Mindaugas II of Lithuania
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Please see the discussion on the talk page. |
| Mindaugas II | ||
|---|---|---|
| King of Lithuania | ||
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| King Mindaugas and the Royal family | ||
| Reign | 11 July 1918 – 2 November 1918 | |
| Born | 30 May 1864 | |
| Monaco | ||
| Died | 24 March 1928 | |
| Rapallo, Italy | ||
| Predecessor | vacant, Stanisław August Poniatowski | |
| Successor | none | |
| Consort | Amalie in Bavaria Wiltrud of Bavaria |
|
| Issue | Princess Marie-Gabriele Princess Elisabeth Princess Karola Prince Wilhelm of Urach Karl Gero, 3rd Duke of Urach Princess Margarete Prince Albrecht Prince Eberhard Princess Mechtilde |
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| Royal House | House of Württemberg | |
| Father | Wilhelm, 1st Duke of Urach | |
| Mother | Princess Florestine of Monaco | |
Mindaugas II of Lithuania (30 May 1864, Monaco - March 24, 1928, Rapallo, Italy) was elected King of Lithuania, on July 11, 1918. His reign lasted less than four months, and he was never crowned.[citation needed].
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[edit] Early life
Born as HSH Wilhelm Karl Florestan Gero Crescentius, Duke of Urach, Count of Württemberg he was the son of Duke Wilhelm von Urach and his wife, Princess Florestine of Monaco, daughter of Florestan I of Monaco. As his father died when he was aged 4, much of his childhood was spent in Monaco, where his mother Florestine often managed the government while her nephew, Albert I of Monaco, went on long oceanographic explorations. Wilhelm was culturally francophone.
Through his mother, Wilhelm was the legitimate heir to the throne of Monaco. Wilhelm's cousin Louis II was unmarried and had no legitimate children. But the French Republic was reluctant to see a German prince ruling Monaco. Under French pressure Monaco passed a law in 1911 recognising Louis II's illegitimate daughter, Charlotte, as heir, and she was hurriedly adopted in 1918 by her grandfather Prince Albert II. In July 1918 France and Monaco also signed a treaty which greatly restricts Monégasque sovereignty. Wilhelm was relegated to second in line to Monaco's throne. After the accession of his cousin Louis II in 1922, Wilhelm assigned his legitimate claim to distant French cousins in 1924.
In 1913 Wilhelm was briefly a candidate for the throne of Albania[citation needed], supported by Catholic groups in the north. This passed to the Prince of Wied who was killed in Paris in 1914. In 1917, as a newly-retired general he sounded out the possibility of being made Duke of Lorraine after the war was over. His claims were published in a 2001 essay by his grandson-in-law, Sergei von Cube.
He was the elected king of Lithuania but ruled for only a few months. By the end of 1918, Germany was nearing defeat in World War I, and on November 2, 1918, Lithuania changed its Constitution[dubious — see talk page] to a Republican one. The King of A Hundred Days fled with his family[dubious — see talk page], and returned to his home south of Stuttgart, Schloss Lichtenstein.
[edit] Military career to 1917
Typical of his family, Wilhelm entered the Württemberg army in the 1890s and was a professional general by the outbreak of World War I in 1914, commanding the 26th Infantry Division. Until November 1914 they were part of the German assault on France. In December 1914 the division fought in the battle to cross the Bzura river in Poland. From June to September 1915 the division moved from north of Warsaw to positions close to the Neman river, an advance of hundreds of miles in the campaign in which Poland was taken. In October-November 1915 it took part in the assault on Serbia, moving from west of Belgrade to Kraljevo in less than a month. At Ypres in Belgium from December 1915 to July 1916, the division was largely destroyed in the Somme battles from August to November 1916, holding the Schwaben Redoubt (Württemberg is part of Swabia). Wilhelm retired as a general on 5th January 1917.
His military career in part explains his choice by the Taryba in 1918. He was Roman Catholic and not from Prussia; yet he had served well and, had the Central Powers won the war, Lithuania would have expected German protection in the event of future intrusions by Russia. In his agreement with the Taryba he had to live in Lithuania and speak its language. However, one obstacle was a lack of support by the kaiser in 1917-18, who may have preferred the throne to pass to a Prussian prince.
[edit] Marriage and children
King Mindaugas II was married twice. In 1892, he married Duchess Amalie in Bavaria (1865-1912), daughter of Karl Theodor, Duke in Bavaria. Nine children were born of this marriage:
- Princess Marie Gabriele of Urach (1893-1908)
- Princess Elisabeth of Urach (1894-1962) who married Prince Karl of Liechtenstein (1878-1955), an uncle of Franz Joseph II of Liechtenstein, and had issue.
- Princess Karola of Urach (1896-1980)
- Prince Wilhelm of Urach (1897-1957), who married Elisabeth Theurer (1899-1988) and had two daughters, Elisabeth and Marie Christine.
- Karl Gero, Duke of Urach (1899-1981), who married Countess Gabriele of Waldburg of Zeil and Trauchburg (1910-2005). No issue.
- Princess Margarete of Urach (1901-1975)
- Prince Albrecht of Urach (1903-1969). Married first Rosemary Blackadder and second Ute Waldschmidt. Divorced both of them and had issue by both. An artist turned journalist expert on the Far East.
- Prince Eberhard of Urach (1907-1969), who married Princess Iniga of Thurn and Taxis (born 1925) and had issue; including the current Duke (Fürst) of Urach.
- Princess Mechtilde of Urach (1912-2001), who married Friedrich Karl, Prince of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst and had issue.
Though King Mindaugas' II first wife had died in 1912, two of her ancestors had been elected to rule the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 1700s; August III the Saxon and Stanisław Leszczyński. This may have added to the decision of the Taryba.
In 1924, he married Princess Wiltrud of Bavaria (1884-1975), daughter of King Ludwig III of Bavaria. This marriage was childless.
[edit] See also
- [1] - Schloss Lichtenstein.
- List of Lithuanian rulers
- Mindaugas
- Väinö I of Finland
| Vacant Title last held by Stanisław August Poniatowski |
King of Lithuania 1918 |
Succeeded by Republic established |
| Preceded by Wilhelm, 1st Duke of Urach |
Duke of Urach | Succeeded by Karl Gero, 3rd Duke of Urach |
