Prince Oskar of Prussia

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Prince Oskar of Prussia

Prince Oskar Karl Gustav Adolf was the fifth son of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia and Princess Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein. He was born at the Marble Palace in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg, on July 27, 1888, and had six siblings:

Like his elder brothers, Oskar was educated at Plön, where he received strict military training. He served in the Prussian forces during World War I, leading his troops into numerous successful battles. Toward the end of the war, he served on the Eastern Front and received numerous medals and honors for his bravery. He continued to serve for several years after the fall of the Prussian monarchy.

Prince Oskar with his wife and children, 1925. photo: By Bundesarchiv, Bild 102-00069 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5478638

On July 31, 1914, at Bellevue Palace in Berlin, Oskar married Countess Ina-Marie von Bassewitz. As the marriage was considered morganatic, the bride could not take her husband’s style and title. Instead, four days prior to the wedding, Ina-Marie was created Countess von Ruppin. Several years later, in November 1919, the marriage was decreed dynastic, and Ina-Marie and her children were elevated to HRH Prince/Princess of Prussia as of June 1920. The couple had four children:

  • Prince Oskar (1915-1939) – unmarried
  • Prince Burchard (1917-1988) – married Countess Eleonore Fugger von Babenhausen, no issue
  • Princess Herzeleide (1918=1989) – married Karl, Prince Biron von Kurland, had issue
  • Prince Wilhelm-Karl (1922-2007) – married Irmgard von Veltheim, had issue

From 1926 until his death in 1958, Oskar served as Master of Knights of the Johanniterorden (Order of Saint John) – an ancient order which has been a favorite of the Hohenzollerns. He is credited with saving the order from extinction at the hands of the Nazi regime.

Prince Oskar suffered from declining health for the last few years of his life. He died of stomach cancer in a clinic in Munich, Germany on January 27, 1958. He is buried at Hohenzollern Castle in Bisingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

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