Figure 1.--This is Prinz Wilhelm Victor Freund with his older sister, Princess Vicotria Marina. The portrait is undated, but looks to have been taken about 1925. The children look to be about 6-8 years old. Although the royal family was deposed and Prince Adalbert/Count Lingen and his family moved to Switzeland, the children are dressed much as the royal gradchildren were dressed before the War when the Hohenzollerns were still in power. The Prince wears a summer square collar tunic with short pants, ankle socks and strap shoes. His sister wears a large hair bow, summer frock and identical socks and shoes.

Prince Wilhelm Victor was a grandson of German Emperor Wilhelm II and named after him. He was the only son of Prince Adalbert of Prussia (1884–1948) and Princess Adelheid "Adi" of Saxe-Meiningen (1891–1971). He was born in Kiel, an important German port just after World War I and the fall of the royal dynasty (1919). His father had served in the Navy during World War I. The family moved to Switzerland after the War and huis father unlike siom of his brothers played no part in turbulent German inter-War politics. He became Count Lingen and the family lived quitely on Lake Geneva in neutral Switzerland. Prince Wilhelm had two siblings. The oldest was stillborn, but Wilhelm grew up with his older sister Princess Viktoria Marina. We have been unable to find much information about the family or the chilhood of Wilhem and his sister. We have one view iof thev children. Here we see Prinz Wilhelm Victor Freund with his older sister, Princess Vicotria Marina all dressed in white (figure 1). The portrait is undated, but looks to have been taken about 1925, presumably in Switzerlamd. The children look to be about 6-8 years old. Although the royal family was deposed and Prince Adalbert/Count Lingen and his family moved to Switzeland, the children are dressed much as the royal gradchildren were dressed before the War when the Hohenzollerns werev still in power. The Prince wears a summer square collar tunic with short pants, ankle socks and strap shoes. His sister wears a large hair bow, summer frock and identical socks and shoes. We do not know if the family made occassional visits to family in Germany or where the children were educated. Prince Wilhelm may have had more association with Germany than his father. We do not know if he lived in Germany or Switzerland during World War II. Hitler ordered after a show of public affection when one of the Prince's couisins was killed in the War that members of the royal family not serve in the military. He married Marie Antoinette, Countess of Hoyos (1920–2004) at Donaueschingen in Bavaria during World War II. This is a German city just north of Switzerland. The wedding took place on of all days the same day Whermacht officers tried to kill Hitler--the July Bomb Plot (July 20, 1944). We do not know if this complicated the wedding. Presumably the newly weds got back to Switzerland as soon as possible. The Prince forfeited his rights of succession as a result of his unequal marriage. His sister went even further, marrying an American lawyer. The Prince and his wife appeared to have lived in Bavaria, but at Konstanz on the Swiss border. They had two children. Princess Marie Louise Marina Franziska was born in Konstanz (1945). Konstanz is a university city located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south-west corner of Bavaria in Germany bordering Switzerland. Prince Adalbert Alexander Friedrich Joachim Christian was also born in Konstanz (1948). The Prince and his wife may have had the children in Konstanz so they would be German citizens. This was, however, during the very difficult period following the War. Prince Wilhelm Viktor died at age 69 (1989). We are niot yet sure where.

Created: 6:57 PM 1/28/2014
Last updated: 6:57 PM 1/28/2014