Category Archives: German Royals

Prince Maximilian of Baden, Margrave of Baden

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Prince Maximilian of Baden was the heir to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Baden, and served briefly as Chancellor of the German Empire.

Prince Maximilian of Baden, Margrave of Baden – photo: By Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R04103 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5367974

Prince Maximilian Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm of Baden was born in Baden-Baden on July 10, 1867. He was the only son of Prince Wilhelm of Baden (a younger son of Grand Duke Leopold of Baden), and Princess Maria Maximilianovna of Leuchtenburg (a granddaughter of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia). Max had one older sister:

After his initial education, Max studied law and cameralism at Leipzig University before training as an officer in the Prussian Army. In 1907, upon the death of his uncle, Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden, Max became heir-presumptive to his childless cousin, Friedrich II. In addition to his new position, he became President of the upper house of parliament in Baden. Four years later, he left the Prussian army with the rank of Major General.

Prince Max with his wife and children, c.1910. source: Wikipedia

On July 10, 1900, in Gmunden, Austria, Max married Princess Marie Luise of Hanover. She was the daughter of Ernst August, Crown Prince of Hanover and Princess Thyra of Denmark. The couple had two children:

Max returned to military service in 1914 at the beginning of World War I, serving as a general staff member, representing his cousin Friedrich II. However, he soon retired due to ill health. He became honorary president of Baden’s chapter of the German Red Cross, using his family connections to help prisoners of war. Staunchly liberal, he remained out of politics but spoke out against military policies he disagreed with. Despite maintaining a relatively low profile, it was through his friendship with Kurt Hahn that Max would later be appointed Chancellor of Germany. He was initially considered for the job in July 1917, and once again in September 1918 but was turned down by Kaiser Wilhelm II. However, later that same month, when it was clear that the German front was soon to fall, the entire cabinet of Chancellor Georg von Hertling resigned. Von Hertling himself recommended Prince Max to succeed him. This time the Kaiser agreed, and Max was formally appointed on October 3, 1918.

Just a month later, it was clear that the German Empire was ending. At noon on November 9, 1918, Prince Max announced Kaiser Wilhem II’s abdication and the formal renunciation of the Crown Prince. Max also resigned as Chancellor. Friedrich Ebert, the leader of the SPD, asked Max to remain in Berlin as Regent, but Max refused and returned to Baden.

With no further role in politics, Prince Max retired to Baden. He wrote and published several books, and in 1920, he helped Kurt Hahn establish the Schule Schloss Salem , a boarding school in Salem, Germany, later attended by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the brother of his son’s wife.

On August 9, 1928, the last reigning Grand Duke of Baden, Friedrich II, died, and Max became the pretender to the former throne and the Head of the House of Zähringen. At that time, he assumed the historic title of Margrave of Baden. Just over a year later, on November 6, 1929, Prince Max, Margrave of Baden died of kidney failure following several strokes. He is buried in the Mimmenhausen Cemetery in Salem.

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Baden Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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Franz, Duke of Bavaria

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Franz, Duke of Bavaria, is the current Head of the House of Wittelsbach and Pretender to the former throne of Bavaria. He is also the current heir to the Jacobite Succession.

Franz, Duke of Bavaria; photo: By Christoph Wagener – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22663494

Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria, Prince of Bavaria was born in Munich on July 14, 1933, the son of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria and Countess Maria Draskovich of Trakostjan. He has three siblings:

Franz’s family left Bavaria in 1937, eventually settling in Hungary by 1940. In 1944, they were arrested after the German occupation and held in several concentration camps before being freed by American forces in April 1945. Following the war, Franz finished his secondary education at the Benedictine Abbey in Ettal and then studied business at the Universities of Munich and Zurich.

From an early age, Franz had a strong interest in art, which would become a lifelong passion. In addition to amassing a large personal collection, he holds numerous positions on boards and associations of museums and art-related organizations:

  • Chairman of the Association for the Promotion of the Alte Pinakothek, an art museum in Munich
  • Deputy Chairman of the Munich Gallery Association
  • Member of the Board of Trustees of the Society of Friends and Patrons of the Glyptothek and Antikensammlungen Munich
  • Honorary President of the Friends of the Egyptian Collection Munich
  • Member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Munich
  • Member of the Board of Trustees of the Munich University of Philosophy
  • Member of the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Bavarian History
  • Honorary Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Eugen Biser Foundation
  • Honorary Trustee, and Chairman of the International Council of the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.

Upon his father’s death in 1996, Franz became Head of the House of Wittelsbach and pretender to the former Bavarian throne. At that time, he took the title Duke of Bavaria. Franz never married, so his heir is his younger brother, Max, Duke in Bavaria.

 

In June 2021, an official portrait was released of Franz with his long-term partner Dr. Thomas Greinwald. This is the first time the head of a European royal dynasty has publicly acknowledged a same-sex relationship. The couple lives in a wing of Nymphenburg Palace in Munich, Germany, and uses Berg Castle in Starnberg, Germany as their country home.

