Thursday, September 4, 2014

Crown Prince Willem & King Willem

Sharpshooter competition in De Bilt, 1869 (W. van Dijk). 
The crown prince is standing behind his father (the bearded man in the middle). 

Prince Willem (born September 4th, 1840), heir to the throne, had big fights with his father King Willem III. He wanted to marry the Dutch countess Mathilde, but his father refused to approve the marriage because she was not foreign, or too low of nobility (or maybe he had an affair with her mother, making Mathile the stepsister of Willem).

This is the only known photo showing both father and son.

Prince Willem then went into exile in Paris, where he threw himself into a life of sex, drinking and gambling. He died at age 38 in his apartment at 19 Rue Auber, Paris (near the Opera), from a combination of typhus, liver complaints and total exhaustion.

next episode: Pasha

5 comments:

  1. Very interesting and thanks for the links.

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  2. Wow, that's very interesting. Good picture too. Too bad he had such a wild lifestyle perhaps he would have lived longer? Hard to really know for sure. 38 is far too young.

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  3. Great article, Rob. I'd jokely call this couple the "Will-Will".

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    Replies
    1. Prince Willem's nickname was Wiwill (always handy when your father and grandfather are also named Willem).

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    2. Thank You for this detail I didn't know.

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