Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Georg Friedrich Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia, (legal name: Georg Friedrich Ferdinand Prinz von Preußen)[1] (born 10 June 1976) is the current head of the Imperial House of Hohenzollern, the former ruling dynasty of the German Empire and of the Kingdom of Prussia. He is the great-great-grandson and historic heir of William II, the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, who was deposed and, initially, went into exile upon Germany's defeat in the Great War in 1918.
Contents |
[edit] Education and career
Georg Friedrich is the only son of Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia (1944–1977) and Countess Donata of Castell-Rüdenhausen (born a member of a mediatized princely family, she is now Duchess Donata of Oldenburg by her second marriage to her former sister-in-law's ex-husband, Duke Friedrich August of Oldenburg).
Georg Friedrich attended grammar schools in Bremen and Oldenburg and completed his education at Glenalmond College near Perth, Scotland, where he passed his A-levels. Following a two-year stint in the German army, Georg Friedrich studied business economics at the Freiberg University of Mining and Technology.
Georg Friedrich currently works for a company specialising in helping universities bring their innovations to market.[2] He also administers the Princess Kira of Prussia-Foundation, founded by his grandmother in 1952.[3]
[edit] House of Hohenzollern
Georg Friedrich succeeded his grandfather, Prince Louis Ferdinand I of Prussia as Head of the House of Hohenzollern on 26 September 1994. He learned to appreciate the history and responsibility of his heritage during time spent with his paternal grandfather, who often recounted to him anecdotes from the life in exile of his grandfather, the last Kaiser.[4] When asked about the burden of the Prussian dynasty's house laws, which made Georg Friedrich the ex-Kaiser's heir despite the seniority of two of his late father's living brothers, he commented "Our family has very strict rules about marriage. Only God knows who I shall marry, but I want to be with someone who at least understands my responsibilities...So it is likely that this might be a person from the same background as mine."[4]
His position as sole heir to the estate of his grandfather was challenged by his uncles, Friedrich Wilhelm and Michael who filed a lawsuit claiming that, despite their renunciations as dynasts at the time of their marriages, the loss of their inheritance rights based on their selection of spouse was discriminatory and unconstitutional.[5] His uncles were initially successful, the Regional Court of Hechingen and the higher Regional Court of Stuttgart ruling in their favour in 1997 on the grounds that the requirement to marry equally was "immoral".[6] However, the Federal Court of Justice of Germany overturned the original rulings in favour of Georg Friedrich's uncles, the case being remanded to the courts at Hechingen and Stuttgart. This time both courts ruled in favour of Georg Friedrich. His uncles then took their case to the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany which overruled the previous court rulings in Georg Friedrich's favour.[5] On 19 October 2005, a German regional court ruled that Georg Friedrich was indeed the principal heir of his grandfather, Louis Ferdinand (who was the primary beneficiary of the trust set up for the estate of Wilhelm II), but also concluded that each of the children of Louis Ferdinand was entitled to a portion of the Prussian inheritance.[7]
[edit] Marriage
On 21 January 2011, Georg Friedrich announced his engagement to Princess Sophie Johanna Maria of Isenburg (born 7 March 1978), who studied business administration in Freiburg and Berlin and works at a firm that offers consulting services for nonprofit business.[8] The civil wedding took place in Potsdam on 25 August 2011,[2] and the religious wedding took place at the Church of Peace in Potsdam on 27 August 2011, in commemoration of the 950th anniversary of the founding of the House of Hohenzollern.[9][10] The religious wedding was also broadcast live by local public television.[2]
Princess Sophie's parents are Franz-Alexander, Prince of Isenburg and his wife, née Countess Christine von Saurma-Jeltsch.[11] The couple share descent (being 6th cousins once-removed) from Charles II, the first reigning Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and a brother of Charlotte of Mecklenburg, queen consort of George III of the United Kingdom. Princess Sophie's father is head of the senior branch of the mediatised princely House of Isenburg, known under the Holy Roman Empire and subsequent German Empire as the Büdingen-Birstein line. In 1913 Franz Alexander's grandfather, Franz Joseph, dropped the und Büdingen zu Birstein suffix from his title as Fürst von Isenburg.
The princess has two brothers, and her elder sisters are, respectively, Archduchess Katharina (born 1971), wife since 2004 of Archduke Martin of Austria-Este, and Princess Isabelle (born 1973), wife since 1998 of Carl, Prince of Wied.
[edit] Titles and styles
- 10 June 1976 – present: "Herr Prinz von Preußen" ("Mister Prince of Prussia")[12]
(Traditional titles)[1]
- 10 June 1976 – 26 September 1994: His Royal Highness Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia
- 26 September 1994 – present: His Imperial and Royal Highness the Prince of Prussia
[edit] Quotes
- "I do not see any reason for the political system in Germany to be changed. And I am very happy — probably happier than many of my forebears."[13][year missing]
- "I have as head of the House of Hohenzollern no political role — and neither do I aim at such."[14][year missing]
[edit] Ancestry
[edit] References
- ^ a b In 1919 royalty and nobility were mandated to lose their privileges in Germany, hereditary titles were to be legally borne thereafter only as part of the surname, according to Article 109 of the Weimar Constitution.
- ^ a b c Heir to Prussian throne to get televised wedding
- ^ "George Frederick The Prince of Prussia". http://www.preussen.de/en/family/george_frederick_the_prince_of_prussia.html. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- ^ a b Majesty. Interview, March 2009.
- ^ a b The Hohenzollern Succession Dispute
- ^ Andrew Gimson, "Kaiser's rule on marriage still applies to heirs", The Telegraph (1998-12-18).
- ^ Royal news: October 2005
- ^ "Prinz Georg Friedrich von Preußen Er hat sich mit Sophie verlobt!". 22 January 2011. http://www.bunte.de/royals/prinz-georg-friedrich-von-preussen-er-hat-sich-mit-seiner-sophie-verlobt_aid_22473.html. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- ^ Verlobung im Haus Hohenzollern
- ^ Prinz von Preußen heiratet in Potsdam
- ^ Complete Genealogy of the Princely House of Isenburg
- ^ Official guidebook of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, chapter 3
- ^ Hannah Cleaver, "I don't envy Royal Family, says heir to German throne", The Telegraph (26 December 2001).
- ^ Götz, Christiane (June 2005). "Ich brauche kein Schloss" (in German). Cicero. http://www.cicero.de/97.php?item=665&ress_id=7. Retrieved 2011-06-20. "Ich habe als Chef des Hauses Hohenzollern keine politische Rolle — und strebe dies auch nicht an"
[edit] External links
Media related to Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia at Wikimedia Commons
- Official (English-language) website of the House of Hohenzollern
- Biography at preussen.de
- "No Titles, No Subjects, No Problem: Germans Join Royal Wedding Craze", Wall Street Journal, 26 Aug. 2011
- Wedding video
|
Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia
Born: 10 June 1976 |
||
| Titles in pretence | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Prince Louis Ferdinand Sr. |
— TITULAR — German Emperor King of Prussia 26 September 1994 – present Reason for succession failure: Empire and Kingdom abolished in 1918 |
Incumbent Heir: Prince Christian-Sigismund |
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
