European Kingdoms

Brandenburg-Prussia
AD 1415 - 1918

Electors of Brandenburg (Hohenzollern)
AD 1415 - 1701

1415

The electorate of Brandenburg is purchased from the Holy Roman Empire. The house of Hohenzollern comes from southern Germany, in former Swabia.

1415 - 1440

Frederick I Hohenzollern

1440 - 1470

Frederick II Iron Tooth

1470 - 1486

Albert Achilles

1486 - 1499

John Cicero

1499 - 1535

Joachim I

1525

A member of the family, Grandmaster of the Teutonic Knights Albrecht von Hohenzollern, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, combines Teutonic East Prussia with Brandenburg. The two segments are run by the two main branches of the family: East Prussia remains under the control of the Teutonic Knights with Albrecht (1525-1568), and Albert Frederick of Hohenzollern (1568-1618).

1535 - 1571

Joachim II

1571 - 1598

John George

1598 - 1608

Joachim Frederick

1608 - 1619

John Sigismund

1618

The duke of East Prussia (Albert Frederick) dies without an heir and the territory is inherited by Brandenburg.

1619 - 1640

George William

First Elector of Brandenburg-Prussia 1618.

1640 - 1688

Frederick William the Great Elector

1688 - 1701

Frederick III

Son. Elevated to Frederick I, first king of Prussia.

1701

The electorate is elevated to a kingdom by the Holy Roman Emperor, the first German state to be raised in this manner.

Kingdom of Prussia
AD 1701 - 1871

1701 - 1713

Frederick I

Former elector, Frederick III.

1713 - 1740

Frederick William I

Son.

1740 - 1786

Frederick II the Great

Son.

1772

Prussia gains territory in Poland & Lithuania during the First Partition.

1786 - 1797

Frederick William II

1793

Prussia gains more territory during the Second Partition of Poland & Lithuania.

1795

The Third Partition of Poland & Lithuania wipes the joint states from the map.

1797 - 1840

Frederick William III

Son.

1815

Prussia benefits from the end of the Napoleonic Wars by gaining territory, including Saxe-Merseburg, Saxe-Weissenfels and Saxe-Zeitz from the kingdom of Saxony.

1840 - 1861

Frederick William IV

1861 - 1871

William I

Brother. Kaiser of Germany from 18 January 1871.

1865

Prussia gains the former Saxon territory of Saxe-Lauenberg.

1866

Prussia forcibly annexes the duchy of Nassau and the electorate of Hessen-Kassel.

1871

The Second Reich (Germanic Empire) is declared by Prussia, which displaces Austria as the main Germanic power.

German Empire
AD 1871 - 1918

The German Empire incorporates the grand duchy of Baden as a state under its overall control. Saxony, Bavaria, Württemberg, and Hessen -Darmstadt are also forcibly included.

1871 - 1888

William I

First Prussian german emperor.

1888

Frederick III

Son. Died after 100 days' rule. m.Vicky, dau. of Victoria.

1889 - 1918

William II

Son. "Kaiser Bill". Fled to Holland in 1918.

1890

A British Protectorate is created for Zanzibar under the terms of the Helgoland-Zanzibar Treaty in which Germany undertakes to avoid becoming involved in British interests in the area.

1915

A German U-boat sinks the SS Lusitania on 7 May, killing 1,198 and inflaming anti-German feeling in the USA.

1918 - 1933

William II flees to neutral Holland and spends the remainder of his life as a gentleman farmer on a private estate, under loose house arrest by the Dutch Government. Germany becomes a republic.

German Republics
AD 1918 - Present

Following the collapse at the end of World War I, Germany became a republic with a new government. This was never entirely stable, pressured by massive inflation and unemployment, and plotting from extremist fascist groups saw it fall in 1933, to be replaced by a Nazi government. After the conclusion of World War II, two separate governments were established in the now-divided Germany, until 1990, when the country was reunited under the western government and Berlin again became the capital of a single Germany.

1918 - 1933

The Weimar Republic is created by the World War I victors.

1933 - 1945

The Third Reich is established under Adolf Hitler's Nazi rule.

1938 - 1945

Austria and Carinthia are annexed to Nazi Germany.

1940

The Netherlands, Belgium, and France are invaded and occupied.

1941

Greece is occupied, and a pro-German coup in Iraq is supressed.

1943

Germany takes control of Albania and Istria, as well as northern Italy in the face of the Allied invasion and liberation as far as Rome.

1945

As Adolf Hitler celebrates his 56th birthday, the first Soviet Russian artillery shells fall on Berlin. Nazi Germany surrenders unconditionally on 7 May to the Allies at General Eisenhower's HQ in Rheims in France.

1945 - 1949

Germany is occupied by Soviet Russian forces, the United States, Britain and France until 1949.

1949

The sectors controlled by the United States, Britain and France are merged to form the Federal Republic of Germany on 7 October 1949, while the Soviet zone establishes the German Democratic Republic.

1990

With the weakening of the Soviet Union and increased calls for reform, the two Germanies are reunited on 3 October 1990.

Hereditary Kings of Prussia
AD 1918 - Present

The Hohenzollern family lived on after the fall of Prussia, and never renounced their claim to the Prussian throne. The royal house is now led by the hereditary claimant, and a branch of the family is heir to the throne of Rumania.

(Information expanded by Tom Horne.)

1918 - 1941

William II

Deposed emperor of Germany. Died 1941.

1941 - 1951

Crown Prince Frederick William

Eldest son. "Little Willy." Renounced rights to throne Dec 1918.

Prince William

Eldest son. Disqualified by making a morganatic marriage.

1951 - 1994

Prince Louis Ferdinand

Second son. b.1907.

Prince Frederick William V

Son. Disqualified through two morganatic marriages.

Prince Michael

Brother. Disqualified through morganatic marriage.

Prince Louis Ferdinand

Brother. b.1944, killed 1977. Next in line for title.

1994 - Present

Prince George Frederick

Son. b.1976 Inherited the title. Has no offspring.

Prince Christian-Sigismund of Prussia

Uncle. Heir. b.1946. Son of Louis Ferdinand.