, image = Leopold Prinz von Bayern IAA 2011.JPG , image_size = , caption = , reign = , coronation = , predecessor = , successor = , succession = , spouse = , issue = Prince Manuel
Princess Maria del Pilar
Princess Maria Felipa
Prince Konstantin , house =

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 ...

, father =

Prince Konstantin of Bavaria Prince Konstantin of Bavaria (german: Konstantin Leopold Ludwig Adalbert Georg Thadeus Josef Petrus Johannes Antonius Franz von Assisi Assumption et omnes sancti Prinz von Bayern) (15 August 1920 – 30 July 1969) was a member of the Bavarian ...

, mother = Princess Maria Adelgunde of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen , birth_date = , birth_place = Schloss Umkirch near

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, death_date = , death_place = , burial_place = , religion =

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

Prince Leopold (Poldi) of Bavaria (born 21 June 1943) is a member of the

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 lan ...

n royal house of

and a former champion race car driver. He descends from King

Ludwig I of Bavaria en, Louis Charles Augustus , image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg , caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825 , succession=King of Bavaria , reign = , coronation ...

in direct line and is a distant relative to the current head of 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 ...

, Franz, Duke of Bavaria and his brother,

Maximilian, Duke in Bavaria Duke Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria (4 December 1808 – 15 November 1888), known informally as Max in Bayern, was a member of a junior branch of the royal House of Wittelsbach who were Kings of Bavaria, and a promoter of Bavarian folk-music. He i ...

. He also descends from Austrian Emperor

Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

and his wife Elisabeth and from

King George II of Great Britain , house = Hanover , religion = Protestant , father = George I of Great Britain , mother = Sophia Dorothea of Celle , birth_date = 30 October / 9 November 1683 , birth_place = Herrenhausen Palace,Cannon. or Leine ...

, and is therefore a distant cousin of

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. As a Roman Catholic he is excluded from the line for the British throne by the Act of Settlement 1701. He also descends from

Isabella II of Spain Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...

, through her daughter, and Leopold's great-grandmother, María de la Paz.

Early life

Leopold (aka "Poldi") was born on Schloss Umkirch near

. He is the eldest son of

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 Karola of Saxony , succession = Prince of Hohenzollern , image = FriedrichHohenzollern1.jpg , caption = , reign=22 October 1927 – 6 February 1965, reign-type=Tenure, predecessor = William , successor = Frederick William , spouse ...

. He grew up on Schloss Umkirch together with his uncle Prince Ferfried (aka "Foffie") who is only two months his senior. It was there the Prince developed his love for cars and racing.

Marriage

On 21 October 1977 Prince Leopold married Ursula (''Uschi'') Möhlenkamp, the daughter of Wilhelm (Willi) Möhlenkamp and Ingeborg Brauckmann. The civil ceremony took place at

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer Former states *Berg (state), county and duchy of the Holy ...

Lake Starnberg Lake Starnberg, or ''Starnberger See'' ) — called Lake Würm, or ''Würmsee'' , until 1962 — is Germany's second-largest body of fresh water, having great depth, and fifth-largest lake by area. It and its surroundings lie in three different Ba ...

in Bavaria. The religious ceremony followed a month later, on 19 November 1977 in Aufkirchen,

. Initially the union was considered

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

, but on 3 March 1999 the marriage was decreed to be conditionally dynastic in accordance with the Bavarian house laws. The couple have four children: * Prince ''Manuel'' Maria Alexander Leopold Jörg of Bavaria (b. out of wedlock in 27 December 1972, Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany); married Princess Anna of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b. 1978) in 2005. They have four children: ** Prince ''Leopold'' Maria Bengt Karl Manuel of Bavaria (b. 13 June 2007). ** Princess ''Alva'' Manuelle Maria Petra Yvonne of Bavaria (b. 05 January 2010). ** Prince ''Gabriel'' Maria Abraham Ludwig Theodor of Bavaria (b. 11 November 2014). ** Prince ''Joseph'' Carlos Maria Paul Melchior of Bavaria (b. 18 July 2019). * Princess ''Maria del Pilar'' Birgitta Adelgunde Charlotte of Bavaria (b. 03 May 1978, Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany). * Princess ''Maria Felipa'' Karin Marion Gabriele of Bavaria (b. 01 February 1981, Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany); married Christian Alexander Dienst (b. 1978) at Wies Church, Steingaden, Bavaria, Germany on 12 May 2012. They have three sons: ** ''August'' Maria Jürgen Leopold Dienst (b. 2013). ** ''Ferdinand'' Maria Konstantin Joachim Dienst (b. 2014). ** Otto Dienst (b. 2017). * Prince ''Konstantin'' Eugen Alexander Max-Emanuel Maria Ludwig Ferdinand Leopold of Bavaria (b. 08 November 1986, Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany); married Deniz Kaya (b. 1990), at St. Moritz's Eglise au Bois church, St Moritz, Switzerland, on 01 September 2018. ** Prince Alexis of Bavaria (b. January 2020).

