Editing House of Hohenzollern (section)

==Brandenburg-Prussian branch==

===Margraves of Brandenburg (1415–1619)===
{{main|Margraviate of Brandenburg}}
[[File:FrederikIboek.jpg|thumb|[[Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg|Frederick VI]] became Margrave of Brandenburg in 1415.]]

[[File:COA family de Markgrafen von Brandenburg (1465).svg|100px|right]]

[[File:Arms of Brandenburg.svg|100px|right]]

In 1411, [[Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg|Frederick VI]], Burgrave of the small but wealthy Nuremberg, was appointed governor of Brandenburg in order to restore order and stability. At the [[Council of Constance]] in 1415, King [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund]] elevated Frederick to the rank of Elector and Margrave of Brandenburg as Frederick I. In 1417, Elector Frederick purchased Brandenburg from its then-sovereign, Emperor Sigismund, for 400,000 Hungarian guilders.

{| class="wikitable"
!Portrait
!Name
!Dynastic Status
!Reign
!Birth
!Death
!Marriages
|-
|align="center"| [[File:Friedrich I. von Brandenburg.jpg|108x108px]]
|align="center"|[[Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg|Frederick I]]
|align="center"|<small>also as Frederick VI Burgrave of Nuremberg</small> 
|align="center"|1415–1440
|align="center"|1371
|align="center"|1440
|align="center"|[[Elisabeth of Bavaria, Electress of Brandenburg|Elisabeth of Bavaria]]
|-
|align="center"|[[File:Friedrich II 300f.jpg|107x107px]]
|align="center"|[[Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg|Frederick II]]
|align="center"|Son of
|align="center"|1440–1471 
|align="center"|1413
|align="center"|1471
|align="center"|[[Catherine of Saxony, Electress of Brandenburg|Catherine of Saxony]]
|-
|align="center"|[[File:AlbrechtAchilles.jpg|107x107px]]
|align="center"|[[Albrecht III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg|Albrecht III Achilles]]
|align="center"|Brother of
|align="center"|1471–1486
|align="center"|1414
|align="center"|1486
|align="center"|[[Margaret of Baden]]<br>
[[Anna of Saxony, Electress of Brandenburg|Anna of Saxony]]
|-
|align="center"|[[File:JohannCicero1500.JPG|107x107px]]
|align="center"|[[John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg|John Cicero]]
|align="center"|Son of
|align="center"|1486–1499
|align="center"|1455
|align="center"|1499
|align="center"|Margaret of Thuringia
|-
|align="center"|[[File:Lucas Cranach (I) - Joachim I Nestor - Jagdschloss Grunewald.jpg|107x107px]]
|align="center"|[[Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg|Joachim I Nestor]]
|align="center"|Son of
|align="center"|1499–1535
|align="center"|1484
|align="center"|1535
|align="center"|[[Elizabeth of Denmark, Electress of Brandenburg|Elizabeth of Denmark]]
|-
|align="center"|[[File:JoachimII.vonBrandenburg.JPG|107x107px]]
|align="center"|[[Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg|Joachim II Hector]]
|align="center"|Son of
|align="center"|1535–1571
|align="center"|1505
|align="center"|1571
|align="center"|[[Magdalena of Saxony]]<br>
[[Hedwig Jagiellon, Electress of Brandenburg|Hedwig of Poland]]
|-
|align="center"|[[File:JohannGeorg1564.JPG|107x107px]]
|align="center"|[[John George, Elector of Brandenburg|John George]]
|align="center"|Son of
|align="center"|1571–1598
|align="center"|1525
|align="center"|1598
|align="center"|[[Sophie of Legnica]]<br>
[[Sabina of Brandenburg-Ansbach]]<br>
[[Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst]]
|-
|align="center"|[[File:JoachimFriedrichBrandenburg1600.JPG|107x107px]]
|align="center"|[[Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg|Joachim Frederick]]
|align="center"|Son of
|align="center"|1598–1608
|align="center"|1546
|align="center"|1608
|align="center"|[[Catherine of Brandenburg-Küstrin]]<br>
[[Eleanor of Prussia]]
|-
|align="center"|[[File:Johann Sigismund 02 IV 13 2 0026 01 0318 a Seite 1 Bild 0001.jpg|99x99px]]
|align="center"|[[John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg|John Sigismund]]
|align="center"|Son of<br>
<small>[[personal union]] with [[Duchy of Prussia|Prussia]] after 1618 called [[Brandenburg-Prussia]].</small>
|align="center"|1608–1619
|align="center"|1572
|align="center"|1619
|align="center"|[[Anna, Duchess of Prussia]]
|}

