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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