Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria (Albrecht Luitpold Ferdinand Michael; 3 May 1905 – 8 July 1996) was the son of the last crown prince of Bavaria, Rupprecht, and his first wife, Duchess Marie Gabrielle in Bavaria. He was the only child from that marriage that reached adulthood. His paternal grandfather was Ludwig III of Bavaria, the last

king of Bavaria King of Bavaria was a title held by the hereditary House of Wittelsbach, Wittelsbach rulers of Bavaria in the state known as the Kingdom of Bavaria from 1805 until 1918, when the kingdom was abolished. It was the second time Bavaria was a king ...

, who was deposed in 1918.

Life

Following the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Albrecht's grandfather King Ludwig was deposed. Albrecht and the family moved from Bavaria to the

Austrian Tyrol Tyrol (; german: Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a state (''Land'') in western Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical Princely County of Tyrol. It is a constituent part of the present-day Euroregion Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino ...

. Prior to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, his family, the

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...

, were opposed to the regime of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and refused to join the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

. The decision meant that Prince Albrecht, who had been studying forestry, was unable to complete his studies. 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 Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoner ...

Oranienburg Oranienburg () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel. Geography Oranienburg is a town located on the banks of the Havel river, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin. Division of the town Oranienburg ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

. In April 1945 they were moved to the

Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

, where they were liberated by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. 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 Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to: Religion * Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include: ** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometime ...

as "Queen Mary IV (of England) and III (of Scotland)", Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. " Burke’s Royal Families of the World: ''Volume I Europe & Latin America'', 1977, pp. 157-159. he was also the dynastic representative and

heir-general In English law, heirs of the body is the principle that certain types of property pass to a descendant of the original holder, recipient or grantee according to a fixed order of kinship. Upon the death of the grantee, a designated inheritance such ...

of England, Scotland and Ireland's last Stuart king, James II and VII, deposed in 1688.Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh (editor). ''Burke's Guide to the Royal Family'', Burke's Peerage, London, 1973, pp. 255. 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 Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

) to the Greek nation, accepted by King

Paul of Greece Paul ( el, Παύλος, ''Pávlos''; 14 December 1901 – 6 March 1964) was King of Greece from 1 April 1947 until his death in 1964. He was succeeded by his son, Constantine II. Paul was first cousin to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and ...

. In 1980 Albrecht presided over sumptuous ceremonies in Bavaria celebrating the 800th anniversary of the founding of the House of Wittelsbach.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). Albrecht was a prolific

hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

and deer researcher, collecting 3,425 sets of

antler Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the Cervidae (deer) family. Antlers are a single structure composed of bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels. They are generally found only on male ...

s, now partially shown in a permanent exhibition on his research activities in the former royal castle at

Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps, south of Berchtesgaden; the ...

. He also wrote two books on "the habits of deer" for which he (and his second wife) received

honorary doctorates An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

by the biological faculty of the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

. While visiting Brazil in 1953 he encountered Brazilian Mastiffs and took some to Germany, introducing the dog breed to Europe. Albrecht died on 8 July 1996, aged 91, at

Berg Castle Berg Castle ( lb, Schlass Bierg, ; french: Château de Berg; german: Schloss Berg), also called Colmar-Berg, is the principal residence of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. It is situated in the town of Colmar-Berg, in central Luxembourg, near the con ...

, southwest of Munich, where he had lived reclusively for decades. His funeral at

Theatine Church, Munich , image = MünchenTheatinerkirche a.jpg , pushpin map = Bavaria#Germany , pushpin label position = top , coordinates = , location = Salvatorplatz 2aMunich, Bavaria , country ...

was conducted by

Friedrich Wetter Friedrich Wetter (born 20 February 1928) is a German cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Germany, from 1982 to 2007. He was Bishop of Speyer from 1968 to 1982. He has been a cardinal since 1985. Early l ...

, the

Archbishop of Munich The following people were bishops, prince-bishops or archbishops of Freising or Munich and Freising in Bavaria: Bishops of Freising * St. Corbinian (724–730); founded the Benedictine abbey in Freising, although the diocese was not organ ...

. He was buried on a family graveyard he himself had installed in 1977 at Andechs Abbey.

