William II, Elector of Hesse


William II was the penultimate Elector of Hesse.

Early life

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 on his father's death in 1821.

Personal life

On 13 February 1797 in Berlin, William married Princess Augusta of Prussia, fourth daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia. They had six children:
William also had eight children by his second wife, Emilie Ortlöpp, daughter of Johann Christian Ortlöpp and wife Agnese Luise Sophie Wiessenberg, created Countess of Reichenbach-Lessonitz. The children bore the title Count/Countess of Reichenbach-Lessonitz:
, 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 Caroline, Baroness of Berlepsch, daughter of Ludwig Hermann, Baron of Berlepsch and Melusine Jul. Chr. von Kruse. William created the title of Countess of Bergen for Caroline in 1846. This marriage was childless. After his death, she married on 28 October 1851 Karl Adolf Graf von Hohenthal, by whom she had two sons: Karl Adolf and Karl Ludwig.
William died on 20 November 1847 and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Frederick William, the last Elector of Hesse.

Descendants

, the wife of Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark, son of King Constantine II of Greece is a descendant of William II of Hesse.

Ancestry

Footnotes