II of Germany, World War I, World War III

Prince Wilhelm was born on May 6, 1882 in the Marmorpalais of Potsdam in the Province of Brandenburg. He was the eldest son of Wilhelm II, the last German Kaiser (Emperor) (1859–1941), and his first wife, Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein (1858–1921).

When he was born, his great-grandfather Wilhelm I was the emperor and his grandfather Crown Prince Friedrich was the heir apparent, making Wilhelm third in line to the throne.

His birth sparked an argument between his parents and his grandmother Crown Princess Victoria. Before Wilhelm was born, his grandmother had expected to be asked to help find a nurse, but since her son did everything he could to snub her, the future Wilhelm II asked his aunt Helena to help.

His mother was hurt and his grandmother, Queen Victoria, who was the younger Wilhelm’s great-grandmother, furious. When his great-grandfather and grandfather both died in 1888, six-year-old Wilhelm became the heir apparent to the German and Prussian thrones.

Wilhelm married Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (September 20, 1886 – May 6, 1954) in Berlin on June 6, 1905. After their marriage, the couple lived at the Crown Prince’s Palace in Berlin in the winter and at the Marmorpalais in Potsdam.

Cecilie was the daughter of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1851–1897) and his wife, Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia (1860–1922). Their eldest son, Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, was killed fighting for the German Army in France in 1940.

During World War I, he commanded the 5th Army from 1914 to 1916 and was commander of the Army Group German Crown Prince for the remainder of the war.

At the end of the war, Wilhelm was captured by French Moroccan troops in Baad, Austria and was interned as a (World War I) war criminal. Transferred to Hechingen, Germany, he lived for a short time in Hohenzollern Castle under house arrest.

Upon his father’s death on June 4, 1941, Wilhelm succeeded him as head of the House of Hohenzollern, the former German imperial dynasty. To his monarchist supporters he was German Emperor Wilhelm III and King of Prussia. He was approached by those in the military and the diplomatic service who wanted to replace Hitler, but Wilhelm turned them down.

After the ill-fated assassination attempt on July 20, 1944, Hitler nevertheless had Wilhelm placed under supervision by the Gestapo and had his home at Cecilienhof watched.

Eventually he moved to a small five-room house at Fürstenstraße 16 in Hechingen where he died on July 20, 1951, of a heart attack.

May 6, 1954: Death of Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Crown Princess of Germany and Prussia.

06 Wednesday May 2020

Posted by liamfoley63 in Empire of Europe, Featured Royal, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Genealogy, Royal House, Royal Succession, Royal Titles, royal wedding, This Day in Royal History

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Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia, Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia, Grand Duke Frederick Francis III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, King Frederick William III of Prussia, Prince Louis-Ferdinand of Prussia, Princess Charlotte of Prussia

Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Cecilie Auguste Marie; September 20, 1886 – May 6, 1954) was the last German and Prussian Crown Princess as the wife of German Crown Prince Wilhelm, the son of German Emperor Wilhelm II.

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Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Crown Princess of Germany and Prussia.

Cecilie was a daughter of Friedrich-Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia, the only daughter and second child of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and a granddaughter of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia. Emperor Nicholas I’s wife was Princess Charlotte of Prussia (1798–1860), the eldest surviving daughter of King Friedrich-Wilhelm III of Prussia (r. 1797–1840). Princess Charlotte of Prussia was a sister of Friedrich-Wilhelm IV and of Wilhelm I, German Emperor, the great-grandfather of Crown Prince Wilhelm. This means that Duchess Cecilie and her husband, Crown Prince Wilhelm, were 3rd cousins with King Friedrich-Wilhelm III of Prussia being their closest common ancestor.

Incidentally, Emperor Nicholas I of Russia and Princess Charlotte of Prussia were also 3rd cousins, as they were both great-great-grandchildren of Friedrich-Wilhelm I of Prussia.

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Duchess Cecilie’s father, Friedrich-Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

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Duchess Cecilie’s mother, Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia

Duchess Cecilie was brought up with simplicity and her early life was peripatetic, although she spent most of her childhood in Schwerin, at the royal residences of Ludwigslust Palace and the Gelbensande hunting lodge, only a few kilometres from the Baltic Sea coast. Her father suffered badly from asthma and the wet damp cold climate of Mecklenburg was not good for his health. As a result, Cecilie spent a large amount of time with her family in Cannes in the south of France, favoured at the time by European royalty, including some whom Cecilie met such as Empress Eugénie and her future husband’s great-uncle, Edward VII.

