He was the son of the Swedish Marshal of the Court, Malte Friedrich of Putbus and his wife Sophie Wilhelmine, née Countess von der Schulenburg.

After becoming a Swedish chamberlain on 14 September 1802, Wilhelm Malte was elevated on 25 May 1807 by King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden to the rank of a prince (Fürst).

As a result of the Treaty of Kiel, Rügen became Danish for a short time in 1814 and then went to Prussia in 1815 in exchange for its support in the cession of Norway to Sweden, not least because of the involvement of the prince.

The office of university chancellor was approved and the honour of a hereditary Lord Marshal (Erblandmarschall) of the House of Putbus was bestowed on the prince.

In 1832, Putbus Palace, originally a castle complex from the 14th century, extended in the Renaissance and Baroque periods, was redesigned in a neoclassical style according to plans of the Berlin architect Johann Gottfried Steinmeyer.

28 May 1927, d. 5 April 2004), styled himself as Prince and Lord of Putbus (recognized by the judicial committee of the umbrella organization of Germany's nobility associations, and such entered into the Almanach de Gotha).

He however bought back minor parts of it, including a house on the Circle in front of Putbus Palace (which had been demolished by the East German Government in 1962).