Item: i112726

Authentic Coin of:

Germany - German States. Wurttemburg
Wilhelm (William) II - King of Württemberg: 6 October 1891 - 30 November 1918
Silver Wedding Anniversary Commemorative issue
1911 F Silver 3 Mark 33mm (16.67 grams) 0.900 Silver (0.4823 oz. ASW)
Reference: KM# 636
Certification: NGC MS 64 4328220-021
WILHELM II·UND·CHARLOTTE·VON·WÜRTTEMBERG·1886-1911·F, Adjoined busts facing right.
DEUTSCHES REICH 1911 * DREI MARK * around crowned eagle with shield on chest.
Edge Lettering: GOTT MIT UNS

Wuttemburg was lockated in South Germany between Baden and Bavaria.

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The Kingdom of Württemberg was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which existed from 1495 to 1805. Prior to 1495, Württemberg was a County in the former Duchy of Swabia, which had dissolved after the death of Duke Conradin in 1268.

The borders of the Kingdom of Württemberg, as defined in 1813, lay between 47°34' and 49°35' north and 8°15' and 10°30' east. The greatest distance north to south comprised 225 kilometres (140 mi) and the greatest east to west was 160 km (99 mi). The border had a total length of 1,800 km (1,100 mi) and the total area of the state was 19,508 km² (7,532 sq mi).

The kingdom had borders with Bavaria on the east and south, with Baden in the north, west, and south. The southern part surrounded the Prussian province of Hohenzollern on most of its sides and touched on Lake Constance.

William II (German: Wilhelm II; 25 February 1848 - 2 October 1921) was the last King of Württemberg. He ruled from 6 October 1891 until the abolition of the kingdom on 30 November 1918.

Early years

William was born the son of Prince Frederick of Württemberg (1808-1870) by his wife Princess Catherine Frederica of Württemberg (1821-1898), herself the daughter of King William I of Württemberg (1781-1864). His parents were first cousins, being the children of two brothers, and William was their only child.

William's growing years coincided with a progressive dimininution of Württemberg's sovereignty and international presence, concomitant with the process of German unification. In 1870, Württemberg took the side of Prussia in the Franco-German War. In 1871, Württemberg became a state of the German Reich, a significant limitation on its sovereignty.

King of Württemberg

William's father died in 1870, but his mother lived to see him seated on the throne of Württemberg. In 1891, William succeeded his childless maternal uncle, King Charles I (1823-1891) and became King of Württemberg. This was not, as it may seem, a departure from the Salic law which governed succession in the German states; his claim to the throne came because he was the nearest agnatic heir of his maternal uncle, as the senior male-line descendant of Frederick I of Württemberg through his younger son Prince Paul.

King William became a Generalfeldmarschall during World War I. In 1918, he was deposed from the throne along with the other German rulers. King William finally abdicated on 30 November 1918.^[1] He died in 1921 at Bebenhausen.

Personality and interests

Considered to be a popular monarch, William had the habit of walking his two dogs in public parks in Stuttgart without being attended by bodyguards or the like. During these excursions, he would often be greeted by his subjects with a simple Herr König ("Mister King").

Despite living in a landlocked kingdom, William II was a yachting enthusiast. The king was instrumental in the establishment of the Württembergischer Yacht Club (formerly "Königlich Württembergischer Yacht-Club" or Royal Yacht Club of Württemberg) in 1911 on Lake Constance.

Marriages and children

On 15 February 1877 at Arolsen he married Princess Marie of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1857-1882). They had three children:

• Princess Pauline of Württemberg (19 December 1877 - 7 May 1965); married in 1898 William Frederick, Prince of Wied (1872-1945), and had issue.
• Prince Ulrich of Württemberg (28 July 1880 - 28 December 1880), died in infancy
• A stillborn daughter (24 April 1882)

Marie died on 30 April 1882 in Stuttgart, from complications resulting from the birth of their third child. William, already depressed by the death of his only son, is said never to have recovered from this blow.

Nevertheless, he was King and it was his duty to secure the succession. On 8 April 1886, at Bückeburg, he married Princess Charlotte of Schaumburg-Lippe (1864-1946). They had no children.

Succession

With William II's death in 1921 without male issue, the royal branch of the House of Württemberg became extinct and the headship of the house devolved to Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg head of the Roman Catholic cadet branch of the dynasty which ruled the Kingdom of Württemberg.

Princess Charlotte of Schaumburg-Lippe (10 October 1864 - 16 July 1946) was the daughter of Prince Wilhelm Karl August of Schaumburg-Lippe, and his wife, Princess Bathildis of Anhalt-Dessau. As the second wife of King William II of Württemberg she became Queen consort of Württemberg. She was not only the last queen of Württemberg, but the last surviving queen of any German state.

Early life

Charlotte was born in Schloss Ratiborschitz, Bohemia (now Ratibořice, Česká Skalice, Czech Republic), and grew up on the princely estate at Náchod. Besides general cultural interests such as music and art she was also very keen on sporting pursuits such as swimming, tennis, cycling and - unusual for a woman of the time - skiing. She also had an extraordinary passion for hunting.