===Margraves of Brandenburg-Küstrin (1535–1571)===
[[File:DEU Kuestrin-Kietz COA.svg|right|75px]]
{{main|Margraviate of Brandenburg-Küstrin}}
The short-lived [[Margraviate of Brandenburg-Küstrin]] was set up as a [[secundogeniture]] of the House of Hohenzollern.

* 1535–1571: [[John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Küstrin|John the Wise]], Margrave of Brandenburg-Küstrin (son of [[Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg]]). He died without issue. The Margraviate of Brandenburg-Küstrin was absorbed in 1571 into Brandenburg.

===Margraves of Brandenburg-Schwedt (1688–1788)===
{{main|Margraves of Brandenburg-Schwedt|l1=Brandenburg-Schwedt}}
[[File:Wappen der Stadt Schwedt.svg|right|75px]]
Although recognized as a branch of the dynasty since 1688, the [[Brandenburg-Schwedt|Margraviate of Brandenburg-Schwedt]] remained subordinate to the electors, and was never an independent principality.
* 1688–1711: [[Philip William, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt|Philip William]], Prince in Prussia, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt (son of [[Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg]])
* 1731–1771: [[Frederick William, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt|Frederick William]], Prince in Prussia, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt (son of)
* 1771–1788: [[Frederick Henry, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt|Frederick Henry]], Prince in Prussia, Margrave of Brandenburg Schwedt (brother of)

===Dukes of Prussia (1525–1701)===
{{main|List of monarchs of Prussia|l1=Dukes of Prussia}}
[[File:POL Prusy książęce COA.svg|75px|right]]
[[File:Acprussiamap2.gif|thumb|400px|Growth of [[Brandenburg-Prussia]], 1600–1795]]
In 1525, the [[Duchy of Prussia]] was established as a [[fief]] of the [[List of Polish monarchs|King of Poland]]. [[Albert, Duke in Prussia|Albert of Prussia]] was the last [[Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights|Grand Master]] of the [[Teutonic Knights]] and the first Duke of Prussia. He belonged to the Ansbach branch of the dynasty. The Duchy of Prussia adopted Protestantism as the official [[state religion]]. 
* 1525–1568: [[Albert, Duke in Prussia|Albert I]]
* 1568–1618: [[Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia|Albert II Frederick]] co-heir (son of)
* 1568–1571: [[Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg|Joachim I/II Hector]] co-heir (also Elector of Brandenburg)
** 1578–1603: [[George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach|George Frederick I/I/I/I]] (Regent, also Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and Duke of Brandenburg-Jägerndorf)
** 1603–1608: [[Joachim III Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg|Joachim I/I/III Frederick]] (Regent, also Duke of Brandenburg-Jägerndorf and Elector of Brandenburg)
** 1608–1618: [[John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg|John Sigismund]] (Regent, also Elector of Brandenburg)
* 1618–1619: [[John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg|John Sigismund]] (Regent, also Elector of Brandenburg, after 1618 [[Brandenburg-Prussia]])
* 1619–1640: [[George William, Elector of Brandenburg|George William I/I]] (son of, also Elector of Brandenburg)
* 1640–1688: [[Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg|Frederick I/III William the Great Elector]] (son of, also Elector of Brandenburg)
* 1688–1701: [[Frederick I of Prussia|Frederick II/IV/I]] (also Elector of Brandenburg and King in Prussia)

From 1701, the title of Duke of Prussia was attached to the title of King in and of Prussia.

