Frederick William, Elector of Hesse

Frederick William I (20 August 1802 – 6 January 1875) was, between 1847 and 1866, the last Prince-elector of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel).

Early life He was born at Hanau on 20 August 1802. He was the son of Prince William, later William II, Elector of Hesse, and Princess Augusta of Prussia, daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia. During the French occupation of Hesse-Kassel from 1806 to 1813, he stayed with his mother in Berlin. Reportedly, he had a poor relationship with his father because of his father's affair with Emilie Ortlöpp.

Frederick was educated at Marburg and Leipzig.

Career

On 30 September 1831, he became co-regent and, in 1847, Prince-elector. Under influence of his minister Hans Daniel Ludwig Friedrich Hassenpflug, he conducted a reactionary policy, which made him very unpopular. He was forced to give in to the demands of the March Revolution, but reinstated Hassenpflug in 1850 after the revolution had been crushed.

In the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, he chose the side of Austria. His capital, Kassel, was occupied by Prussia, and, as a consequence of his refusal to negotiate, Gertrude and her husband were divorced in 1830/31, but already by this time, some children had been born to her and Frederick William. They were married in 1831, after which they had further children.

In 1831, Frederick William's father William II made Gertrude Her Illustrious Highness Countess of Schaumburg. In 1853, she was made Princess of Hanau and to Horowitz. All of the nine children that she bore to Frederick William, whether born before or after their marriage, were made Princes of Hanau, and granted the style of Serene Highness in 1862: Augusta Marie Gertrude (Niederdorfelden, 21 September 1829 - Halle an der Saale, 18 September 1887; bur Wächtersbach), who married Ferdinand Maximilian III, Prince of Isenburg-Büdingen in Wächtersbach (Wächtersbach, 24 October 1824 - Wächtersbach, 5 June 1903) in Wilhelmshohe on 17 July 1849. 18 June 1821: Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle 1837: Grand Cross of the Order of St. Stephen April 1844: Knight of the Order of St. Andrew the First-called 15 February 1846: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold 29 January 1848: Knight of the Order of the Elephant 13 August 1865: Grand Cross of the House Order of the Wendish Crown

Ancestry

Notes and references