Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia
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| Prince Louis Ferdinand | |
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| Prince of Prussia | |
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| Louis Ferdinand in about 1930. | |
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| Period | 20 July 1951 – 26 September 1994 |
| Predecessor | Crown Prince William |
| Successor | Prince Georg Friedrich |
| Spouse | Kira Kirillovna of Russia |
| Issue | |
| Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Prince Michael Princess Marie Cécile Princess Kira Prince Louis Ferdinand Prince Christian-Sigismund Princess Xenia |
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| House | House of Hohenzollern |
| Father | William, German Crown Prince |
| Mother | Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin |
| Born | 9 November 1907 Potsdam |
| Died | 26 September 1994 (aged 86) Bremen |
Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia (English: Louis Ferdinand Victor Edward Albert Michael Hubert, Prince of Prussia) (German: Louis Ferdinand Viktor Eduard Albert Michael Hubertus Prinz von Preussen) (9 November 1907 – 26 September 1994), a member of the Hohenzollern family, was the pretender to the abolished German monarchy, staunch opponent of the Nazi Party in Germany, a business man, and patron of the arts.
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Biography [edit]
Louis Ferdinand was born in Potsdam as the third in succession to the throne of the German Empire, after his father, German Crown Prince William and elder brother Prince Wilhelm of Prussia. The monarchy was abolished after Germany's revolution in 1918. When Louis Ferdinand's older brother Prince Wilhelm renounced his succession rights to marry a non-royal from the lesser nobility in 1933 (he was later to be killed in action in France in 1940 fighting in the German army), Louis Ferdinand took his place in line for the throne following the deaths of the Kaiser and the Crown Prince.
Louis Ferdinand was educated in Berlin and deviated from his family's tradition by not pursuing a military career. Instead, he travelled extensively and settled for some time in Detroit, where he befriended Henry Ford and became acquainted with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, among others. He held a great interest in engineering. Recalled from the United States upon his brother's renunciation of the throne, he got involved in the German aviation industry, but was barred by Hitler from taking any active part in German military activities.
Louis Ferdinand dissociated himself from the Nazis after this. He was not involved in the 20 July Plot against Hitler in 1944 but was interrogated by the Gestapo immediately afterwards.[1]
He married the Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna of Russia in 1938 in first a Russian Orthodox ceremony in Potsdam and then a Lutheran ceremony in Huis Doorn, Netherlands. Kira was the second daughter of Grand Duke Kyril Vladimirovich and Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The couple had four sons and three daughters. His two eldest sons both renounced their succession rights in order to marry commoners. His third son, and heir-apparent, Prince Louis Ferdinand died in 1977 during military maneuvers, and thus his eighteen-year-old grandson Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia (son of Prince Louis Ferdinand) became the new heir-apparent to the Prussian and German Imperial throne; Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia became the pretender to the thrones and Head of the Hohenzollern family upon Louis Ferdinand's death in 1994.
After the reunification of Germany, Louis Ferdinand arranged to have the remains of several Hohenzollern members reinterred at the imperial vault in Potsdam.
Louis Ferdinand was on friendly terms with the Pulitzer Prize winning American journalist Louis P. Lochner.
| Styles of Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia |
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| Reference style | His Imperial and Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Imperial and Royal Highness |
| Alternative style | Sir |
Children[2] [edit]
- Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia (born 9 February 1939), married firstly Waltraud Freytag (born 1940) on 22 August 1967 in Plön, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany; secondly Ehrengard von Reden (born 7 June 1943) on 23 April 1976; thirdly Sibylle Kretschmer. He renounced his succession rights on 18 September 1967. His son Philip is from his first marriage, and his other children from his second.
- Philip Kirill (born 23 April 1968); married Anna Christine Soltau (b. 2 April 1968) on 28 June 1994, and they have six children:
- Paul Wilhelm Philipp Friedrich Alois Johannes Mose (born 10 April 1995)
- Maria Luise Anna Philippa Helene Julie Margarethe Elisabeth (born 12 March 1997)
- Elisabeth Christine Philine Cécilie Annegret Salome Maria (born 16 December 1998)
- Anna Sophie Phila Wilhelmine Amelie Elisabeth Maria (born 26 March 2001)
- Johanna Amalie Kira Philippa Rose Elisabeth Maria (born 19 September 2002)
- Timotheus Friedrich (born 9 June 2005)
- Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Ferdinand Kirill (born 16 August 1979);
- Viktoria-Luise Kira Ehrengard (born 2 May 1982)
- Joachim Albrecht Bernhard Christian Ernst (born 26 June 1984)
- Philip Kirill (born 23 April 1968); married Anna Christine Soltau (b. 2 April 1968) on 28 June 1994, and they have six children:
- Prince Michael of Prussia (born 22 March 1940); married firstly Jutta Jörn (born 27 January 1943) on 23 Sep 1966 in Kaiserwerth, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, who bore him two children. He married secondly Brigitte von Dallwitz (born 17 September 1939) without issue. He renounced his succession rights on 29 August 1966.
- Michaela Marie Prinzessin von Preußen (born 5 March 1967), who married Jürgen Wessolly (born 2 February 1961) on 14 February 2000, with issue:
- Maximilian Wessoly (born February 2000)
- Marie Charlotte Wessoly (born 15 Dec 2001)
- Nataly Alexandra Caroline Prinzessin von Preußen (born 13 January 1970)
- Michaela Marie Prinzessin von Preußen (born 5 March 1967), who married Jürgen Wessolly (born 2 February 1961) on 14 February 2000, with issue:
- Princess Marie Cécile of Prussia (born 28 May 1942)
- Princess Kira of Prussia (27 June 1943)
- Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia (25 August 1944 – 11 July 1977); married, as his first wife, Countess Donata zu Castell-Rüdenhausen (born 20 June 1950 Rüdenhausen) on 23 May 1975 civilly and 24 May 1975 religiously at Rüdenhausen, who bore him two children. (She re-married 2 February 1991 her late husband's ex-brother-in-law, Duke Friedrich August of Oldenburg)
- Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia (born 10 June 1976 Bremen)
- Princess Cornelie-Cecile of Prussia (born 30 January 1978 Bremen)
- Prince Christian-Sigismund of Prussia (born 14 March 1946), married Countess Nina Helene Lydia Alexandra zu Reventlow (born 13 March 1954) on 29 September 1984, with issue:
- Prince Christian Ludwig Michael Friedrich Ferdinand of Prussia (b. 16 May 1986)
- Princess Irina Maria Nina Kira of Prussia (b. 4 Jul 1988)
- Princess Xenia of Prussia (9 December 1949 – 18 January 1992), married Per-Edvard Lithander (10 September 1945) on 27 January 1973, divorced in 1978, and had two children:
- Patrick Edvard Christian Lithander (born 25 June 1973)
- Wilhelm Sebastian Lithander (born 21 November 1974)
Ancestry [edit]
Notes [edit]
- ^ Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia, The Rebel Prince (Chicago: Henry Reegnery, 1952): 306–324.
- ^ de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. Coutant de Saisseval, Guy. Le Petit Gotha. Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery, Paris 2002, pp. 106–109 (French) ISBN 2-9507974-3-1
External links [edit]
Media related to Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia at Wikimedia Commons
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Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia
Born: 9 November 1907 Died: 26 September 1994 |
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| Titles in pretence | ||
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| Preceded by Crown Prince William |
— TITULAR — German Emperor King of Prussia 20 July 1951 – 26 September 1994 Reason for succession failure: Empire and Kingdom abolished in 1918 |
Succeeded by Prince Georg Friedrich |
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