Siblings Ferdinand I of Romania Name William, of | ||
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Issue Augusta Victoria, Queen of PortugalFrederick, Prince of HohenzollernFrancis Joseph, Prince of Hohenzollern-Emden Mother Infanta Antonia of Portugal Children Augusta Victoria of Hohenzollern, Frederick, Prince of Hohenzollern, Franz Joseph, Prince of Hohenzollern-Emden Parents Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern, Infanta Antonia of Portugal Similar People Leopold - Prince of Hohenzollern, Augusta Victoria of Hohenzollern, Princess Maria Teresa of, Ferdinand I of Romania, Princess Josephine of Baden | ||
William, Prince of Hohenzollern (German: Wilhelm August Karl Joseph Peter Ferdinand Benedikt Fürst von Hohenzollern) (7 March 1864 in Schloss Benrath, near Düsseldorf – 22 October 1927 in Sigmaringen) was the eldest son of Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern and Infanta Antónia of Portugal. His maternal grandparents were Maria II of Portugal and her King consort Ferdinand II of Portugal.
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William was an older brother of Ferdinand of Romania. His maternal first cousins included (among others) Carlos I of Portugal, Infante Afonso, Duke of Porto, Frederick Augustus III of Saxony, and Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony.
Between 1880 and 1886, William was heir presumptive to the Romanian throne. On 20 December 1886, he renounced the rights to succeed to the throne of the Kingdom of Romania.
Family
On 27 June 1889, William married Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Her parents were Prince Louis, Count of Trani and Mathilde Ludovika, Duchess in Bavaria. Louis was the eldest son of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria. Mathilde was the fourth daughter of Maximilian, Duke in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. William and Maria Teresa had three children:
William succeeded his father as Prince of Hohenzollern on 8 June 1905. Maria Teresa died on 1 May 1909.
On 20 January 1915, Wilhelm married secondly Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria. She was a daughter of Ludwig III of Bavaria and Maria Theresia of Austria-Este. There were no children from this marriage.
William's title was effectively abolished with the collapse of the German Empire in 1918. He continued to use his princely surname anyway.
Romanian succession
On 22 November 1880, William's father, Prince Leopold, renounced his rights to the succession of the principality of Romania in favour of his sons.
Having become familiar with the situation in Romania, the 22-year-old William renounced all rights to the succession of the kingdom (since 1881) of Romania by a letter in French dated on 20 December 1886.
In 1914, upon the death of king Carol I of Romania, William's next brother Ferdinand succeeded in Romania.