(Abolished 9 November 1918)
William Ernest, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Grand Duke Wilhelm Ernst was in line for the Netherlands throne, (as the grandson of Princess Sophie of the Netherlands) after Queen Wilhelmina.
The Dutch feared annexation of the Netherlands, to prevent this, lawyers tried to change the constitution to exclude Wilhelm Ernst.
Another proposal, was that if Wilhelmina would die childless, then he or his offspring would have to choose between the Dutch and the Weimar throne.
The birth of Wilhelmina's daughter Juliana of the Netherlands in 1909 lessened the chance for the house of Wettin to inherit the Dutch throne.
On 9 November 1918 Wilhelm Ernst – along with the rest of the Kaiserreich monarchs – was forced to abdicate.
His throne and lands were relinquished and he fled with his family to the family estate in Silesia, where he died five years later.
Despite all his work for Weimar during his government, Wilhelm Ernst was a hated ruler.
In his private life, he was known as a sadist.
On the day of his abdication, he was called the "most unpopular prince in all Germany".
(Abolished 9 November 1918)
William Ernest, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Grand Duke Wilhelm Ernst was in line for the Netherlands throne, (as the grandson of Princess Sophie of the Netherlands) after Queen Wilhelmina. The Dutch feared annexation of the Netherlands, to prevent this, lawyers tried to change the constitution to exclude Wilhelm Ernst. Another proposal, was that if Wilhelmina would die childless, then he or his offspring would have to choose between the Dutch and the Weimar throne. The birth of Wilhelmina's daughter Juliana of the Netherlands in 1909 lessened the chance for the house of Wettin to inherit the Dutch throne. On 9 November 1918 Wilhelm Ernst – along with the rest of the Kaiserreich monarchs – was forced to abdicate. His throne and lands were relinquished and he fled with his family to the family estate in Silesia, where he died five years later. Despite all his work for Weimar during his government, Wilhelm Ernst was a hated ruler. In his private life, he was known as a sadist. On the day of his abdication, he was called the "most unpopular prince in all Germany".
Former German nobility in the Nazi Party