Countdown to the Coronation VIII: Last Coronations

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Anointing Ceremony, Charlemagne, coronation, Emperor-Elect, German Emperor Wilhelm II, Greece, Holy Roman Emperor, King Carlos I of Spain, King Felipe VI of Spain, Kingdom of Prussia, Otto of Greece, Pope, The Crown of Wilhelm II

From the Emperor’s Desk: Coronations in Europe were previously held in the monarchies of Europe. The United Kingdom is the only monarchy in Europe that still practices coronation. Current European monarchies have either replaced coronations with simpler ceremonies to mark an accession (e.g. Norway and Denmark) or have never practiced coronations (e.g. The Netherlands and Belgium). Most monarchies today only require a simple oath to be taken in the presence of the country’s legislature.

However, as the majority of monarchies in Europe transitioned from a form of absolutism to the form of a Democratic or constitutional monarchy they dispensed with or abolished the right of coronation.

Here is a select list of monarchies and when they abolished the coronation rite. This is not an exhaustive list but just hits some certain highlights.

The Holy Roman Empire

Since Charlemagne in 800, Holy Roman Emperors were crowned by the pope. Since 911, the various German princes had elected the King of the Germans from among their peers. The King of the Germans would then be crowned as emperor following the precedent set by Charlemagne, during the period of 962–1530.

Charles V became the last Holy Roman Emperor to be crowned by the Pope, at Bologna. His successor, Ferdinand I, merely adopted the title of “Emperor elect” in 1558. The final Holy Roman emperor-elect, Franz II, abdicated in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars that saw the Empire’s final dissolution.

Austria

Emperors of Austria were never crowned (unlike their predecessors in the Holy Roman Empire), as a coronation was not viewed as being necessary to legitimize their rule in that country.

However, they were crowned in some kingdoms within the Austrian Empire. Ferdinand I was crowned as King of Hungary with the Crown of Saint Stephen in 1830, as King of Bohemia with the Crown of Saint Wenceslas in 1836, and as King of Lombardy and Venetia with the Iron Crown of Lombardy in 1838.

After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, the Emperors of Austria were only crowned as King of Hungary (again with the Crown of Saint Stephen): Franz-Joseph I in 1867 and Charles I (as Charles IV of Hungary) in 1916.

Bavaria

In 1806, the German duchy of Bavaria was upgraded to full “kingdom” status. The former Duke of Bavaria, who now became King of Bavaria, Maximilian I, commissioned a set of crown jewels to commemorate Bavaria’s elevation. However, there was no coronation ceremony, and the king never wore the crown in public. Rather, it was placed on a cushion at his feet when displayed on occasions. The Bavarian monarchy was abolished in 1918.

Spain

The last Spanish monarchs being solemnly crowned were Juan I of Castile (1379), Fernando I of Aragon (1414), and Leonor of Navarre (1479). Joan III of Navarre was crowned as late as 1555, although she ruled Navarre beyond the Pyrenees.

After the 17th century, all Spanish monarchs have taken the royal rank by proclamation and acclamation before the Church, and since the 18th century, before the Cortes Generales, although the royal crown has been present in these ceremonies.

The current king, Felipe VI, was proclaimed King of Spain on 19 June 2014, having the following symbols displayed in front of him:

The commemorative crown (i.e. the corona tumular) bearing the marks of 1775, possibly made for the funeral of Elisabeth Farnese, queen consort of King Felipe V. The crown, made of gold-plated silver and no gems, displays the heraldic symbols of the founding kingdoms of Castile and León, with a turret and lion respectively. It was made by order of King Carlos III in Madrid.

France

The French coronation ritual was similar to that used in England, from 925 and above all 1066, with the coronation of William the Conqueror.

The last French royal coronation was that of Charles X, in 1825 by Jean-Baptiste de Latil in Rheims cathedral. Charles’ decision to be crowned, in contrast to his predecessor, Louis XVIII, who was not crowned, proved unpopular with the French public, and Charles was ultimately overthrown in a revolution in 1830. His successor, Louis Philippe I, opted not to have a coronation. The French government broke up and sold off most of the French Crown Jewels after 1875, in hopes of avoiding any further royalist agitation against the newly restored republic.

Greece

Although Greece retains a set of crown jewels given to it by its first king, Otto I, no King of Greece was ever crowned with them. All monarchs apart from Otto took office by a swearing-in ceremony in front of the Greek Parliament, until the Greek monarchy was abolished in 1974 by a referendum.

Denmark

The coronation of the Danish monarch was a religious ceremony in which the accession of the Danish monarch was marked by a coronation ceremony. It was held in various forms from 1170 to 1840, mostly in Lund Cathedral in Lund, St. Mary’s Cathedral in Copenhagen and in the chapel of Frederiksborg Palace in Hillerød.

In 1660 the coronation ritual was replaced with a ceremony of anointing: the new king would arrive at the coronation site already wearing the crown, and he was then anointed.

This rite was in turn abolished with the introduction of the Danish constitution in 1849. Today the crown of Denmark is only displayed at the monarch’s funeral, when it sits atop their coffin. The present queen, Margrethe II, did not have any formal enthronement service; a public announcement of her accession was made from the balcony of Christiansborg Palace, with the new sovereign being acclaimed by her prime minister at the time (1972), Jens Otto Krag, then cheered with a ninefold “hurrah” by the crowds below.

Norway

The first coronation in Norway, and Scandinavia, took place in Bergen in 1163 or 1164. The Christ Church (Old Cathedral) in Bergen remained the place of coronations in Norway until the capital was moved to Oslo under King Haakon V. From then on some coronations were held in Oslo, but most were held in Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim.

In 1397, Norway, Sweden and Denmark united in what is referred to as the Kalmar Union, sharing the same monarch. During this period the kings were crowned consecutively in each of the three countries until the union was dissolved in 1523. Following this dissolution, Norway entered into a union in 1524 with Denmark which would eventually evolve to an integrated state that was to last until 1814. No coronations were held in Norway during this time. Meanwhile, the monarch underwent a coronation and later, with the introduction of absolutism in 1660, an anointing ceremony in Denmark.