===Kings in Prussia (1701–1772)===
[[File:Arms of East Prussia.svg|75px|left]]
[[File:Preussen 1701 Königsberg.jpg|thumb|Coronation of [[Frederick I of Prussia|Frederick I]] in [[Königsberg]]]]
In 1701, the title of [[King in Prussia]] was granted, without the Duchy of Prussia being elevated to a Kingdom within Poland but recognized as a kingdom by the Holy Roman Emperor, theoretically the highest sovereign in the West. From 1701 onwards the titles of Duke of Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg were always attached to the title of King in Prussia. The Duke of Prussia adopted the title of king as [[Frederick I of Prussia|Frederick I]], establishing his status as a monarch whose royal territory lay outside the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire, with the assent of Emperor [[Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor|Leopold I]]: Frederick could not be "King of Prussia" because part of Prussia's lands were under the [[suzerainty]] of the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland]]. In Brandenburg and the other Hohenzollern domains within the borders of the empire, he was legally still an elector under the ultimate overlordship of the emperor. By this time, however, the emperor's authority had become purely nominal over the other German princes outside the immediate hereditary lands of the emperor. Brandenburg was still legally part of the empire and ruled in personal union with Prussia, though the two states came to be treated as one ''de facto.'' The king was officially ''Margrave of Brandenburg'' within the Empire until the Empire's dissolution in 1806. In the age of [[Absolute monarchy|absolutism]], most monarchs were obsessed with the desire to emulate [[Louis XIV of France]] with his luxurious [[Palace of Versailles|palace at Versailles]].

In 1772, the Duchy of Prussia was elevated to a kingdom.
{{See also|List of monarchs of Prussia|l1=List of monarchs of Prussia}}

{| class="wikitable"
!Portrait
!Name
!Dynastic Status
!Reign
!Birth
!Death
!Marriages
|-
|align="center"| [[File:Frederick I of Prussia (cropped).jpg|108x108px]]
|align="center"|[[Frederick I of Prussia|Frederick I]]<br>
|align="center"|Son of
|align="center"|1701–1713<br /><small>Duke of Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg since 1688</small>
|align="center"|1657
|align="center"|1713
|align="center"|[[Elisabeth Henriette of Hesse-Kassel]]<br>
[[Sophia Charlotte of Hanover]]<br>
[[Sophia Louise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]]
|-
|align="center"|[[File:Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia 1700.jpg|87x87px]]
|align="center"|[[Frederick William I of Prussia|Frederick William I]]
|align="center"|Son of
|align="center"|1713–1740
|align="center"|1688
|align="center"|1740
|align="center"|[[Sophia Dorothea of Hanover]]
|-
|align="center"| [[File:Antoine Pesne - Friedrich der Große als Kronprinz (1739).jpg|100x100px]]
|align="center"|[[Frederick the Great|Frederick II<br /><small>''the Great''</small>]]
|align="center"|Son of
|align="center"|1740–1772<br /><small>King of Prussia from 1772</small>
|align="center"|1712
|align="center"|1786
|align="center"|[[Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern]]
|}

===Kings of Prussia (1772–1918)===
[[File:Ac.prussiamap3.png|thumb|300px|Expansion of Prussia, 1807–1871]]
[[Frederick William I of Prussia|Frederick William]]'s successor, [[Frederick the Great]] gained [[Silesia]] in the [[Silesian Wars]] so that Prussia emerged as a [[great power]]. The king was strongly influenced by French culture and civilization and preferred the French language.

