Prussia part one
When Germany unified there were four kingdoms, Prussia being the most powerful. The other kingdoms were Bavaria, Saxony, and Württemberg. Napoleon had elevated these three to kingdoms as a reward for joining the Rhine Alliance (Rheinbund). Bismarck used to facetiously refer to them as Kingdoms of Napoleon’s Mercy. Each had its own king, its own army, and its own war minister.
Prussia was the largest of the German kingdoms, the most populous, and the most important state of the German Empire. The Hohenzollerns were the ruling family. In 1618, the merger of the Markgraviate (Markgrafschaft) of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia, led to the formation of the double state, the Electorate of Brandenburgand the Duchy of Prussia, the latter renamed in 1701 as the Kingdom of Prussia. The Brandenburg Hohenzollerns joined the reformation as Lutherans and later turned to Calvinism. Prussia was a member state of the German Confederation from 1815 to 1866. After the Austro-Prussian War, Prussia became the leading member state of the North German Confederation in 1867 and then a member state of the Imperial German Empire in 1871.
It is easy to get confused when discussing the kings of Prussia. Prussia had a hereditary monarchy along the male line of the Hohenzollerns. As you follow the generations, you will also see that the Hohenzollerns were related by marriage to many of the royal families in the other German states. Fredrick the Great (Fredrick II) ruled from May 1740–August 1786 and was married to Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Bevern.
He was followed by his nephew, Friedrich Wilhelm II (August 1786–November 1797), whose love life was legendary. His son, Friedrich Wilhelm III succeeded him (November 1797–June 1840). Friedrich Wilhelm III had ten children with Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; their daughter was the Tsarina Alexandra. After Louise’s death, he entered into a morganatic marriage with Auguste von Harrach. It was Friedrich Wilhelm III who led Prussia during the Napoleonic Wars.
Friedrich Wilhelm IV (the son of Friedrich Wilhelm III) was king from June 1840–January 1861. He was married to Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria and was a member of the Lutheran Church. He created a new constitution with two chambers, but retained much of the power to himself.
Wilhelm I, the second son of Friedrich Wilhelm III (and Friedrich Wilhelm IV’s brother), became regent for Friedrich Wilhelm IV (who had suffered a stroke) from October 1858 until the monarch’s death in 1861. Wilhelm I was King of Prussia during the wars against Denmark, Austria, and France and was married to Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Their only daughter became Louise, Grand Duchess of Baden. He was declared the first German Kaiser in 1871 and ruled until 9 March 1888. This was the grandfather of the wartime Kaiser and was declared “Wilhelm the Great” by his grandson.
His son, Friedrich III, who had been Crown Prince for 27 years, ascended the throne as the second Kaiser for only 99 days, 9 March 1888–15 June 1888, succumbing to throat cancer. His famous saying, “Lerne Leiden ohne zu klagen,” roughly translated was, “Learn to suffer without complaining.” Friedrich III had married Princess Victoria, the oldest daughter of Queen Victoria. Both shared a liberal and England-friendly ideology, and there has been much speculation that the Great War could have been avoided had he reigned for a longer time.
Friedrich III’s son, Wilhelm II (Friedrich Victor Wilhelm Albert Hohenzollern), became the third and last Kaiser and King of Prussia. He took over 15 June 1888 and abdicated 9 November 1918. Wilhelm was the eldest child of Friedrich III and Victoria, and during a breech birth he suffered an injury to his left arm. There is some speculation that he may have suffered light brain damage as well. Any pictures of him are posed to hide the deformity. Wilhelm was married to Auguste Victoria, Princess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg and they had seven children—six sons and one daughter. Upon his abdication, the family fled to the Netherlands, where he lived until his death. During their exile, Auguste Victoria died after suffering through her youngest son’s divorce and subsequent suicide. Wilhelm II then married Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz. She was the daughter of Heinrich XXII, Prince of Reuss-Greiz and his wife, Princess Ida of Schaumburg-Lippe. Attempts to extradite him and try him for war crimes did not succeed