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Bavarian Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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Maria Sophie of Bavaria, Queen of the Two Sicilies

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was located in today’s southern Italy. It included the island of Sicily and all of the Italian peninsula south of the Papal States. Ferdinando I, the first King of the Two Sicilies, had previously reigned over two kingdoms, as Ferdinando IV of the Kingdom of Naples and Ferdinando III of the Kingdom of Sicily. He had been deposed twice from the throne of Naples: once by the revolutionary Parthenopean Republic for six months in 1799 and again by Napoleon in 1805, before being restored in 1816 after the defeat of Napoleon. After the 1816 restoration, the two kingdoms were united into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia became a driving force behind the Italian unification movement along with Giuseppe Garibaldi, a general and nationalist, and Giuseppe Mazzini, a politician and journalist. Garibaldi conquered Naples and Sicily, the territories of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies was deposed, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ceased to exist, and its territory was incorporated into the Kingdom of Sardinia. Eventually, the Sardinian troops occupied the central territories of the Italian peninsula, except Rome and part of Papal States. With all the newly acquired land, Vittorio Emanuele II was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

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Maria Sophie, Queen of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Sophie, Duchess in Bavaria was the wife of Francesco II, the last King of the Two Sicilies. Maria Sophie Amalie was born on October 4, 1841, at Possenhofen Castle in Possenhofen, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. She was the sixth of the nine children and the third of the five daughters of Maximilian Joseph, Duke in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. Pius August, Duke in Bavaria and Princess Amélie Louise of Arenberg were her paternal grandparents. Her maternal grandparents were Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria and his second wife Caroline of Baden. Maria Sophie was a younger sister of the more well-known Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria (Sisi) who married Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria and was assassinated in 1898. The painting below is a group portrait of the siblings of Empress Elisabeth given to her by her brother Karl Theodor on the occasion of her wedding.

Maria Sophie with her siblings: (left to right) Sophie Charlotte, Maximilian Emanuel, Karl Theodor, Helene, Ludwig Wilhelm, Mathilde Ludovika, and Maria Sophie; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Sophie had eight siblings:

Maria Sophie’s father Maximilian Joseph was from a junior branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Maximilian Joseph did much to promote Bavarian folk music. He played the zither, the national instrument of Bavaria, and composed music for it. Although the family had a home in Munich, Herzog-Max-Palais (Duke Max Palace, link in German), Maria Sophie’s parents had no obligations with the Bavarian royal court and their nine children spent much time living a carefree, unstructured, unrestrained childhood at Possenhofen Castle on Lake Starnberg.

Maria Sophie’s husband Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1858, 16-year-old Maria Sophie of Bavaria was betrothed to 23-year-old Francesco, Duke of Calabria, the eldest son and heir of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies and his first wife Maria Cristina of Savoy. On January 8, 1859, a proxy marriage was held at the Court Church of All Saints in the Munich Residenz, the royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs. The couple married in person on February 5, 1859, in Bari, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy.

Three months after the marriage, Francesco’s father Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies died on May 22, 1859, aged 49 from a strangulated hernia after hesitating for months to have surgery. Francesco began his two-year reign as King of the Two Sicilies and Maria Sophie became Queen of the Two Sicilies. During the reign of Francesco’s father, Ferdinando II, the Italian unification movement led by Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia, later Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Italy, and Giuseppe Garibaldi, a noted general and politician, began. The Second War of Italian Independence began shortly before Ferdinando II’s death. During the reign of Francesco II, Giuseppe Garibaldi’s 1860-1861 invasion called the Expedition of the Thousand led to the fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which then was annexed to the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861, ending the reign of Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies. After losing the throne of the Two Sicilies, Francesco and Maria Sophie lived in Rome as guests of Pope Pius IX. In 1870, the annexation of the Papal States to Italy, including Rome, forced Francesco and Maria Sophie to find refuge in Austria, France, and Bavaria.

Maria Sophie in the 1860s; Credit – Wikipedia

Francesco had a congenital condition that prevented him from consummating his marriage. Maria Sophie, after having been patient for some time, began having affairs. While in Rome, Maria Sophie fell in love with Belgian Count Armand de Lawayss and became pregnant. To avoid scandal, the pregnancy was kept secret and Maria Sophie stayed at her parents’ home Possenhofen Castle in Bavaria. On November 24, 1862, Maria Sophie gave birth to a daughter at St. Ursula’s Convent in Augsburg, Kingdom of Bavaria. The child was immediately given to the father’s family. A year later, on the advice of her family, Maria Sophie decided to confess the affair to her husband. Subsequently, the relationship between Maria Sophie and Francesco improved, and after nearly ten years after his marriage, Francesco finally had surgery that corrected the condition. Maria Sofia became pregnant and a daughter was born to joyful parents but sadly, she lived for only three months. Francesco and Maria Sophie had no other children.

  • Maria Cristina Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (December 24, 1869 – March 28, 1870)

Garatshausen Castle; Credit – Von 2micha – Eigenes Werk, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8311631

In 1870, Maria Sophie purchased Garatshausen Castle (link in German) on Lake Starnberg in the Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria from her brother Ludwig Wilhelm, and the castle became their home. The former Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies died on December 27, 1894, aged 58, in Arco, where he spent winters, then in Austria-Hungary, now in Italy. He was originally buried with his daughter at the Church of the Holy Spirit of the Neapolitans (link in Italian) in Rome.

