He was the father of Queen Elisabeth of Romania and the grandfather of William, Prince of Albania.

Hermann was the second child and first son of Johann August Karl, Prince of Wied (1779–1836), son of Friedrich Karl, Prince of Wied and Countess Marie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, and his wife, Princess Sophie Auguste of Solms-Braunfels (1796–1855), daughter of William, Prince of Solms-Braunfels and his wife Countess Auguste of Salm-Grumbach.

The settlement of New Wied, Texas, a few miles north of New Braunfels on the Guadalupe River located on the eastern side of Comal County, was established after more than 300 German settlers in the New Braunfels region died in the epidemic of 1846.

He took no active part in the society until 1847, when it became apparent that, because of debts and dissension, a new, more businesslike approach had to be taken in order to save the reputations and investments of the noblemen.

Bibra struggled for more than ten years to repay the Verein debts and to revitalize the emigration program.