In 1905, the personal union between Sweden and Norway was dissolved. Haakon VII was subsequently elected Norway’s monarch. Haakon and his wife Queen Maud (daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom) were the last to be crowned in Nidaros Cathedral in 1906. Following this, the constitutional provision requiring the coronation was repealed in 1908. Thereafter, the monarch has only been required to take his formal accession oath in the Council of State and then in the parliament, the Storting.

King Olav V, desiring a religious ceremony to mark his accession to the throne in 1957, instituted a ceremony of royal consecration, known as Signing til kongsgjerning. This “blessing” rite took place again in 1991, when King Harald V and Queen Sonja were similarly consecrated. Both consecrations were held where the coronation rite had formerly taken place: Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim.

Prussia and the German Empire

Only two kings of Prussia actually had a coronation.

King Wilhelm I was crowned in 1861 as King in Prussia, prior to the establishment of the German Empire (1871). He was crowned with great pomp, becoming the first king to be crowned in Prussia since the coronation of King Friedrich I in 1701. A significant number of politicians opposed the idea. Wilhelm I took the crown with his own hands from the altar and crowned himself, while saying that he was receiving the crown from God’s hands. These words were intended as a warning to Prussian Constitutionalists and Liberals.

Both coronations took place at the church at Königsberg Castle having been the last capital of the Ordenstaat, and capital of the Duchy of Prussia.

The King of Prussia was also Emperor of Imperial Germany from 1871 to 1918. Although a design and model for a German State Crown were made, no final diadem was ever produced, and none of the three German emperors were ever formally crowned.

The Crown of Wilhelm II, also known as the Hohenzollern Crown, is the 1888 crown made for Wilhelm II, German Emperor, in his role as King of Prussia. It was only used for heraldic purposes.

August 3, 1770: Birth of Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg

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Congress of Vienna, Elector of Brandenburg, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, Emperor Franz of Austria, Friedrich-Wilhelm II of Prussia, George III of Great Britain, King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, Kingdom of Prussia, Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Napoleonic Wars

Friedrich Wilhelm III (August 3, 1770 – June 7, 1840) was King of Prussia from November 6, 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until August 6, 1806, when the Empire was dissolved.

Friedrich Wilhelm III was born in Potsdam on August 3, I1770 as the son of Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia and Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt, the daughter of Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, and Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken. She was born in Prenzlau. She was the sister of Grand Duchess Louise of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, (wife of Charles August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach)
as well as Grand Duke Ludwig I of Hesse and by Rhine.

Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia

Parents Marriage

Frederica Louisa was selected to marry Friedrich Wilhelm II immediately after his divorce from Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg, after Margravine Philippine of Brandenburg-Schwedt and Sophia Albertina of Sweden had been suggested. Her mother was highly admired by Friedrich II the Great of Prussia. The wedding was performed on July 14, 1769 at the Charlottenburg Palace.

The future Friedrich Wilhelm II was considered to be a shy and reserved boy, which became noticeable in his particularly reticent conversations, distinguished by the lack of personal pronouns. This manner of speech subsequently came to be considered entirely appropriate for military officers. He was neglected by his father during his childhood and suffered from an inferiority complex his entire life.

As a child, Friedrich Wiilhelm’s father (under the influence of his mistress, Wilhelmine Enke, Countess of Lichtenau) had him handed over to tutors, as was quite normal for the period. He spent part of the time living at Paretz, the estate of the old soldier Count Hans von Blumenthal who was the governor of his brother Prince Heinrich.

They thus grew up partly with the Count’s son, who accompanied them on their Grand Tour in the 1780s. Friedrich Wilhelm was happy at Paretz, and for this reason, in 1795, he bought it from his boyhood friend and turned it into an important royal country retreat. He was a melancholy boy, but he grew up pious and honest. His tutors included the dramatist Johann Engel.

As a soldier, he received the usual training of a Prussian prince, obtained his lieutenancy in 1784, became a lieutenant colonel in 1786, a colonel in 1790, and took part in the campaigns against France of 1792–1794.

Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Duchess Luise Auguste Wilhelmine Amalie of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (“Louise” in English) was born on March 10, 1776 in a one-storey villa, just outside the capital in Hanover. She was the fourth daughter and sixth child of Duke Charles of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and his wife Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt, eldest daughter of Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hesse-Darmstadt, second son of Ludwig VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, and Countess Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Falkenburg-Dagsburg.

Her father Charles was a brother of Queen Charlotte (wife of George III, King of Great Britain and Elector of Hanover).

Her maternal grandmother, Landgravine Marie Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt, and her paternal first-cousin Princess Augusta Sophia of Great Britain served as sponsors at her baptism; her second given name came from Princess Augusta Sophia.

Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

At the time of her birth, Louise’s father was not yet the ruler of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (he would not succeed his brother as Duke until 1794), and consequently she was not born in a court, but rather in a less formal home. Charles was field marshal of the household brigade in Hanover, and soon after Louise’s birth he was made Governor-General of that territory by his brother-in-law George III, king of the United Kingdom and Hanover.

The family subsequently moved to Leineschloss, the residence of Hanoverian kings, though during the summer they usually lived at Herrenhausen.

In 1793, Marie Louise took the two youngest duchesses with her to Frankfurt, where she paid her respects to her nephew King Friedrich Wilhelm II. Louise had grown up into a beautiful young woman, possessing “an exquisite complexion” and “large blue eyes,” and was naturally graceful. Louise’s uncle, the Duke of Mecklenburg, hoped to strengthen ties between his house and Prussia.

Consequently, on one evening carefully planned by the Duke, seventeen-year-old Louise met the king’s son and heir, Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm. The crown prince was twenty-three, serious-minded, and religious. Louise made such a charming impression on Friedrich Wilhelm that he immediately made his choice, desiring to marry her.

Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Frederica caught the eye of his younger brother Prince Ludwig Charles, and the two families began planning a double betrothal, celebrating a month later, on April 4, 1793 in Darmstadt. Friedrich Wilhelm and Louise were subsequently married on December 24 that same year, with Ludwig Charles and Frederica marrying two days later.

Louise who bore Friedrich Wilhelm ten children. In the Kronprinzenpalais (Crown Prince’s Palace) in Berlin, he lived a civil life with a problem-free marriage, which did not change even when he became King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia in 1797. Queen Louise was particularly loved by the Prussian people, which boosted the popularity of the whole House of Hohenzollern, including the King himself.

