Predecessor William I Successor Frederick William | House House of Hesse-Kassel Name William Elector | |
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Reign 27 February 1821 - 20 November 1847 Born 28 July 1777
Schloss Philippsruhe, Hesse ( 1777-07-28 ) Issue Prince Wilhelm
Princess Karoline
Princess Luise
Frederick William, Elector of Hesse
Marie Frederica, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen
Prince Ferdinand Father William I, Elector of Hesse Died November 20, 1847, Frankfurt, Germany Spouse Caroline of Berlepsch (m. 1843–1847), Emilie Ortlopp (m. 1841–1843), Princess Augusta of Prussia (m. 1797–1841) Children Frederick William, Elector of Hesse, Princess Marie Frederica of Hesse-Kassel Parents William I, Elector of Hesse, Princess Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark Grandchildren Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, Maria von Hanau-Horowitz, Princess Augusta of Saxe-Meiningen Similar People William I - Elector of Hesse, Frederick William II of Prussia, Georg II - Duke of Saxe‑Meiningen, Frederick V of Denmark | ||
William II (German: Wilhelm II; 28 July 1777 – 20 November 1847) was the penultimate Elector of Hesse.
Contents
Biography
William was the eldest surviving son of William I, Elector of Hesse and Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark and Norway. With the Hessian troops, he was involved in the War of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon in 1813. He succeeded as Elector of Hesse (a title that was moribund after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806) on his father's death in 1821.
Marriage and issue
On 13 February 1797 in Berlin, William married Princess Augusta of Prussia, fourth daughter of Frederick William II of Prussia. They had six children:
Morganatic marriages
William also had eight children by his second wife, Emilie Ortlöpp (1791–1843), daughter of Johann Christian Ortlöpp and wife Agnese Luise Sophie Wiessenberg, created (1821) Countess of Reichenbach-Lessonitz. The children bore the title Count/Countess of Reichenbach-Lessonitz:
Several months after Augusta's death on 19 February 1841, William morganatically married his mistress and their children were legitimated. Emilie Ortlöpp died less than two years after the marriage in 1843.
Again, months after his second wife's death, William married (morganatically) Caroline, Baroness of Berlepsch (1820–1877), daughter of Ludwig Hermann, Baron of Berlepsch (Speckswinkel, 25 January 1782 – Kassel, 5 April 1845) and wife Melusine Jul. Chr. von Kruse (4 August 1780 – 29 September 1856), created Countess of Bergen in 1846. This marriage was childless. She later married on 28 October 1851 Karl Adolf Graf von Hohenthal (27 November 1811 – 1875), by whom she had two sons: Karl Adolf (b. 1853) and Karl Ludwig (b. 1857).
Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark, the wife of Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark, son of King Constantine II of Greece is a descendant of William II of Hesse.