Michael, Prince of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (german: Michael Prinz von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach; born 15 November 1946) is the current head of the Grand Ducal House of

Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (german: Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) was a historical German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was ra ...

, as well as the most senior agnate of the entire

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...

.Willis, Daniel A., ''The Descendants of King George I of Great Britain'', Clearfield Company, 2002, pp. 457-458.

Prince of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

Prince Michael was born in

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castl ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

, the only son of Hereditary Grand Duke Charles Augustus of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Baroness Elisabeth von Wangenheim-Winterstein (1912–2010). Among his godparents were Queen

Juliana of the Netherlands Juliana (; Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980. Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. ...

and the Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia imposter, Anna Anderson, who was living with his aunt Princess Luise of Saxe-Meiningen. When his father died on 14 October 1988, Prince Michael succeeded him as Head of the House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. On 13 February 1991, he inherited the leadership in the House of

Saxe-Altenburg Saxe-Altenburg (german: Sachsen-Altenburg, links=no) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in present-day Thuringia. It was one of the smallest of the German states with an area of 1323 square kilomete ...

, as that line became extinct, and since 23 July 2012 he regards the Albertine royal Saxon line to be extinct.Erbfolgestreit bei den Wettinern
/ref> However, Prince Michael has also stated that he "

oes not Oes or owes were metallic "O" shaped rings or eyelets sewn on to clothes and furnishing textiles for decorative effect in England and at the Elizabethan and Jacobean court. They were smaller than modern sequins. Making and metals Robert Sharp obta ...

believe in historical carnival" and that "Germany should have done it like Austria long ago and abolished all titles." In 2004, he withdrew his claim for restitution of numerous properties, archives (partly including those of

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...

and

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

) as well as priceless artwork in a settlement with the Free State of

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

and acquired some forest estates in exchange. Since Prince Michael has no sons, the current heir to the headship of the grand ducal house is his elder (by age) first cousin, Prince Wilhelm Ernst (b. 10 August 1946), whose only son Prince Georg-Constantin (13 April 1977 – 9 June 2018), a banker who was married but without issue, was killed in a

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

accident on 9 June 2018 while riding with

Jean Christophe Iseux von Pfetten Jean Christophe Iseux, Baron von Pfetten zu St. Mariakirchen (born 11 November 1967 in Lyon) is a diplomat, academic and landowner. Pfetten is Chairman of the Institute for East West Strategic Studies and Bye-fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridg ...

. Therefore, the Grand Ducal House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach will most likely become extinct in the male line.

Marriages

Prince Michael married Renate Henkel (b.

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...

, 17 September 1947), daughter of industrialist Konrad Henkel and wife Jutta von Hülsen and sister of

Christoph Henkel Christoph Henkel (born 11 February 1958) is a London-based German billionaire businessman. As of September 2021, his net worth is estimated at US$1.7 billion. Early life Christoph Henkel was born on 11 February 1958 in Düsseldorf, West German ...

, in a civil ceremony on 9 June 1970 at Hamburg-Eimsbüttel, and religiously on 4 July 1970 at Linnep bei Breitscheid. The marriage was childless and dissolved by divorce at

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...

on 9 March 1974. He was married secondly to Dagmar Hennings (b. Niederpöcking, 24 June 1948), daughter of Henrich Hennings and wife Margarethe Schacht, in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 15 November 1980. They have one daughter Leonie Mercedes Augusta Silva Elisabeth.

Honours and awards

Nongovernmental organizations

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

, Servare et Manere * Memorial_Medal_of_Tree_of_Peace_ribbon

Memorial Medal of Tree of Peace The Memorial Medal of Tree of Peace ( Slovak: ''Pamätná medaila Stromu pokoja'') is the second highest award awarded since 2020 by Servare et Manere, the Slovak non-governmental organization. The award was first awarded on September 28, 202 ...

, Special class with rubies, (May 12, 2022).

Ancestry

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Michael, Prince Of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach 1946 births Living people People from Bamberg House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Princes of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach