Duchy of Prussia
Duchy of Prussia
The Duchy of Prussia or Ducal Prussia was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the State of the Teutonic Order during the Protestant Reformation in 1525. In 1525 during the Protestant Reformation, in accordance to the Treaty of Kraków, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, Albert of Prussia (1490 – 1568), secularized the order's Prussian territory, becoming Albert, Duke of Prussia. Albert was the son of Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach. His mother was Sophia, the sister of Sigismund I the Old of Poland. When the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Duke Frederick of Saxony (1473 – 1510), son of Albert III, Duke of Saxony, founder of the Albertine branch of the House of Saxony, died in December 1510, Albert was chosen as his successor. At Wittenberg in 1522, and at Nuremberg in 1524, Martin Luther encouraged him to convert the order's territory into a secular principality under his personal rule, as the Teutonic Knights would not be able to survive the reformation. As the region had been an integral part of the Kingdom of Poland since the Second Peace of Thorn (1466), King of Poland Sigismund I the Old, as its suzerain, granted the territory as a hereditary fief of Poland to Duke Albert per the Treaty of Kraków, a decision that was sealed by the Prussian Homage in Kraków in April 1525.On 10 April 1525 Albert resigned his position, became a protestant, and in the Prussian Homage was granted the title “Duke of Prussia” by his uncle, King Sigismund I of Poland. In a deal partly brokered by Luther, Ducal Prussia became the first Protestant state, anticipating the dispensations of the Peace of Augsburg of 1555.
When Albert died in 1568, his teenage son Albert Frederick (1553 – 1618) inherited the duchy. This Order of the Swan disappeared when the house of Brandenburg adopted Protestantism in 1525, but the marriage of Albert Frederick to Mary Eleanor, sister and heir of John William, duke of Cleves, who died in 1609, gave the Hohenzollerns a new and more important descent from the Swan Knight. The Polish king Sigismund III Vasa permitted his son-in-law, John Sigismund (1572 – 1619), to succeed him in 1611, thereafter ruling Brandenburg, and Duchy of Prussia in personal union. This personal union is referred to as Brandenburg-Prussia. John Sigismund’s son, George William, Elector of Brandenburg (1595 – 1640) married Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, sister of Frederick V of the Palatinate, and granddaughter of William the Silent. Their son, Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (1620 – 1688), achieved full sovereignty over the duchy under the 1657 Treaty of Wehlau, confirmed in the 1660 Treaty of Oliva. Frederick William married Countess Louise Henriette of Nassau, daughter of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, son of William the Silent. The Duchy of Prussia was elevated to a kingdom in 1701, under their son, Frederick I of Prussia (1657 – 1713), the paternal grandfather of Frederick the Great.
Frederick I, Brandenburg (fought on the side of the EMPEROR SIGISMUND, founder of the ORDER OF THE DRAGON, against invading Ottoman forces) + Elizabeth (daughter of Frederick, Duke of Bavaria-Landshut, and Maddalena Visconti)
John, Margrave “the Alchemist” of Brandenburg-Kulmbach + Barbara of Saxe-Wittenberg
Barbara of Brandenburg + Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua
Federico I Gonzaga + Margaret of Bavaria
Clara Gonzaga + Gilbert, Count of Montpensier
CHARLES III, DUKE OF BOURBON (Grand Master of the PRIORY OF SION, ORDER OF THE FLEUR DE LYS)
Renée de Bourbon + Antoine, Duke of Lorraine (see below)
Louise de Bourbon + Louis, Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon
Louis, Duke of Montpensier + Jacqueline de Longwy
Charlotte of Bourbon + William the Silent of Orange
Countess Louise Juliana of Nassau + Frederick IV, Elector Palatine
Frederick V of the Palatinate + (see below)
Francesco II Gonzaga + Isabella d’Este
Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua + (see below)
LUDOVICO GONZAGA, DUKE OF NEVERS (Grand Master of the PRIORY OF SION)
Charles I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua + Catherine of Lorraine-Mayenne (see below)
Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua + (see below)
FERRANTE GONZAGA (Grand Master of the PRIORY OF SION, ORDER OF THE FLEUR DE LYS)
Elisabeth of Brandenburg
Dorothea of Brandenburg + Christian I of Denmark (first king of the House of Oldenburg)
John I of Denmark + Christina of Saxony (see below)
Margaret of Denmark + James III of Scotland
James IV of Scotland + Margaret Tudor (d. Of Henry VII, Golden Fleece + Elizabeth of York, daughter of Elizabeth Woodville)