Friedrich Wilhelm and Louise

Reign

As King, Friedrich Wilhelm III ruled Prussia during the difficult times of the Napoleonic Wars. The king reluctantly joined the coalition against Napoleon in the Befreiungskriege.

Queen Louise was his most important political advisor. She led a mighty group that included Baron vom Stein, Prince von Hardenberg, Gerhard von Scharnhorst, and Count von Gneisenau. They set about reforming Prussia’s administration, churches, finance, and military.

On July 19, 1810, while visiting her father in Strelitz, the Queen died in her husband’s arms from an unidentified illness. Lieutenant-General Baron De Marbot, in his Memoirs, records that the Queen in later life always wore a thick wrapping around her neck. It was to conceal a botched operation for goitre, which left an open sore, which eventually killed her.

The queen’s subjects attributed the French occupation as the cause of her early death. “Our saint is in heaven”, exclaimed Prussian general Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. Louise’s untimely death left her husband alone during a period of great difficulty, as the Napoleonic Wars and need for reform continued. Louise was buried in the garden of Charlottenburg Palace, where a mausoleum, containing a fine recumbent statue by Christian Daniel Rauch, was built over her grave.

In 1813, following Napoleon’s defeat in Russia, Friedrich Wilhelm turned against France and signed an alliance with Russia at Kalisz. However, he had to flee Berlin, still under French occupation. Prussian troops played a crucial part in the victories of the allies in 1813 and 1814, and the King himself traveled with the main army of Charles Philipp Fürst zu Schwarzenberg, along with Emperor Alexander I of Russia and Emperor Franz of Austria.

At the Congress of Vienna, Friedrich Wilhelm III’s ministers succeeded in securing significant territorial increases for Prussia. However, they failed to obtain the annexation of all of Saxony, as they had wished.

Following the war, Friedrich Wilhelm III turned towards political reaction, abandoning the promises he had made in 1813 to provide Prussia with a constitution.
His primary interests were internal – the reform of Prussia’s Protestant churches.

He was determined to unify the Protestant churches to homogenize their liturgy, organization, and architecture. The long-term goal was to have fully centralized royal control of all the Protestant churches in the Prussian Union of Churches.

In 1824 Friedrich Wilhelm III remarried (morganatically) Countess Auguste von Harrach, Princess of Liegnitz. They had no children.

In 1838 the king distributed large parts of his farmland at Erdmannsdorf Estate to 422 Protestant refugees from the Austrian Zillertal, who built Tyrolean style farmhouses in the Silesian village.

Death

Friedrich Wilhelm III died on June 7, 1840 in Berlin, from a fever, survived by his second wife. His eldest son, Friedrich Wilhelm IV, succeeded him. Friedrich Wilhelm III is buried at the Mausoleum in Schlosspark Charlottenburg, Berlin.

Emperor’s Nicholas II of Russia and Wilhelm II of Germany, descendants of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia

Friedrich Wilhelm III was the closest common ancestor of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia and German Emperor Wilhelm II.

Emperor Nicholas II is a descendant of Friedrich Wilhelm III through his daughter, Princess Charlotte, who married Emperor Nicholas I of Russia who was Emperor Nicholas II’s great-grandfather.

Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia is a descendant of Friedrich Wilhelm III through his second son, Wilhelm I, German Emperor and King of Prussia, who was Wilhelm II’s grandfather.

This means that Nicholas II and Wilhelm II were second cousins once removed.

June 7, 1840: Accession of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia

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Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria, Emperor of the Germans, Frankfort Parliament, Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia, Kingdom of Prussia, Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Roman Catholic, Romantic

Friedrich Wilhelm IV (October 15, 1795 – January 2, 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from June 7, 1840 to his death on January 2, 1861.

Born to Friedrich Wilhelm III by his wife Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, he was her favourite son. Queen Louise was the fourth daughter and sixth child of Duke Charles of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and his wife Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt. Her father Charles was a brother of Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom and her mother Frederike was a granddaughter of Ludwig VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Her maternal grandmother, Landgravine Marie Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt, and her paternal first-cousin Princess Augusta Sophia of the United Kingdom served as sponsors at her baptism; her second given name came from Princess Augusta Sophia.

Friedrich Wilhelm was educated by private tutors, many of whom were experienced civil servants, such as Friedrich Ancillon. He also gained military experience by serving in the Prussian Army during the War of Liberation against Napoleon in 1814, although he was an indifferent soldier.

He was a draftsman interested in both architecture and landscape gardening and was a patron of several great German artists, including architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel and composer Felix Mendelssohn.

In 1823 he married Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria,
daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his Queen Friederike Karoline Wilhelmine Margravine of Baden. She was the identical twin sister of Queen Amalie of Saxony, consort of King Johann I of Saxony, and sister of Archduchess Sophie of Austria, mother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico; as well as Ludovika, Duchess in Bavaria, mother of Franz Josef’s consort, Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi), who was Elisabeth’s godchild and namesake. She was known within her family as Elise.

Since Elisabeth Ludovika was a Roman Catholic, the preparations for this marriage included difficult negotiations which ended with her conversion to Lutheranism. There were two wedding ceremonies—one in Munich, and another in Berlin. The couple had a very harmonious marriage, but, after a single miscarriage in 1828, it remained childless.

Friedrich Wilhelm IV was a staunch Romanticist, and his devotion to this movement, which in the German States featured nostalgia for the Middle Ages, was largely responsible for his developing into a conservative at an early age.

In 1815, when he was only twenty, the crown prince exerted his influence to structure the proposed new constitution of 1815, which was never actually enacted, in such a way that the landed aristocracy would hold the greatest power. He was firmly against the liberalization of Germany and only aspired to unify its many states within what he viewed as a historically legitimate framework, inspired by the ancient laws and customs of the recently dissolved Holy Roman Empire.

In politics, he was a conservative, who initially pursued a moderate policy of easing press censorship and reconciling with the Catholic population of the kingdom.