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Cecilie, Alexandrine and Friedrich-Franz of Mecklenburg-Schwerin with their mother Grand Duchess Anastasia.

During the winter visit of 1897 to Denmark, Cecilie’s sister, Alexandrine, met her future husband, Crown Prince Christian, later Christian X of Denmark, shortly before the death of their father at the age of 46. After returning to Schwerin, Cecilie spent time with her widowed mother in Denmark. The wedding of her sister took place in Cannes in April 1898. After the death of her father, she traveled every summer, from 1898 to 1904, visiting her relatives in Russia. Cecilie lived there in Mikhailovskoe on Kronstadt Bay, the country home of her maternal grandfather, Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia.

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During the wedding festivities of her brother Friedrich-Franz IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in Schwerin in June 1904, the 17-year-old Duchess Cecilie got to know her future husband, Wilhelm, German Crown Prince. Emperor Wilhelm II had sent his eldest son to the festivities as his personal representative. Taller than most women of her time at 182 centimetres (over 5’11”), Cecilie was as tall as the German Crown Prince. Wilhelm was struck by her great beauty, and her dark hair and eyes. On September 4, 1904, the young couple celebrated their engagement at the Mecklenburg-Schwerin hunting lodge, Gelbensande. The German Emperor had a wooden residence built nearby for the couple as an engagement present. On September 5, the first official photos of the couple were taken.

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Official engagement photo of Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia and Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Wedding

The wedding of Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and the German Crown Prince Wilhelm took place on June 6, 1905 in Berlin. Arriving from Schwerin at Berlin’s Lehrter Station, the future Crown Princess was greeted on the platform with a gift of dark red roses. She was greeted at Bellevue Palace by the entire German Imperial Family and later made a joyeuse entrée through the Brandenburg Gate to a gun salute in the Tiergarten. Crowds lined the sides of the Unter den Linden as she passed on the way to the Berlin Royal Palace. Emperor Wilhelm II greeted her at the palace and conducted her to the Knight’s Hall where over fifty guests from different European royal houses awaited the young bride including Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, as well as representatives from Denmark, Italy, Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands. On her wedding day, Emperor Wilhelm II presented his daughter-in-law with the Order of Louise.

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The wedding ceremony took place in the Royal Chapel and also the nearby Berlin Cathedral. The royal couple received as wedding presents jewellery, silverware and porcelain. At the wish of the bride, Richard Wagner’s famous wedding march from Lohengrin was played along with music from The Meistersinger from Nuremberg conducted by Richard Strauss. On her wedding day, Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin became Her Imperial and Royal Highness The German Crown Princess and Crown Princess of Prussia. She was expected to one day become German Empress and Queen of Prussia. After the end of the wedding festivities, the German Crown Princely couple made their summer residence at the Marble Palace in Potsdam.

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German Crown Princess

As German Crown Princess, Cecilie quickly became one of the most beloved members of the German Imperial House. She was known for her elegance and fashion consciousness. It was not long before her fashion style was copied by many women throughout the German Empire. Every year at the beginning of the court season in January, the couple would return to the Crown Prince Palace in Berlin on Unter den Linden. Cecilie’s first child was born on July 4, 1906 and given the traditional Hohenzollern name of Wilhelm.

At the time, the German monarchy appeared to be very secure. Nonetheless in private she had a fiery temper, not countenancing contradiction. Although in public the marriage of the Crown Prince and Princess appeared to be perfect, cracks quickly appeared due to the Crown Prince’s wandering eye and controlling behavior. Very early on, he began a series of affairs that strained the relationship between husband and wife – on one occasion announcing to his wife his latest escapade, whereupon she thought of drowning herself.
In spite of her husband’s unfaithfulness, however, Cecilie had given birth to six children by 1917.

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She herself developed a passionate relationship with Baron Otto von Dungern (1873-1969), her husband’s aide de camp – attempting, once, to get into bed with Dungern. On discovering that Dungern was also having an affair with another woman at court, she confessed to her husband who told him to resign with the words: “Only my consideration for his imperial majesty (his father, Kaiser William II) prevents me from grinding you into the dust.”

