Wilhelm Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
Wilhelm Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, from 1934 Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (in German: Wilhelm Friedrich Christian Günther Albert Adolf Georg Prinz zu Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg then Prinz zu Schleswig-Holstein; 23 August 1891 – 10 February 1965), was the sixth Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and Head of the House of Oldenburg from 21 January 1934 until his death on 10 February 1965.
Early life
Prince Friedrich was born on 23 August 1891 at Grünholz Castle in Schleswig-Holstein, Kingdom of Prussia. He was the fifth child and only son of Frederick Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderbug-Glücksburg and Princess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg.
Prince Friedrich's father was the eldest son of Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and a nephew of Christian IX of Denmark. Upon the death of his father in 1885, he had succeeded to the headship of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and the title of duke.
Marriage
Friedrich married Princess Marie Melita of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, daughter of Ernst II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, on 15 February 1916. Both Friedrich and Marie Melita were great-grandchildren of Princess Feodora of Leiningen, making them second cousins.
Later life
When the Head of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, Albert, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, died on 27 April 1931, Friedrich's father Friedrich Ferdinand became the Head of the House of Oldenburg and inherited the title of Duke of Schleswig-Holstein.
On 21 January 1934, Duke Friedrich Ferdinand died, and Friedrich became head of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.
Duke Friedrich and his wife both joined the Nazi Party on 1 May 1937.
“Wilhelm Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein” enters the record as duke of Schleswig-Holstein. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Wilhelm, Friedrich and Duke can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Wilhelm Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Wilhelm, Friedrich and Duke provides the most credible route into that argument.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q63039. VIAF identifies the subject as 1054148451595215970004. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1934, 1891, 1965 and 1885.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Wilhelm Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Wilhelm Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein primary sources, Wilhelm Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein archive and Wilhelm research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Wilhelm Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Wilhelm Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.