During the German revolutions of 1848–1849, he at first accommodated the revolutionaries but rejected the title of Emperor of the Germans offered by the Frankfurt Parliament in 1849, believing that Parliament did not have the right to make such an offer. He used military force to crush the revolutionaries throughout the German Confederation. From 1849 onward he converted Prussia into a constitutional monarchy and acquired the port of Wilhelmshaven in the Jade Treaty of 1853.

Also referred to as the “romanticist on the throne”, he is best remembered for the many buildings he had constructed in Berlin and Potsdam as well as for the completion of the Gothic Cologne Cathedral.

From 1857 to 1861, he suffered several strokes and was left incapacitated until his death. His brother (and heir-presumptive) Wilhelm served as regent after 1858 and then succeeded him as King.

March 9, 1888: Death of Wilhelm I, German Emperor and King of Prussia

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Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Franco-Prussian War, German Emperor, House of Hohenzollern, Kingdom of Prussia, Otto von Bismarck, Wilhelm I of Prussia

Wilhelm I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; March 22, 1797 – March 9, 1888) was King of Prussia from January 2, 1861 and German Emperor from January 18, 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united Germany. He was de facto head of state of Prussia from 1858, when he became regent for his brother Friedrich Wilhelm IV, and he became king when his brother died three years later.

In 1826 Wilhelm was forced to abandon a relationship with Polish noblewoman Elisa Radziwill, his cousin whom he had been attracted to, when it was deemed an inappropriate match by his father. It is alleged that Elisa had an illegitimate daughter by Wilhelm who was brought up by Joseph and Caroline Kroll, owners of the Kroll Opera House in Berlin, and was given the name Agnes Kroll.

She married a Carl Friedrich Ludwig Dettman (known as “Louis”) and emigrated to Sydney, Australia, in 1849. They had a family of three sons and two daughters. Agnes died in 1904.

In 1829, Wilhelm married Princess Augusta, the daughter of Grand Duke Carl Friedrich of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Maria Pavlovna, the sister of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia. Their marriage was outwardly stable, but not a very happy one.

In 1840 his older brother became King of Prussia. Since he had no children, Wilhelm was first in line to succeed him to the throne and thus was given the title Prinz von Preußen. Against his convictions but out of loyalty towards his brother, Wilhelm signed the bill setting up a Prussian parliament (Vereinigter Landtag) in 1847 and took a seat in the upper chamber, the Herrenhaus.

Under the leadership of Wilhelm and his minister president Otto von Bismarck, Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the establishment of the German Empire. Despite his long support of Bismarck as Minister President, Wilhelm held strong reservations about some of Bismarck’s more reactionary policies, including his anti-Catholicism and tough handling of subordinates.

In contrast to the domineering Bismarck, Wilhelm was described as polite, gentlemanly and, while staunchly conservative, more open to certain classical liberal ideas than his grandson Wilhelm II, during whose reign he was known as Wilhelm the Great.

During the Franco-Prussian War, the South German states joined the North German Confederation, which was reorganized as the German Empire (Deutsches Reich). The title of Bundespräsidium was amended with the title of German Emperor (Deutscher Kaiser).

This was decided on by the legislative organs, the Reichstag and Bundesrat, and William agreed to this on December 8 in the presence of a Reichstag delegation. The new constitution and the title of Emperor came into effect on January 1, 1871.

Wilhelm, however, hesitated to accept the constitutional title, as he feared that it would overshadow his own title as King of Prussia. He also wanted it to be Kaiser von Deutschland (“Emperor of Germany”), but Bismarck warned him that the South German princes and the Emperor of Austria might protest.

Wilhelm eventually—though grudgingly—relented and on January 18, he was formally proclaimed as emperor in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles. The date was chosen as the coronation date of the first Prussian king in 1701. In the national memory, January 18 became the day of the foundation of the Empire (Reichsgründungstag), although it did not have a constitutional significance.

To many intellectuals, the coronation of Wilhelm was associated with the restoration of the Holy Roman Empire. Felix Dahn wrote a poem, “Macte senex Imperator” (Hail thee, old emperor) in which he nicknamed William Barbablanca (whitebeard), a play on the name of the medieval emperor Friedrich I Barbarossa (redbeard).

According to the King asleep in mountain legend, Barbarossa slept under the Kyffhäuser mountain until Germany had need of him. Wilhelm I was thus portrayed as a second coming of Barbarossa. The Kyffhäuser Monument portrays both emperors.

In 1872 he arbitrated a boundary dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States, deciding in favor of the U.S. and placing the San Juan Islands of Washington State within U.S. national territory, thus ending the 12-year bloodless Pig War.

In his memoirs, Bismarck describes Wilhelm as an old-fashioned, courteous, infallibly polite gentleman and a genuine Prussian officer, whose good common sense was occasionally undermined by “female influences”.

This was a reference to Wilhelm’s wife, who had been educated by, among others Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and was intellectually superior to her husband. She was also at times very outspoken in her opposition to official policies as she was a liberal.

Wilhelm, however, had long been strongly opposed to liberal ideas. Despite possessing considerable power as German Emperor, Wilhelm left the task of governing mostly to his chancellor, limiting himself to representing the state and approving Bismarck’s every policy. In private he once remarked on his relationship with Bismarck: It is difficult to be emperor under such a chancellor.

February 25, 1947: Abolition of the State of Prussia.

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Abolition of Prussia, German Emperor Wilhelm I, German Emperor Wilhelm II, Kingdom of Prussia, The Great War, World War I, World War ii

Prussia was for many centuries a major power in north-central Europe, based around the cities of Berlin and Königsberg, and rose to particular prominence during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Following its victory in the Austro-Prussian War, Prussia became the driving force in creating a German Empire that excluded Austria (a Kleindeutsches Reich) and in 1871 King Wilhelm I of Prussia became German Emperor.

Following the First World War, after the abdication of German Emperor Wilhelm II who was also King of Prussia and the abolition of the Monarchy, the new Free State of Prussia bore most of Germany’s territorial losses but remained the dominant state of the Weimar Republic. During the Nazi era, the states of the Weimar Republic remained but were sidelined. Following World War II almost all of Germany’s territorial losses were from areas that had been part of Prussia.