World War I

At the time of the outbreak of war in 1914, Cecilie was once again pregnant. She was distressed when her first daughter, Princess Alexandrine, was born with Down’s syndrome. Due to the rigidity of Hohenzollern court protocol, the information about the condition was not released. As German Crown Princess, Cecilie was expected to carry on with her duties unaffected, which in time of war consisted largely of regular visits to the war wounded in an effort to sustain morale.

Cecilie’s husband the Crown Prince served on the western front in the south under the direct command of Field Marshal Hindenburg. In the last phase of the war, great difficulties affected the German people. For Cecilie, with strong family links to the Russian court through her mother, the Russian revolution of March 1917 greatly affected her. Her uncles, Grand Dukes Nicholas, George and Sergei Michailovich were all murdered.

Revolution and the overthrow of the German monarchy

The political and economic situation in the last year of the war became more and more hopeless. On November 6, 1918, the new German imperial Chancellor, Prince Max of Baden, met with Minister Wilhelm Solf to discuss the future of the German Empire. They were both of the opinion that the monarchy could only survive with the removal of the Emperor and his son the Crown Prince and the setting up of a Regentship under the nominal rule of the young son of Crown Princess Cecilie.

Such idea quickly disappeared with Friedrich Ebert becoming Chancellor and a republic being declared a few days later. Both the Emperor and the Crown Prince crossed the border to seek exile in neutral Netherlands. The monarchy collapsed with the defeat of Germany at the end of the war. Cecilie with her young children was living in Potsdam during the revolutionary period. She had moved from her new home of Cecilienhof with her children to join her mother-in-law in the relative safety of the New Palace. It was here that the Empress Auguste Viktoria informed her daughter-in-law, “The revolution has broken out. The Emperor has abdicated. The war is lost.”

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Crown Prince and Princess Wilhelm and Cecile of Prussia visiting with Cecilie’s sister Alexandrine and her husband the future King Christian X of Denmark.

The former German Crown Princess was nothing but realistic about the new political situation confronting her family and Germany. The former Empress went into exile to join her husband. The Crown Princess was quite prepared to do the same, but wanted to stay in Germany with her children if at all possible. This she was allowed to do and on November 14, she quietly left the New Palace and returned to her private home Cecilienhof. As a result of a change of circumstances, Cecilie reduced her household staff by 50%.

Her children’s tutor also left her service and as a result her two eldest sons, Princes Wilhelm and Louis Ferdinand, for the first time attended as day students at a nearby school.Cecilie had considerable sympathy for the plight of the German people. In reply to an address from the German Women’s Union in Berlin, the former Crown Princess stated, “I need no sympathy. I have the beautiful situation that can befall any German woman, the education of my children as good German citizens.”

Crown Prince Wilhelm was only allowed to return to Germany from his enforced exile in 1923. Before then visits to him were difficult. Fortunately for the Hohenzollern family they still possessed considerable private holdings in Germany due to a provisional agreement worked out between the Hohenzollern family and the Prussian state in November 1920.

Castle Oels, a castle with 10,000 hectares of workable land in Silesia, now modern day Poland, provided substantial income for Cecilie’s family. In the absence of her husband, Cecilie became the leading figure in the once ruling House of Hohenzollern. The former Crown Princess was under no illusions that the empire would be restored, unlike her father-in-law exiled in Doorn in the Netherlands.

The Emperor’s return was completely impossible. With the election of Gustav Stresemann as Chancellor of the Weimar Republic in August 1923, negotiations for the former Crown Prince commenced. On the evening of November 13, 1923, Cecilie met her husband at Castle Oels. The years of separation and the behavior of Wilhelm had made the marriage now merely one in name only, but Cecilie was determined to keep things together even at a distance. More and more she lived in Cecilienhof at Potsdam, while her husband lived in Silesia.

The couple would come together when necessary for the sake of family unity for occasions such as family weddings, confirmation of children, christenings and funerals. In 1927, a final financial agreement was reached between the Hohenzollerns and the Prussian state. Cecilie remained active within several charity organizations such as the Queen Luise Fund, Chair of the Fatherland’s Women Union and the Ladies of the Order of St. John, while keeping clear of any political involvement. With the coming to power of the National Socialist Party of Adolf Hitler in 1933, all such charitable organizations were dissolved.

Under Nazi German rule 1933-1939

During 1933-1945, Cecilie lived a private life at Cecilienhof in Potsdam. Her eldest son, Prince Wilhelm forfeited his position as possible heir when he married Dorothea von Salviati on June 3, 1933. This occurred as she was not from a suitable royal family. Even though the royal house was formally deposed, its strict house rules still persisted.

