| George William | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Johann Christian Fiedler c. 1760 | |
| Born | (1722-07-11)11 July 1722 Darmstadt |
| Died | 21 June 1782(1782-06-21) (aged 59) Darmstadt |
| Burial | Stadtkirche Darmstadt |
| Spouse |
Countess Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg
(m. 1748) |
| Issue among others... | Prince Louis George Prince George Friedrich Friederike, Duchess Charles of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Prince George Charles Charlotte, Duchess Charles of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Prince Karl William Prince Friedrich George Louise, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine Augusta Wilhelmine, Duchess of Zweibrücken |
| House | Hesse-Darmstadt |
| Father | Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt |
| Mother | Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg |
Prince George William of Hesse-Darmstadt (11 July 1722 – 21 June 1782) was a Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt. He was born in Darmstadt.
He was the second son of Landgrave Louis VIII and Charlotte Christine Magdalene Johanna of Hanau-Lichtenberg. From 1738 till his death, he commanded an army-regiment of his land. In the 1740s, he also commanded a Prussian regiment. He reached the rank of general of the cavalry. He was the official military adviser to his father, but had a strong rival in his older brother Louis IX, who followed the example of his friend the soldier-king Frederick II of Prussia and expanded Pirmasens as a garrison town.
In 1748, he married Countess Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg. Through this marriage, he acquired the estates of Broich, Oberstein, Aspermont, Burgel, and Reipolzkirchen. He and Maria had nine children.
In 1764, George William received Old Palace in Darmstadt and the associated pleasure garden as a gift from his father, who had always favoured him above his brother Louis. George William had the palace with the White Tower expanded. He represented the reigning family in Darmstadt, as his brother stayed mostly in Pirmasens.
Issue
| Name | Portrait | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ludwig Georg Karl | 1749 | 1823 | Married morganatically in 1788 Friederike Schmidt, Baroness von Hessenheim | |
| Georg Friedrich | 15 June 1750 - 2 July 1750 | died young | ||
| Friederike Caroline Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz |
 |
20 August 1752 | 22 May 1782 | Married in 1768 Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, had issue |
| Georg Karl |  |
14 June 1754 | 28 January 1830 | Never married and had no issue |
| Charlotte Wilhelmine Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz |
 |
5 November 1755 | 12 December 1785 | Married in 1784 Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, had issue |
| Karl Wilhelm Georg |
16 May 1757 | 15 August 1797 | Never married and had no issue | |
| Friedrich Georg August |
21 July 1759 | 19 May 1808 | Married morganatically in 1788 Karoline Luise Seitz, Baroness von Friedrich, no issue | |
| Louise Henriette Caroline |
 |
15 February 1761 | 24 October 1829 | Married in 1777 Louis X of Hesse-Darmstadt, had issue |
| Auguste Wilhelmine Duchess of Zweibrücken |
 |
14 April 1765 | 30 March 1796 | Married in 1785 the future King Maximilian I of Bavaria, had issue |
Ancestry
| Ancestors of Prince George William of Hesse-Darmstadt |
|---|
References
- Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 68.
- Johann Friedrich Schannat: Eiflia Illustrata... S. 515
- Philipp Alexander Ferdinand Walther: Darmstadt wie es war und wie es geworden S. 187