Prince Frederick William of Hesse-Kassel

File:Prins_Wilhelms_Palæ_(Københavns_Kommune).JPG at Sankt Annæ Plads in Copenhagen.]]

Prince Frederick William of Hesse-Kassel was born in Copenhagen on 26 November 1820.{{sfn|Thorsøe|1891|p=339}} He moved to Denmark with his family at the age of three, and grew up there. He attended the university in Bonn, and then began a military career. In 1843 he was third in line for the Danish throne after the King's son and brother, Prince Ferdinand.{{cite news |title=Russia and Denmark |work=Waterford Chronicle |date=2 December 1843 |page= 8|accessdate=22 June 2015 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000860/18431202/078/0008| via = British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription }}

His siblings included Louise of Hesse-Kassel, future Queen of Denmark, Princess Marie Luise Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel and Princess Auguste Sophie Friederike of Hesse-Kassel.

File:GD Alexandra Nikolaievna of Russia.jpg]]

File:Alekszandra Nyikolajevna orosz nagyhercegnő.jpg

On 28 January 1844, Frederick married Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia at St Petersburg. Frederick had come to St Petersburg as a prospective bridegroom for her sister Olga, but fell in love with Alexandra instead on the first evening he spent with the family. Although Olga was the elder daughter and also found Frederick to be an engaging young man, she stepped aside in favour of her sister, and even chaperoned the couple when they wanted to spend time together. The emperor and empress then gave their permission for Alexandra and Frederick to be married.

Alexandra became acutely ill with tuberculosis shortly before her wedding, and this complicated the pregnancy which soon followed. She was never well enough to travel to Hesse and take up her new position with her husband. They stayed in St. Petersburg, where her health rapidly declined. She went into labor prematurely, three months before the child was due, and gave birth to a son, Wilhelm. The infant died shortly after he was born, and Alexandra died later the same day. Her parents were devastated and their grief would last until the end of their lives. She was buried at the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg. The son was buried in Rumpenheim, now a borough of Offenbach am Main, Germany.{{cite news |title=From the London Gazette - Friday 30 August |work=London Standard |date=31 August 1844 |page= 1|accessdate=22 June 2015 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000860/18431202/078/0008| via = British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription }}

In 1849 Frederick William joined HMS Cleopatra to train as a midshipman. The Cleopatra was reassigned to Singapore to take the place of HMS Maeander.Reports & C, The Straits Times, 28 August 1849, Page 9 She arrived in Singapore from Devonport via Rio de Janeiro under Captain Massie on 14 September 1849 and left with HMS Reynard for Labuan and China on 10 October. The Singapore paper mistakenly described the Prince as the son of the Danish king but the king had no sons, he was an heir to the throne.{{cite web|url=http://newspapers.nl.sg/Digitised/Article/singfreepressa18491106.2.7.aspx |title=Shipping News |newspaper=The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser|publisher=Newspapers.nl.sg |date=6 November 1849|page=3 |accessdate=2012-11-15}}The Straits Times, 16 October 1849, Page 3

File:Princess Anna of Prussia.jpg]]

On 26 May 1853, Frederick married Alexandra's first cousin, Princess Anna of Prussia (1836–1918), at Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin. Although they had six children together, Frederick and Anna were never emotionally close, and it is speculated that one reason was because Fritz was unable to overcome his grief for his first wife. The couple first lived in Denmark in Dehn Mansion, a mansion Prince Frederick had bought in 1844.

His first wife was Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia (1825–1844), daughter of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia. Alexandra died in childbirth, delivering a son who was born three months prematurely, and who died on the day of his birth:

• Prince Wilhelm (10 August 1844 – 10 August 1844)

His second wife was Princess Anna of Prussia (1836–1918), the youngest daughter of Prince Charles of Prussia and Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. They had six children:

• Prince Frederick William III of Hesse (15 October 1854 – 14 October 1888); never married; died at sea on a voyage from Batavia to Singapore.
• Princess Elisabeth Alexandra Charlotte of Hesse (13 June 1861 – 7 June 1955); married Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt in June 1884 and had issue.{{cite news |title=Untitled |work=Western Daily Press |date=18 February 1884 |page = 3 |accessdate=22 June 2015 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000264/18840218/012/0003| via = British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription }}
• Prince Alexander Frederick of Hesse (25 January 1863 – 26 March 1945); married Baroness Gisela Stockhorner von Starheim.
• Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse, King of Finland (1 May 1868 – 28 May 1940); married Princess Margaret of Prussia and had issue.
• Princess Marie-Polyxene of Hesse (29 April 1872 – 16 August 1882).
• Princess Sybille Margaret Adelheid Louise of Hesse (3 June 1877 – 11 February 1925); married Friedrich Alexander Henry Robert Carl Albert, Baron von Vincke (divorced 1923).