After her husband’s death, Maria Sophie lived for a time in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. She also spent time in Paris, France where she lived in a house her husband had purchased. There she presided over an informal Bourbon-Two Sicilies court in exile. Maria Sophie never stopped hoping that the former Kingdom of the Two Sicilies would be returned to her husband’s family. It was even rumored she was involved in the 1900 anarchist assassination of Umberto I, King of Italy in hopes of destabilizing the Kingdom of Italy.

During World War I, Maria Sophie was actively on the side of the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in their war against the Kingdom of Italy. Again, some rumors claimed she participated in sabotage and espionage against Italy hoping that an Italian defeat would restore the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Despite her dislike of the Kingdom of Italy, Maria Sophie would anonymously visit Italian soldiers in prisoner-of-war camps in Germany, giving them books and food.

Coat of arms of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies on the entrance to the royal crypt at the Basilica of Santa Chiara; Credit – Di Giuseppe Guida – Flickr: Basilica di Santa Chiara., CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20267754

After World War I, Maria Sophie returned to her birthplace of Bavaria, Germany, living in Munich. It is there that she died on January 19, 1925, at the age of 83. Maria Sophie was initially buried with her husband and daughter at the Church of the Holy Spirit of the Neapolitans (link in Italian) in Rome. In 1984, their remains were transferred to the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Italy, the traditional burial site of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies in Naples, Italy.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Marie in Bayern – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_in_Bayern> [Accessed 18 August 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Maximilian_Joseph_in_Bavaria> [Accessed 18 August 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Sophie of Bavaria – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Sophie_of_Bavaria> [Accessed 18 August 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/francesco-ii-king-of-the-two-sicilies/> [Accessed 18 August 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Cristina Pia di Borbone-Due Sicilie – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Cristina_Pia_di_Borbone-Due_Sicilie> [Accessed 16 August 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Maria Sofia di Baviera – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Sofia_di_Baviera> [Accessed 18 August 2021].

Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Albrecht with his younger half-brother, Prince Heinrich; Credit – Wikipedia

Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria was Head of the House of Wittelsbach and pretender to the former Bavarian throne from 1955 until he died in 1996. He was the eldest surviving grandson of the last reigning King of Bavaria, Ludwig III, and also the heir to the Jacobite succession.

Prince Albrecht Luitpold Ferdinand Michael of Bavaria was born in Munich on May 3, 1905, the son of Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria and Duchess Marie Gabriele in Bavaria. He had three siblings, all of whom died young:

  • Luitpold, Hereditary Prince of Bavaria (1901) – died in his youth
  • Princess Irmingard (1902) – died in infancy
  • Prince Rudolf (1909) – died in childhood

Albrecht also had six half-siblings from his father’s second marriage to Princess Antonia of Luxembourg:

  • Prince Heinrich (1922) – married Anne Marie de Lustrac, no issue
  • Princess Irmingard (1923) – married Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, had issue
  • Princess Editha (1924) – married (1) Tito Tmmaso Brunetti, had issue; (2) Gustav Schimert, had issue
  • Princess Hilda (1926) – married Juan Lockett de Loayza, had issue
  • Princess Gabriele (1927) – married Karl, Duke of Croy, had issue
  • Princess Sophie (1935) – married Jean-Engelbert, Duke of Arenberg, had issue

Albrecht (left) with his father and elder brother Luitpold. photo: Wikipedia

Upon the death of his elder brother in 1914, Albrecht became Hereditary Prince of Bavaria, second in line to the Bavarian throne. However, four years later, in November 1918, the monarchy was abolished. After leaving Bavaria for a short time, he returned to Munich and began studying Forestry but was unable to complete his studies due to the rising Nazi regime.

On September 3, 1930 in Berchtesgaden, Albrecht married Countess Maria Drawkovich of Trakostjan, the daughter of Count Dionys Draskovich von Trakostjan and Princess Juliana Rose von Tentenuovo. At the time of their marriage, a family council deemed the marriage unequal, thus initially excluding Albrecht and his children from the line of succession. However, in 1948, it was ruled that the Head of the House (Albrecht’s father at the time) had the sole authority to determine the validity of the union, and their marriage was recognized as dynastic in May 1949. This reinstated Albrecht and his descendants as heirs to the former Bavarian throne.

Albrecht and his wife had four children:

  • Princess Marie Gabrielle (1931) – married Georg, Prince von Waldburg zu Zeil und Trauchburg, had issue
  • Princess Marie Charlotte (1931) – married Paul, Prince von Quadt zu Wykradt und Isny, had issue
  • Franz, Duke of Bavaria (1933) – unmarried
  • Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria (1937) – married Countess Elisabeth Douglas, had issue, including Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein

After several years living in Bad Kreuth in upper Bavaria, Albrecht and his family left the country in 1937, settling briefly in Croatia and then in Hungary by 1940. In October 1944 following the German invasion, the family was arrested and imprisoned in several concentration camps before finally being freed by American forces in April 1945.

Upon his father’s death in August 1955, Albrecht became Head of the House of Wittelsbach and pretender to the former Bavarian throne. It was at that time that he took on the style ‘Duke in Bavaria’. In addition, he became the recognized heir to the Jacobite succession.

