Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

Who was Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg?

Friedrich Wilhelm Paul Leopold (4 January 1785; Lindenau, Prussia - 17 February 1831; Gottorp, Schleswig, Duchy of Schleswig) was the first Duke of the Second Line of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and founder of a line that includes the Royal Houses of Denmark, Greece, Norway, and the United Kingdom. Friedrich Wilhelm is a grandfather to Alexandra of Denmark, and subsequently is an ancestor to the present-day British Royal Family, including Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Friedrich Wilhelm was born in Lindenau on 4 January 1785 to Friedrich Karl Ludwig, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck (20 August 1757 – 24 April 1816) and Countess Friederike of Schlieben (28 February 1757 – 17 December 1827). He was the third and last child of the couple.

The prince became heir to his father due to the principle of agnatic primogeniture.

On 26 January 1810, Friedrich Wilhelm married Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel (28 September 1789 – 13 March 1867), a granddaughter of Frederik V of Denmark through her mother Princess Louise of Denmark and Norway. Friedrich Wilhelm and Louise Caroline had ten children.

On 25 March 1816, Friedrich Wilhelm succeeded his father as Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck. On 6 July 1825, he became Duke of Glücksburg and changed his title to Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, after the elder Glücksburg line went extinct in 1779. Friedrich Wilhelm died on 17 February 1831 at Gottorp.

His grandchildren include among others Frederick VIII of Denmark, Alexandra of Denmark, George I of Greece, and Dagmar of Denmark, and Princess Thyra of Denmark.