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German Emperor Wilhelm II

Prussia was abolished by Control Council Law No. 46, passed by the Allied occupation authorities, on February 25, 1947.

This resulted in the 1954 disbanding of the Prussian Academy of Arts. In 1972 the Prussian Academy of Sciences was renamed. It was abolished and replaced by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities in 1992 as part of German Reunification.

Control Council Law No. 46:

The Prussian State which from early days has been a bearer of militarism and reaction in Germany has de facto ceased to exist.

Guided by the interests of preservation of peace and security of peoples and with the desire to assure further reconstruction of the political life of Germany on a democratic basis, the Control Council enacts as follows:

Article I
The Prussian State together with its central government and all its agencies are abolished.

Article II
Territories which were a part of the Prussian State and which are at present under the supreme authority of the Control Council will receive the status of Länder or will be absorbed into Länder.
The provisions of this Article are subject to such revision and other provisions as may be agreed upon by the Control Council, or as may be laid down in the future Constitution of Germany.

Article III
The State and administrative functions as well as the assets and liabilities of the former Prussian State will be transferred to appropriate Länder, subject to such agreements as may be necessary and made by the Allied Control Council.

Article IV
This law becomes effective on the day of its signature.
Signed in Berlin on February 25, 1947.

August 3, 1770: Birth of King Friedrich-Wilhelm III of Prussia

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Charles of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Congress of Vienna, Countess Auguste von Harrach, Frederica-Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt, Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, Friedrich-Wilhelm II of Prussia, House of Hohenzollern, Kingdom of Prussia, Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Napoleonic Wars, Princess of Liegnitz, Sophie Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Friedrich-Wilhelm III (August 3, 1770 – June 7, 1840) was King of Prussia from 1797 to 1840.

Friedrich-Wilhelm was born in Potsdam in 1770 as the son of Friedrich-Wilhelm II of Prussia and Frederica-Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt, the daughter of Landgrave Ludwig IX of Hesse-Darmstadt, and Caroline of Zweibrücken. Frederica-Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt was born in Prenzlau. She was the sister of Grand Duchess Louise of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, as well as Grand Duke Ludwig I of Hesse and by Rhine.

Friedrich-Wilhelm III, King of Prussia

Friedrich-Wilhelm was considered to be a shy and reserved boy, which became noticeable in his particularly reticent conversations distinguished by the lack of personal pronouns. This manner of speech subsequently came to be considered entirely appropriate for military officers. He was neglected by his father during his childhood and suffered from an inferiority complex his entire life.

On December 24, 1793, Friedrich-Wilhelm married Luise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the fourth daughter and sixth child of Duke Charles of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and his wife Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt. Her father Charles was a brother of Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom and her mother Frederike was a granddaughter of Landgrave Ludwig VIII, of Hesse-Darmstadt. Her maternal grandmother, Landgravine Marie Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt, and her paternal first-cousin Princess Augusta-Sophia of the United Kingdom served as sponsors at her baptism; her second given name came from Princess Augusta-Sophia.

Luise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

The wedding took place in the Kronprinzenpalais (Crown Prince’s Palace) in Berlin, Friedrich-Wilhelm and Luise lived a civil life with a problem-free marriage, which did not change even when he became King of Prussia in 1797. His wife Luise was particularly loved by the Prussian people, which boosted the popularity of the whole House of Hohenzollern, including the King himself. Friedrich-Wilhelm and Luise had ten children.

Friedrich-Wilhelm succeeded to the throne on November 16, 1797. He also became, in personal union, the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel (1797–1806 and again 1813–1840). At once, the new King showed that he was earnest of his good intentions by cutting down the expenses of the royal establishment, dismissing his father’s ministers, and reforming the most oppressive abuses of the late reign.

Friedrich-Wilhelm II of Prussia (Father)

Frederica-Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt (Mothrr)

King Friedrich-Wilhelm III had the Hohenzollern determination to retain personal power but not the Hohenzollern genius for using it. Too distrustful to delegate responsibility to his ministers, he greatly reduced the effectiveness of his reign since he was forced to assume the roles he did not delegate. This is a main factor of his inconsistent rule.

Disgusted with the moral debauchery of his father’s court (in both political intrigues and sexual affairs), Friedrich-Wilhelm III’s first, and most successful early endeavor was to restore the moral legitimacy to his dynasty.

Friedrich-Wilhelm III ruled Prussia during the difficult times of the Napoleonic Wars. Steering a careful course between France and her enemies, after a major military defeat in 1806, he was humiliated by Napoleon, and Prussia was stripped of recent gains and forced to pay huge financial penalties. The king reluctantly joined the coalition against Napoleon in the Befreiungskriege.

Following Napoleon’s defeat, he took part in the Congress of Vienna, which assembled to settle the political questions arising from the new, post-Napoleonic order in Europe. His major interests were internal, the reform of Prussia’s Protestant churches. He was determined to unify the Protestant churches, to homogenize their liturgy, their organization, and even their architecture.

The long-term goal was to have fully centralized royal control of all the Protestant churches in the Prussian Union of Churches. The king was said to be extremely shy and indecisive. His wife Queen Luise (1776–1810) was his most important political advisor. She led a very powerful group that included Baron vom Stein, Prince von Hardenberg, von Scharnhorst, and Count Gneisenau. They set about reforming Prussia’s administration, churches, finance and military.

In 1824 Friedrich-Wilhelm III remarried (morganatically) Countess Auguste von Harrach, Princess of Liegnitz. They had no children. At the time of their marriage the Harrach family was still not recognised as equal, although, later in 1841, they were officially recognised as a mediatised family (former ruling family within the Holy Roman Empire), with the style of Illustrious Highness which allowed them having equal status for marriage purposes to those reigning and royal families.

Due to that, in 1824 when the marriage occurred, it was treated as morganatic, so she was not named Queen, but was given the titles Princess von Liegnitz (modern-day Legnica) and Countess von Hohenzollern. Friedrich-Wilhelm reportedly stated, that he did not wish to have another queen after Queen Luise.

Countess Auguste von Harrach, Princess of Liegnitz

In 1838 the king distributed large parts of his farmland at Erdmannsdorf Estate to 422 Protestant refugees from the Austrian Zillertal, who built Tyrolean style farmhouses in the Silesian village.