Several years later, in 1959, Albrecht orchestrated an official ceremony at which the Greek Crown Jewels were returned to the Greek king. The jewels were originally made for Prince Otto of Bavaria, who had been elected as Greece’s first modern-day King in 1832, but was formally deposed in 1862, and had taken the jewels with him upon returning to Bavaria. Otto was then succeeded by Prince Vilhelm of Denmark who became King George I of the Hellenes. It was King George’s grandson, King Paul of the Hellenes, who accepted the jewels at the ceremony.

Following the death of his first wife in 1969, Albrecht remarried two years later, on April 21, 1971 in Weichselboden, Austria. His second wife was Countess Marie-Jenke Keglevich of Buzin, the daughter of Count Stephan Keglevich de Buzin and Countess Klára Zichy of Zich and Vásonkeö. They had no children.

Having returned to the study of forestry, Albrecht also developed a passion for hunting. He amassed a large collection of antlers, many of which became part of the Deer Museum at Berchtesgaden Castle. In addition, he and his second wife published two books of their research about deer, for which they received honorary doctorates from the University of Munich.

Berg Castle. photo: By 2micha – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8311566

Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria died on July 8, 1996, at Berg Castle in Starnberg. Germany. Following a funeral at the Theatinerkirche in Munich, he was buried in the Wittelsbach cemetery at Andechs Abbey in Starnberg along with both of his wives.

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Bavarian Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Rupprecht was Crown Prince of Bavaria from 1913 until the end of the Bavarian monarchy in 1918. From his father’s death in 1921, he became pretender to the former Bavarian throne, and Head of the House of Wittelsbach. Through his direct descent from King Charles I of England, he also became heir to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland in the Jacobite Succession.

Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria – photo: Wikipedia

Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Bavaria, was born in Munich, then in the Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria, on May 18, 1869, the eldest child of the future King Ludwig III of Bavaria and Archduchess Maria Theresia of Austria-Este. He had 12 younger siblings:

Rupprecht grew up at Schloss Leutstetten in Starnberg, and the family’s villa near Lindau, at Lake Constance. Initially educated at home, he became the first member of the Bavarian royal family to study at a public school, attending the Maximilian-Gymnasium in Munich. He began his military career serving in the Lifeguards Regiment of the Bavarian Army, quickly rising to the rank of Colonel, and was given command of the 2nd Crown Prince’s Regiment. During this time, he also studied at the Universities of Berlin and Munich.

When Rupprecht was just 17, his future changed when his father was named Regent of Bavaria for both King Ludwig II and King Otto who had been declared insane and unable to reign. From that point, it was likely that he would someday succeed to the throne himself. When his grandfather died in 1912, Rupprecht’s father assumed the regency and the following year was formally named King of Bavaria as Ludwig III. Rupprecht formally became Crown Prince at that time.

Duchess Marie Gabriele in Bavaria. photo: Wikipedia

On July 10, 1900, Rupprecht married Duchess Marie Gabriele in Bavaria, at the Residenz (the Royal Palace in Munich). Marie Gabriele was the daughter of Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria, and his second wife Infanta Maria José of Portugal, and was the younger sister of the future Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, the wife of King Albert I of the Belgians. Rupprecht and his wife had four children:

  • Luitpold, Hereditary Prince of Bavaria (1901) – died in his youth
  • Princess Irmingard (1902) – died in infancy
  • Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria (1905) – married (1) Countess Maria Draskovich de Trakostjan, had issue; (2) Countess Marie-Jenke Keglevich de Buzin, no issue
  • Prince Rudolf (1909) – died in childhood

After the outbreak of World War I, Rupprecht was given command of the German Sixth Army, serving on the Western front, and rose to the rank of Field Marshal by 1916. He then took command of Army Group Rupprecht, which consisted of the 1st, 2nd, 6th, and 7th armies. Despite the losses at the end of the war, Rupprecht had proven himself to be a skilled military leader. He resigned from his military positions on November 11, 1918 – Armistice Day. The following day, the Bavarian monarchy was abolished.

The next several years saw many changes in Rupprecht’s life. Upon his mother’s death in 1919, he became heir to the Jacobite succession, although he never made any claims based upon this, and discouraged anyone from making any claims on his behalf.

Princess Antonia of Luxembourg. photo: Wikipedia

In April 1921, having been widowed for nine years, Rupprecht remarried. Rupprecht became engaged in August 1918 to Princess Antonia of Luxembourg, the fourth of six daughters of the late Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Infanta Maria Ana of Portugal. At the time they were engaged, Luxembourg was occupied by German forces, and Antonia’s eldest sister, Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde was facing intense criticism for her perceived close ties with Germany. These concerns forced Marie-Adélaïde to abdicate in early 1919 in favor of her sister Charlotte, who would reign much more successfully than her elder sister as Grand Duchess for over 45 years. Finally, on April 7, 1921, Rupprecht and Antonia were married at Schloss Hohenburg in Lenggries, Bavaria.

They had six children:

  • Prince Heinrich (1922) – married Anne Marie de Lustrac, no issue
  • Princess Irmingard (1923) – married Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, had issue
  • Princess Editha (1924) – married (1) Tito Tmmaso Brunetti, had issue; (2) Gustav Schimert, had issue
  • Princess Hilda (1926) – married Juan Lockett de Loayza, had issue
  • Princess Gabriele (1927) – married Karl, Duke of Croy, had issue
  • Princess Sophie (1935) – married Jean-Engelbert, Duke of Arenberg, had issue

Five months after Rupprecht’s marriage, in October 1921, King Ludwig III died and Rupprecht became Head of the House of Wittelsbach and pretender to the former Bavarian throne. Rupprecht soon began pursuing the restitution of properties and estates the Bavarian state had seized at the end of World War I. After extensive negotiations, an agreement was reached in 1923, and the state established the Wittelsbach Compensation Fund. Properties and assets were placed into this foundation instead of being returned to any specific person. In addition, the family agreed to place numerous assets – including a large art collection – into the fund, with the provision that they be made accessible to the public. With this agreement in place, Rupprecht waived any future claims for properties or assets. Today, the fund is self-supporting, with all income used to maintain the collections and to provide financial resources for the Wittelsbach family.

For many years, Rupprecht promoted the idea of a constitutional monarchy in Bavaria, but soon Hitler came to power. Despite attempts to lure him into the Nazi party, Rupprecht refused. In 1939, he and his family were forced into exile, moving to Italy as guests of King Vittorio Emanuele III. Following the 1944 assassination attempt on Hitler, Rupprecht and his family were targeted by the Gestapo for possibly being involved. Rupprecht managed to remain in hiding and avoid capture. However, his wife and children, who had earlier moved to Hungary, were taken into custody. They spent the remainder of the war in several concentration camps, before being freed in April 1945. Such was the treatment they received that his wife refused to ever return to German soil. Following the war, he established the Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria Foundation for the Reconstruction of Würzburg that focused on rebuilding the damaged city and providing affordable housing for its residents. In addition, he continued his efforts to restore the monarchy, with no success.

Leutstetten Castle. photo: Von Gras-Ober, Wikipedia/Wikimedia Commons (cc-by-sa-3.0), CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14520511

Widowed in 1954, Rupprecht’s health soon began to fail. On August 8, 1955, surrounded by his family, Crown Prince Rupprecht died at Leutstetten Castle at the age of 86. He was given a state funeral with full royal honors and his coffin interred in the crypt of the Theatinerkirche in Munich.

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Bavarian Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Georg Moritz, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Altenburg

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Georg Moritz was the Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Altenburg, and the last Head of the House of Saxe-Altenburg. Upon his death with no heir, the House of Saxe-Altenburg merged into the House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

photo: By Schlegel, Dresden – Original publication: Published as a postcard in Europe.Immediate source: Private Collection – Wartenberg Trust, PD-US, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36003998

Wilhelm Georg Moritz Ernst Albrecht Friedrich Karl Constantine Eduard Maximilian was born on May 13, 1900, in Potsdam, where his father – then 3rd in line to the ducal throne of Saxe-Altenburg – was serving with the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards of the Prussian army. His father was the future Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, and his mother was Princess Adelheid of Schaumburg-Lippe. Georg Moritz had three siblings:

  • Princess Charlotte (1899) – married Prince Sigismund of Prussia, had issue
  • Princess Elisabeth Karola (1903) – unmarried
  • Prince Friedrich Ernst (1905) – unmarried

Georg Moritz became the Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Altenburg in February 1908 when his father became the reigning Duke. The family left Potsdam and returned to Altenburg, taking up residence at Altenburg Castle. The young prince was educated privately at home for several years before being sent to the King Georg High School in Dresden in 1913. He also received military training with the 8th Thuringian Infantry Regiment.

In November 1918, his father was forced to abdicate when the German monarchy was dissolved. From an early age, Georg Moritz was interested in anthroposophy – “a philosophy based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) which maintains that, by virtue of a prescribed method of self-discipline, cognitional experience of the spiritual world can be achieved.” (source: dictionary.com).  From the early 1930s, he devoted much of his life to his interest, teaching and promoting anthroposophy at Hamborn Castle. He later rented a nearby farm where he lived for many years.

Although anthroposophy was banned by the Nazi regime, thanks to the intervention of Georg Moritz, research with disabled children was allowed to continue at Hamborn until 1941. At that time, the Gestapo put an end to the research, and Georg Moritz was placed in custody for nine months. He returned to Hamborn in 1946 after the war, living in a small apartment in the castle and promoting his research and studies. In addition, he served on the board of the local social charity for many years.

Upon his father’s death in 1955, Georg Moritz became Head of the House of Saxe-Altenburg and pretender to the former ducal throne.

Georg Moritz, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Altenburg died from pneumonia on February 13, 1991, in Rendsburg, Germany. As he had never married, and his younger brother had died several years earlier with no heirs, this brought an end to the House of Saxe-Altenburg. It was merged into the House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, led by a distant cousin, Michael, the pretender to the former grand ducal throne of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

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Saxe-Altenburg Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia is the current pretender to the Prussian throne, and head of the Prussian branch of the House of Hohenzollern. He is the direct male-line descendent of Prussia’s last King of Prussia and German Emperor Wilhelm II.

photo: By StagiaireMGIMO – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33300040

Georg Friedrich Ferdinand was born in Bremen, Germany on June 10, 1976, the only son of Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Prussia and Countess Donata of Castell-Rüdenhausen. He has one younger sister, Cornelie-Cécile, born in 1978. His father died in 1977 after suffering injuries in a military training exercise. As his father’s two elder brothers had lost their rights to succession, this made Georg Friedrich heir to his grandfather, also named Ludwig Ferdinand, as the future Head of the House of Hohenzollern.

He began his schooling in Fischerhude, before attending grammar schools in Bremen and Oldenburg. He then attended Glenalmond College in Scotland where he completed his A-levels. It was during that time, in 1994, when his grandfather died and Georg Friedrich – at just 18 years old – became Head of the House of Hohenzollern and pretender to the Prussian throne. This led to a dispute by two of his uncles – both of whom had been excluded from succession due to marriages that were deemed unequal – who challenged Georg Friedrich as being the sole heir of his grandfather. After over 10 years of legal battles and court cases, it was determined that while Georg Friedrich was indeed the heir to his grandfather and the rightful Head of the House, his uncles were also entitled to a portion of their father’s estate.

Georg Friedrich completed two years of military service with the Bundeswehr before earning a degree in Business Economics at the University of Freiburg. During that time, he took on internships at various software companies, both in Germany and abroad. Today, in addition to representing the House of Hohenzollern, he works as Managing Director of Kgl. Prussian Beer Manufacturer, based in Berlin. He is a member of the board of the Princess Kira of Prussian Foundation (founded by his grandmother) and served as Chairman for several years before handing the chairmanship over to his wife. As head of the house, he owns a ⅔ share of Hohenzollern Castle, with the other ⅓ owned by Karl Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern (the Swabian branch of the House of Hohenzollern). He also owns Princes’ Island in Plön and several other properties.

Georg Friedrich and Sophie – photo: By Rainer Halama – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79088921

In January 2011, Georg Friedrich’s engagement to Princess Sophie of Isenburg was announced. Born in March 1978, Sophie is the daughter of Franz-Alexander, Prince of Isenburg and Countess Christine von Saurma zu der Jeltsch. The couple married in a civil ceremony held in the Potsdam Town Hall on August 25, 2011. Two days later, a religious ceremony was held at the Church of Peace, followed by a reception at the Orangery Palace, both in Sanssouci Park. The couple live in the Babelsberg district of Potsdam with their four children:

  • Carl Friedrich Franz Alexander (born 2013)
  • Louis Ferdinand Christian Albrecht (born 2013)
  • Emma Marie Charlotte Sofia (born 2015)
  • Heinrich Albert Johann Georg (born 2016)

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Prussian Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, a grandson of Wilhelm II, King of Prussia and German Emperor, was the pretender to the Prussian throne from 1951 until his death in 1994.

Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia – source: Wikipedia

Prince Louis Ferdinand Victor Eduard Adalbert Michael Hubertus of Prussia was born November 9, 1907, at the Marble Palace in Potsdam, Germany, the second son of Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia and Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. At the time, his grandfather, Wilhelm II, was the King of Prussia and German Emperor. Louis Ferdinand had five siblings:

 

Raised at the Crown Prince’s Palace in Berlin and Cecilenhof in Potsdam, Louis Ferdinand also spent some time near Danzig where his father served with the Prussian military. In keeping with family tradition, Louis Ferdinand was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the 1st Guards Regiment on his 10th birthday in 1917. The following year, the monarchy was abolished following World War I. His father went to the Netherlands with the former Emperor, while he and his siblings stayed in Germany, having been ensured of their safety.

After studying economics in Berlin, Louis Ferdinand traveled to the United States where he settled for some time in Detroit, Michigan. Upon his elder brother’s marriage and subsequent renunciation of his succession rights, Louis Ferdinand returned home to Germany, became involved in the aviation industry, and served in the German military.

 

In May 1938, Louis Ferdinand married Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna of Russia. She was the daughter of Grand Duke Kyril Vladimirovich of Russia and Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. They were second cousins, once removed, through their mutual descent from Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Two ceremonies were held, a Russian Orthodox ceremony was held at Cecilienhof in Potsdam, followed by a Lutheran ceremony held at Huis Doorn, the Dutch home of the former Emperor Wilhelm II. Louis Ferdinand and Kira had seven children:

  • Prince Friedrich Wilhelm (1939 – 2015) – married (1) Waltraud Freydag, had issue; (2) Ehrengard von Reden, had issue; (3) Sibylle Kretschmer, no issue
  • Prince Michael (1940 – 2014) – married (1) Jutta Jörn, had issue; (2) Birgitte Dallwitz-Wegner, no issue
  • Princess Marie Cécile (1942) – married Duke Friedrich August of Oldenburg, had issue
  • Princess Kira (1943 – 2004) – married Thomas Liepsner, had issue
  • Prince Louis Ferdinand (1944) – married Countess Donata of Castell-Rüdenhausen, had issue
  • Prince Christian-Sigismund (1946) – married Countess Nina Reventlow, had issue
  • Princess Xenia (1949 – 1992) married Per-Edvard Lithander, had issue

Louis Ferdinand served in the German military until 1940 when his elder brother was killed in action. The outpouring of sympathy and support for the former royal family at the Prince’s funeral concerned Adolf Hitler, who saw this as a threat to his leadership. Thus, Hitler issued a decree in 1940 – the Princes Decree – which prohibited members of all of Germany’s former ruling houses from participating in any military operations. From that point, Louis Ferdinand took over the management of his grandfather’s former summer residence – Cadinen Palace – in East Prussia until the end of the war.

Quite popular in Germany, Louis Ferdinand was voted as the ‘most honorable person’ to become President of the Federal Republic of Germany, despite not having had any role in politics. A later poll gained him even higher results. The Prince quickly stated that while he might accept the position, he would not give up his claim to the German Imperial Crown.

Following German reunification in 1990, Louis Ferdinand led the efforts to have his ancestor, King Friedrich II (Frederick the Great) reburied on the grounds of Sanssouci. He also began efforts to reclaim many of the private properties of his family which had been seized by the Nazis and Communists without compensation. Although unsuccessful in his attempt to regain the private properties, his efforts led to changes in German law after his death. His grandson Georg Friedrich continues to pursue the return of Hohenzollern properties and assets.

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Louis Ferdinand became the pretender to the Prussian throne upon his father’s death in 1951. His elder brother had lost his succession rights upon his marriage, making Louis Ferdinand first in line. His own two elder sons’ marriages were also deemed unequal, thus excluding them from succession. It fell upon his third son, also named Louis Ferdinand. The younger Louis Ferdinand died in 1977, leaving his young son Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia as the sole heir and first in line to succeed his grandfather. This led to a legal battle among Louis Ferdinand’s older sons – both of whom had been excluded – but claimed a right to some of their father’s estate. While the young Georg Friedrich remained his grandfather’s heir as Head of the House of Hohenzollern, he was no longer the sole beneficiary of the estate, and Louis Ferdinand’s elder sons both received a portion of their father’s estate upon his death.

Just weeks before his 87th birthday, Prince Louis Ferdinand died in Bremen on September 26, 1994. He was buried in the castle cemetery at Hohenzollern Castle.

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Prussian Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha – a grandson of the last reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha – is the pretender to the former ducal throne, and head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

photo: Frankie Fouganthinderivative work: Surtsicna – This file was derived from: Benedikte of Denmark and Andreas of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.jpg:, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26616171

Prince Andreas Michael Friedrich Hans Armin Siegfried Hubertus was born on March 21, 1943 at Schloss Casel in Lower Lusatia. He is the only child of Friedrich Josias, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his first wife Countess Viktoria-Luise of Solms-Baruth.

Andreas has three half-siblings from father’s second marriage to Denyse Henriette de Muralt, and one half-sibling from his mother’s second marriage to Richard Whitten:

  • Marie of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1949) – married Gion Schäfter, had issue
  • Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1951) – married Friedrich-Ernst of Saxe-Meiningen, had issue
  • Adrian of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1955) – married (1) Lea Rinderknecht, had issue; (2) Gertrud Krieg, no issue
  • Victoria Whitten (1948)

Following his parents’ divorce in 1946, Andreas moved with his mother to her family home in Austria. There, she met and married her second husband, Richard Whitten, an American military officer stationed in Salzburg. Three years later, the family returned to the United States, settling in New Orleans, where Andreas attended school. Having become heir to the former ducal throne upon his grandfather’s death in 1954, a few years later he began making regular visits to Germany in preparation for his future role as head of the Ducal House. He studied Business Administration at Louisiana State University in the early 1960s, before returning permanently to Germany in 1965. There, he completed two years of military service with the Armoured Reconnaissance Battalion 6 based in Eutin, Schleswig-Holstein. Andreas then began training in the forestry industry, including an apprenticeship with Mueller & Son in Hamburg from 1969-1971. He then worked at a Japanese financial firm, learning how to run a successful business.

On July 31, 1971 in Hamburg, Prince Andreas married Carin Dabelstein, the daughter of Adolf Dabelstein and Irma Callsen. Having received formal approval from his father as Head of the House, the marriage was deemed fully legitimate and dynastic. Andreas and Carin have three children:

  • Princess Stephanie of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1972) – married Dr. Jan Stahl, no issue
  • Hubertus, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1975) – married Kelly Rondesvedt, has issue
  • Prince Alexander of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1977) – unmarried

After the birth of their elder son, Andreas and his wife decided to leave Hamburg and move to Coburg. There, he worked to establish a presence within the city and the European community as a whole. He began to reach out to extended family, hoping to heal many of the wounds caused in the past – primarily after his grandfather had sided with Hitler during World War II. He became involved with numerous civic organizations and focused on his work as Administrator of the Coburg Family Foundation.

Callenberg Castle. photo: By Überfranke – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=83970018

Following the fall of communism and the reunification of Germany, Prince Andreas began working to re-acquire former family property that had been seized after the war. In 1996 he was able to purchase back over 4,900 acres of forest in Thuringia, and in 2000, the Family Foundation negotiated with the German government and the Free State of Thuringia to acquire an additional 15,000+ and 1,900+ acres, respectively. The family – through the foundation – also own Callenberg Castle in Coburg and Greinburg Castle (link in German) in Grein, Austria.

Having firmly set his roots in Coburg, Andreas served on the Coburg City Council from 1996-2002. During this time, he became the Head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha upon his father’s death in January 1998. He continued to serve as Administrator of the Family Foundation until retiring and handing the reins to his son, Hubertus, in January 2012.