The former Crown Prince and Princess were more understanding of their son than the exiled Emperor. Cecilie was not perturbed and made the best of the situation and was delighted when she became a grandmother for the first time on June 7, 1934. In 1935, Cecilie’s second son Prince Louis-Ferdinand worked, after studying economics and working for a time in the United States as a mechanic for Ford, with Lufthansa. Her third son, Hubertus, after spending a period of time farming joined the military and then the air force to become a pilot. The youngest son Friedrich went into business.

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Prince Louis-Ferdinand of Prussia and his wife Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna of Russia

In May 1938, at Cecilienhof, Prince Louis-Ferdinand married the Russian Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna of Russia the second daughter of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia (the pretender to the Russian throne) and Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the third child and second daughter of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. She was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Emperor Alexander II of Russia. This meant that Prince Louis-Ferdinand married the Russian Grand Duchess Kira we’re 2nd cousins once removed from their common descent from Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. This wedding would be the last great family occasion before the outbreak of World War II in September 1939.

World War II

A period of relative calm for Cecilie’s family and for Germany came to an end with the outbreak of World War II in September 1939. Cecilie’s 24-year-old nephew, Prince Oskar, fell as a casualty five days after the start of the invasion of Poland. More personal tragedy occurred when her eldest son, Prince Wilhelm, was mortally wounded in battle at Valenciennes in France on 25 May 1940. He died on May 26, in a field hospital at Nivelle. His funeral took place in the Church of Peace at Potsdam on May 28, Over 50,000 people lined the way to his final resting place in the Antique Temple near the remains of his grandmother, former Empress Auguste Victoria. The huge turnout in respect for a Prince, who had died a hero’s death, from the former ruling dynasty, alarmed and infuriated Adolf Hitler. As a result, no Prince from a former German dynasty was allowed to serve at the front and in 1943 Hitler ordered that they all be discharged from the armed forces.

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In 1941, the former German Emperor Wilhelm II died. At the age of 55, Cecilie’s husband became Head of the House of Hohenzollern. While under the monarchy this would have meant a great change for Cecilie and her husband. She would have been the new German Empress and Queen of Prussia and her husband would have become German Emperor and King of Prussia as Wilhelm III.

During this time, Cecilie and her husband increasingly retreated to Castle Oels to live a quiet life, far away from the dangers of Berlin. Even Potsdam, only 30 minutes away by train from the capital was too close for comfort. With the war going badly, Cecilie and her family left the advancing danger of the Soviet army to return to Potsdam where they celebrated Christmas in December 1944. It would be the last such occasion at her beloved home. In February 1945, Cecilie left Cecilienhof for the last time.

Final years

Cecilie fled the Red Army in February 1945 to the sanatorium of Dr. Paul Sotier (personal physician of Emperor Wilhelm II) Fürstenhof in Bad Kissingen in Bavaria. On 20 September 1946, she celebrated her 60th birthday. She was joined on this occasion by her husband and some of their children. Wilhelm had settled into a small house in Hechingen. Tragedy struck again when yet another son, this time Prince Hubertus, died from appendicitis on 8 April 1950. In early 1951, the health of the former Crown Prince deteriorated and on July 20, he died. On July 26, his funeral took place at Castle Hohenzollern where he was buried in the ground near an urn containing the ashes of the late Prince Hubertus. On the arm of her son, Prince Louis Ferdinand, Cecilie bade a final farewell to her husband. She remained in Bad Kissingen until 1952 when she moved to an apartment in the Frauenkopf district of Stuttgart.

In 1952, Cecilie’s memoirs, ‘Remembrances’ were published. In an act of healing and friendship, the former Crown Princess Cecilie was received by King George V of the United Kingdom’s widow, Queen Mary, in May 1952 during a visit to England. Cecilie visited for the first time to attend the christening of her granddaughter, Princess Victoria Marina of Prussia the daughter of her son Prince Frederick. Tragedy once again struck when Cecilie’s sister, the Danish Queen Mother, Queen Alexandrine died on December 28 of the same year. On January 3, 1953, Cecilie attended her funeral at Roskilde Cathedral in Denmark. From this time on, the former German Crown Princess never fully recovered. She managed to struggle on with the help of her family until May 1954 6, when she died on a visit to Bad Kissingen. It was the 72nd anniversary of the birth of her late husband. On May 12, 1954, her funeral took place and her remains were interred next to Crown Prince Wilhelm in the grounds of Castle Hohenzollern.

