Wilhelm, Prince of Albania
Wilhelm | |
---|---|
Zog I as next monarch, 1928–1939 | |
Born | Schloss Neuwied, Neuwied, Germany | 26 March 1876
Died | 18 April 1945 Predeal, Romania | (aged 69)
Burial | |
Spouse |
Princess Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg (m. 1906; died 1936) |
Wilhelm, Prince of Wied | |
Mother | Princess Marie of the Netherlands |
Religion | Protestantism |
Signature |
Wilhelm, Prince of Albania (Wilhelm Friedrich Heinrich; Albanian: Vilhelm, Princ i Shqipërisë, 26 March 1876 – 18 April 1945) was sovereign of the Principality of Albania from 7 March to 3 September 1914. His reign officially came to an end on 31 January 1925, when the country was declared an Albanian Republic.
Outside the country and in diplomatic correspondence, he was styled "sovereign prince", but in Albania, he was referred to as mbret, or king.
Family and early life
William was born on 26 March 1876 in
Prince William served as a Prussian cavalry officer before becoming a captain in the German General Staff in 1911.[1]
Candidate for the Albanian throne
Prince William's aunt, Queen
Eventually the European Great Powers –
Western Europeans considered Albania to be a poor, lawless and backward country in 1913, and some foreign opinion was scathing. The French press referred to Wilhelm as "le Prince de Vide", meaning "the prince of emptiness"; vide being a pun on his homeland of Wied.
Prince of Albania
On 7 February 1914, William let the Great Powers know that he would accept the throne. On 21 February 1914 a delegation of Albanian notables led by
His brief reign proved a turbulent one. Immediately following his arrival
The outbreak of World War I presented more problems for Prince William as Austria-Hungary demanded that he send Albanian soldiers to fight alongside them. When he refused, citing the neutrality of Albania in the Treaty of London, the remuneration that he had been receiving was cut off.[4]
Reign in exile, overthrow, and death
Prince William left the country on 3 September 1914 originally heading to Venice.[5] Despite leaving Albania he did so insisting that he remained head of state.[4] In his proclamation he informed the people that "he deemed it necessary to absent himself temporarily."[6] He was also styled Skanderbeg II, in homage to Skanderbeg, the national hero.[7]
He returned to Germany and rejoined the
Although several of the factions competing for power in post-war Albania billed themselves as regencies for William, once central authority was definitively restored in 1924, the country was declared a republic on 31 January 1925, officially ending his reign.
With the monarchy in Albania set to be restored with President Ahmet Zogu becoming king, Prince William reaffirmed his claim to the throne announcing he still claimed the throne for himself and his heirs.[1]
Prince William died in Predeal, near Sinaia, in Romania, leaving his son, Hereditary Prince Carol Victor, as heir to his Albanian claims.[9] He was buried at the Lutheran Church in Bucharest.[citation needed]
Marriage and children
On 30 November 1906 at
- Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg⚭ Ion Octavian Bunea (1899–1977)
- Hereditary Prince Carol Victor (1913–1973) ⚭ Eileen de Coppet (1922–1985)
Honours
- Princely Order of the Black Eagle, 26 March 1914
- Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky, 27 February 1914
- Sweden: Commander Grand Cross of the Polar Star, 1896[11]
- Württemberg: Grand Cross of the Friedrich Order, 29 October 1898
- Romania:
- Grand Cross of the Star of Romania, 4 December 1913
- Grand Cross of the Crown of Romania[12]
- Italy: Grand Cross of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, 10 February 1914
- Austria-Hungary: Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Leopold, 13 February 1914
- France: Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, 19 February 1914
- Prussia:
- Grand Cross of the Red Eagle, 25 February 1914
- Knight of Honour of the Johanniter Order[13]
- Knight of the Prussian Crown, 3rd Class
- Bulgaria: Knight of the Royal Order of Military Merit, 5th Class
Gallery
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1909
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1913 (circa)
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1913
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Prince Wilhelm of Wied, Isa Boletini and officers of the International Gendarmerie: Duncan Heaton-Armstrong and Colonel Thomson near Durrës in June 1914
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1914
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1914
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Prince Wilhelm on horseback in front of the palace in Durrës.
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Royal Monogram
Ancestry
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In popular culture
Prince Wilhelm is portrayed in the 2008 Albanian film Time of the Comet (based on Ismail Kadare's novel "The dark year" (Viti i mbrapshtë), which takes place during his reign. He is played by the German actor Thomas Heinze.
References
- ^ De facto, however, his reign ended on September 3, 1914
- Essad Pasha Toptani, made a formal request, which he accepted thereby becoming By the grace of the powers and the will of the people the Prince (Mbret) of Albania.
- ^ ISBN 1-84511-013-7.
- ^ ISBN 1-85043-761-0.
- ^ William II, German Emperor; Ybarra, T. R. (Thomas Russell) (1922). The Kaiser's memoirs, Wilhelm II, emperor of Germany, 1888-1918; English translation by Thomas R. Ybarra. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Library. New York; London, Harper. p. 164.
- ^ ISBN 1-85065-596-0.
- ISBN 3-486-55989-3.
- ISBN 0-7146-1974-4,
On September 3, 1914, Prince William had ended his inglorious six months' reign with proclamation, informing his people that 'he deemed it necessary to absent himself temporarily.'
- ISBN 1-84511-013-7.
- ISBN 978-0810861886.
- ISBN 1-84511-104-4.
- ^ "Les GHIKA et "la Question d'Orient"" (PDF) (in French). Retrieved 2023-10-15.
- ^ "Sveriges statskalender" (in Swedish). 1905. p. 489. Retrieved 2018-01-06 – via runeberg.org.
- ^ "Prince Wilhelm". Archived from the original on 2006-03-07. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
- ^ Justus Perthes, Almanach de Gotha 1921 (1921) page 2