Friday, October 17, 2008

Prince Ludwig of Bavaria dead at 95





His Royal Highness Prince Ludwig (Karl Maria Anton Josef) of Bavaria died today, October 17. 2008. He was 95-years-old.

Prince Ludwig was one of the last three members of the Bavarian royal family who were born before the end of the Wittelsbach's reign in Bavaria. (The other two Bavarian royals are Ludwig's sisters, Maria, the widow of Prince Pedro Henrique de Orleans-Braganza, and Eleonore, Countess of Waldburg zu Zeil und Trauchberg.
Prince Ludwig was born June 22 1913 at Schloss Nymphenberg. He was the eldest of the six children of Prince Franz of Bavaria and his wife, Princess Isabella of Croy.
Prince Franz was a younger brother of Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria.
On July 20, 1950, Prince Ludwig married his first cousin, Princess Irmingard of Bavaria. The Princess, who was born in 1923, is the second of Crown Prince Rupprecht's six children by his second wife, Princess Antonia of Luxembourg.
The marriage took place at Schloss Nymphenburg. Prince Ludwig and Princess Irmingard settled down at Schloss Leutstetten, which Ludwig would inherit from his father, Prince Franz, who died in 1957.
Irmingard's nephew, Franz, who is the eldest son of her eldest surviving half-brother, Albrecht, is the current head of the Bavarian royal family.
Prince Ludwig is survived by his widow, Princess Irmingard, their son, Prince Luitpold and five grandchildren, Princesses Auguste and Alice and Princes Ludwig, Heinrich and Karl of Bavaria. Ludwig is also survived by his sisters, Princesses Maria, Eleonore and Dorothea (Archduchess Gottfried of Austria) and his younger brother, Prince Rasso. He was predeceased by two daughters, Maria and Philippa, both of whom were stillborn in 1953 and 1954, respectively.
Prince Luitpold is now third in line for the Bavarian succession. As Franz has no children, and his brother, Max, has only daughters, the succession will eventually devolve on Prince Luitpold, who lives with his family at Schloss Kaltenberg.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was interested to read that Duke Franz's unmarried state has created a succession crisis within the Bavarian Royal Family, since his heirs are all married unequally. The Duke was oblidged to formally waive the equality rules in 1999 in order that his male relatives could qualify as legitimate heirs to the Bavarian succession.

Marlene Eilers Koenig said...

Not exactly. Prince Rasso's sons had married equally, and it was assumed that the succession would go to this line. But I think that Ludwig and Irmingard, as they both descended from the main lines, wanted Luitpold to inherit - so perhaps some pressure was applied ... as Luitpold was a direct male.

Anonymous said...

Wasnt Prince Ludwig The Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain?
Perhaps if they abolish The Act of Settlement in Britain, as the present government is contemplating his heir might make a bid for the throne of that country? Now theres a thought

Marlene Eilers Koenig said...

No he wasn't the claimant. Duke Franz of Bavaria, who is the head of the Royal House of Bavaria, would be the Stuart claimant. However, should Parliament abolish the act of settlement, a new succession law would be adopted - and would probably devolve on the current line. But at this time, there are no plans -- just talk -- to change the succession law in the UK.