The New York Times/1918/11/11/German Dynasties Being Wiped Out
GERMAN DYNASTIES BEING WIPED OUT
King of Wuerttemberg Abdicates—Sovereign of Saxony to Follow Suit.
PRINCES MAY BE EXILED
Socialists Are Demanding That Every Sovereign in the Empire Shall be Dethoned.
LONDON, Nov. 10.—A Havas dispatch from Basle says:
"Wilhelm II., the reigning King of the monarchy of Württemberg, abdicated on Friday night."
A Wolff Bureau dispatch from Stuttgart, by way of Amsterdam, says that the King has issued a proclamation saying that his person would never serve to hinder the development of the wished of the people.
According to a report received from Berne, the German Socialists are demanding that every dynasty in Germany be suppressed and all the Princes exiled. It is reported that the Kings of Bavaria and Saxony intend to abdicate soon.
Here is a list of the rulers, until several days ago, of the various parts of the German Empire. Those who have abdicated and those reported to be on the point of abdication are marked by an asterisk:
ANHALT—Duke Edward, son of the late Duke Friedrich of Anhalt and of Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenberg. Succeeded his brother April 18, 1861.
BADEN—Friedrich II., succeeded to the throne as Grand Duke Sept. 28, 1907.
- BAVARIA—King Ludwig III., proclaimed Nov. 5, 1913.
- BRUNSWICK—Duke Ernest Augustus.
HESSE—Grand Duke Ernest Ludwig, succeeded at the death of his father March 13, 1892.
LIPPE—Prince Leopold IV. Leopold assumed the Regency in succession to his father, Sept. 27, 1904, but the right of succession was claimed by Prince Georg of Schaumburg-Lippe, and the dispute was settled in Leopold's favor by a judicial court at Leipsig, Oct. 25, 1905.
MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN—Grand Duke Friedrich Frans IV. succeeded on the death of his father, April 10, 1897.
OLDENBURG—Grand Duke Friedrich August succeeded at the death of his father, June 13, 1900.
PRUSSIA—Wilhelm II. succeeded his father, June 15, 1888.
REUSS, (Elder Branch)—Prince Heinrich XXIV. succeeded his father, April 19, 1902.
REUSS, (Younger Branch)—Prince Heinrich XXVII. succeeded his father, March 29, 1913.
SAXE-ALTENBURG—Duke Ernest II. succeeded to the throne, Feb. 7, 1908.
SAXE-COBURG AND GOTHA.—Duke Charles Edward, succeeded his uncle, Alfred, July 30, 1900.
SAXE-MEININGEN.—Duke Bernhard, succeeded on the death of his father, June 25, 1914.
GRAND DUCHY OF SAXE-WEIMAR-EISENACH.—Grand Duke Wilheim Ernst, succeeded his grandfather, Jan. 5, 1901.
- KINGDOM OF SAXONY.—King Friedrich August III., succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, Oct. 15, 1904.
SCHAUMBURG-LIPPE.—Prince Adolf, succeeded his father, April 29, 1911.
SCHWARZBURG-RUDOLSTADT—Prince Gunther succeeded his cousin Jan. 19, 1890.
SCHWARZBURG-SONDERHAUSEN—Since the decease on March 28, 1909, of Prince Karl Gunther, this principality has been united with Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt by a personal bond of union under the government of Prince Gunther.
WALDECK—Prince Friedrich succeeded at the death of his father, May 12, 1893.
- WURTTEMBERG—King Wilheim II. ascended the throne Oct. 6, 1891.
Had Reigned Since 1891.
Wilheim II., King of Wüttemberg, was born Feb. 25, 1848, the son of Prince Friedrich of Württemberg and of Princess Katharine of Württemberg. He ascended the throne Oct. 6, 1891. He married twice. His first wife was Princess Katharine of Württenberg. He died April 30, 1882, leaving a daughter, Princess Pauline, born Dec. 19, 1877. His second wife was Princess Charlotte of Schaumburg-Lippe, who died April 8, 1886.
The former Duchy of Württemberg became, with a large increase of territory, an electorate in 1803 and was created a kingdom by the Peace of Pressburg, 1805, and by a decree of Jan. 1, 1806. Württemberg is a constitutional hereditary monarchy, the Constitution of which bears the date of Sept. 25, 1819, but changes were made in 1905.
Friedrich August III. was born May 25, 1865, the son of King George, and succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, Oct. 15, 1904. He married Princess Luise of Tuscany Nov. 21, 1891, and the marriage was dissolved Feb. 11, 1903. Children born of the marriage were Prince George, Prince Friedrich Christian, Prince Ernst Heinrich, Princess Margarethe, Princess Marie Alix and Princess Anna Monica.
The royal house of Saxony is one of the oldest reigning families in Europe. Saxony included the Governmental divisons of Dresden, Leipsig, Bautzen, Chemnitz, and Swickau. Its estimated population in 1914 was 4,984,500, and its areas is 5,787 square miles.
Although the religion of the royal family is Catholic, the vast majority of the inhabitants are Protestants. In proportion to its size Saxony is the busiest industrial State in the German Empire.
The house of Saxony dates back to Heinrich of Ellenberg, of the family of Wettin, who was Margrave of Meissen, 1089-1103. The house spread subsequently into numerous branches, the elder of which, called the Ernestine line, is represented by the ducal families of Saxe-Alternburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and Saxe-Meiningen, and the grand ducal family of Saxe-Weimar, while the tounger, the Albertine line, lives in the rules of the Kingdom of Saxony. In 1806 the Elector Friedrich August III., on entering the Confederation of the Rhine, took from Napoleon the title of King of Saxony, which was confirmed by the Congress of Vienna in 1815.