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Since being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2011, the Prince has continued to be as active as possible. He spends much of his time with family and friends, traveling, and visiting his properties in Germany and Austria. He is a first cousin and close friend of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, and is the godfather of the King’s younger daughter, Princess Madeleine. Because of this relationship, the Prince is often seen in attendance at Swedish royal family events.

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Polyxena of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg, Queen of Sardinia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Kingdom of Sardinia: The House of Savoy had been Counts and then Dukes of Savoy, since the 11th century and ruled from the city of Turin, now in northern Italy. Vittorio Amedeo II, Duke of Savoy became King of Sicily in 1713 as a result of his participation in the War of the Spanish Succession. However, in 1720, Vittoria Amedeo II was forced to exchange the Kingdom of Sicily for the less important Kingdom of Sardinia after objections from the Quadruple Alliance (Great Britain, France, Habsburg Austria, and the Dutch Republic).

Sardinia, now in Italy, is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea after Sicily, also now in Italy, but the Kings of Sardinia of the House of Savoy ruled from Turin, the capital of the Duchy of Savoy. They styled themselves as Kings of Sardinia because the title was superior to their original lesser title as Dukes of Savoy. However, they retained the regnal numerical order of the Dukes of Savoy.

Vittorio Emanuele II became the last King of Sardinia upon the abdication of his father in 1849. He then became a driving force behind the Italian unification movement along with Giuseppe Garibaldi, a general and nationalist, and Giuseppe Mazzini, a politician and journalist. Garibaldi conquered Naples and Sicily, the territories of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, while the Sardinian troops occupied the central territories of the Italian peninsula, except Rome and part of Papal States. With all the newly acquired land, Vittorio Emanuele II was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

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Polyxena of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg, Queen of Sardinia; Credit – Wikipedia

Polyxena of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg was the second of the three wives, all of whom died young, of Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia. Given the names Polyxena Christina Johanna, she was born on September 21, 1706, in Langinswalbach, Landgraviate of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg, now Bad Schwalbach in the German state of Hesse. Polyxena was the eldest of the six daughters and the second of the ten children of Ernst II Leopold, Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg and Eleonore Maria Anna von Löwenstein-Wertheim.

Polyxena had nine siblings:

Polyxena’s husband Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1723, Carlo Emanuele of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont, the future Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia, proposed marriage with Polyxena. Carlo Emanuele’s first wife Anna Christine of Sulzbach, a cousin of Polyxena, died of childbirth complications on March 12, 1723, shortly after the birth of her only child Prince Vittorio Amedeo Teodoro of Savoy. After a proxy marriage on July 23, 1724, in Rotenburg, Landgraviate of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg, now in Hesse, Germany, Polyxena and Carlo Emanuele were married in person on August 20, 1724, in Thonon-les-Bains, Chablais, then a province of the Duchy of Savoy, now in France. When her husband became King of Sardinia in 1730, Polyxena became Queen of Sardinia.

Polyxena was entrusted with the care of her stepson Prince Vittorio Amedeo Teodoro. She became very attached to him and greatly mourned his death on August 11, 1725. Polyxena had had a close relationship with her mother-in-law Anne Marie d’Orléans. The two often stayed at the Villa della Regina outside the capital of Turin, where Anne Marie died in 1728.

Polyxena with her two eldest children, Eleonora (left) and Vittorio Amedeo (right); Credit – Wikipedia

Polyxena and Carlo Emanuele had six children:

The children of Carlo Emanuele and his second wife Polyxena; (L-R) Eleonora; Vittorio Amedeo; Maria Felicita and Luisa; Credit – Wikipedia

Polyxena was active in charity work, founding a home for young mothers in Turin in 1732. She worked with Italian architect Filippo Juvarra, the architect of the great Basilica of Superga in Turin, to remodel and renovate buildings including the Villa della Regina and the Palazzina di Stupinigi. She was also the patroness of the painter Giovanni Battista Crosato.

In 1733, Polyxena gave birth to her last child Prince Carlo of Savoy, Duke of Chablais, who lived a little over five months. She fell seriously ill in June 1734, and died at the Royal Palace in Turin, Duchy of Savoy, now in Italy, on January 13, 1735, aged 28. Polyxena was first buried in the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin and was moved to the Basilica of Superga in Turin in 1786.

Basilica of Superga; Credit – By Paris Orlando – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74180727

Two years after Polyxena’s death, her widower married Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine, the daughter of Leopold Joseph, Duke of Lorraine and Élisabeth Charlotte d’Orléans the daughter of King Louis XIV of France’s only sibling Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and his second wife Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, known as Liselotte. Sadly, like Carlo Emanuele III’s first two wives, Elisabeth Therese also died young, dying in 1741, aged 29, from puerperal fever (childbed fever), thirteen days after giving birth to her third child, her only child who survived childhood.

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Works Cited

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  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyxena_of_Hesse-Rotenburg> [Accessed 19 June 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/carlo-emanuele-iii-king-of-sardinia/> [Accessed 19 June 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Polissena d’Assia-Rheinfels-Rotenburg – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polissena_d%27Assia-Rheinfels-Rotenburg> [Accessed 19 June 2021].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2021. Поликсена Гессен-Рейнфельс-Ротенбургская — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%93%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BD-%D0%A0%D0%B5%D0%B9%D0%BD%D1%84%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%81-%D0%A0%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B1%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B3%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F> [Accessed 19 June 2021].