Prince Albert of Prussia (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Albrecht; 8 May 1837 – 13 September 1906) was a Prussian

general field marshal ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

, ''Herrenmeister'' (Grand Master) of the

Order of Saint John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

from 1883 until his death, and

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of the

Duchy of Brunswick The Duchy of Brunswick (german: Herzogtum Braunschweig) was a historical German state. Its capital was the city of Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel by the Congress of Vienna ...

from 1885, also until his death.

Biography

Albert was born 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 son of Prince Albert of Prussia and his wife Princess Marianne, daughter of

King William I of the Netherlands William I (Willem Frederik, Prince of Orange-Nassau; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was a Prince of Orange, the King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He was the son of the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, who went ...

. His father was a brother of King Frederick William IV of Prussia and of

William I, German Emperor William I or Wilhelm I (german: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was th ...

. Albrecht entered the Prussian army in 1847, serving in the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswi ...

and participating in the battles of Skalitz, Schweinschädel and Königgrätz in the Austro-Prussian War in 1866. In the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 he commanded a guard cavalry brigade at

Gravelotte Gravelotte (; german: Gravelotte) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France, 11 km west of Metz. It is part of the functional area (''aire d'attraction'') of Metz. Its population is 827 (2019). From 1871 ...

and Sedan. After the fall of the Second Empire, he was subordinated to

Edwin von Manteuffel Edwin Karl Rochus Freiherr von Manteuffel (24 February 180917 June 1885) was a Prussian ''Generalfeldmarschall'' noted for his victories in the Franco-Prussian War, and the first Imperial Lieutenant (german: Reichsstatthalter) of Alsace–Lorrai ...

in the fighting around

Bapaume Bapaume (original Dutch name Batpalmen) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. The inhabitants of this commune are known as ''Bapalmois'' or ''Bapalmoises''. Geography Bapaume is a far ...

and St. Quentin. In 1874 he became commander of the X Corps stationed in Hannover. In 1883 he succeeded his uncle Prince Charles as ''Herrenmeister'' of the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg). Alfonso-XIII-orden-aguila-negra

In 1885, Albert was chosen as Regent for the

, as

German Chancellor The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ge ...

Otto von Bismarck had removed

Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover en, Ernest Augustus William Adolphus George Frederick , house = Hanover , father = George V of Hanover , mother = Marie of Saxe-Altenburg , birth_date = , birth_place = Hanover, Kingdom of Hanover , death_date = , death_place = Gmunde ...

, from office. In 1913 Ernst August's son

Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick '' , house = Hanover , father = Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover , mother = Princess Thyra of Denmark , birth_date = , birth_place = Penzing, Vienna, Austria-Hungary , death_date = , death_place = Marienburg Castle, Hanover, L ...

became Duke of Brunswick who only reigned for 5 years and 6 days. After accepting the regency, Albert and Marie resided chiefly in Brunswick,

, and

Kamenz Kamenz () or Kamjenc ( Sorbian) is a town ('' Große Kreisstadt'') in the district of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany. Until 2008 it was the administrative seat of Kamenz District. The town is known as the birthplace of the philosopher and poet Gotth ...

. Prince Albrecht died at Schloss Kamenz in 1906. He was buried in the Mausoleum auf dem Hutberge in the park of Schloss Kamenz. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the mausoleum was plundered and the bodies of Albert and his wife were reburied in the park.

Marriage and issue

On 9 April 1873 in

he married Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg. Albert's parents had been unhappily married to each other and were later divorced. His decision to wait until he was 36 before marrying is thought to have been a reflection of his parents' marital situation.

Honours and awards

;German honours
Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat
' (1906), Genealogy p. 4 ;Foreign honours

Ancestry

References

External links

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Albert, Prince of Prussia (1837-1906) 1837 births 1906 deaths Field marshals of the German Empire Field marshals of Prussia House of Hohenzollern Prussian people of the Austro-Prussian War German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Military personnel from Berlin People from the Province of Brandenburg Prussian princes Regents of Germany Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 1st class Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Knights Commander of the Military Order of William Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights of Justice of the Order of St John