European Kingdoms

Württemberg

During the general collapse of East Francia, or Germany, in the twelfth century, Swabia's dissolution left the way clear for its main successors to emerge from the shadows. Württemberg and Baden grew to encompass most of Swabia's former territory.

The collapse of Swabia was effectively triggered by the death of Holy Roman Emperor Henry V. Duke Frederick II of Swabia put himself forward as a candidate for the imperial title but was defeated by the successful election of Lothar II. Conflict erupted between the two, and the rivalry had a destabilising effect on Germany as a whole and Swabia in particular. In 1137 the county of Württemberg was formed in western central Swabia as another step towards the total disintegration of the duchy during the general political crisis, although it took a further century to complete the process.

County of Württemberg

1137 - 1181

Louis I

1137 - 1154

Emich

1181 - 1201

Henry

1201 - 1228

Louis II

1228 - 1241

Eberhard

1241 - 1265

Ulrich I

1265 - 1279

Ulrich II

1279 - 1325

Eberhard I the Illustrious

1313

With the death of John Parricide, any claim to the former Swabian duchy dies with him. Large areas of its territory have already gone to the established county of Württemberg and the margraviate of Baden. Territory formerly belonging to the Alemanni people also later forms parts of Austria (Vorarlberg), France (Alsace) and Switzerland, as well as the Bavarian Swabia region of Bavaria.

1325 - 1344

Ulrich III

1344 - 1392

Eberhard II the Whiner

1344 - 1366

Ulrich IV

1392 - 1417

Eberhard III the Mild

1417 - 1419

Eberhard IV

1419 - 1441

Louis I

Urach. d.1450.

1419 - 1480

Ulrich V

1457 - 1496

Eberhard V

Urach. Became Duke Eberhard I.

1480 - 1495

Eberhard VI

Became Duke Eberhard II.

Duchy of Württemberg

1495 - 1496

Eberhard I

Formerly Count Eberhard V.

1496 - 1498

Eberhard II

Formerly Count Eberhard VI. d.1504.

1498 - 1519

Ulrich I

1519 - 1534

Württemberg is controlled by Austria.

1525

The monastic state of the Teutonic Knights is secularised during the Protestant Reformation and replaced with a duchy in eastern East Prussia. The new master of the Knights moves the headquarters to Bad Mergentheim in the northernmost tip of the duchy of Württemberg.

1534 - 1550

Ulrich I

Restored?

1550 - 1568

Christopher

1568 - 1593

Louis III the Pious

1593 - 1608

Frederick I

1608 - 1628

John Frederick

1628 - 1674

Eberhard III

1674 - 1677

William Louis

1677 - 1733

Eberhard IV Louis

1733 - 1737

Charles I Alexander

1737 - 1793

Charles Eugene

1780

The future Duke Frederick III marries Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel on 15 October 1780 at Brunswick. Augusta is the maternal great-granddaughter of King George II of Great Britain and Hanover.

1793 - 1795

Louis Eugene

1795 - 1797

Frederick II

1797 - 1806

Frederick III

Elector (1803). Became King Frederick.

Kingdom of Württemberg

The duchy was elevated to a kingdom by France's Napoleon Bonaparte when it joined his Confederation of the Rhine. Thanks to the marriage between Frederick and Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in 1780, their children, including the future William I, were direct descendants of King George II of Great Britain and Hanover.

1806 - 1816

Frederick

First king of Württemberg. Formerly Duke Frederick III.

1806 - 1817

Ludwig Frederick Alexander

Duke.

1816 - 1864

William I

Son of Frederick.

1836

The younger brother of William I is Prince Paul of Württemberg. Prior to his marriage in 1805, Paul has a mistress named Friederike Porth by whom he fathers an illegitimate daughter named Karolina von Rothenburg (born 1805, shortly after her father's marriage). Despite his marriage, the child grows up around her father and finds a supportive and loving uncle in William I.

In 1836, Karolina falls pregnant by Karl, Baron (Freiherr) von Pfeffel of Bavaria. Paul is the one to make arrangements behind the scenes to ensure that his daughter receives a wedding which takes place before important dignitaries in the private chapel of the Bishop's Palace in Augsburg. The great-great-great-grandson of this union is Boris Johnson, mayor of London (2008-2012). This also makes him a direct (if illegitimate) descendant of George II of Great Britain and Hanover (as backed up by the BBC television series, Who Do You Think You Are).

1864 - 1891

Charles

1871

Württemberg becomes a sub-kingdom in Prussia's German empire.

1891 - 1918

William II

Died 1921.

1918

Wilhelm of Urach, a member of the royal house, is briefly elected king of Lithuania in the hope that this will bring about a form of independence. Instead, Germany's collapse in 1918 brings about the creation of a republic. Worse still for Württemberg, all German monarchies are abolished upon the defeat of the German empire in World War I. Württemberg becomes a constituent part of the new federal Germany and its future fortunes would be tied to this new political creation.