William II, Elector of Hesse
| William II | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Elector of Hesse | |
| Reign | 27 February 1821 - 20 November 1847 |
| Predecessor | William I |
| Successor | Frederick William |
| Born |
28 July 1777 Schloss Philippsruhe, Hesse |
| Died | 20 November 1847 (aged 70) Frankfurt, Hesse |
| Spouse |
Princess Augusta of Prussia Emilie Ortlöpp Caroline of Berlepsch |
| Issue | Prince Wilhelm Princess Karoline Princess Luise Frederick William, Elector of Hesse Marie Frederica, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen Prince Ferdinand |
| House | Hesse-Kassel |
| Father | William I, Elector of Hesse |
| Mother | Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark |
William II, Elector of Hesse (German: Wilhelm II, Kurfürst von Hessen; 28 July 1777 – 20 November 1847) was the penultimate Elector of Hesse.
William was the eldest surviving son of William I, Elector of Hesse and Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark and Norway. With the Hessian troops, he was involved in the War of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon in 1813. He succeeded as Elector of Hesse (a title that was moribund after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806) on his father's death in 1821.
On 13 February 1797 in Berlin, William married Princess Augusta of Prussia, fourth daughter of Frederick William II of Prussia. They had six children:
William also had eight children by his second wife, Emilie Ortlöpp (1791–1843), daughter of Johann Christian Ortlöpp and wife Agnese Luise Sophie Wiessenberg, created (1821) Countess of Reichenbach-Lessonitz. The children bore the title Count/Countess of Reichenbach-Lessonitz:
Several months after Augusta's death on 19 February 1841, William morganatically married his mistress and their children were legitimated. Emilie Ortlöpp died less than two years after the marriage in 1843.
Again, months after his second wife's death, William married (morganatically) Caroline, Baroness of Berlepsch (1820–1877), daughter of Ludwig Hermann, Baron of Berlepsch (Speckswinkel, 25 January 1782 – Kassel, 5 April 1845) and wife Melusine Jul. Chr. von Kruse (4 August 1780 – 29 September 1856), created Countess of Bergen in 1846. This marriage was childless. She later married on 28 October 1851 Karl Adolf Graf von Hohenthal (27 November 1811 – 1875), by whom she had two sons: Karl Adolf (b. 1853) and Karl Ludwig (b. 1857).
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