He is important dynastically as a candidate for both the headship of the Hesse-Kassel dynasty (through his father) and for the Danish throne (through his mother). When Frederick William, deposed Elector of Hesse died in 1875, his sons were excluded from succession, because of his morganatic marriage. Therefore, Prince Frederick William succeeded the latter as titular Elector of Hesse.

Frederick William died on 14 October 1884 at Hamburg.

Friedrich Wilhelm received the following awards:Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogs Hessen (1879), Genealogy p. [https://archive.org/details/hofundstaatshan00gergoog/page/n30/mode/2up 5]{{cite book |year=1883 |orig-year=1st pub.:1801 |editor1-last=Bille-Hansen |editor1-first=A. C. |editor2-last=Holck |editor2-first=Harald |title=Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1883 |trans-title=State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1883 |url=https://dis-danmark.dk/bibliotek/900758.pdf |series=Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender |language=da |location=Copenhagen |publisher=J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri |pages=3–4 |access-date=30 April 2020 |via=:da:DIS Danmark}}

;German decorations

{{columns-list|colwidth=25em|

• {{flagicon|Hesse}} Hesse-Kassel: Grand Cross of the Golden Lion, 29 April 1840Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogs Hessen (1879), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" p. [https://archive.org/details/hofundstaatshan00gergoog/page/n68/mode/2up 43]
• {{flagicon|Grand Duchy of Hesse}} Hesse and by Rhine:Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogs Hessen (1879), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" pp. [https://archive.org/details/hofundstaatshan00gergoog/page/n34/mode/2up 10], [https://archive.org/details/hofundstaatshan00gergoog/page/n72/mode/2up 47], [https://archive.org/details/hofundstaatshan00gergoog/page/n154/mode/2up 130]
• Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, 7 September 1850
• Grand Cross of the Merit Order of Philip the Magnanimous, with Swords, 18 January 1870
• Military Merit Cross, 8 March 1871
• Bronze Medal for the Campaign in France (1870-1871)
• {{flagicon image|Flag of Anhalt Duchies.png}} Ascanian duchies: Grand Cross of the Order of Albert the Bear, 22 April 1857Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Herzogtum Anhalt (1867) "Herzoglicher Haus-orden Albrecht des Bären" p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=TYEp3N5O48EC&pg=PA18 18]
• {{Flag|Baden}}:Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1880), "Großherzogliche Orden" [https://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/blbihd/periodical/pageview/1875328 p. 59]
• Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, 1875
• Grand Cross of the Zähringer Lion, 1875
• {{flagicon|Saxe-Coburg and Gotha}} {{flagicon|Saxe-Altenburg}} {{flagicon|Saxe-Meiningen}} Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order, 1871Staatshandbücher für das Herzogtum Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (1884), "Herzogliche Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden" p. [https://zs.thulb.uni-jena.de/rsc/viewer/jportal_derivate_00244601/Sachsen_Coburg_Gotha_497472023_497472813_1884_8_0074.tif?logicalDiv=jportal_jparticle_00483785 32]
• {{Flagicon image|Flagge Großherzogtümer Mecklenburg.svg}} Mecklenburg:
• Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore
• Military Service Cross, 2nd Class (Schwerin)
• {{Flag|Nassau}}: Knight of the Gold Lion of Nassau, September 1858Staats- und Adreß-Handbuch des Herzogthums Nassau (1866), "Herzogliche Orden" p. [https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/view/bsb10021632?page=24 8]
• {{flag|Oldenburg}}: Grand Cross of the Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Golden Crown, 16 September 1869{{cite book|title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Großherzogtums Oldenburg0: 1878|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z0LijrRBi0kC&pg=PA33|year=1878|publisher=Schulze|page=33}}
• {{flagicon image|Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg}} Prussia:
• Knight of the Black Eagle, with Collar, 1 January 1853{{citation|title=Königlich Preussische Ordensliste|volume=1|chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878864&view=1up&seq=5&skin=2021|page=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878864&view=1up&seq=14&skin=2021 10]|chapter=Schwarzer Adler-orden|lang=German|location=Berlin|year=1877}}
• Grand Cross of the Red Eagle
• Iron Cross (1870), 2nd Class
• {{flag|Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach}}: Grand Cross of the White Falcon, 9 June 1853Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1864), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. [https://zs.thulb.uni-jena.de/rsc/viewer/jportal_derivate_00183895/Staatshandbuch_Film_Nr_13_0430.tif 12]
• {{Flagicon image|Flagge Fürstentum Schaumburg-Lippe.svg}} Schaumburg-Lippe: Military Merit Medal
• {{flag|Württemberg}}: Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown, 1864{{cite book|author=Württemberg (Kingdom). Statistisches Landesamt|title=Staatshandbuch für Württemberg|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bMtW8PxqkkcC&pg=PP7|year=1877|publisher=Druck von W. Kohlhammer|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dv2pWrDo9aYC&pg=PA22 22]}}