Death

Friedrich-Wilhelm III died on June 7, 1840 in Berlin, from a fever, survived by his second wife. His eldest son succeeded him as King Friedrich-Wilhelm IV. King Friedrich-Wilhelm III is buried at the Mausoleum in Schlosspark Charlottenburg, Berlin.

June 18, 1866: Death of Prince Sigismund of Prussia (1864–1866).

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Crown Prince of Prussia, Frederick III of Germany, Kingdom of Prussia, Prince Sigismund of Prussia, Princess Victoria the Princess Royal, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom

Franz Friedrich Sigismund; (September 15, 1864 – June 18, 1866) was the fourth child and third son of the then Crown Prince Friedrich-Wilhelm of Prussia (later King of Prussia and German Emperor as Friedrich III), and Victoria, Princess Royal, eldest daughter of the British Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Prince Sigismund of Prussia

He was born at the New Palace in Potsdam, Germany, in 1864 and known as “Sigi” to his family. His mother found him much more intelligent than his three elder siblings and believed he would have great potential when he grew up.

However, he died from meningitis at the New Palace on June 18, 1866, aged twenty-one months. He was buried in the royal mausoleum of the Friedenskirche at Potsdam.

The Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia

His mother’s grief and despair were intense as his father, leading the Prussian army into battle against Austria, had taken all available doctors thus making it impossible for her to alleviate the suffering of her child or prevent his death, the memory of which would haunt her for the rest of her life.

Prince Sigismund was the first grandchild of Queen Victoria to die, almost 115 years before his last cousin Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, who died in 1981.

June 12, 1758: Death of Prince August-Wilhelm of Prussia

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August Wilhelm of Prussia, Battle of Kolin, Frederick II of Prussia, Frederick the Great, Frederick William I of Prussia, George I of Great Britain, King Adolphus-Frederick of Sweden, Kingdom of Prussia, Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Seven Years War

August-Wilhelm of Prussia (August 9, 1722 – June 12, 1758) was Prince of Prussia and a younger brother and general of Friedrich II.

August-Wilhelm was the second surviving son of Friedrich-Wilhelm I and Sophia-Dorothea of Hanover, only daughter of Elector Georg-Ludwig of Hanover, later King George I of Great Britain, and his wife, Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick-Celle. She was detested by her elder brother, King George II of Great Britain.

August-Wilhelm of Prussia

August-Wilhelm’s older siblings included Wilhelmina, married Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, Friedrich II (King of Prussia), Friedrike-Louise, married her Hohenzollern kinsman Charles-Wilhelm-Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach and Louisa-Ulrika, married King Adolf-Fredrik of Sweden.

August-Wilhelm was favored by his father over Friedrich and popular at the Prussian court. When his brother Friedrich became king in 1740, August-Wilhelm became heir presumptive and moved into the Friedrich’s former residence, the Crown Prince’s Palace in Berlin. When his older sister Louisa Ulrika married the King Adolf-Fredrik of Sweden in 1744, she founded the Ordre de l’Harmonie, of which August-Wilhelm was one of the first recipients.

August-Wilhelm served his brother as a general in the War of the Austrian Succession, and distinguished himself in the Battle of Hohenfriedberg. But in the Seven Years’ War, owing to the fatal retreat of Zittau during the Battle of Kolin in 1757, he incurred the wrath of his brother the King, and withdrew from the army.

This conflict between the two brothers led to a correspondence, which was published in 1769. August-Wilhelm died suddenly in 1758 at Oranienburg, according to some of “a broken heart”, in reference to his brother Friedrich II’s harsh treatment of him for his incompetent military leadership in the Battle of Kolin. In reality, he died from a brain tumor.

August-Wilhelm of Prussia

August-Wilhelm married Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel,(January 29, 1722 – January 13, 1780) was daughter of Ferdinand-Albrecht II, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and his wife Duchess Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel’s older sister was Elisabeth-Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern, wife of August-Wilhelm’s brother, Friedrich II the Great. She was also the sibling of the Queen of Denmark and Norway and the Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

Because his older brother had no children, August-Wilhelm’s oldest son inherited the throne as King Friedrich-Wilhelm II of Prussia on Friedrich II’s death.

Issue: Children of August-Wilhelm and Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

* Friedrich-Wilhelm II of Prussia (1744–1797)
* married (1) Elisabeth-Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg. They had one child Princess Frederica-Charlotte of Prussia (1767–1820), who married Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, the second son of George III of the United Kingdom.
* married (2) Frederika-Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt and had issue.
* Prince Heinrich of Prussia (1747–1767) died unmarried.
* Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia (1751–1820) married Willem V, Prince of Orange and had issue.
* Prince Emil of Prussia (1758–1759) died in infancy.

May 25, 1846: Birth of Princess Helena of the United Kingdom. Part I.

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Kingdom of Prussia, North German Confederate, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince Christian, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Schleswig and Holstein, the First and Second Schleswig Wars.

HRH Princess Helena (Helena Augusta Victoria; May 25, 1846 –June 9, 1923) was the third daughter and fifth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Princess Helena was born at Buckingham Palace, the official royal residence in London of Queen Victoria. With Princess Helena birth on May 25, 1846, it was the day after her mother’s 27th birthday. Her father, Prince Albert, reported to his brother, Ernst II, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, that Helena “came into this world quite blue, but she is quite well now”.

Princess Helena (right) with her brother Prince Alfred. Helena was Alfred’s favourite sister. Portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter.

Prince Albert also said to his brother that the Queen “suffered longer and more than the other times and she will have to remain very quiet to recover. Albert and Victoria chose the names Helena Augusta Victoria. The German nickname for Helena was Helenchen, later shortened to Lenchen, the name by which members of the royal family invariably referred to Helena.

As the daughter of the sovereign, Helena was styled Her Royal Highness The Princess Helena from birth. Helena was baptised on July 25, 1846 at the private chapel at Buckingham Palace. Her godparents were the Prince Friedrich-Wilhelm, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (the husband of Queen’s cousin); Princess Helene, Duchess of Orléans (for whom the Queen’s mother the Duchess of Kent stood proxy); and Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge (the Queen’s aunt).

