['Haus Hannover', in: ''Gothaisches genealogisches Handbuch'' 1. Deutsches Adelsarchiv, 2015, p. 133.]
, father =
Ernst August, Prince of Hanover
, mother = Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
, birth_date =
, birth_place =
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
,
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
, death_date =
, death_place =
Gmunden
Gmunden () is a town in Upper Austria, Austria in the district of Gmunden (district), Gmunden. It has 13,204 inhabitants (estimates 2016 ). It is much frequented as a health and summer resort, and has a variety of lake, brine, vegetable and pine-c ...
,
Upper Austria
Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, a ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, burial_date = 2 December 1988
, burial_place =
Grunau im Almtal, Austria
Prince Ludwig Rudolph of Hanover (Ludwig Rudolph Georg Wilhelm Philipp Friedrich Wolrad Maximilian Prinz von Hannover; 21 November 1955 – 29 November 1988)
was a member of the
House of Hanover
The House of Hanover (german: Haus Hannover), whose members are known as Hanoverians, is a European royal house of German origin that ruled Hanover, Great Britain, and Ireland at various times during the 17th to 20th centuries. The house orig ...
and a
music producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
.
Early life and career
Ludwig Rudolph was born in
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
,
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
, Germany, the third child and second son of
Ernst August, Prince of Hanover, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick (1914–1987) and his wife Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1925–1980).
Ludwig Rudolph was a great-great-great-great-grandson of
George III of the United Kingdom
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until Acts of Union 1800, the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was ...
and a great-grandson of
Wilhelm II, German Emperor
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 Empir ...
.
[Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh (editor). ''Burke's Guide to the Royal Family'', Burke's Peerage, London, 1973, pp. 289-290, 300. ]
Ludwig Rudolph had trained to become a music producer in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and
London
London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
Marriage and death
Having obtained the consent 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 ...
by
Order in Council
An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' Ki ...
on 15 September 1987 pursuant to the
Royal Marriages Act 1772
The Royal Marriages Act 1772 (12 Geo 3 c. 11) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which prescribed the conditions under which members of the British royal family could contract a valid marriage, in order to guard against marriages th ...
,
[The London Gazette]
No. 51069
23 September 1987. Retrieved 8 May 2012 Ludwig Rudolph, a Lutheran, married the Roman Catholic
Countess Isabella Maria von Thurn und Valsassina-Como-Vercelli (born 1962 in Gmunden, Upper Austria), a former fashion model
at her father's ancestral Austrian estate,
Bleiburg Castle,
Carinthia
Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
on 4 October 1987. She was the daughter of Count Ariprand von
Thurn und Valsassina-Como-Vercelli (1925-1996), whose family, a branch of the
Della Torre The House of Della Torre (Torriani or Thurn) were an Italian noble family who rose to prominence in Lombardy during the 12th–14th centuries, until they held the lordship of Milan before being ousted by the Visconti.
History
The family originall ...
dynasty, ruled Milan in the 13th century, and his wife, ''née'' Princess Maria von
Auersperg (born 1929).
Ludwig Rudolph and Isabelle had one son:
* Prince Otto Heinrich Ariprand George Johannes Ernst August Vinzenz Egmont Franz of Hanover (born 13 February 1988)
In the early hours of 29 November 1988, after the couple had entertained guests at their home, ''Königinvilla'' ''(
The Queen's Villa)'' in
Gmunden
Gmunden () is a town in Upper Austria, Austria in the district of Gmunden (district), Gmunden. It has 13,204 inhabitants (estimates 2016 ). It is much frequented as a health and summer resort, and has a variety of lake, brine, vegetable and pine-c ...
, a house left to them by Ludwig's brother Ernst August, the prince went to the bedroom where his wife had retired before midnight, and found Isabelle sprawled fully dressed across their bed. The efforts of her husband and friends to revive her proved futile. As authorities later removed her body and investigated the scene, discovering syringes, cocaine and heroin, Ludwig Rudolph, who had been investigated previously on suspicion of illegal drug purchases, placed a call to his elder brother,
Ernst August, in London, imploring him to take care of the couple's 10-month-old son.
[Eilers, Marlene. Queen Victoria's Daughters. Rosvall Royal Books, Falkoping, Sweden, 1997. P.173, note 41. ] Then he slipped away. Several hours later Ludwig Rudolph was found near his family's hunting lodge several miles away, on Lake Traun
Traunsee () is a lake in the Salzkammergut, Upper Austria, Austria. Its surface is approximately 24.5 km2 and its maximum depth of 191 metres makes it the deepest and by volume largest lake located entirely within Austrian territory; only Lak ...
. He was in his car with the motor running. He had the muzzle of a rifle in his mouth and was dead of a gunshot wound.
The case was closed without further investigation. Ludwig Rudolph and Isabelle were interred on 2 December 1988 at Grünau im Almtal
Grünau im Almtal is a village in the Austrian state of Upper Austria
Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Rep ...
, Austria, having been married less than 14 months.[ Custody of their infant son Otto Heinrich was awarded, contrary to the expressed wishes of Ludwig Rudolph, to the child's maternal grandparents. He grew up at their castle, Schloss Bleiburg, in Austria,] and then studied art at Braunschweig University of Art
The Braunschweig University of Art (Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig, HBK) is the second largest College of Fine Arts in Germany.
History
The history goes back to the “Zeichnen-Instithut” (Drawing Institute) founded by the Brun ...
in Brunswick (Braunschweig
Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...
). He lives with his maternal grandmother in Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the ...
.
Ancestry
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludwig Rudolph Of Hanover, Prince
House of Hanover
1955 births
1988 deaths
Suicides by firearm in Austria
Nobility from Hanover
Hanoverian princes
German record producers
1988 suicides