James V of Scotland (Order of the Golden Fleece) + MARIE DE GUISE
Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg (House of Hohenzollern. Founder of the Order of the Swan. Brother of John the Alchemist. They were sons of Frederick I, Brandenburg and Elizabeth, daughter of Frederick, Duke of Bavaria-Landshut, and Maddalena Visconti) + Catherine of Saxony (daughter of Elector Frederick I of Saxony + Katharina of Brunswick-Lüneburg)
Dorothea of Brandenburg + Duke John V of Saxe-Lauenburg (House of Ascania)
Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg + Sibylle of Saxony
Ursula of Saxe-Lauenburg + Henry, Duke of Brunswick-Dannenberg (see above)
Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg + Christian III of Denmark
Anne, Electress of Saxony + Augustus, Elector of Saxony
Christian I, Elector of Saxony + Sophie of Brandenburg (see above)
Frederick II of Denmark (supported Tycho Brahe) + Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow
Elizabeth of Denmark + Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Elisabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel + Johann Philipp, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (see above)
Elisabeth Sophie + Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha (founder of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha dynasty, member of Fruitbearing Society)
Anne of Denmark + King James I of England (see below)
Margaret of Brandenburg + Bogislaw X, Duke of Pomerania
Albert III, Margrave of Brandenburg (member of the ORDER OF THE SWAN, spent time at the court of Emperor Sigismund) + Anna of Saxony (daughter of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony) + Sophia of Poland (sister of Sigismund I the Old)
Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (son of Albert III, Margrave of Brandenburg, member of the ORDER OF THE SWAN, spent time at the court of Emperor Sigismund + Anna of Saxony, daughter of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony)
George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach + Emilie of Saxony
Albert, Duke of Prussia (Grand Master of the TEUTONIC KNIGHTS, founder of the State of Prussia) + Dorothea (daughter of King Frederick I of Denmark)
Anna Sophia + John Albert I, Duke of Mecklenburg
Albert, Duke of Prussia + Anna Maria
Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia + Marie Eleonore of Cleves (daughter of Wilhelm, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg + Archduchess Maria of Austria, daughter of Ferdinand I and Anna Jagellonica)
Anna of Prussia + John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg (after Albert Frederick’s death in 1603, the Sigismund III Vasa permitted John Sigismund to succeed him in 1611, thereafter ruling Brandenburg, and Duchy of Prussia in personal union)
George William, Elector of Brandenburg + Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate (sister of Frederick V of the Palatinate)
Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg + Countess Louise Henriette of Nassau (daughter of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, son of William the Silent)
Frederick I of Prussia + Elizabeth Henrietta of Hesse-Kassel
Princess Luise Dorothea of Prussia (no issue)
Frederick I of Prussia + Sophia Charlotte of Hanover
Frederick William I of Prussia + Sophia Dorothea of Hanover (daughter of George I of England)
FREDERICK II THE GREAT OF PRUSSIA (1712 – 1786)
Prince Augustus William of Prussia (1722 – 1758)
FREDERICK WILLIAM II OF PRUSSIA (1744 – 1797, member of GOLDEN AND ROSY CROSS)
Frederick Wilhelm III of Prussia + Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Kaiser Wilhelm I, German Emperor + Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Frederick III, German Emperor + Victoria, Princess Royal (see below)
Kaiser Wilhelm I + Edwina Viereck (German actress)
Louis Viereck
George Sylvester Viereck (co-conspirator with Aleister Crowley)
Alexandra Feodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia) + Tsar Nicholas I (Order of the Golden Fleece)
Tsar Alexander II (Order of the Golden Fleece) + Marie of Hesse (interested in occultism) - (see above)
Tsar Alexander III of Russia (Order of the Golden Fleece) + Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark)
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (Order of the Golden Fleece) + Alexandra Feodorovna (granddaughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, grandson of Ernst II of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1745 – 1804), friend of Adam Weishaupt)
Maria Alexandrovna + Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Kirill Vladimirovich, Grand Duke of Russia + Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (sister of Alexandra Feodorovna)
Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia (Sovereign Military Order of Malta)
Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (introduced Papus to Nicholas II) + Princess Anastasia of Montenegro
Louisa Ulrika of Prussia + Louisa Ulrika of Prussia (1710 – 1771)
Charles XIII (1748 – 1818, Grand Master of the Swedish Order of Freemasons) + Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp (Hesse-Kassel)
Gustav III (1746 – 1792, patron of Swedenborg and Grand Master of Swedish Rite of Freemasonry) + Sophia Magdalena of Denmark
Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia + John George I, Elector of Saxony
Marie Elisabeth of Saxony + Duke Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp
Sofie Auguste of Holstein-Gottorp + John VI, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst (see above)
Karl William, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst (Fruitbearing Society) + Duchess Sophia of Saxe-Weissenfels
John Augustus, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst (no issue)
Magdalene Auguste + Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha + Frederick, Prince of Wales (see below)
Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg + Princess Luise Dorothea of Saxe-Meiningen (see above)
ERNEST II, DUKE OF SAXE-GOTHA-ALTERNBURG (gave refuge to Adam Weishaupt) + Charlotte of Sase-Meiningen
Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg + Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg + Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg (see above)
Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha + QUEEN VICTORIA
Victoria, Princess Royal + Frederick III, German Emperor (see above)
Kaiser Wilhelm II, German Emperor (1859 – 1941, Order of the Golden Fleece)
Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1844 – 1900) + Maria Alexandrovna (see below)
King Edward VII (1841 – 1910) + Alexandra, Queen of the United Kingdom (d. of Louise of Hesse-Kassel + Christian IX of Denmark)
Prince Albert Victor (1864 – 1892, aka “Jack the Ripper”)
George V (1865 – 1936) + Mary of Teck
Princess Alice + Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine (1837 – 1892, the great-grandson of Frederick William II of Prussia, who belonged to the Golden and Rosy Cross)
Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse) (1872 – 1918) + Tsar Nicholas II (Order of the Golden Fleece, 1868 – 1918)
John Louis I, Prince of Anhalt-Dornburg + Christine Eleonore von Zeutsch
Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst + Duchess Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp (see below)
Sophie Auguste of Anhalt-Zerbst + Johann Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Weimar
Ernest Augustus II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach + Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (member of the Illuminati, established what was to become known as Weimar Classicism at his court in Weimar, notably by bringing Johann Wolfgang von Goethe there)
Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp + Princess Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach
Frederick IV, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp + Hedvig Sophia of Sweden
Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp + Hedvig Sophia of Sweden
Peter III (founder of the Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov branch. Initiated by Sir Christopher Wren and introduced Freemasonry in his dominions)) + CATHERINE THE GREAT (see below)
Duke Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp + Princess Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach
Duchess Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp + Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
CATHERINE THE GREAT + Peter III
Tsar Paul I (Grand Master of the Knights of Malta) + Natalia Alexeievna
Tsar Alexander I (1801–1825, under influence of Madame von Kruderer, famous psychic and friend of Madame Germaine de Staël)
Tsar Nicholas I (Order of the Golden Fleece) + Charlotte of Prussia (1798 – 1860, d. of Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, son of Frederick William II of Prussia, who belonged to the Golden and Rosy Cross)
Tsar Alexander II (Order of the Golden Fleece) + Marie of Hesse (interested in occultism) - (see above)
Tsar Alexander III of Russia (Order of the Golden Fleece) + Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark)
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (Order of the Golden Fleece) + Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse) - (see above)
Maria Alexandrovna + Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (see below)
Johann of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Viceroy of Valencia (ORDER OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE) + Germaine de Foix (widow of Ferdinand II of Aragon)