Prince Wilhelm Eitel Friedrich Christian Karl of Prussia (7 July 1883 – 8 December 1942) was the second son of Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany by his first wife, Princess Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. He was born and died in Potsdam, Germany.

Early life

Prince Eitel Friedrich was born on 7 July 1883 as the second son of the then Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, and his first wife, Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. He was born in the Marmorpalais of Potsdam in the Province of Brandenburg, where his parents resided until his father acceded to the throne as Emperor Wilhelm II in 1888. He spent his childhood with his siblings at the New Palace, also in Potsdam, and his school days with his brothers at the Prinzenhaus in Plön in his mother's ancestral Schleswig-Holstein. On 27 February 1906, Prince Eitel married Duchess Sophia Charlotte of Oldenburg (2 February 1879 Oldenburg – 29 March 1964 Westerstede) in Berlin. They were divorced on 20 October 1926 on the grounds of her adultery before the war. They had no children. In 1907, it was reported that Member of the Reichstag Otto Arendt had proposed the elevation of Alsace-Lorraine to a grand duchy within the empire, with Eitel Friedrich as monarch; however, while the Kaiser did express interest, ultimately nothing came of the plan.

World War I

Raised at the cadet corps of Plön Castle, Prince Eitel was in the front line from the beginning of World War I and was wounded at Bapaume, where he commanded the Prussian First Foot Guards. He temporarily relinquished command to Count Hans-Jürgen von Blumenthal, but returned to duty before the end of the year. The following year, he was transferred to the Eastern Front. During the summer of 1915, he was out in a field in Russia when he had a chance encounter with Manfred von Richthofen, who had just crashed with his superior officer, Count Holck. The two men were hiding in a nearby tree line from what they thought was the advancing Russian army and who turned out to be the grenadiers, guardsmen, and officers of Prince Eitel. After the war, he was engaged in monarchist circles and Der Stahlhelm ex-servicemens' organization. In 1921, the Berlin criminal court found him guilty of the fraudulent transfer of 300,000 Marks and sentenced him to a fine of 5000 Marks.

Titles

From 1907 to 1926, he was Master of the Knights (Herrenmeister) of the Order of St. John (Johanniterorden). He received the Pour le Mérite order in 1915. His body is buried at the Antique Temple in Sanssouci Park, Potsdam.

Regimental Commissions

Orders and decorations

• undefined: • * Knight of the Black Eagle, 7 July 1893; with Collar, 17 January 1902 • * Grand Cross of the Red Eagle, with Crown, 7 July 1893 • * Knight of the Prussian Crown, 1st Class, 7 July 1893 • * Grand Commander's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, 7 July 1893 • * 34th Master of Knights of the Johanniter Order, 1907–1926 • * Founder of the Cross of the Mount of Olives, 24 December 1909 • * Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Classes • * Pour le Mérite (military), 22 March 1915; with Oak Leaves, 14 May 1915 • Hohenzollern: Cross of Honour of the Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, 1st Class with Swords • Baden: • * Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, 1904 • * Commander of the Military Karl-Friedrich Merit Order • undefined: • * Knight of St. Hubert, 1913 • * Officer of the Military Merit Order, with Swords • undefined: War Merit Cross • Ernestine duchies: • * Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order, with Swords • * Cross for Merit in War (Saxe-Meiningen) • Hamburg: Hanseatic Cross • Hesse and by Rhine: Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, 7 September 1904 • Mecklenburg: • * Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore • * Cross for Distinction in War, 1st Class (Strelitz) • Oldenburg: • * Grand Cross of the Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Golden Crown, Collar and Swords • * Friedrich August Cross, 1st Class • undefined: • * Knight of the Rue Crown • * Knight of the Military Order of St. Henry, 20 March 1915 • Württemberg: Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown, 1899 • Austria-Hungary: Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1900 • China: Order of the Double Dragon, Class I Grade II • 🇩🇰 Denmark: Knight of the Elephant, 19 November 1906 • 🇬🇷 Greece: Grand Cross of the Redeemer • undefined: Knight of the Annunciation, 27 August 1902 • undefined: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum, 21 May 1908 • undefined: Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Danilo I • 🇳🇱 Netherlands: Grand Cross of the Netherlands Lion • 🇳🇴 Norway: Grand Cross of St. Olav, with Collar, 15 December 1906 • Ottoman Empire: • * Order of Glory • * Order of Osmanieh, 1st Class in Diamonds • Persia: Order of the Lion and the Sun, 1st Class • undefined: • * Grand Cross of the Tower and Sword • * Grand Cross of the Sash of the Two Orders • undefined: • * Grand Cross of the Order of Carol I • * Grand Cross of the Crown of Romania • undefined: Knight of St. Andrew, 1910 • 🇹🇭 Siam: • * Knight of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri, 6 June 1902 • * Grand Cross of the Crown of Siam • undefined: Knight of the Military Merit Order, 3rd Class • 🇸🇪 Sweden: Knight of the Seraphim, 1 December 1904 • undefined: Honorary Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, 1 July 1904 (expelled in 1915) Two ships were named after Prince Eitel, the passenger ship Prince Eitel Friedrich (1901) and the Reich postal steamer Prince Eitel Friedrich (1904).

Ancestry

Sources

Schench, G. Handbuch über den Königlich Preuβischen Hof und Staat fur das Jahr 1908. Berlin, Prussia, 1907.