May 6, 1882: Birth of Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia

06 Wednesday May 2020

Posted by liamfoley63 in Empire of Europe, Featured Royal, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Genealogy, Royal House, Royal Succession, Royal Titles, royal wedding, This Day in Royal History

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Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein, Battle of Verdun, Butcher of Verdun, Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia, Frederick Francis III of Mecklenburg-Strelitz-Schwerin, Frederick III of Germany, German Emperor, Potsdam, Prussia, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Vth Army, Wilhelm I of Germany, Wilhelm II of Germany, World War I, World War ii

Wilhelm, German Crown Prince (German: Friedrich Wilhelm Victor August Ernst; May 6, 1882 – July 20, 1951)

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Wilhelm was born on May 6, 1882 in the Marmorpalais of Potsdam in the Province of Brandenburg. He was the eldest son of Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor (1859–1941), and his first wife, Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein (1858–1921), the eldest daughter of Frederick VIII, future Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, a great-niece of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

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Crown Prince Wilhelm’s parents: Emperor and Empress Wilhelm II and Augusta-Victoria

At the time of his birth he was third in line to the Imperial and Royal thrones of Germany and Prussia. His great-grandfather, German Emperor Wilhelm I, occupied the throne. His grandfather, Crown Prince Friedrich, was next in line followed by his own father, Wilhelm. Like his father, he was christened Friedrich Wilhelm but went by his second name. Wilhelm was also the great-grandson of Britain’s Queen Victoria through his grandmother, Princess Victoria, the Princess Royal, who was his father’s mother.

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His birth sparked an argument between his parents and his grandmother Crown Princess Victoria. Before Wilhelm was born, his grandmother had expected to be asked to help find a nurse, but since her son did everything he could to snub her, the future Wilhelm II asked his aunt Helena to help. His mother was hurt and his grandmother, Queen Victoria, who was the younger Wilhelm’s great-grandmother, furious. When his great-grandfather and grandfather both died in 1888, six-year-old Wilhelm became the heir apparent to the German and Prussian thrones.

He was raised in the traditional manner of a Prussian prince; schooled by tutors and on his tenth birthday in 1892 he entered the First Guard Regiment and was given the Order of the Black Eagle by his father. As he grew older Wilhelm enjoyed the life of a Prussian military officer who was devoted to military life.

One of his great loves was an American singer Geraldine Farrar but she was not of the stature for him to be allowed to marry her. As a future Emperor-King, Wilhelm needed to follow the strict protocol of marrying a princess of equal rank to his.

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Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

On July 5, 1904, Crown Prince Wilhelm met his future bride, Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (September 20, 1886 – May 6, 1954) the daughter of Grand Duke Friedrich-Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1851–1897) and his wife, Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia (1860–1922).

At this time her brother, Friedrich-Franz IV was the reigning Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and had recently married Princess Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland. Upon their return to Schwerin Crown Prince Wilhelm arrived in the capitol of the Grand Duchy to deliver the couple a wedding present on behalf of his parents. This is where he met the Grand Duke’s 17 year old sister, Princess Cecilie. He immediately fell in love with her and much to the relief of his parents he had found someone of equal rank.

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Wilhelm married Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin married in pomp and splendor on June 6, 1905. After their marriage, the couple lived at the Crown Prince’s Palace in Berlin in the winter and at the Marmorpalais in Potsdam. Their eldest son, Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, was killed fighting for the German Army in France in 1940. However, during the early stages of his marriage the crown prince had a brief affair with the American opera singer Geraldine Farrar, and he later had a relationship with the dancer Mata Hari, as well as with actress Ossi Oswalda. Wilhelm and Cecilie had 6 children (4 sons and 2 daughter).

World War I

In 1914 Crown Prince Wilhelm’s life changed forever as the First World War broke out. Despite being in the military for the majority of his life he did not have much leadership experience but was given the command of the Vth Army. He oversaw the Verdun Offensive and was forever known by the French as the ‘Butcher of Verdun.” Crown Prince Wilhelm is on record as not being supportive of the war.

Wilhelm had been active in pushing German expansion, and sought a leading role on the outbreak of war. Despite being only thirty-two and having never commanded a unit larger than a regiment, the German Crown Prince was named commander of the 5th Army in August 1914, shortly after the outbreak of World War I.