}}

;Foreign decorations

• {{flag|Austrian Empire}}: Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1860[http://tornai.com/rendtagok.htm "A Szent István Rend tagjai"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222022855/http://tornai.com/rendtagok.htm|date=22 December 2010}}
• {{flag|Denmark}}:
• Knight of the Elephant, 28 June 1840
• Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog, 28 June 1840
• {{flagicon|Greece|royal}} Kingdom of Greece: Grand Cross of the Redeemer
• {{flag|Russian Empire}}:
• Knight of St. Andrew, in Diamonds, 1 July 1843
• Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky
• Knight of the White Eagle
• Knight of St. Anna, 1st Class
• Knight of St. George, 4th Class, 1878
• {{flagicon|Sweden|1844}} {{flagicon|Norway|1844}} Sweden-Norway: Knight of the Seraphim, 2 November 1869{{citation|title=Sveriges Statskalender|year=1881|url=https://runeberg.org/statskal/1881/0403.html|via=runeberg.org|access-date=2018-01-06|language=sv|page=377}}

{{ahnentafel

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|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;

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|1= 1. Frederick William II, Landgrave of Hesse

|2= 2. Prince William of Hesse-Cassel

|3= 3. Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark

|4= 4. Prince Frederick of Hesse-Cassel

|5= 5. Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen

|6= 6. Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark and Norway

|7= 7. Duchess Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

|8= 8. Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel

|9= 9. Princess Mary of Great Britain

|10= 10. Charles William, Prince of Nassau-Usingen

|11= 11. Countess Caroline Felizitas of Leiningen-Dagsburg

|12= 12. Frederick V of Denmark

|13= 13. Duchess Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

|14= 14. Duke Louis of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

|15= 15. Princess Charlotte Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite book|last=Bramsen|first=Bo|title=Ferdinand og Caroline : en beretning om prinsen, der nødig ville være konge af Danmark|trans-title=Ferdinand and Caroline: an account of the prince who was reluctant to be king of Denmark|year=1985|edition=4th|publisher=Nordiske Landes Bogforlag|location=Copenhagen|isbn=8787439220|lang=da}}
• {{Cite encyclopedia|first=Alexander |last=Thorsøe |title=Frederik (F. Vilhelm Georg Adolf), Landgreve af Hessen-Kassel |url=https://runeberg.org/dbl/5/0341.html |year=1891 |encyclopedia=Dansk biografisk Lexikon, tillige omfattende Norge for tidsrummet 1537-1814 |editor-first=Carl Frederik |editor-last=Bricka |editor-link=Carl Frederik Bricka |volume=V |edition=1st |location=Copenhagen |publisher=Gyldendals forlag |pages=339–340 |language=da }}

{{Refend}}

{{commonscatinline|Prince Frederick William (II) of Hesse-Kassel}}

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{{s-bef|before=Frederick William I}}

{{s-tul|title=Elector of Hesse|years=1875–1884}}

{{s-aft|after=Frederick William III}}

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{{Princes and Landgraves of Hesse}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prince Frederick William 02 of Hesse-Kassel}}

Category:1820 births

Category:1884 deaths

Frederick William

Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary

Category:Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree

Category:Recipients of the Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog

Category:Pretenders