Emperor Wilhelm I (1797-1888) and Empress Augusta (1811-1890)

[Marengo]

Wilhelm I Friedrich Ludwig, Emperor of Germany, King of Prussia (Berlin, 22 March 1797 – Berlin, 9 March 1888); married in Berlin on 11 June 1829 Princess Augusta Louisa Katharine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Weimar, 30 September 1811 - Berlin, 7 January 1890)

Dynasty: Hohenzollern

Reign: 1861 - 1888

Predecessor: King Friedrich-Wilhelm IV of Prussia

Successor: Emperor Friedrich III of Germany, King of Prussia

Children: Friedrich III, Emperor of Germany, King of Prussia and Grand Duchess Luise of Baden

Parents Wilhelm: King Friedrich-Wilhelm III of Prussia and Duchess Luise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Parents Augusta: Grand Duke Carl Friedrich of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Grand Duchess Maria of Russia

Siblings Wilhelm: King Friedrich-WIlhelm IV of Prussia; Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia; Princess Frederica of Prussia; Prince Karl of Prussia; Grand Duchess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin; Prince Ferdinand of Prussia; Princess Luise of The Netherlands and Prince Albrecht of Prussia

Siblings Augusta: Prince Carl of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach; Princess Marie of Prussia and Grand Duke Carl Alexander of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

[Marengo]

William I, also known as William the Great (William Frederick Louis, German: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig) (March 22, 1797 – March 9, 1888) of the House of Hohenzollern was the King of Prussia (January 2, 1861 – 9 March, 1888) and the first German Emperor (18 January 1871 – 9 March, 1888).
Under the leadership of William and his prime minister Otto von Bismarck, Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the establishment of the German Empire.

The future king and emperor was born William Frederick Louis of Prussia (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig von Preußen) in Berlin. As the second son of King Frederick William III and Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, William was not expected to ascend to the throne and hence received little education.
William served in the army from 1814 onward, fought against Napoleon I of France during the Napoleonic Wars, and was reportedly a very brave soldier. He fought under Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher at the Battles of Waterloo and Ligny. He also became an excellent diplomat by engaging in diplomatic missions after 1815.
During the Revolutions of 1848, William successfully crushed a revolt that was aimed at his elder brother King Frederick William IV. The use of cannons made him unpopular at the time and earned him the nickname Kartätschenprinz (Prince of Grapeshot).
In 1857 Frederick William IV suffered a stroke and became mentally disabled for the rest of his life. In January 1858 William became Prince Regent for his brother.

On January 2, 1861 Frederick William died and William ascended the throne as William I of Prussia. He inherited a conflict between Frederick William and the liberal parliament. He was considered a politically neutral person as he intervened less in politics than his brother. William nevertheless found a conservative solution for the conflict: he appointed Otto von Bismarck to the office of Prime Minister. According to the Prussian constitution, the Prime Minister was responsible solely to the king, not to parliament. Bismarck liked to see his work relationship with William as that of a vassal to his feudal superior. Nonetheless it was Bismarck who effectively directed the politics, interior as well as foreign; on several occasions he gained William's assent by threatening to resign.

Read the entire wikipedia article here.

[Marengo]

Princess Augusta Louisa Katherine of Saxe-Weimar and Eisenach, Duchess in Saxony (Augusta Marie Luise Katharina von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) (September 30, 1811 – January 7, 1890), later the Queen of Prussia and German Empress, was the consort of William I, German Emperor.

Augusta was the second daughter of Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Maria Pavlovna of Russia, a daughter of Paul I of Russia and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.
While her father was an intellectually limited person, whose preferred reading up to the end of his life was fairy tales, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe spoke of Augusta's mother Marie as "one of the best and most significant women of her time." Augusta received a comprehensive education, including drawing lessons from the court painter, Luise Seidler, as well as music lessons from the court bandmaster, Johann Nepomuk Hummel.

