William, Prince of Albania
Wilhelm Friedrich Heinrich Prinz zu Wied ( born March 26, 1876 in Neuwied, † April 18, 1945 in Predeal, Romania) in 1914 was six months Prince of Albania.
Life
William was born as the third son of Prince Wilhelm of Wied and his wife Marie of Nassau, Princess of the Netherlands, one of the oldest noble families in Germany. The prince was captain in the Prussian army, as he was by his aunt Elizabeth of Romania for the office of the Prince of Albania proposed (Albanian princ ). After much hesitation and negotiation, the great powers had in 1913 recognized the Conference of Ambassadors of London the Albanian state, which the Albanians proclaimed with political and military support Austria -Hungary after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire during the First Balkan War. The great powers doubted but the fact that the Albanians could govern themselves, and therefore reserved the right to appoint a prince. Moreover, Russia was opposed to the Albanian state, because it would allow its ally Serbia access to the Adriatic Sea. The final choice was a German Protestant who was favored by Austria - Hungary. Austria -Hungary and Germany wanted with the appointment of William avoid that Italy or Serbia gained influence in Albania. In addition, it was believed that a prince who did not belong to the represented religions in Albania, would be accepted as a neutral. Wilhelm zu Wied agreed after careful consideration. So traveled 1914 18 representatives from Albania to Neuwied to offer in a ceremony on February 21, the Prince of Wied, the Albanian crown.
On 7 March 1914, the Prince William I entered with his wife Sophie von Schoenburg - Waldenburg and their two children in Durres, where he was to reside for the first time Albanian soil. The country, which had been entrusted to him, was very poor and had no notable infrastructure or administration. Although quite luxurious for Albanian relations, the situation in the royal palace in comparison with other European capitals and William parents were modest. It was a two story home with some rooms around a courtyard in the middle of the city.
From the land and the local conditions, he knew very little, so he had to rely on consultants. He did not succeed quickly with the people and the Albanian rulers to gain reputation, so that the power struggles of Albanian local lords and foreign States, their financial, political and military support, he was dependent, soon dominated the everyday: to the south tried the Greeks, to gain influence, some Albanian leaders wanted the throne himself and Muslims from Central Albania attacked the capital. With the outbreak of the First World War, the situation was even more desperate. When the prince on September 3, 1914, the country he had endured already surprisingly long, according to some observers. Similar assessment and the subsequent Albanian Prime Minister and Bishop Fan Noli, saying that Prince William could only be criticized because he had not been able to perform miracles.
Wilhelm Prinz zu Wied has never abdicated as Prince of Albania. In 1917, he demanded still his reinstatement. But at that time he was fighting again as an officer in the German army. In April 1918, he resigned from the army. Since 1925 he lived in Romania, where he died in 1945. His grave is in the Protestant Church A. B. in Bucharest.
Progeny
The children from his November 30, 1906 in Waldenburg ( Sachsen) closed marriage to Princess Sophie von Schoenburg - Waldenburg ( 1885-1936 ) are:
- Marie Eleonore (* 1909, † 1956 in Miercurea Ciuc in a Romanian detention ), first marriage in 1937 with Lieutenant Prince Alfred von Schoenburg - Waldenburg ( 1905-1941 ), from 1949 with Ion Octavian Bunea ( 1899-1977 or later)
- Hereditary Prince Karl Viktor of Albania, Prince of Wied (1913-1973), lawyer, married in 1966 with Eileen Johnston ( 1922-1985 )