by Johan

Dynasty: Wittelsbach
Capital: Munich
Last Ruler: King Ludwig III ruled 1913-1918, (Regent 1912-1913)
Official Residences: Schloss Nymphenburg, Residenzschloss in Munich, Leuchtenburg Palace, Schloss Wildenwart etc.

One of the oldest Catholic dynasties in Germany is the Wittelsbachs. Today famously remembered as the dynasty which gave Empress Elisabeth (1837-1898) to the Austrians; and mad King Ludwig with his many castles including Neuschwanstein Castle. The dynasty also had some links to the British Monarchy. King James I’s daughter, Elizabeth of Bohemia, married Frederick Wittelsbach, Elector Palatine (which was later joined to Bavaria), and their grandson was King George I. Also since the 19th century the Jacobite rights to the throne of England have been passed to the Wittelsbach family.

The Wittelsbachs ruled in Bavaria from 1180-1918, and a younger brother in Greece from 1832-1862. (Even today Greece still retains the blue & white flag from Bavaria.) Other branches of this family even ruled in Sweden (1441–1448 and 1654–1720), Hungary (1305), and Denmark and Norway (1440). Although most of the Holy Roman Empire Emperors were from the Habsburg dynasty, in 1742 a Wittelsbach served as Holy Roman Emperor.

By the late 18th century Wittelsbach rule was split to the Palatinate (on the French border) and Bavaria. By the end of the Napoleonic wars the parts of the Palatinate that were not split and given to neighboring Baden, was incorporated into the then recently created Kingdom of Bavaria with the Palatinate ruler ruling over the whole Kingdom. The main Bavarian Wittelsbach line died out previously. This border stayed the same until 1918. Before the Wittelsbachs had the title of King of Bavaria, they were known as Electors of Bavaria.

The firsr King of Bavaria was Maximilian I Joseph. He (like most continental rulers) at times had alliances with Napoleonic France, and in 1806 his daughter Augusta even married Napoleon’s stepson, Eugene de Beauharnais.

Maximilian was married twice. Children from his 1st marriage include his heir Ludwig I (1786-1868), and Charlotte (1792-1873) who was married to King William I of Wurttemberg and later married to Emperor Francis I of Austria who died in 1835. Children from Maximilian’s 2nd marriage include Elisabeth (1801-1873), wife of King Frederick William IV of Prussia (who left her jewels to her granddaughter Victoria, The Princess Royal, and not to her daughter-in-law); Sophie (1805-1872), mother of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria and Emperor Maximilian of Mexico; Amalie (1801-1877) who was married to King John I of Saxony; and Marie Ludovika (1808-1892) who was the mother of Empress Elisabeth (known as Sissi).

The next King, King Ludwig I (1786-1868) only reigned till 1848 when the 1848 revolution forced him to abdicate in favour of his son Maximilian (1811-1864). Ludwig’s rule became tainted by his extra-marital affairs with Lady Jane Digby and Lola Montez. As a passionate patron of the arts, he also collected a series of portraits of beautiful women that became known as the “Gallery of Beauties”. His other son Otto became the King of Greece till 1862 when he had to abdicate and leave the country.

Ludwig’s son and heir Maximilian I (1811-1864) married Princess Marie of Prussia and became the parents of 2 Kings of Bavaria. Maximilian suffered from ill health and spent large amounts of time out of the country or at his country villas. He was also a patron of the arts like his father. Marie converted to the Roman Catholic faith in 1874 which shocked her Lutheran blood family, the Hohenzollerns of Prussia.

Their 1st son and heir, Ludwig II (1846-1886), is today remembered for being a patron of Wagner, his castle building including Neuschwanstein, and his mysterious death by drowning at one of his castles after he was forced to leave the throne.
Apart from Castle Neuschwanstein he also had Schloss Herrenchiemsee and Schloss Linderhof constructed. These put a large strain on the Bavarian finances, even though Ludwig received money from the Welfenfonds (money Bismarck expropriated from the Hanover Royal family).

During the last 10 years of Ludwig’s reign, he never held a court ball or inspected his troops. His ministers wanted to get rid of Ludwig and he was ruled unfit to rule (even though the psychiatrists who signed the report, never even examined him, or some of them never even met him). He died under mysterious circumstances.

The youngest Otto (1848-1916) never truly ruled in his own right due to his own mental incapacity and had an uncle and cousin rule as regents. He was finally removed in 1913, when his cousin, the Regent, took the title of King. Otto was however allowed to keep the title “King of Bavaria” until he died 3 years later, which means that there were 2 Kings of Bavaria in that period.

