Prince Waldemar of Prussia (1817–1849)

{{Infobox royalty

| name = Prince Waldemar of Prussia

| image = Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Waldemar of Prussia00.jpg

| full name = {{langx|en|Frederick William Waldemar}}

| house = Hohenzollern

| father = Prince Wilhelm of Prussia

| mother = Landgravine Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1817|08|02|df=y}}

| birth_place = Berlin, Prussia

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1849|02|17|1817|08|02|df=y}}

| death_place = Münster, Prussia

}}

Prince Waldemar of Prussia (Friedrich Wilhelm Waldemar von Preußen) (Berlin, 2 August 1817 – Münster, 17 February 1849) was a son of Prince Wilhelm of Prussia and Landgravine Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg. He was a Major general in the Prussian Army and a traveller.

Biography

Waldemar was born in Berlin, the son of Prince William, the youngest brother of King Frederick William III.

Of his 4 brothers, only Prince Adalbert survived his childhood. His youngest sister Marie was Queen of Bavaria.

As a young man, Waldemar entered the Prussian army and raised through the ranks to become a Colonel in 1844.

His urge to see distant lands led him to the Mediterranean, to South America and in 1844 to India, where he traveled to the Himalayas via Calcutta and Hindustan. His journey came to an end with the First Anglo-Sikh War. He witnessed the first day of the Battle of Ferozeshah (21/22 December 1845), but when his companion, childhood friend and German physician and botanist Werner Hoffmeister was fatally hit by a bullet, British commander Hugh Gough urged Prince Waldemar to return home.

Back in Germany he became commander of the 13th Cavalry Brigade in Münster on 9 March 1848. But weakened by the hardships of the journey and the Indian climate, he died there on 17 February 1849.

Prince Waldemar maintained a travelogue during his journeys composed of his diaries, sketches of Egypt, Iraq, India, Calcutta, Delhi, Lahore, Bombay, Nepal, and other locations. Zur Erinnerung an die Reise des Prinzen Waldemar von Preußen nach Indien 1844-1846, translated In Memory of the Journey of Prince Waldemar of Prussia to India in the Years 1844-1846,{{cite book |last= Prince Waldemar|date=1853 |title=Zur Erinnerung an die Reise des Prinzen Waldemar von Preußen nach Indien 1844-1846, In Memory of the Journey of Prince Waldemar of Prussia to India in the Years 1844-1846 |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/29020195/ |location=Berlin |publisher= |isbn= }} was printed posthumously in two volumes. Prince Waldemar’s diary depicts sacred places, people, and painted lithographs of the sketches. Pastoral Landscapes of the Middle Eastern, Indian, and South Asian countryside, such as the Sri Dalada Maligawa, Temple of the Tooth.

File:Lithograph from Diary of Prince Waldemar of Prussia depicting Sri Dalada Maligawa in Sri Lanka.jpg File:Zur Erinnerung an die Reise des Prinzen Waldemar von Preußen nach Indien 1844-1846, In Memory of the Journey of Prince Waldemar of Prussia to India in the Years 1844-1846.jpg

Published works of the expedition included writings and sketches of Werner Hoffmeister and others as well, additional record of the journey can be found in Briefe aus Indien. Von Dr. W. Hoffmeister, Arzt im Gefolge Sr. Königl, Hoheit des Prinzen Waldemar von Preußen Von Dr. W. Hoffmeister, Arzt im Gefolge Sr. Königl, Hoheit des Prinzen Waldemar von Preußen (1847) Briefe aus Indien. [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_CxsHH_mK45kC Archive.org]

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:{{cite book|author=Preußen|title=Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat: für das Jahr .... 1848|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=30FKAAAAcAAJ&pg=PR1|year=1848|publisher=Decker|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=30FKAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA6 6]}}

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{{flagicon image|Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg}} Kingdom of Prussia:
Knight of the Black Eagle, 2 August 1827;Liste der Ritter des Königlich Preußischen Hohen Ordens vom Schwarzen Adler (1851), "Von Seiner Majestät dem Könige Friedrich Wilhelm III. ernannte Ritter" [https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/view/bsb10362193?page=29 p. 19] with Collar, 1835
Pour le Mérite (military), 18 December 1846{{cite book|last1=Lehmann|first1=Gustaf|title=Die Ritter des Ordens pour le mérite 1812–1913|year=1913|trans-title=The Knights of the Order of the Pour le Mérite|lang=de|url=https://gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/id/PPN135808618|pages=414|volume=2|location=Berlin|publisher=Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn}}
{{flag|Kingdom of Hanover}}: Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order, 1843{{cite book|title=Hof- und Staats-Handbuch für das Königreich Hannover|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kp9jAAAAcAAJ&pg=PP7|year=1847|publisher=Berenberg|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Kp9jAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA61 61]}}
{{flagicon|Hesse}} Electorate of Hesse: Grand Cross of the Golden Lion
{{flagicon image|Flag of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Sigmaringen.png}} Hohenzollern: Cross of Honour of the Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, 1st Class
{{flag|Russian Empire}}: Knight of St. Andrew
{{flagcountry|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}}: Honorary Grand Cross of the Bath (military), 10 November 1846Shaw, Wm. A. (1906) The Knights of England, I, London, [https://archive.org/details/cu31924092537418/page/n281/mode/2up p. 190]