Helena was a lively and outspoken child, and reacted against brotherly teasing by punching the bully on the nose. Her early talents included drawing. Lady Augusta Stanley, a lady-in-waiting to the Queen, commented favourably on the three-year-old Helena’s artwork.

Like her sisters, she could play the piano to a high standard at an early age. Other interests included science and technology, shared by her father Prince Albert, and horseback riding and boating, two of her favourite childhood occupations. However, Helena became a middle daughter following the birth of Princess Louise in 1848, and her abilities were overshadowed by her more artistic sisters.

Death of Prince Albert

Helena’s father, Prince Albert, died on December 14, 1861. The Queen was devastated, and ordered her household, along with her daughters, to move from Windsor to Osborne House, the Queen’s Isle of Wight residence. Helena’s grief was also profound, and she wrote to a friend a month later: “What we have lost nothing can ever replace, and our grief is most, most bitter … I adored Papa, I loved him more than anything on earth, his word was a most sacred law, and he was my help and adviser … These hours were the happiest of my life, and now it is all, all over.”

The Queen relied on her second eldest daughter Princess Alice as an unofficial secretary, but Alice needed an assistant of her own. Though Helena was the next eldest, she was considered unreliable by Victoria because of her inability to go long without bursting into tears. Therefore, Louise was selected to assume the role in her place. Alice was married to Prince Ludwig of Hesse and By Rhine in 1862, after which Helena assumed the role—described as the “crutch” of her mother’s old age by one biographer—at her mother’s side. In this role, she carried out minor secretarial tasks, such as writing the Queen’s letters, helping her with political correspondence, and providing her with company.

Marriage Controversy

Princess Helena began an early flirtation with her father’s former librarian, Carl Ruland, following his appointment to the Royal Household on the recommendation of Baron Stockmar in 1859. He was trusted enough to teach German to Helena’s brother, the young Prince of Wales, (future King Edward VII) and was described by the Queen as “useful and able”. When the Queen discovered that Helena had grown romantically attached to a royal servant, he was promptly dismissed back to his native Germany, and he never lost the Queen’s hostility.

Following Ruland’s departure in 1863, the Queen looked for a husband for Helena. However, as a middle child, the prospect of a powerful alliance with a European royal house was low.

Her appearance was also a concern, as by the age of fifteen she was described by her biographer as chunky, dowdy and double-chinned. Furthermore, Victoria insisted that Helena’s future husband had to be prepared to live near the Queen, thus keeping her daughter nearby. Her choice eventually fell on Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg; the match was politically awkward, and caused a severe breach within the royal family.

Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg

Schleswig and Holstein were two territories fought over between Prussia and Denmark during the First and Second Schleswig Wars. In the latter, Prussia and Austria defeated Denmark, but the duchies were claimed by Austria for Prince Christian’s family. However, following the Austro-Prussian War, in which Prussia invaded and occupied the duchies, they became Prussian, but the title Duke of Schleswig-Holstein was still claimed by Prince Christian’s family.

The marriage, therefore, horrified King Christian IX of Denmark’s daughter, Alexandra, Princess of Wales, who exclaimed: “The Duchies belong to Papa.” Alexandra found support in her husband, his brother Prince Alfred, and his second sister, Princess Alice, who openly accused her mother of sacrificing Helena’s happiness for the Queen’s convenience.

Princess Helena and Prince Christian

Alice also argued that it would reduce the already low popularity of her sister, the Crown Princess of Prussia, at the court in Berlin. However, and unexpectedly, the Crown Princess, who had been a personal friend of Christian’s family for many years, ardently supported the proposed alliance.

In September 1865, while visiting Coburg, The Princess Helena met Prince Christian for the first time.

Despite the political controversies and their age difference—he was fifteen years her senior—Prince Christian was 35 and Helena was 21 at the time of her marriage-Helena was happy with Christian and was determined to marry him. As a younger son of a non-reigning duke, the absence of any foreign commitments allowed him to remain permanently in Britain—the Queen’s primary concern—and she declared the marriage would go ahead.

Helena and Christian were actually third cousins in descent from Frederick-Louis, Prince of Wales. Relations between Helena and Alexandra remained strained, and Alexandra was unprepared to accept Christian (who was also a third cousin to Alexandra in descent from King Frederik V of Denmark) as either a cousin or brother-in-law.

The Queen never forgave the Princess of Wales for accusations of possessiveness, and wrote of the Waleses shortly afterwards: “Bertie is most affectionate and kind but Alix [pet name for Alexandra] is by no means what she ought to be. It will be long, if ever, before she regains my confidence.”

Engagement and wedding

The engagement was declared on December 5, 1865, and despite the Prince of Wales’s initial refusal to attend, Princess Alice intervened, and the wedding was a happy occasion.

The Queen allowed the ceremony to take place at Windsor Castle, albeit in the Private Chapel rather than the grander St George’s Chapel on July 5, 1866. The Queen relieved her black mourning dress with a white mourning cap which draped over her back.

Seven days before the wedding, on 29 June 1866, the Queen granted her future son-in-law the style of Royal Highness by Royal Warrant. This Royal Warrant was only valid in the United King, in the North German Confederation where Prince Christian had the style of Highness.

The main participants filed into the chapel to the sound of Beethoven’s Triumphal March, creating a spectacle only marred by the sudden disappearance of Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, who had a sudden gout attack. Christian filed into the chapel with his two supporters, Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar and Prince Frederic of Schleswig-Holstein, and Helena was given away by her mother, who escorted her up the aisle with the Prince of Wales and eight bridesmaids.

Christian looked older than he was, and one guest commented that Helena looked as if she was marrying an aged uncle. Indeed, when he was first summoned to Britain, he assumed that the widowed Queen was inspecting him as a new husband for herself rather than as a candidate for one of her daughters. The couple spent the first night of their married life at Osborne House, before honeymooning in Paris, Interlaken and Genoa.

Helena and Christian were devoted to each other, and led a quiet life in comparison to Helena’s sisters. Following their marriage, they took up residence at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park, the traditional residence of the Ranger of Windsor Great Park, the honorary position bestowed on Christian by the Queen. When staying in London, they lived at the Belgian Suite in Buckingham Palace.