The first Prince-Regent (1886-1912) of Otto was his uncle Prince Luitpold (1821-1912). His regency was marked by a coldness to the Prussians mostly due to the anti-Catholic policy of Bismarck. (Bavaria, like most of Southern Germany, is Catholic.) The next Regent who became King a year later was King Ludwig III (1845-1921) who was married to Archduchess Augusta of Austria (of the Tuscan branch). In 1868, Ludwig married Archduchess Maria Theresia of Austria-Este. The marriage was happy and produced 13 children. (The Austria-Este dynasty ruled Modena in Italy until the Italian unification.) The last heir of Modena died childless and Maria Theresia inherited some assets including Schloss Wildenwart. She also inherited an estate in Hungary and in Moravia (today Czech Republic) from her father.

Maria Theresia also became the Jacobite heir to the throne of England. (Jacobites believe that the Catholic heirs of the Stuart dynasty should have inherited the English throne and not Queen Mary & Queen Anne and the subsequent Hanover dynasty).

After World War I and the end of the 738 year monarchy, they were able to keep residence rights in Schloss Nymphenburg, Schloss Herrenchiemsee and Schloss Hohenschwangau, whilst privately keeping Schloss Leutstetten, Sarvar estate in Hungary, Castle Berg (where Ludwig II mysteriously died in the lake), Schloss Berchtesgaden, and Leuchtenberg Palace.

The next head of the family was their oldest son Crown Prince Rupprecht (1869-1955). He commanded the German Sixth Army and in 1916 was promoted to Field Marshal. He was one of the first military commanders to realize the necessity of a negotiated peace. Rupprecht was married twice and was the father of 11 children. His 1st wife was Duchess Marie Gabrielle in Bavaria (1878-1912) (from the Ducal Wittelsbach line). She was the sister of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium and a niece of Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary. Almost a decade after her death Rupprecht married (1921) her 1st cousin Princess Antonia of Luxembourg (1899-1954). The marriage was delayed due to the effects of the 1st World War.

In 1939 Crown Prince Rupprecht and his wife and children moved to Italy due to their opposition to Nazism. (Most nobles joined the Nazi party and would only later in the war start agitating for the overthrow of the Nazis.) Antonia and the kids moved to their estate in Hungary and in October 1944 got arrested and sent to Sachsenhausen and later Dachau concentration camps. Rupprecht evaded arrest as he was in Italy. The experience in the concentration camps greatly affected Antonia’s health. She weighed only 5 and a half stone. She vowed never to go to Germany again and died 9 years later in Switzerland. In the early 1930’s Rupprecht sent his children to England to be educated there so that they didn’t have to be in the Nazi youth organisations. After Rupprecht died the royal sceptre and crown from the Bavarian State Museum were placed on his coffin.

Rupprecht’s oldest son from his 1st marriage, Albrecht (1905-1996) succeeded him in 1955. Just like his father he was widowed twice and greatly respected by a number of Bavarians. His 1st marriage (1930) to Countess Maria Draskovich of Trakostjan (1904-1969) of a noble Croatian family, proved contentious (for the first few years) as his father only accepted the marriage as equal in 1949. Maria was a descendant of Empress Marie Louise (wife of Napoleon I) through her 2nd marriage to Count Neipperg. Her grandfather, Alfred 2nd Prince of Montenuovo, became 1st Obersthofmeister at the Habsburg court of Emperor Franz Joseph in Austria and maintained court etiquette. This rigorous etiquette was said to have indirectly led to the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his morganatic wife Sophie. This due to the fact that the trip to Sarajevo was one of the few official ceremonies where Sophie officially accompanied her husband.

Their oldest son Franz (born 1933) is the current head of the family and lives in an apartment at Schloss Nymphenburg. He is childless and his brother Prince Max (born 1937) is his heir. When Franz turned 70 in 2003 all 3000 guests accepted his birthday invitation, which just goes to show the high esteem the Bavarian population and dignitaries hold him.

Max only has daughters and is the father of Princess Sophie (born 1967) who is married to Prince Alois of Liechtenstein. Sophie will one day inherit the Jacobite rights after her uncle and father die. Max has used the title of “Duke in Bavaria” since 1965 when he was adopted by a relative who was the last of the Ducal branch of the house of Wittelsbach.

As the Bavarian Royal family follows Salic law the succession will pass to the descendants of Rupprecht’s brother Franz (1875-1957). Franz was married to Princess Isabella of Croy and their oldest son Ludwig (1913-2008) was married to Princess Irmingard of Bavaria (daughter of Prince Rupprecht and Princess Antonia (above)). Their son Luitpold (born 1951) is therefore 2nd in the succession after his uncle Max. Luitpold married Katrin Beatrix Wiegand in 1979, and initially, the marriage was considered morganatic but by 1999 the marriage was decreed to conform to the Bavarian house laws. They are the parents of 3 sons, of whom Ludwig (born 1982) is the oldest. He was raised at the family home, Schloss Kaltenberg where a beer brewery is also located.