german: Friedrich Wilhelm Nicolas , spouse = Alexandrine of Prussia , issue = Duchess Charlotte , house =

House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Slavic origin that ruled until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (1909–2004), fo ...

, father =

Paul Frederick, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Paul Friedrich (15 September 1800 – 7 March 1842) ruled as Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1837 to 1842. Biography He was born in Ludwigslust the son of Friedrich Ludwig, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Grand Duc ...

, mother = Alexandrine of Prussia , birth_date = , birth_place =

Ludwigslust Ludwigslust () is a central castle town of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, 40 km south of Schwerin. Since 2011 it has been part of the Ludwigslust-Parchim district. Ludwigslust is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. The former royal re ...

, death_date = , death_place =

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

} Duke Frederick William Nicholas of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Nicolas; 5 March 1827 – 28 July 1879) was the second son of

, and his wife Princess Alexandrine, daughter of

King Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, wh ...

Life

He enlisted in the Prussian Army and became commander of the

6th (Brandenburg) Cuirassiers "Emperor Nicholas I of Russia" The 6th (Brandenburg) Cuirassiers “Emperor Nicholas I of Russia” were a heavy cavalry regiment of the Royal Prussian Army. The regiment was formed in 1807. The regiment fought in the War of the Sixth Coalition, the Second Schleswig War, the Aus ...

. William had a reputation for drunkenness and a dissolute character. On two occasions he was deprived of his command in the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

n army and he proposed marriage to the celebrated ballerina

Marie Taglioni Marie Taglioni, Comtesse de Voisins (23 April 1804 – 22 April 1884) was a Swedish-born ballet dancer of the Romantic ballet era partially of Italian descent, a central figure in the history of European dance. She spent most of her life in t ...

; consequently he was generally considered to be the "black sheep" of the family. Under family pressure, on 9 December 1865, he married Alexandrine of Prussia, daughter of his uncle

Albert of Prussia Albert of Prussia (german: Albrecht von Preussen; 17 May 149020 March 1568) was a German prince who was the 37th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, who after converting to Lutheranism, became the first ruler of the Duchy of Prussia, the s ...

and Marianne of Orange-Nassau. William settled with his wife at Bellevue Palace in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. The marriage was unhappy and the couple had an only child: Charlotte (1868-1944) who married Prince Heinrich XVIII Reuss of Köstritz. William took part in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 as a major general in command of a cavalry brigade in the First Army. He managed, with difficulty, to secure a command in the Prussian Army during the Franco-Prussian War, leading the 6th Cavalry Division, but he was wounded on 9 September 1870 in

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The holy district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance. ...

. As a result, he was long absent from the front and he showed a great lack of energy at the

Battle of Le Mans The Battle of Le Mans was a German victory during the Franco-Prussian War that ended French resistance in western France. Background After capturing the armies of the French Empire at Sedan and Metz in the fall of 1870, the German armies un ...

. In 1873 he became commander of the 22nd Division in Kassel, completed in 1874 but it was only an honorary position. He died on 28 July 1879.

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:

Ancestors

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mecklenburg-Schwerin, William, Duke of 1827 births 1879 deaths People from Schwerin

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

Generals of Cavalry (Prussia) Prussian people of the Austro-Prussian War German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 1st class Burials at Schwerin Cathedral Sons of monarchs Military personnel from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania