Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria

Albrecht
Duke of Bavaria

Albrecht with his younger half-brother, Prince Heinrich, in 1922.
Born (1905-05-03)3 May 1905
Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire
Died 8 July 1996(1996-07-08) (aged 91)
Berg Castle, Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany
Burial Wittelsbach cemetery, Andechs Abbey, Bavaria
Spouse Countess Maria Draskovich de Trakostjan
Countess Marie-Jenke Keglevich de Buzin
Issue Princess Marie Gabrielle Antonia José
Princess Marie Charlotte Juliana
Franz, Duke of Bavaria
Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria
House Wittelsbach
Father Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
Mother Duchess Marie Gabrielle in Bavaria

Albrecht Luitpold Ferdinand Michael, Duke of Bavaria (3 May 1905 – 8 July 1996[1]), was the son of Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria and his first wife, Duchess Marie Gabrielle in Bavaria. He was the only surviving child from that marriage. His paternal grandfather was Ludwig III of Bavaria, the last King of Bavaria, who was deposed in 1918.

Life

Following the First World War, Albrecht's grandfather King Ludwig was deposed. Albrecht and the family moved from Bavaria to the Austrian Tyrol.[1]

Prior to the Second World War, his family, the House of Wittelsbach, were opposed to the regime of Nazi Germany and refused to join the Nazi Party. The decision meant that Prince Albrecht, who had been studying forestry, was unable to complete his studies.[1] In 1940 Albrecht took his family to his estate at Sárvár, Vas, Hungary. In October 1944, after Germany had occupied Hungary in March, the Wittelsbachs were arrested and imprisoned in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp at Oranienburg, Brandenburg. In April 1945 they were moved to the Dachau concentration camp, where they were liberated by the United States Army.[1]

Albrecht became head of the deposed royal family of Bavaria with the death of his father on 2 August 1955. As the eldest son of the eldest son of Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (1849-1919), recognized by Jacobites as "Queen Mary IV (of England) and III (of Scotland)",[2] he was also the dynastic representative and heir-general of England, Scotland and Ireland's last Stuart king, James II and VII, deposed in 1688.[3]

In 1959 Albrecht, in an official ceremony, returned the Greek Crown Jewels (originally made for a Bavarian prince who reigned as Greece's first modern monarch, King Otto) to the Greek nation, accepted by King Paul of the Hellenes.

In 1980 Albrecht presided over sumptuous ceremonies in Bavaria celebrating the 800th anniversary of the founding of the House of Wittelsbach.[4]

Albrecht was a prolific hunter, collecting 3,425 sets of antlers. He also authored two books on "the habits of deer".[1] While visiting Brazil in 1953 he encountered the Fila Brasileiro and brought some to Germany introducing the dog breed to Europe.

Albrecht died on 8 July 1996, aged 91, at Berg Castle, 20 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of Munich. His funeral was conducted by the Archbishop of Munich.[1]

Marriage and children

Albrecht married Countess Maria (Marita) Franziska Juliana Johanna Draskovich de Trakostjan (1904–1969) on 3 September 1930 in Berchtesgaden.[5] Daughter of Count Dionys Draskovich and Princess Juliana von Montenuovo (a great-granddaughter of Marie-Louise of Austria, sometime Empress of the French), she belonged to a family of the Croatian nobility known since 1230 and made Imperial counts in 1631.[6] Although Albrecht's father allowed the wedding, a Wittelsbach family council concluded that the marriage was non-compliant with the dynasty's marital tradition as set out in its historical house laws,[6] and the names of the couple's four children were excluded from the Almanach de Gotha.[5] In 1948, however, a juridical consultation advised that the head of the house has sole authority to determine the validity of marriages within the House of Wittelsbach, prompting Crown Prince Rupprecht to recognize Albrecht's marriage as dynastic on 18 May 1949.[4][6]

Albrecht and Marita had four children, fifteen grandchildren and forty-one great-grandchildren:

In 1971, Albrecht married Countess Countess Marie-Jenke Keglevich de Buzin (1921–1983). They had no issue.[6]

Ancestry

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cowell, Alan (11 July 1996). "Duke Albrecht Is Dead at 91; Pretender to Bavarian Throne". New York Times. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  2. ↑ Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. "Burke’s Royal Families of the World: Volume I Europe & Latin America, 1977, pp. 157-159. ISBN 0-85011-023-8
  3. ↑ Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh (editor). Burke's Guide to the Royal Family, Burke's Peerage, London, 1973, pp. 255. ISBN 0-220-66222-3
  4. 1 2 de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. Coutant de Saisseval, Guy. Le Petit Gotha. Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery, Paris 2002, Maison Royale de Bavière, pp. 36-37 (French). ISBN 2-9507974-3-1
  5. 1 2 Almanach de Gotha. Justus Perthes, 1942, Maison de Bavière, p. 19. (French).
  6. 1 2 3 4 Enache, Nicolas. La Descendance de Marie-Therese de Habsburg. ICC, Paris, 1996. pp. 27, 100, 107-108, 115, 178-181, 190-191. (French). ISBN 2-908003-04-X

Bibliography

Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria
Born: 3 May 1905 Died: 8 July 1996
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
Crown Prince Rupprecht		 — TITULAR —
King of Bavaria
2 August 1955 – 8 July 1996
Reason for succession failure:
Kingdom abolished in 1918		 Succeeded by
Duke Franz
Jacobite succession
2 August 1955 – 8 July 1996
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