Franz Wilhelm Victor Christoph Stephan Prinz von Preussen
[In 1919 royalty and nobility were mandated to lose their privileges in Germany; thereafter hereditary titles were to be legally borne only as part of the surname, according t]
Article 109
of the Weimar Constitution
The Constitution of the German Reich (german: Die Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs), usually known as the Weimar Constitution (''Weimarer Verfassung''), was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era (1919–1933). The c ...
. Styles such as ''majesty'' and ''highness'
were not retained.
(born 3 September 1943) is a German businessman and member of the
House of Hohenzollern, the
former ruling German imperial house and royal house of
Prussia. From 1976 to 1985 he was known as Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich of Russia.
Biography
Franz Wilhelm Prince of Prussia was born in
Grünberg,
Silesia, as the son of
Prince Karl Franz of Prussia and his first wife
Princess Henriette von Schönaich-Carolath.
[Eilers, Marlene. Queen Victoria's Descendants. Rosvall Royal Books, Falkoping, Sweden, 1997. pp. 84, 121, 127, 172–173. ]['' Almanach de Gotha'', Gotha: Justus Perthes, 1944), pp. 89, 92.][''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser'' Band XIV. "Haus Preussen". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1997, p. 123, 153. ] He had a twin brother, Prince Friedrich Christian, who died three weeks after his birth. Prince Franz Wilhelm is a grandson of
Prince Joachim of Prussia, the youngest son of
Emperor Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empi ...
.
[de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. Coutant de Saisseval, Guy. ''Le Petit Gotha''. Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery, Paris 2002, pp. 77, 99, 111, 799. (French) ]
In 2002 Franz Wilhelm with
Theodor Tantzen founded the ''
Prinz von Preußen Grundbesitz AG'', a project development and project management company which restores old buildings in Germany. In 2004, with financing from a group of investors, he purchased the
Royal Porcelain Manufactury Berlin
The Royal Porcelain Factory in Berlin (german: Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin, abbreviated as KPM), also known as the Royal Porcelain Manufactory Berlin and whose products are generally called Berlin porcelain, was founded in 1763 by Kin ...
, saving it from
insolvency.
Personal life
Franz Wilhelm married his third cousin once removed,
Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, civilly on 4 September 1976 at
Dinard and religiously on 22 September 1976 at the Russian Orthodox Chapel in
Madrid.
[Willis, Daniel A., ''The Descendants of King George I of Great Britain'', Clearfield Company, 2002, pp. 575, 696.] Before his marriage he converted to the
Russian Orthodox faith and was created a Grand Duke of Russia with the name Mikhail Pavlovich by his father-in-law
Grand Duke Vladimir of Russia.
Massie, Robert K.
Robert Kinloch Massie III (January 5, 1929 – December 2, 2019) was an American journalist and historian. He devoted much of his career to studying and writing about the House of Romanov, Russian Empire, Russia's imperial family from 1613 to 1 ...
The Romanovs: The Final Chapter. Jonathan Cape, 1995, pp. 263–264, 269–270, 274. , OCLC 185630578. Franz Wilhelm and Grand Duchess Maria had one son before divorcing on 19 June 1985 (they separated in 1982), at which point he reverted to his previous title. He married Nadia Nour El Etreby (born 2 August 1949) on 14 March 2019, to whom was bestowed upon marriage the courtesy style and title of ''Her Royal Highness Princess Nadia of Prussia''.
[
*]Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia
Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia (russian: Георгий Михайлович Романов, Georgiy Mikhaylovich Romanov, also spelled ''Romanoff''; german: Georg Mikhailowitsch Romanow; born 13 March 1981) is the heir apparent to Ma ...
(born 13 March 1981).
Titles, styles and honours
Titles and styles
In 1919 royalty and nobility were mandated to lose their privileges in Germany; thereafter hereditary titles were to be legally borne only as part of the surname, according to Article 109 of the Weimar Constitution
The Constitution of the German Reich (german: Die Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs), usually known as the Weimar Constitution (''Weimarer Verfassung''), was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era (1919–1933). The c ...
. Styles such as ''Majesty'' and ''Highness'' were not retained.
*3 September 1943 – 22 September 1976: ''His Royal Highness'' Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia[
]
Dynastic honours
*Knight Grand Cross of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George.
References
External links
House of Hohenzollern
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prinz von Preussen, Franz Wilhelm
1943 births
Living people
People from Zielona Góra
People from the Province of Silesia
Prussian princes
House of Hohenzollern
German twins