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However, under the well-established Prussian/German General Staff model then in use, inexperienced nobles who were afforded commands of large army formations were always provided with (and expected to defer to the advice of) experienced chiefs of staff to assist them in their duties. As Emperor, Wilhelm’s father instructed the Crown Prince to defer to the advice of his experienced chief of staff Konstantin Schmidt von Knobelsdorf.

In October 1914 Wilhelm gave his first interview to a foreign correspondent and the first statement to the press made by a German noble since the outbreak of war. He denied promoting military solutions to diplomatic problems, and said this in English:

Undoubtedly this is the most stupid, senseless and unnecessary war of modern times. It is a war not wanted by Germany, I can assure you, but it was forced on us, and the fact that we were so effectually prepared to defend ourselves is now being used as an argument to convince the world that we desired conflict.
— Crown Prince Wilhelm, Wiegand

From August 1915 onwards, Wilhelm was given the additional role as commander of the Army Group German Crown Prince. In 1916 his troops began the Verdun Offensive, a year long effort to destroy the French armies that would end in failure. Wilhelm relinquished command of the 5th Army in November of that year, but remained commander of the Army Group German Crown Prince for the rest of the war.

When Germany lost the war the Crown Prince went into exile on the island of Wieringen, in the Netherlands and was not popular in Germany. His father, Wilhelm II, also sought asylum in the Netherlands settling on an estate in Doorn.

1918–34

After the outbreak of the German Revolution in 1918, both Emperor Wilhelm II and the Crown Prince signed the document of abdication. On November 13, the former Crown Prince fled Germany, crossed into the Netherlands at Oudvroenhoven and was later interned on the island of Wieringen (now part of the mainland), near Den Helder.

In the autumn of 1921, Gustav Stresemann visited Wilhelm, and the former Crown Prince voiced an interest in returning to Germany, even as a private citizen. After Stresemann became chancellor in August 1923, Wilhelm was allowed to return after giving assurances that he would not engage in politics. He chose November 9 1923 for this, which infuriated his father, who had not been informed about the plans of his son and who felt the historic date to be inappropriate.

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The dapper Crown Prince

However, at one point he did have political aspirations and desired to run for Reichspräsident against Paul von Hindenburg in 1932. This ambition was curtailed when his father threatened to disinherit him if he chose this path. The former Kaiser was never supportive of the democratic process and the thought of a Hohenzollern prince running for an election was an anathema to him. From 1919 until 1934 a great aspirtation for the former Crown prince was a restoration of the monarchy.

In June 1926, a referendum on expropriating the former ruling Princes of Germany without compensation failed and as a consequence, the financial situation of the Hohenzollern family improved considerably. A settlement between the state and the family made Cecilienhof property of the state but granted a right of residence to Wilhelm and Cecilie. This was limited in duration to three generations. The family also kept the ownership of Monbijou Palace in Berlin, Oels Castle in Silesia, and Rheinsberg Palace until 1945.

1934–51

The Crown Prince supported the rise of Hitler for a short time as did many German princes as Hitler used the promise of a restoration of the monarchy as a means to court their support. With the death of his friend, the former Chancellor, Kurt von Schleicher, in the Night of the Long Knives in 1934 enabled him to see Hitlers true colors. When Wilhelm realised that Hitler had no intention of restoring the monarchy, their relationship cooled. From that period on Crown Prince Wilhelm ceased his political activities and his pursuit for the Restoration of the monarchy. In the 1930s Wilhelm lived the life of a playboy enjoying fast cars and fast women, his relationship with his wife had long been over in everything but name.

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On June 4, 1941 his father died at the age of 82, Wilhelm succeeded him as head of the House of Hohenzollern, the former German imperial dynasty. If the monarchy had survived he would have become German Emperor and King of Prussia as Wilhelm III. He was approached by those in the military and the diplomatic service who wanted to replace Hitler, but Wilhelm turned them down. After the ill-fated assassination attempt on July 20, 1944, Hitler nevertheless had Wilhelm placed under supervision by the Gestapo and had his home at Cecilienhof watched.

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Three Generations, The Crown Prince Wilhelm, The Emperor and Prince Wilhelm of Prussia

During the war he kept a low profile. His eldest son, Prince Wilhelm, died in battle during the war. In January 1945, Wilhelm left Potsdam for Oberstdorf for a treatment of his gall bladder and liver problems. His wife Cecilie fled in early February 1945 as the Red Army drew closer to Berlin, but they had been living apart for a long time. At the end of the war, Wilhelm’s home, Cecilienhof, was seized by the Soviets. The palace was subsequently used by the Allied Powers as the venue for the Potsdam Conference.

