William, Duke of Nassau

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Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg (Given names: Georg Wilhelm August Heinrich Belgicus zu Nassau-Weilburg/zu Nassau) (14 June 1792, Kirchheimbolanden - 20 August/30 August 1839, Bad Kissingen) was the father of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

Contents 1 Family 2 Duke of Nassau 3 Marriages and children 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Family

Wilhelm was the eldest son of Frederick William, Duke of Nassau and his wife Burgravine Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg.

Frederick William was the eldest surviving son of Charles Christian, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg and Princess Wilhelmine Carolina of Orange-Nassau.

Wilhelmine Carolina was a daughter of William IV, Prince of Orange and Anne, Princess Royal. Anne was in turn the eldest daughter of George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach.

[edit] Duke of Nassau

He was the heir to his father since the time of his birth. Frederick William died on 9 January 1816 and Wilhelm succeeded him as Prince of Nassau-Weilburg and Duke of Nassau. Nassau-Weilburg ceased to exist as a separate state later that same year. He kept the title of Duke of Nassau for the rest of his reign.

[edit] Marriages and children

On 24 June 1813 in Weilburg, Wilhelm married his first wife Louise of Saxe-Altenburg, then Saxe-Hildburghausen (28 January 1794 Hildburghausen, Thüringen - 6 April 1825, Biebrich or Weilburg). She was a daughter of Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (who, until 1826, had been the last Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen) and his wife Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. They had eight children:

• Auguste Luise Friederike Maximiliane Wilhelmine of Nassau (Weilburg, 12 April 1814 - Weilburg, 3 October 1814).
• Therese Wilhelmine Friederike Isabelle Charlotte of Nassau (Weilburg, 17 April 1815 - Prague, 8 December 1871). Married in Biebrich on 23 April 1837 Duke Peter of Oldenburg. Their grandson was the Tsarist General Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia the Younger.
• Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (24 July 1817 - 17 November 1905). The Present Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg, which became extinct in the male line in 1912, descends from him.
• Wilhelm Karl Heinrich Friedrich of Nassau (Biebrich, 8 September 1819 - Biebrich, 22 April 1823).
• Moritz Wilhelm August Karl Heinrich of Nassau (Biebrich, 21 November 1820 - Vienna, 23 March 1850), unmarried and without issue.
• Marie Wilhelmine Luise Friederike Henriette of Nassau (Biebrich, 5 April 1822 - Biebrich, 3 April 1824).
• Wilhelm Karl August Friedrich of Nassau (Biebrich, 12 August 1823 - Biebrich, 28 December 1828).
• Marie Wilhelmine Friederike Elisabeth of Nassau (Biebrich, 29 January 1825 - Neuwied, 24 March 1902), married in Biebrich on 20 June 1842 Hermann 4te Fürst zu Wied (Neuwied, 22 May 1814 - Neuwied, 5 March 1864).^[1] Their daughter Elisabeth married King Carol I of Romania.

Wilhelm married his second wife and niece of his first wife, Pauline of Württemberg (Stuttgart, 25 February 1810 - Wiesbaden, 7 July 1856) on 23 April 1829 in Stuttgart. Pauline was a daughter of Prince Paul of Württemberg and his wife Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Her paternal grandparents were Frederick I of Württemberg and his wife Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Augusta was the eldest daughter of Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg and Princess Augusta of Wales, elder sister George III of the United Kingdom.

Wilhelm and Pauline had four children:

• An unnamed daughter (Biebrich, 27 April 1830 - Biebrich, 28 April 1830).
• Helene Wilhelmine Henriette Pauline Marianne of Nassau (Wiesbaden, 12 April 1831 - Bad Pyrmont, 27 October 1888), married in Wiesbaden on 26 September 1853 George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and had issue
• Nikolaus Wilhelm of Nassau (20 September 1832 - 17 September 1905). Married, morganatically, Natalia Alexandrovna Pushkina, Countess of Merenberg. She was a daughter of Alexander Pushkin and his wife Natalya Goncharova. They had issue, now extinct in male line.
• Sofia of Nassau (9 July 1836 - 30 December 1913). Married King Oscar II of Sweden. The present Belgian, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish royal families descend from this marriage.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Princely House of Nassau-Weilburg then Ducal House of Nassau
• Ducal House of Saxe-Hildburghausen then Saxe-Altenburg
• Ducal then Royal House of Württemberg
• A listing of descendants of the House of Nassau-Weilburg
• A listing of descendants of the House of Nassau-Weilburg

Preceded by Frederick William	Prince of Nassau-Weilburg 1816	Succeeded by incorporated to the Duchy of Nassau
Preceded by Frederick Augustus	Duke of Nassau 9 January 1816 - 20 August/30 August 1839	Succeeded by Adolf