Leopold Prinz von Bayern
| Prince Leopold | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Leopold of Bavaria | |||||
| File:Leopoldofbavaria.JPG | |||||
| Spouse | Ursula Möhlenkamp | ||||
| Issue | Prince Manuel Princess Maria del Pilar Princess Maria Felipa Prince Konstantin | ||||
| |||||
| House | House of Wittelsbach | ||||
| Father | Prince Konstantin of Bavaria | ||||
| Mother | Princess Maria Adelgunde of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen | ||||
Prince Leopold (Poldi) of Bavaria (German: Leopold Rupprecht Ludwig Ferdinand Adalbert Friedrich Maria et omnes sancti Prinz von Bayern) (born 21 June 1943) is a member of the Bavarian Royal House of Wittelsbach and a former champion race car driver.
Early life & racing career
Leopold was born on Schloss Umkirch near Freiburg im Breisgau in Baden-Württemberg. He is the eldest son of Prince Konstantin of Bavaria and his first wife Princess Maria Adelgunde of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.
Since his parents separated soon after he was born, Leopold was raised by his grandparents Prince Friedrich von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Princess Margarete Carola of Saxony. He grew up on Schloss Umkirch together with his uncle Prince Ferfried who is only two months his senior. It was there the Prince developed his love for cars and racing. He started his career with rallying and in 1969 moved to touring car racing winning the North American Championships with Porsche in 1972. In 1984 he also took part in the legendary sports car endurance race 24 Hours of Le Mans together with Walter Brun and Bob Akin, finishing fourth. In 1986, Leopold became a factory driver for the Munich based car manufacturer BMW and although he retired from competitive racing in 1998, he remains involved with the BMW racing team as an adviser.
Marriage
On 21 October 1977 Prince Leopold married Ursula (Uschi) Möhlenkamp, the daughter of Willi Möhlenkamp and Ingeborg Brauckmann. The civil ceremony took place at Berg on Lake Starnberg in Bavaria. The religious ceremony followed a month later, on 19 November 1977 in Aufkirchen, Bavaria.Initially the union was considered morganatic, but on 3 March 1999 the marriage was decreed to be dynastic in accordance with the Bavarian house laws. The couple has four children:
- Prince Manuel of Bavaria (b. out of wedlock in 1972)
- Princess Maria del Pilar of Bavaria (b. 1978)
- Princess Maria Felipa of Bavaria (b. 1981)
- Prince Konstantin of Bavaria (b. 1986)
Later life
The Prince resides in a villa on the Lake Starnberg south of the Bavarian capital, Munich and is often seen in the company of the current Swedish King Carl Gustav whom he has known since his teens. He is a godfather of King Gustaf's only son, Prince Carl Philip of Sweden. Prince Leopold is also involved with charitable causes helping disabled children, such as the Special Olympics and organizations promoting the use of animal-assisted therapy. This is in part, because his oldest daughter Princess Pilar has a form of autism, which she developed as a baby after she was given the wrong anesthetic during a heart surgery.[1]
Ancestry
References
- Die Wittelsbacher. Geschichte unserer Familie. Adalbert, Prinz von Bayern. Prestel Verlag, München, 1979
- Prinz und Demokrat. Konstantin von Bayern: Ein Gedenkbuch. Konstantin, Prinz von Bayern and Arens, Hanns. München; Wien : Langen/Müller, 1970
- Ich habe einen Traum. DIE ZEIT, 18 September 2003. Nr.39