In the 1772 [[First Partition of Poland]], the Prussian king [[Frederick the Great]] annexed neighboring [[Royal Prussia]], i.e., the Polish voivodeships of [[Pomeranian Voivodeship (1466–1772)|Pomerania]] ([[Gdańsk Pomerania]] or [[Pomerelia]]), [[Malbork Voivodeship|Malbork]], [[Chełmno Voivodeship|Chełmno]] and the [[Prince-Bishopric of Warmia]], thereby connecting his Prussian and [[Province of Pomerania (1653–1815)|Farther Pomeranian]] lands and cutting the rest of Poland from the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] coast. The territory of [[Warmia]] was incorporated into the lands of former Ducal Prussia, which, by administrative deed of 31 January 1772 were named ''East Prussia''. The former Polish Pomerelian lands beyond the [[Vistula]] River together with Malbork and [[Chełmno Land]] formed the province of [[West Prussia]] with its capital at [[Kwidzyn|Marienwerder]] (Kwidzyn) in 1773. The Polish [[Partition Sejm]] ratified the cession on 30 September 1772, whereafter Frederick officially went on to call himself '''King "of" Prussia'''. From 1772 onwards the titles of Duke of Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg were always attached to the title King of Prussia.

In 1871, the Kingdom of Prussia became a constituent member of the [[German Empire]], and the King of Prussia gained the additional title of [[German Emperor]].

{{See also|List of monarchs of Prussia|l1=List of monarchs of Prussia}}

{| class="wikitable"
!Portrait
!Name
!Dynastic Status
!Reign
!Birth
!Death
!Marriages
|-
|align="center"| [[File:Friedrich Zweite Alt.jpg|102x102px]]
|align="center"|[[Frederick the Great|Frederick II<br /><small>''the Great''</small>]]
|align="center"|Son of
|align="center"|1772–1786<br /><small>King in Prussia since 1740</small>
|align="center"|1712
|align="center"|1786
|align="center"|[[Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern]]
|-
|align="center"|[[File:Anton Graff - Frederick William II of Prussia.png|101x101px]]
|align="center"|[[Frederick William II of Prussia|Frederick William II]]
|align="center"|Nephew of
|align="center"|1786–1797
|align="center"|1744
|align="center"|1797
|align="center"|Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg<br>
Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt
|-
|align="center"|[[File:Friedrich Wilhelm III., König von Preußen (unbekannter Maler).jpg|108x108px]]
|align="center"|[[Frederick William III of Prussia|Frederick William III]]
|align="center"|Son of
|align="center"|1797–1840
|align="center"|1770
|align="center"|1840
|align="center"|[[Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]<br>
[[Auguste von Harrach]]
|-
|align="center"|[[File:Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia (1847).jpg|108x108px]]
|align="center"|[[Frederick William IV of Prussia|Frederick William IV]]
|align="center"|Son of
|align="center"|1840–1861
|align="center"|1795
|align="center"|1861
|align="center"|[[Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria]]
|-
|align="center"|[[File:Kaiser Wilhelm I. .JPG|108x108px]]
|align="center"|[[William I, German Emperor|William I]]
|align="center"|Brother of
|align="center"|1861–1888<br /><small>German Emperor from 1871</small>
|align="center"|1797
|align="center"|1888
|align="center"|[[Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach]]
|-
|align="center"|[[File:Emperor Friedrich III.png|107x107px]]
|align="center"|[[Frederick III, German Emperor|Frederick III]]
|align="center"|Son of

|align="center"|1888<br /><small>German Emperor</small>
|align="center"|1831
|align="center"|1888
|align="center"|[[Victoria, Princess Royal]]
|-
|align="center"|[[File:Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany - 1902.jpg|99x99px]]
|align="center"|[[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]]
|align="center"|Son of
|align="center"|1888–1918<br /><small>German Emperor</small>
|align="center"|1859
|align="center"|1941
|align="center"|[[Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein]]<br>
[[Hermine Reuss of Greiz]]
|}

===German Emperors (1871–1918)===
{{main|German Emperor}}
[[File:Wappenschild des Deutschen Kaiserreiches (1889-1918).svg|right|75px]]
[[File:prussiamap.gif|thumb|upright=1.5|Prussia in the German Empire, 1871–1918]]
In 1871, the German Empire was proclaimed. With the accession of [[William I, German Emperor|William I]] to the newly established imperial German throne, the titles of King of Prussia, Duke of Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg were always attached to the title of [[German Emperor]].

[[Minister President of Prussia|Prussia's Minister President]] [[Otto von Bismarck]] convinced William that German Emperor instead of Emperor of Germany would be appropriate. He became ''[[primus inter pares]]'' among other German sovereigns.

[[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|William II]] intended to develop a [[Imperial German Navy|German navy]] capable of challenging Britain's [[Royal Navy]]. The assassination of [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria]] on 28 June 1914 set off the chain of events that led to [[World War I]]. As a result of the war, the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires ceased to exist.

In 1918, the German empire was abolished and replaced by the [[Weimar Republic]]. After the outbreak of the German revolution in 1918, both Emperor William II and Crown Prince [[Wilhelm, German Crown Prince|William]] signed the document of abdication.

<gallery>
File:Kaiser Wilhelm I. .JPG|[[William I, German Emperor|William I]] (1871–1888)
File:Emperor Friedrich III.png|[[Frederick III, German Emperor|Frederick III]] (1888)
File:Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany - 1902.jpg|[[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|William II]] (1888–1918)
</gallery>

===Prussian Hohenzollern religion and religious policy===
The official religion of the state was "bi-confessional". John Sigismund's most significant action was his conversion from [[Lutheranism]] to [[Calvinism]], after he had earlier equalized the rights of Catholics and Protestants in the Duchy of Prussia under pressure from the King of Poland. He was probably won over to Calvinism during a visit to [[Heidelberg]] in 1606, but it was not until 25 December 1613 that he publicly took [[Eucharist|communion]] according to the Calvinist rite. The vast majority of his subjects in Brandenburg, including his wife [[Anna, Duchess of Prussia|Anna of Prussia]], remained deeply Lutheran, however. After the Elector and his Calvinist court officials drew up plans for mass conversion of the population to the new faith in February 1614, as provided for by the rule of ''[[Cuius regio, eius religio]]'' within the [[Holy Roman Empire]], there were serious protests, with his wife backing the Lutherans. This was doubly important as Anna brought with her the duchy of Prussia into the Brandenburg line of the house and the nascent Brandenburg-Prussian state. Resistance was so strong that in 1615, John Sigismund backed down and relinquished all attempts at forcible conversion. Instead, he allowed his subjects to be either Lutheran or Calvinist according to the dictates of their own consciences. Henceforward, Brandenburg-Prussia would be a bi-confessional state, with the ruling Hohenzollern house staying [[Calvinist]].<ref>Christopher Clark ''The Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia 1600-1947'' (Penguin, 2007) pp. 115–121</ref>

This situation persisted until Frederick William III of Prussia. Frederick William was determined to unify the Protestant churches to homogenize their liturgy, organization, and architecture. The long-term goal was to have fully centralized royal control of all the Protestant churches in the [[Prussian Union of churches]]. The merging of the Lutheran and Calvinist (Reformed) confessions to form the United Church of Prussia was highly controversial. Angry responses included a large and well-organized opposition. The crown's aggressive efforts to restructure religion were unprecedented in Prussian history. In a series of proclamations over several years, the ''Church of the Prussian Union'' was formed, bringing together the majority group of Lutherans and the minority group of Reformed Protestants. The main effect was that the government of Prussia had full control over church affairs, with the king himself recognized as the leading bishop.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Christopher Clark|title=Confessional policy and the limits of state action: Frederick William III and the Prussian Church Union 1817–40|journal=Historical Journal|volume= 39|issue=4 |year=1996|pages= 985–1004|jstor=2639865 |doi=10.1017/S0018246X00024730|s2cid=159976974 }}</ref>