The couple had six children: Christian Victor in 1867, Albert in 1869, and Helena Victoria and Marie Louise in 1870 and 1872 respectively. Their last two sons died early; Harald died eight days after his birth in 1876, and an unnamed son was stillborn in 1877. Princess Louise, Helena’s sister, commissioned the French sculptor Jules Dalou to sculpt a memorial to Helena’s dead infants.

The Christians were granted a parliamentary annuity of £6,000 a year, which the Queen requested in person. In addition, a dowry of £30,000 was settled upon, and the Queen gave the couple £100,000, which yielded an income of about £4,000 a year. As well as that of Ranger of Windsor Park, Christian was given the honorary position of High Steward of Windsor, and was made a Royal Commissioner for the Great Exhibition of 1851. However, he was often an absentee figurehead at the meetings, instead passing his time playing with his dog Corrie, feeding his numerous pigeons, and embarking on hunting excursions.

Helena, as promised, lived close to the Queen, and both she and Beatrice performed duties for her. Beatrice, whom Victoria had groomed for the main role at her side, carried out the more important duties, and Helena took on the more minor matters that Beatrice did not have time to do. In later years, Helena was assisted by her unmarried daughter, Helena Victoria, to whom the Queen dictated her journal in the last months of her life.

#8. Crown of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia.

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Crown of Frederick I of Prussia, Crown of Wilhelm II of Prussia, Frederick Barbarossa, Frederick I of Prussia, Frederick the Great, German Emperor Wilhelm II, German Empire, Hohenzollern Castle, Königsberg, Königsberg Castle, Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian Crown Jewels, Wilhelm I of Prussia

The Crown of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia is number 8 on my list of favorite Crowns.

The Prussian Crown Jewels is the royal regalia, consisting of two crowns, an orb and a sceptre, used during the coronation of the monarchs of Prussia from the House of Hohenzollern.

Prussian Crown Jewels

After the King of Prussia became German Emperor on the establishment of the German Empire on January 18, 1871, they were no longer used as the position of King of Prussia while still remaining, was a title of minor importance compared to the new role as German Emperor. This was one of the fears King Wilhelm I of Prussia had with becoming German Emperor. He held much pride in being King of Prussia and did not have much enthusiasm for being an emperor.

There was no crown for the German Empire, although a heraldic version existed in the form of a German State Crown.

Wooden model of the Imperial Crown

In 1871 a design and a model for a new state crown were created to reflect the new German Empire. The model was based upon the Crown of the Holy Roman Empire and was kept in the Hohenzollern museum at Schloss Monbijou in Berlin, until it disappeared during World War II. It has never re-surfaced. No final crown was ever made. However, the design was used as a heraldic device for the German Emperors from 1871 until Emperor Wilhelm II’s abdication in 1918. The crown was mostly used as an heraldic symbol in the German coat of arms and the Emperor’s personal standard.

Crown of Wilhelm II of Prussia

To many intellectuals, the coronation of Wilhelm I was associated with the restoration of the Holy Roman Empire. Felix Dahn wrote a poem, “Macte senex Imperator” (Hail thee, old emperor) in which he nicknamed Wilhelm Barbablanca (whitebeard), a play on the name of the medieval Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa (redbeard). According to the King asleep in mountain legend, Barbarossa slept under the Kyffhäuser mountain until Germany had need of him. William I was thus portrayed as a second coming of Barbarossa. The Kyffhäuser Monument portrays both emperors.

In contrast with the lavish, heavily bejewelled crowns of other monarchies (e.g. British, Russian), the Prussian crown jewels were sometimes described as “rather plain”.

The Prussian regalia includes:

* Crown of William II (1889), or the Hohenzollern Crown, is the only piece dating from the imperial period, but is very similar to older crowns.

In the absence of further state regalia for the German Empire (1871–1918), the older royal Prussian Crown Jewels were sometimes also regarded as the German Crown Jewels:

* Crown of Frederick I (1701)
* Crown of Sophie Charlotte (1701)
* Royal Sceptre of Frederick I (1701)
* Royal Orb of Frederick I (1701)

Prussia became a part of the German Empire in 1871 and its king also became German emperor. The German Empire became a republic in 1918 and, at the same time, Prussia became part of the federal republic. Most of the Prussian regalia are on public display in the Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin.

Crown of Wilhelm II of Prussia

The Crown of Wilhelm II, in his role as King of Prussia, is kept at Hohenzollern Castle near Hechingen in Baden-Württemberg. The Crown of Wilhelm II, also known as the Hohenzollern Crown, is the 1888 crown made for Wilhelm II, German Emperor, in his role as King of Prussia. It was only used for heraldic purposes.

The crown is surmounted by a diamond-studded cross which rests on a large sapphire. These rest on eight half-arches rising from the base that are adorned with 142 rose-cut diamonds and 18 diamonds. Eight large pearls are mounted between the arches.

When William abdicated in 1918 he was permitted to retain the crown and it’s jewels, which included the Hohenzollern crown. To protect it from theft and destruction during World War II, it was hidden in a wall in the crypt of a church. After the war it was returned to the Hohenzollern family and is now kept at the family residence of the Hohenzollern Castle.

Here is the Crown of King Friedrich I of Prussia. His crown was used in his coronation and the coronation of subsequent Kings of Prussia. It isn’t a favorite Crown at all, I find it father dull looking, but I do find it interesting.

Crown of Friedrich I of Prussia

King Friedrich I of Prussia first, was Friedrich III, Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia in personal union (Brandenburg-Prussia). The latter function he upgraded to royalty, becoming the first King in Prussia (1701–1713). From 1707 he was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel (German: Fürstentum Neuenburg). He was also the paternal grandfather of Friedrich II the Great.

The Crown of Friedrich I, was made by the Court Jewellers for Friedrich I of Prussia in 1701, who crowned himself and his wife Sophie-Charlotte in a baroque ceremony at Königsberg Castle, Königsberg. The crown was also used for the coronation of Friedrich-Wilhelm I and his son, Friedrich II (better known as Friedrich the Great). He was a very frugal monarch, and although the crown was present at his coronation, he did not wear it.

The crown along with most of the Prussian royal regalia is kept at Charlottenburg Palace.