Prince William of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld

Prince William of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld.

William of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld (3 October 1831 — 17 January 1890), was a German prince member of the House of Hesse in the Philippsthal-Barchfeld branch and Konteradmiral (counter admiral) of the Prussian and Imperial German Navy.

Born in Burgsteinfurt, he was the fourth son of Charles, Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld and his second wife Sophie, daughter of Prince Louis William Geldricus Ernest of Bentheim and Steinfurt.

Life

After serving as cadet and watch officer in the Royal Danish Navy and the British Royal Navy, William joined the Prussian Navy on 29 January 1854 as Lieutenant 1st Class, (captain lieutenant). In the summer of 1854 he served as commanding officer of the corvette Amazone. On 15 October 1854 he was promoted to the rank of Korvettenkapitän (corvette captain). In the winter of 1855/56, he served as Director of the 2nd Division of the Admiralty.

At the same time he took command of the corvette Danzig, a post which he held until November 1856. In this ship he participated in an expedition under the command of Admiral Prince Adalbert to Africa. During the trip, William came into conflict with the Admiral for his punitive actions against the Riffians. Adalbert released William from active service for about a month until the Battle of Tres Forcas on 7 August 1856. After returning home was William was again released from active duty from November 1856 to April 1859. During this time, he was promoted to the rank of Kapitän zur See (captain at sea) on 24 October 1857.

After his return to active service, William took the command of the frigate Thetis from May to September 1859. In April 1860, he asked his release from active service duty, and on 22 March 1864 was appointed Konteradmiral (counter admiral).

During the Franco-Prussian War William was under the service of the General Governor of the German Coastal Lands (Generalgouverneur der deutschen Küstenlande) and General of the Infantry Eduard Vogel von Falckenstein. He sent him to the armed steamer St. George on negotiations with the commander of the French Armed Forces, Vice admiral Martin Fourichon to tell it that shelling the German coast could lead to reprisals in occupied France. Due to the course of the war, the French blockade in the North Sea was canceled after a short time.^[1]

On 30 May 1872 William was appointed Konteradmiral à la suite of the Imperial Navy. He died in Rotenburg an der Fulda aged 59.

Marriages and Issue

In Kassel on 27 December 1857, William married firstly Princess Maria of Hanau and Hořowitz (22 August 1839 — 26 March 1917), daughter of Frederick William, Elector of Hesse-Kassel; however, the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt regarded William's marriage as morganatic and refused to recognize their offspring as legitimate Hessian princes. They had five children:

1. Frederick William (Offenbach am Main, 2 November 1858 — Schloss Wilhelmshöhe, 1 April 1902), married on 17 December 1890 to Anne Hollingsworth-Price. No issue.
2. Charles William (Fulda, 18 May 1861 — Niendorf, 18 October 1938), married on 16 April 1891 to Anne Elise Strehlow. No issue.
3. Sophie Auguste Elisabeth (Kassel, 8 June 1864 — Ahrweiler, 4 March 1919), married on 11 October 1886 to Count Ferdinand of Ysenburg-Büdingen in Philippseich.
4. Alice (Langenselbold, 7 October 1867 — Langenselbold, 23 November 1868).
5. Caroline Louise (Langenselbold, 12 December 1868 — Wiesbaden, 21 November 1959), married on 2 November 1889 to Prince Rudolph of Lippe-Biesterfeld.

William and Maria divorced on 18 March 1872, and she lost the right of use the title of Princess of Hesse. Four years later, on 28 July 1876, she and her surviving children were styled Princes and Princesses of Ardeck.

In Burgsteinfurt on 16 August 1873, William married secondly Princess Juliane of Bentheim and Steinfurt (Burgsteinfurt, 5 January 1842 — Burgsteinfurt, 29 April 1878), his niece (daughter of his older half-sister Bertha). They had four children:

1. Bertha Louise Ottilie Auguste Adelheid Marie (Burgsteinfurt, 25 October 1874 — Detmold, 19 February 1919), married on 16 August 1901 to Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe.
2. Chlodwig Alexis Ernest (Burgsteinfurt, 30 July 1876 — Bad Hersfeld, 17 November 1954), later (1905) Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld and head of the entire Hesse-Philippsthal branch (since 1925).
3. Edward Ernest Alexis Hermann Philipp (Burgsteinfurt, 21 April 1878 — Burgsteinfurt, 5 January 1879).
4. Julian Charles George William (Burgsteinfurt, 21 April 1878 — Burgsteinfurt, 1 September 1878), twin with Edward.

In Burgsteinfurt on 23 August 1879, William married thirdly Princess Adelaide of Bentheim and Steinfurt (Burgsteinfurt, 17 May 1840 — Bingen, 31 January 1880), the older sister of his second wife.^[2] The union, who lasted only five months, was childless.

In Louisenlund Castle on 6 December 1884, William married fourthly Princess Auguste of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (Kiel, 27 February 1844 — Rotenburg an der Fulda, 16 September 1932), a daughter of Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and niece of King Christian IX of Denmark. They had one son:

1. Christian Louis Frederick Adolph Alexis William Ferdinand (Louisenlund Castle, 16 June 1887 — Geneva, 19 October 1971).

References

1. Hans H. Hildebrand, Albert Röhr, Hans-Otto Steinmetz: Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe, vol. 4, no. 1. Auflage, Herford 1982.
2. Ludwig Wilhelm Fürst zu Bentheim u. Steinfurt in: Genealogy Database by Herbert Stoyan [retrieved 2 December 2014].