At the end of the war, Wilhelm was captured by French Moroccan troops in Baad, Austria and was interned as a (World War I) war criminal. Transferred to Hechingen, Germany, he lived for a short time in Hohenzollern Castle under house arrest.

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The Crown Prince on his deathbed

He lived alone in a small five-room house at Fürstenstraße 16 in Hechingen and fell into a depression. The world he grew up in was gone. Prussia, the sate that brought the Hohenzollerns to prominence, was formally dissolved on February 25, 1947 the Allied Control Council. From the end of the war to the end of his life Wilhelm lived as a private citizen with a small group of friends. On July 20, 1951 the chain smoking former heir to the glorious German Empire suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 69. He was succeeded by his second son, Prince Louis-Ferdinand, as head of the Imperial house and claimer to the vacant thrones of Germany and Prussia.

On this date in history: May 6, 1882. The 137th Anniversary of the birth of Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia.

06 Monday May 2019

Posted by liamfoley63 in Featured Royal, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Genealogy, Royal Succession, This Day in Royal History

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Tags

birth, Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Crown Prince Wilhelm, Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia, Crown Princess of Prussia, German Emperor, German Empire, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, World War I

Wilhelm, German and Prussian Crown Prince (Friedrich Wilhelm Victor August Ernst, May 6, 1882 – July 20, 1951) was the eldest child and heir of the last German Emperor, Wilhelm II, and his wife Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg.

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HIRH Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia

Wilhelm was the last Crown Prince of the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. After the death of his grandfather, Emperor Friedrich III, Wilhelm became crown prince at the age of six, retaining that title for more than 30 years until the fall of the empire on November 9, 1918. During World War I, he commanded the 5th Army from 1914 to 1916 and was commander of Army Group German Crown Prince for the remainder of the war.

IMG_5315
Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Wilhelm married Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (20 September 1886 – 6 May 1954) in Berlin on 6 June 1905. After their marriage, the couple lived at the Crown Prince’s Palace in Berlin in the winter and at the Marmorpalais in Potsdam. Cecilie was the daughter of Friedrich Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1851–1897) and his wife, Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia (1860–1922). Their eldest son, Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, was killed fighting for the German Army in France in 1940. However, during the early stages of his marriage the crown prince had a brief affair with the American opera singer Geraldine Farrar, and he later had a relationship with the dancer and spy the infamous Mata Hari.

Their children are:

1. Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (1906–1940), who renounced his succession rights in 1933. He married 1933 Dorothea von Salviati and had issue.

2. Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia (1907–1994); married 1938 Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna of Russia and had issue.

3. Prince Hubertus of Prussia (1909–1950); married 1941 Baroness Maria von Humboldt-Dachroeden, 1943 Princess Magdalena Reuss and had issue.

4. Prince Friedrich of Prussia (1911–1966); married 1945 Lady Brigid Guinness and had issue.

5. Princess Alexandrine of Prussia (1915–1980), called “Adini.” She had Down’s syndrome.

6. Princess Cecilie of Prussia (1917–1975); married Clyde Kenneth Harris on 21 June 1949, and had issue

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German and Prussian Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Victor August Ernst

Crown Prince Wilhelm became head of the House of Hohenzollern on June 4, 1941 following the death of his father and held the position until his own death on 20 July 1951. To monarchists he was Wilhelm III, German Emperor and King of Prussia.

HI&RH Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia (1882-1951)

05 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by liamfoley63 in Featured Royal

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Tags

Allied Control Council., Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein, Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia, Doorn, First Guard Regiment, Kaiser Friedrich III, Kaiser Wilhelm I, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Order of the Black Eagle, Paul von Hindenburg, Prince Louis Ferdinand, Prussia, Queen Victoria, Wieringen

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Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia 

Today begins my Thursday segment where I focus on a prince or princess from either the present or the past. Today I will look at the life of Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia a person I find interesting for the times in which he lived and ultimately the unfulfilled destiny which remained beyond his grasp.

