Friedrich Wilhelm Prinz von Hohenzollern

Friedrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Joseph Maria Manuel Georg Meinrad Fidelis Benedikt Michael Hubert Fürst von Hohenzollern (3 February 1924 – 16 September 2010) was the head of the House of Hohenzollern for over 45 years.

Biography

Friedrich Wilhelm was born in Schloss Umkirch. He was the eldest son of Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern (1891–1965) and his wife, Princess Margarete Karola of Saxony (1900–1962), the daughter of the last King of Saxony Frederick Augustus III. He became the head of the House of Hohenzollern on 6 February 1965 following the death of his father Prince Friedrich, and remained so until his death on 16 September 2010.

According to the Romanian succession laws of the kingdom's last democratic Constitution of 1923, Friedrich Wilhelm's descendants have had a claim to the throne of Romania since 2017, when former King Michael died.

Marriage and issue

Friedrich Wilhelm married Princess Margarita of Leiningen (1932–1996) on 3 February 1951. She was a child of Karl, 6th Prince of Leiningen, and his wife, Grand Duchess Maria Kirillovna of Russia.

They had three children:

• Karl Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern (born 1952), who succeeded Friedrich Wilhelm as head of the House of Hohenzollern;
• Prince Albrecht of Hohenzollern (born 1954), married Nathalie Rocabado de Viets and had two children;
• Prince Ferdinand of Hohenzollern (born 1960), married Countess Ilona Kálnoky de Köröspatak and had three children.

Courtesy titles and styles

• 3 February 1924 – 22 October 1927: His Serene Highness Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Hohenzollern
• 22 October 1927 – 6 February 1965: His Highness The Hereditary Prince of Hohenzollern
• 6 February 1965 – 16 September 2010: His Highness The Prince of Hohenzollern

Honours

• Grand Master of the House Order of Hohenzollern
• Knight of the Seraphim (1961)
• Knight Grand Cross of Justice of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George.
• Knight of Saint Hubert.
• Officer's Cross (Merit Cross 1st Class) of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
• Knight of the Black Eagle.
• Knight of the Golden Fleece.
• Bailiff Grand Cross Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
• Grand Cross of the Order of Carol I

Ancestry

References

Sources

• Obituary of His Highness Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, The Daily Telegraph, 13 October 2010

External links

• Hohenzollern website Archived March 8, 2018, at the Wayback Machine