Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern
| Leopold | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| Prince of Hohenzollern | |||||
| Tenure | 2 June 1885 – 8 June 1905 | ||||
| Predecessor | Karl Anton | ||||
| Successor | William | ||||
| Born | 22 September 1835 Krauchenwies | ||||
| Died | 8 June 1905 (aged 69) Berlin | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | William, Prince of Hohenzollern Ferdinand I of Romania Prince Karl Anton | ||||
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| House | Hohenzollern | ||||
| Father | Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern | ||||
| Mother | Princess Josephine of Baden | ||||
Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern[1] (German: Leopold Stephan Karl Anton Gustav Eduard Tassilo Fürst von Hohenzollern;[1] 22 September 1835 – 8 June 1905)[1] was the head of the Swabian branch of the House of Hohenzollern, and played a fleeting role in European power politics, in connection with the Franco-Prussian War.
He was born into the dynasty's Sigmaringen branch, which inherited all the dynasty's Swabian lands when the Hohenzollern-Hechingen branch became extinct.
Leopold's parents were Josephine of Baden and Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern.[1] Leopold was the older brother[1] of King Carol I of Romania and father of the future King Ferdinand of Romania.[1] Carol ascended the Romanian throne in 1866, and Leopold renounced his rights to the Romanian succession in favor of his sons in 1880.[2]
Entry into European controversy[]
After the Spanish Revolution of 1868 that overthrew Queen Isabella II, Leopold was offered the Spanish Crown by the new government. This offer was supported by the Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck, but opposed by the French Emperor Napoleon III on the grounds that the installation of a relative of the Prussian king would result in the expansion of Prussian influence and the encirclement of France. After initially refusing the offer, then, on 21 June 1870, accepting the Spanish crown, Leopold was forced on 11 July to again decline.[3]
Additional demands made by the French government heightened diplomatic tensions between Paris and Berlin. The deliberate shortening of a diplomatic communiqué, the Ems Dispatch, led to declaration of war by France. Prussia's speedy mobilization, together with the support of the other members of the North German Confederation, resulted in French defeat, the consequences of which were the collapse of the Second French Empire, to be replaced by the Third Republic, and the creation of the German Empire. France lost Alsace and part of Lorraine and had to pay huge war reparations.
Marriage and issue[]
On 12 September 1861, Leopold married Infanta Antónia of Portugal, daughter of Queen Maria II of Portugal and King Ferdinand II of Portugal.[1] They had the following children:[1]
- William, Prince of Hohenzollern (7 March 1864 – 22 October 1927) he married Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies on 27 June 1889. They had three children. He remarried Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria on 20 January 1915.
- Prince Ferdinand of Hohenzollern (25 August 1865 – 20 July 1927) he married Princess Marie of Edinburgh on 10 January 1893. They had six children.
- Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern (1 September 1868 – 21 February 1919) he married Princess Joséphine Caroline of Belgium on 28 May 1894. They had four children.
Had Leopold succeeded to the Spanish throne, he could possibly have founded a second German dynasty in Spain, following the extinction of the House of Austria less than two centuries earlier.
Honours[]
Leopold received the following decorations and awards:[4]
Hohenzollern: Cross of Honour of the Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, 1st Class with Swords
Prussia:
- Grand Commander's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, 8 May 1858; Knight's Cross with Swords, 1866[5]
- Grand Cross of the Red Eagle, 8 May 1864[5]
- Iron Cross (1870), 2nd Class
- Knight of the Black Eagle, 11 June 1879; with Collar, 1880[5]
- Service Award Cross
Duchy of Anhalt: Grand Cross of Albert the Bear, 24 March 1865[6]
Baden:[7]
- Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, 1858
- Grand Cross of the Zähringer Lion, 1858
Kingdom of Bavaria: Knight of St. Hubert
Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order, April 1864[8]
Grand Duchy of Hesse: Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order
Mecklenburg: Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Grand Cross of the White Falcon, 6 March 1869[9]
Kingdom of Saxony: Knight of the Rue Crown
Schaumburg-Lippe: Military Merit Medal with Swords
Württemberg: Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown, 1875[10]
Austria-Hungary:
- Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Leopold, 1878[11]
- Grand Cross of St. Stephen, 1904[12]
Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Royal Order of Leopold
Kingdom of Portugal:
- Grand Cross of the Sash of the Two Orders
- Grand Cross of the Tower and Sword
Kingdom of Romania:
- Grand Cross of the Star of Romania
- Grand Cross of the Crown of Romania
Russian Empire: Knight of St. Stanislaus, 1st Class
Ancestry[]
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References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Darryl Lundy (19 March 2005). "Leopold Stephan Prinz von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen". thePeerage.com. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
- ^ Renunciation letter of Leopold de Hohenzollern, in French, dated 22 November 1880[non-primary source needed]
- ^ Erich Eyck, Bismarck and the German Empire, pp. 168-171.
- ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Preußen (1905), Genealogy p. 5
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), 1, Berlin, 1886, pp. 8, 21, 934
- ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Herzogtum Anhalt (1867) "Herzoglicher Haus-orden Albrecht des Bären" p. 18
- ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1868), "Großherzogliche Orden" pp. 50, 61
- ^ Staatshandbücher für das Herzogtums Sachsen-Altenburg (1869), "Herzogliche Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden" p. 21
- ^ Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1869), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" pp. 12-13
- ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1896), "Königliche Orden" p. 28
- ^ "Ritter-Orden: Leopold-orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1904, p. 66, retrieved 8 June 2020
- ^ "A Szent István Rend tagjai" Archived 22 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
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- 1835 births
- 1905 deaths
- Generals of Infantry (Prussia)
- German people of the Franco-Prussian War
- Members of the Prussian House of Lords
- People from Sigmaringen (district)
- People from the Province of Hohenzollern
- Princes of Hohenzollern
- Princes of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
- Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary
- Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal)
- Grand Crosses of the Order of Aviz
- Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania
- Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Romania)