Wilhelm Kettler [SEP] mother
Wilhelm Kettler
Wilhelm Kettler (20 June 1574 – 7 April 1640) was the Duke of Courland, a region of Latvia. Wilhelm ruled the western Courland portion of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, while his brother Friedrich ruled the eastern Semigallia portion.
Life and family.
Born in Mitau in 1574, Wilhelm Kettler was the youngest son of Gotthard Kettler and his wife, Anna of Mecklenburg. After their father's death in 1587, Wilhelm and his brother Friedrich inherited the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. The
January 1698 he was appointed as the Duke of Courland and Semigallia, however, until the age of majority state was governed by his mother and uncle Ferdinand Kettler, who resided in Danzig.
When in the 1701 Semigallia was occupied by the Swedes, Friedrich Wilhelm with her mother went to his uncle Frederick, who later was crowned the first king in Prussia. He stayed in Prussia until 1709 when after Russian victories against Sweden was decided to engage marriage between 17 years old Friedrich Wilhelm and Anna, daughter of Tsar Ivan V