Wilhelm I. (* 27. September 1781 in Lüben (Silezia); † 25. June 1864 in Stuttgart) was from 1816 till 1864 the second king of Württemberg.
He was the son of king Friedrich l von Württemberg and princess Auguste Karoline von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel.Wilhelm was in the Austrian army as volunteer from 1800 till 1806 but from 1806 till 1812 he lived as crownprince of Wurttemberg in Stuttgart. He married for the first time 1808 princess Karoline Auguste von Bayern, but the family of the bride pressured a divorce. Wilhelm ignored his first wife totally and Karoline Auguste was very unhappy in this marriage as a result of this. It was said that he used this marriage with a member of the old Bavarian royal family for his own fame. The divorce was in 1814 and dear Karoline Auguste (who was really a kind and generous woman) became the bride of emperor of Austria (she was dearly loved by the whole Habsburg family and allthough she never had children of her own, all the Habsburg children saw her as a kind of mother).
In 1816 he married the second time with the grandduchess Katharina Pawlowna, widow of Georg von Oldenburg. She died already in 1819. They had two daughters together (Katharina had already two sons from her first marriage):
Marie Friederike Charlotte von Württemberg (* 30. October 1816; † 4. January 1887), she married count Neipperg
Sophia Friederike Mathilde (* 17. June 1818; † 3. June 1877) - 1839 vmarried to William king of the Netherlands
King Wilhelm l married in 1820 the third time with his cousin princess Pauline von Württemberg (* 4. September 1800; † 10. March 1873) . It was certainly not a happy marriage. He ignored his wife, queen Pauline and their children. As a result of that his wife became bittered and his children had a low self esteme. Olga, wife of his son Karl, did not like him either. He gave the children from Pauline the idea that they were inferior (in looks and intellect) to his two daughters (Marie and Sophie) he had by Katharina Paulowna.King Wilhelm l and queen Pauline had three children:
Princess Katharina 1821-1898, Mother of King Wilhelm II. von Württemberg; she was married to prinz Friedrich von Württemberg.
Crownprince Karl 1823-1891, King of Württemberg since 1864. He was married to Olga, grandduchess of Russia (second daughter of emperor Nicholas lof Russia)
Princess Auguste 1826-1898, married duke Karl of Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach
After Friedrich l, the first king of Wurttemberg died, Wilhelm became Wilhelm l on 30. Oktober 1816, the second king of Wurttemberg. When he became king there was a deep recession in Wurttemberg. He was interested in agriculture and was a passionate horse owner. He bought himself countrylands from his private fortune and made of them example farms. He introduced many improvements in agriculture and vineyards. King Wilhelm I was founder of the "Haupt- und Landgestüt Marbach" and he was famous for his Arabian horses.
King Wilhelm I died 25. June 1864 in Schloss Rosenstein (Cannstatt). His mausoleum can be found "auf dem Württemberg" in Stuttgart-Rotenberg. He had this mausoleum built for his second wife, Katharina Pawlowna. Their daughter Marie (countess Neipperg) was also buried here. His only son (from his third marriage) became king Karl I.
Sophie loved her father deeply allthough he was a cold and untouchable man and responsible for her unhappy marriage as he forced her to marry William lll of the Netherlands. She really did not want him to marry and she describes her bridal voyage to the Netherlands as going to a prison without hope. She wanted to marry the duke of Braunschweig Wolffenbuttel and she took her aunt Maria Paulowna in confidence about this. She told her aunt she wanted to be happy. Her aunt replied "princesses are not born to be happy". Her tears and plees could not avoid breaking the ambition of her father that she had to be queen. So she did, poor Sophie! When her father became ill in 1864 she nursed him till he died.
The father of queen Sophie of the Netherlands, King Wilhelm l of Wurttemberg