Augusta was only fifteen years old, when in 1826, she and her future husband met. Wilhelm thought of the young Augusta as having an "excellent personality," yet was less attractive than her older sister Marie (whom Wilhelm's younger brother, Karl, had already married). Above all, it was Wilhelm's father who pressed him to consider Augusta as a potential wife.
At the time, Wilhelm was in love with the Polish princess, Elisa Radziwill. The crown prince at the time was Wilhelm's elder brother, Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm (later King Friedrich Wilhelm IV), however, he and his wife Elisabeth had as yet had no children. Wilhelm was thus heir presumptive to the throne and expected to marry and produce further heirs. Friederich Wilhelm III was fond of the relationship between Wilhelm and Elisa, but the Prussian court had discovered that her ancestors had bought their princely title from Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and she was not deemed noble enough to marry the heir to the Prussian throne. So, in 1824, the King turned to childless Alexander I of Russia to adopt Elisa, but the Russian ruler declined. The second adoption plan by Elisa's uncle, Prince Augustus of Prussia, likewise failed, because the responsible committee considered that adoption does not change "the blood." Another factor was Queen Louise's influence in the German and Russian courts (she was not fond of Elisa's father).

Read the entire wikipedia article here.

[Marengo]

All the titles of Wilhelm:

His Imperial and Royal Majesty William the First, by the Grace of God, German Emperor and King of Prussia, Margrave of Brandenburg, Burgrave of Nuremberg, Count of Hohenzollern, Duke of Silesia and of the County of Glatz, Grand Duke of the Lower Rhine and of Posen, Duke in Saxony, of Angria, of Westphalia, of Pomerania and of Lunenburg, Duke of Schleswig, of Holstein and of Krossen, Duke of Magdeburg, of Brene, of Guelderland and of Jülich, Cleves and Berg, Duke of the Wends and the Kassubes, of Lauenburg and of Mecklenburg, Landgrave of Hesse and in Thuringia, Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia, Prince of Orange, of Rugen, of East Friesland, of Paderborn and of Pyrmont, Prince of Halberstadt, of Münster, of Minden, of Osnabrück, of Hildersheim, of Verden, of Kammin, of Fulda, of Nassau and of Moess, Princely Count of Henneberg, Count of the Mark, of Ravensburg, of Hohenstein, of Tecklenburg and of Lingen, Count of Mansfield, of Sigmaringen and of Veringen, Lord of Frankfurt

[PssMarie-Elisabeth]

[Avicenna]

Originally Posted by Marengo

On January 2, 1861 Frederick William died and William ascended the throne as William I of Prussia. He inherited a conflict between Frederick William and the liberal parliament. He was considered a politically neutral person as he intervened less in politics than his brother. William nevertheless found a conservative solution for the conflict: he appointed Otto von Bismarck to the office of Prime Minister. According to the Prussian constitution, the Prime Minister was responsible solely to the king, not to parliament. Bismarck liked to see his work relationship with William as that of a vassal to his feudal superior. Nonetheless it was Bismarck who effectively directed the politics, interior as well as foreign; on several occasions he gained William's assent by threatening to resign.

Read the entire wikipedia article here.

Thanks, Marengo, for all this information. Just two additional notes. William I was ready to abdicate during the 1862 crisis in favor for his son the later Friedrich III. The necessary documents were prepared, only the signature was missing. A historic opportunity for Friedrich and his wife Victoria, which Friedrich missed. He declined. Indeed it was the first time he and his wife disagreed. Victoria wanted him to do it whereas he hesitated. In hindsight it has to be admitted that the Princess Royal gave her husband the right advice, a one-in-a-lifetime-opportunity.

Once Bismarck appeared though the couple had no more possibility to realise their liberal view.

Second note: the marriage of Wilhelm and Augusta was obviously not a happy one. A lack of communication. Both lived in different floors of the palace, soon skipped their marital duties and spend as little time together as possible.