Marriages and children

Albrecht married Countess Maria Draskovich of Trakostjan (8 March 1904 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

– 10 June 1969 in Wildbad Kreuth) on 3 September 1930 in

Almanach de Gotha The ''Almanach de Gotha'' (german: Gothaischer Hofkalender) is a directory of Europe's royalty and higher nobility, also including the major governmental, military and diplomatic corps, as well as statistical data by country. First published ...

Justus Perthes Johann Georg Justus Perthes (11 September 1749, Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt – 2 May 1816, Gotha, Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg) was a German publisher and founder of the publishing house that bears his name. Life He was born in the Thuringian to ...

, 1942, ''Maison de Bavière'', p. 19. (French). Daughter of Count Dionys Maria Draskovich von Trakostjan and Princess Juliana Rose von Montenuovo (a great-granddaughter of

Marie-Louise of Austria french: Marie-Louise-Léopoldine-Françoise-Thérèse-Josèphe-Lucie it, Maria Luigia Leopoldina Francesca Teresa Giuseppa Lucia , house = Habsburg-Lorraine , father = Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Maria Theresa of ...

, sometime Empress of the French), she belonged to a family of the

Croatian nobility Croatian nobility ( hr, plemstvo, lit=vlastelin; french: la noblesse) was a privileged social class in Croatia during the Antiquity and Medieval periods of the country's history. Noble families in the Kingdom of Croatia included high ranking popu ...

known since 1230 and made

Imperial count Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

s in 1631.Enache, Nicolas. ''La Descendance de Marie-Therese de Habsburg''. ICC, Paris, 1996. pp. 27, 100, 107-108, 115, 178-181, 190-191. (French). Although Albrecht's father allowed the wedding, a

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate o ...

family council concluded that the marriage was non-compliant with the dynasty's marital tradition as set out in its historical

house laws House law or House laws (''Hausgesetze'') are rules that govern a royal family or dynasty in matters of eligibility for succession to a throne, membership in a dynasty, exercise of a regency, or entitlement to dynastic rank, titles and styles. P ...

, and the names of the couple's four children were excluded from the ''

''. 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 A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A d ...

on 18 May 1949. On 21 April 1971 in Weichselboden, Albrecht married Countess Marie-Jenke Keglevich of Buzin (23 April 1921 in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

– 5 October 1983 in Weichselboden), daughter of Count Stephan Keglevich de Buzin and Countess Klára Zichy of Zich and Vásonkeö. They had no children. At the time of his death, Albrecht had four children from his first marriage, fifteen grandchildren and twenty-six great-grandchildren. His children are: * Princess ''Marie Gabrielle'' (b. 1931), married 1957 Georg, Prince von Waldburg zu Zeil und Trauchburg (1928-2015) * Princess ''Marie Charlotte'' (1931-2018), married 1955 Paul, Prince von Quadt zu Wykradt und Isny (1930-2011) *

Franz, Duke of Bavaria Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Herzog von Bayern (born 14 July 1933), commonly known by the courtesy title Duke of Bavaria, is the head of the House of Wittelsbach, the former ruling family of the Kingdom of Bavaria. His great-grandfather Ki ...

(b. 1933) *

Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria Max-Emanuel Ludwig Maria Herzog in Bayern (sometimes styled Prince Max of Bavaria, Duke in Bavaria; born 21 January 1937) as the younger son of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria, is the heir presumptive to both the headship of the former Bavarian royal ...

(b. 1937), married 1967 Countess Elisabeth

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

(b. 1940), great-granddaughter of

Philipp, Prince of Eulenburg Philipp, Prince of Eulenburg and Hertefeld, Count of Sandels (german: Philipp Friedrich Karl Alexander Botho Fürst zu Eulenburg und Hertefeld Graf von Sandels; 12 February 1847 – 17 September 1921) was a diplomat and composer of Imperial Germ ...

Honours

Dynastic honours

* Württemberg Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Crown, Special Class * Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Family: Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

, ''1953''

Foreign honours

* : Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic Church, Catholic order of ...

Hans Jürgen Brandt: ''Jerusalem hat Freunde. München und der Ritterorden vom Heiligen Grab'', EOS 2010, S. 94–98. * : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Principality of Liechtenstein, Grand Star

Ancestry

References

Bibliography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albrecht Of Bavaria, Duke 1905 births 1996 deaths House of Wittelsbach Princes of Bavaria Jacobite pretenders Pretenders to the Bavarian throne Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Dachau concentration camp survivors Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivors Burials at Andechs Abbey Knights of the Holy Sepulchre