Later life

The Prince resides in a villa on the

south of Munich, capital of Bavaria, and is often seen in the company of the current Swedish King

Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. He ascended the throne on the death of his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf, on 15 September 1973. He is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Du ...

whom he has known since his teens. He is a godfather of King Carl Gustaf's only son, Prince Carl Philip of Sweden. His maternal uncle

Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern , image = Wedding of Princess Birgitta and Johan Georg von Hohenzollern 1961 004.jpg , caption = Princess Birgitta and the bridegroom, Johan Georg von Hohenzollern, after their wedding ceremony , spouse = , issue = Prince Carl ChristianPrinc ...

was King Carl Gustaf's brother-in-law. Prince Leopold is also involved with charitable causes helping disabled children, such as the

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 1 ...

and organizations promoting the use of

animal-assisted therapy Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is an alternative or complementary type of therapy that includes the use of animals in a treatment. The goal of this animal-assisted intervention is to improve a patient's social, emotional, or cognitive functionin ...

. This is in part, because his oldest daughter Princess Pilar has a form of

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

, which she developed as a baby after she was given the wrong anesthetic during a heart surgery.

Motor Racing career

Prince Leopold started his career with

rallying Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...

and in 1969 moved to

touring car racing Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States. While the cars do not move ...

winning the North American Championships with

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...

in 1972. In 1984 he also took part in the legendary sports car endurance race

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

together with

Walter Brun Walter Brun (born 20 October 1942) is a Swiss former racing driver and founder of Brun Motorsport. He also co-founded the Formula One team EuroBrun EuroBrun Racing was an Italian-licensed Formula One constructor based in Senago, Milan, Italy. T ...

and Bob Akin, finishing fourth. In 1986, Leopold became a factory driver for the

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

based car manufacturer BMW and although he retired from competitive racing in 1998, he remains involved with the BMW racing team as an adviser. As well as competing in Europe and America, Prince Leopold competed in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

also with a drive the

1984 James Hardie 1000 The 1984 James Hardie 1000 was the 25th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 30 September 1984 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia and was Round 4 of the 1984 Australian ...

driving a

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles w ...

BMW 635 CSi for Frank Gardner's factory backed

JPS Team BMW JPS Team BMW is a former Australian motor racing team that ran from 1981–1987. The team's main focus was touring car racing but also ran in sports sedans and GT cars as well. The team, under the management of former British Touring Car Cham ...

, partnering

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

World Champion

Denny Hulme Denis Clive Hulme (18 June 1936 – 4 October 1992), commonly known as Denny Hulme, was a New Zealand racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship for the Brabham team. Between his debut at Monaco in 1965 and his ...

. In Australian touring car racing Group A was only a minor class introduced for the endurance races in 1984 before taking over as top class in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. After a troubled week which included losing a day after the Prince crashed the BMW at the top of

The Mountain The Mountain (french: La Montagne) was a political group during the French Revolution. Its members, called the Montagnards (), sat on the highest benches in the National Convention. They were the most radical group and opposed the Girondins. Th ...

due to a lost front wheel, the pair finished the race in 15th place and 2nd in class, 4 laps behind the class winning TWR

Rover Vitesse Vitesse may refer to: * Vitesse Models, a diecast model car company * Vitesse (band), Dutch rock band * Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, a car * Rover 216 Vitesse, a car * Rover 3500 Vitesse, a car * Rover 800 Vitesse, a car * Triumph Vit ...

and 15 laps behind the race winning

Holden Dealer Team The Holden Dealer Team (HDT) was Holden's semi-official racing team from 1969 until 1986, primarily contesting Australian Touring Car events but also rallying, rallycross and Sports Sedan races during the 1970s. From 1980 the Holden Dealer ...

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

. von Bayern (and Hulme) both had a new experience while racing at Bathurst in 1984. Their BMW was equipped with a racecam unit fitted in place of the left front headlight and both drivers were able to talk to the Channel 7 television commentary team while they were driving with the Prince saying at one point that ''"The race is very much fun for me"''.1984 Bathurst 1000, The Prince Joins RaceCams 5th Birthday
/ref>

Racing record

Complete World Sportscar Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ;Footnotes:

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Bathurst 1000 results

Complete World Touring Car Championship results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Japanese Touring Car Championship results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Super Tourenwagen Cup results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Notes

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 {{DEFAULTSORT:Leopold, Prince Of Bavaria (B. 1943) Princes of Bavaria House of Wittelsbach 1943 births Living people People from Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald German Roman Catholics German racing drivers Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Racing drivers from Baden-Württemberg World Sportscar Championship drivers BMW M drivers Japanese Touring Car Championship drivers Schnitzer Motorsport drivers RSM Marko drivers Team Joest drivers