He was christened HRH Friedrich Wilhelm Victor August Ernst of Prussia and was the eldest son of future German Emperor Wilhelm II and his first wife, Princess Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein (1858–1921). At the time of his birth he was third in line to the Imperial and Royal thrones of Germany and Prussia. His great-grandfather, German Emperor Wilhelm I, occupied the throne. His grandfather, Crown Prince Friedrich, was next in line followed by his own father, Wilhelm. Like his father, he was christened Friedrich Wilhelm but went by his second name. Wilhelm was also the great-grandson of Britain’s Queen Victoria through his grandmother, Princess Victoria, the Princess Royal, who was his father’s mother. By the time he was 6 in 1888 he went from being third in line to the throne to being the heir to the throne with the death of his great-grandfather, his grandfather and the accession of his father in the span of a few months.

He was raised in the traditional manner of a Prussian prince; schooled by tutors and on his tenth birthday in 1892 he entered the First Guard Regiment and was given the Order of the Black Eagle by his father. As he grew older Wilhelm enjoyed the life of a Prussian military officer who was devoted to military life. Another aspect of growing older and being heir to the throne Wilhelm became quite the ladies man and being involved with women would be a passion of his even to his detriment. One of his great loves was an American singer Geraldine Farrar but she was not of the stature for him to be allowed to marry her. As a future Emperor-King Wilhelm needed to follow the strict protocol of marrying a princess of equal rank to his.

On this date, July 5, 1904, 108 years ago Crown Prince Wilhelm met his future bride, Princess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1886-1954). At this time her brother, Friedrich Franz IV was the reigning Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and had recently married Princess Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland. Upon their return to Schwerin Crown Prince Wilhelm arrived in the capitol of the Grand Duchy to deliver the couple a wedding present on behalf of his parents. This is where he met the Grand Duke’s 17 year old sister, Princess Cecilie. He immediately fell in love with her and much to the relief of his parents he had found someone of equal rank. On June 5, 1905 the couple were married in pomp and splendor in Potsdam. Wilhelm and Cecilie had 6 children (4 sons and 2 daughter).

In 1914 Crown Prince Wilhelm’s life changed forever as the First World War broke out. Despite being in the military for the majority of his life he did not have much leadership experience but was given the command of the Vth Army. He oversaw the Verdun Offensive and was forever known by the French as the ‘Butcher of Verdun.” Crown Prince Wilhelm is on record as not being supportive of the war. When Germany lost the war the Crown Prince went into exile on the island of Wieringen, in the Netherlands and was not popular in Germany. His father, Wilhelm II, also sought asylum in the Netherlands settling on an estate in Doorn.

In 1923 after reassuring the German Government that he would not enter into politics Wilhelm was allowed to return to Germany. However, at one point he did have political aspirations and desired to run for Reichspräsident against Paul von Hindenburg in 1932. This ambition was curtailed when his father threatened to disinherit him if he chose this path. The former Kaiser was never supportive of the democratic process and the thought of a Hohenzollern prince running for an election was an anathema to him. From 1919 until 1934 a great aspirtation for the former Crown prince was a restoration of the monarchy.

The Crown Prince supported the rise of Hitler for a short time as did many German princes as Hitler used the promise of a restoration of the monarchy as a means to court their support. With the death of his friend, the former Chancellor, Kurt von Schleicher, in the Night of the Long Knives in 1934 enabled him to see Hitlers true colors. From that period on Crown Prince Wilhelm ceased his political activities and his pursuit for the Restoration of the monarchy. In the 1930s Wilhelm lived the life of a playboy enjoying fast cars and fast women, his relationship with his wife had long been over in everything but name.

The 40s saw the outbreak of World War II. In 1941 his father died at the age of 82 and for his supporters he was now the head of the Imperial Family and if the monarchy had survived he would have become Kaiser Wilhelm III. During the war he kept a low profile. His eldest son died in battle during the war. He was living in a lodge in Austria at the end of the war and even though he had not participated in it he was arrested by the French army for a brief period. He lived alone in a small five room house and fell into a depression. The world he grew up in was gone. Prussia, the sate that brought the Hohenzollerns to prominence, was formally dissolved on February 25, 1947 the Allied Control Council. From the end of the war to the end of his life Wilhelm lived as a private citizen with a small group of friends. On July 20, 1951 the chain smoking former heir to the glorious German Empire suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 69. He was succeeded by his second son, Prince Louis Ferdinand, as head of the Imperial house and claimer to the vacant thrones of Germany and Prussia.

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Crown Princess Cecilie.

 

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