Marriage

On 8 April 1886 she married the heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Württemberg, Crown Prince Wilhelm, who succeeded in 1891 as King William II of Württemberg (Wilhelm II. von Württemberg). She was his second wife, and like her predecessor Princess Marie of Waldeck and Pyrmont was held to be of no political consequence. If the marriage had taken place for reasons of state - Wilhelm had no male heir - it was a miscalculation, as Charlotte produced no children.

As a princess of Württemberg she lived initially in Ludwigsburg and Stuttgart, but as queen in the Wilhelmspalais in Stuttgart. From June to October the royal couple moved to their residence at Friedrichshafen. Finally in November/December Wilhelm and Charlotte regularly took a two-week hunting holiday in Schloss Bebenhausen (the former Bebenhausen Abbey) at Bebenhausen near Tübingen, which after the revolution of 1918 became Charlotte's permanent home.

In 1890, William brought his new wife to England, where the Princess May of Teck commented, "We liked Charlotte very much, she is a good honest soul tho' rather too brusque, she seems to get on well with all the members of the Württemberg family which denotes great tact".

Queen of Württemberg

King Wilhelm II enjoyed great popularity among his contemporaries, but Queen Charlotte's relationship with the people of Württemberg was by contrast very reserved, as appears from publications of the time in which a distinct enthusiasm towards the king is matched by an equally apparent coolness towards the queen. Her childlessness doubtless contributed to this, but by itself is not a sufficient explanation.

The principal reason appears to lie in Charlotte's perceived reluctance to carry out her public and ceremonial duties as it was felt she should have done. For example, she preferred to celebrate her birthdays in the privacy of Friedrichshafen rather than in visible togetherness with her subjects. She left the king mostly on his own to oversee military parades, and after a few years no longer accompanied him in the public celebration of the Kaiser's birthday. She was also not thought regal enough for her new position; the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz commented in 1892, "I heard ...that she is too jolly & off-hand for a Queen, and so ugly besides". The Grand Duchess' sister the Duchess of Teck liked Charlotte, but believed she took no trouble with her clothes or appearance. This contrasted sharply with her husband, who was known as a cultivated and distinguished man of aesthetic tastes.

Charlotte nevertheless displayed an interest in and openness towards some social causes, mostly to do with the benefit of women. As convention demanded, she took over from her predecessor the patronage of a large number of social and charitable organisations, among them the body of deaconesses (Diakonissenwesen), the Swabian Women's Union (Schwäbische Frauenverein), the Württemberg Savings Bank (Württembergische Sparkasse) and the Red Cross. Among these her interest was most noticeably engaged by those to do in some way with women's causes. She was not of course personally involved in the women's movement as such, but did demonstrate a willingness to further institutions that in various ways improved the lot and social position of women, lending her royal authority above all to support establishments that provided education and training to enable girls to be independent and to provide for themselves through their work. She showed a particular involvement as patron of the Württemberg Union of Women Painters (Württembergische Malerinnenverein) and the first humanistic Gymnasium for girls in Württemberg, the Charlottengymnasium in Stuttgart (today the Hölderlingymnasium).

Her support of the Malerinnenverein connects to her interest in art and culture. Together with her husband she was active in the country's cultural life and often went to the theatre and the opera.

After the November Revolution of 1918 and the abolition of the monarchy, Wilhelm II agreed with the State of Württemberg for himself and his wife an annual income and right of residence for life in Schloss Bebenhausen, where after Wilhelm's death in 1921, Charlotte led a secluded life, under the title of Duchess of Württemberg (Herzogin zu Württemberg), for another quarter of a century. In 1944 she suffered a stroke which forced her for the last years of her life to use a wheelchair.

Queen Charlotte died at Bebenhausen on 16 July 1946 aged 82. She was not only the last Queen of Württemberg but the last surviving queen of any German state: the Queen of Bavaria had died in 1919, and the Queen of Prussia in 1921. She was buried, almost unnoticed, on 23 July 1946, in the Alter Friedhof in Ludwigsburg next to her husband.

Titles and styles

• 10 October 1864 - 8 April 1886: Her Serene Highness Princess Charlotte of Schaumburg-Lippe
• 8 April 1886 - 6 October 1891: Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess of Württemberg
• 6 October 1891 - 30 November 1918: Her Majesty The Queen of Württemberg
• 30 November 1918 - 16 July 1946: Her Majesty Queen Charlotte of Württemberg

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany is a federal parliamentary republic in western-central Europe. It includes 16 constituent states and covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres (137,847 sq mi) with a largely temperate seasonal climate. Its capital and largest city is Berlin. With 81 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state in the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular migration destination in the world.

Various Germanic tribes have occupied northern Germany since classical antiquity. A region named Germania was documented before 100 CE. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation.

The rise of Pan-Germanism inside the German Confederation resulted in the unification of most of the German states in 1871 into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918-1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic. The establishment of the Third Reich in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After 1945, Germany split into two states, East Germany and West Germany. In 1990, the country was reunified.

In the 21st century, Germany is a great power and has the world's fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP, as well as the fifth-largest by PPP. As a global leader in several industrial and technological sectors, it is both the world's third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a developed country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled and productive society. It upholds a social security and universal health care system, environmental protection and a tuition free university education.

Germany was a founding member of the European Union in 1993. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999. Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world. Known for its rich cultural history, Germany has been continuously the home of influential artists, philosophers, musicians, sportsmen, entrepreneurs, scientists and inventors.