Thursday, February 4, 2010

Princess Wilhelm of Wied dead







February 4, 1936

Princess Wilhelm of Wied died today at her estate, Fontaneli, in Rumania. She was the wife of Prince Wilhelm of Wied, who was the ruler of Albania in 1914. The princess lived for many years in Rumania, as she was closely related to to the Royal Family through the late Queen Elisabeth, the New York Times reports.

Queen Elisabeth was Prince Wilhelm's aunt.

Princess Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg was born at Potsdam on May 21, 1885. She married Prince Wilhelm in 1906. One "witty" journalist wonder about Wilhelm's qualifications to be king of Albania. He assumed that the "success of the princess' musical 'at homes' had inspired the powers with the idea that she and her husband might be well qualified to introduce a little harmony into the dissonances Albanaiscs."

Prince Wilhelm accepted the nomination for the Albanian throne on October 11, 1913

In January 1914, the New York Times reported that Prince Wilhelm, 38 was hesitant to accept the throne, according to well-informed circles.

On February 6, 1914, four months before the outbreak of the world war, Prince Wilhelm officially accepted the Albanian crown, and he and his wife were "placed on the throne a month later. Three weeks later, Wilhelm was acknowledged as king and addressed as "Your Majesty" by Essad Pasha and other delegates. The new sovereign wore the uniform of a Prussian major. The "Albanian notables were greatly impressed" with Queen Sophie, who "was attired in royal robes and wore a diadem," as she stood next to her husband.
Wilhelm, however, had no experience in being a king, and he was rebuffed by the European powers who refused to acknowledge him as king.

In May 1914, a rebellion fomented by Pasha forced Wilhelm and Sophie to seek refuge on an Italian vessel, but they returned to their palace a day later. On July 3, the New York Times reported that Sophie and her two young children had left the country and were en route to Rumania. Many believed that her husband would soon follow. This happened on September 3 when Wilhelm quit Durazzo, and sailed for Venice on the Italian steamer, Misurala.

Wilhelm was overthrown in September 1914, but he never renounced his rights to the Albanian throne.

Sophie and Wilhelm had two children, Prince Carol Victor and Princess Marie Eleanor.

2 comments:

Bea said...

Marlene, do you know if it is true that the daughter she is pictured with died in an internment camp?

Marlene Eilers Koenig said...

Yes, Marie died in an internment camp on September 29, 1956 in an internment camp in Miercurea, Romania. Her first marriage to Prince Alfred of Schönburg-Waldenburg was in 1937. He was killed in at Zeits in 1941. She must have remained in Romania after the fall of monarchy. On february 5, 1949, she married a Romanian, Ian Octavian Bunea. He was born in 1899, but nothing known about his death.
She didn't have any children. Prince Wilhelm of Wied died at Redeal, Romania on April 18, 1945. One can only assume why Marie would have ended up in an internment camp. She was titled, she was a foreigner, and probably someone who did not support Communism.