Antoinette Roberte Sophie Wilhelmine (7 October 1899 – 31 July 1954), commonly referred to as Antonia, was the last Crown Princess of Bavaria before

World War II 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 opposin ...

. By birth, she was a member of the

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

ish

House of Nassau-Weilburg The House of Nassau-Weilburg, a branch of the House of Nassau, ruled a division of the County of Nassau, which was a state in what is now Germany, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1344 to 1806. On 17 July 1806, upon the dissolution of t ...

as the child of

Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg William IV (Guillaume Alexander; ''French: Guillaume Alexandre''; 22 April 1852 – 25 February 1912) reigned as the Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 17 November 1905 until his death. He succeeded his father, Adolphe. William was a Protestant, the ...

and

Infanta Marie Anne of Portugal Infanta Marie Anne of Portugal ( pt, Maria Ana; 13 July 1861 – 31 July 1942) was Grand Duchess of Luxembourg as the wife of Grand Duke Guillaume IV. She was the regent of Luxembourg between 1908 and 1912; first during the illness of her spouse ...

. Antoina was a survivor of 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 prisoners ...

Family

Born at Schloss Hohenburg, at

Lenggries Lenggries is a municipality and a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the center of the Isarwinkel, the region along the Isar between Bad Tölz and Wallgau. The town has about 9,500 inhabitants. By area, it is the largest rural municipality ("Gemeinde" ...

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...

, Antonia was the fourth daughter of

, who reigned between 1905 and 1912, and Marie Anne, a princess of the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

House of Braganza The Most Serene House of Braganza ( pt, Sereníssima Casa de Bragança), also known as the Brigantine Dynasty (''Dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese origin which reigned in Europe and the Ame ...

. She was the younger sister of two successive grand duchesses: Marie-Adélaïde and

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

. In the family she was called "Toni".

Marriage and children

Antonia became the second wife of

Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria, Duke of Bavaria, Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine by (the) Rhine (''Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand''; English: ''Robert Maria Leopold Ferdinand''; 18 May 1869 – 2 August 1955), was the last hei ...

. The two were engaged on 26 August 1918. At the time, Rupprecht was ''

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

'' in the Imperial German army, and had successfully commanded the German Sixth Army at the

Battle of Lorraine The Battle of Lorraine (14 August – 7 September 1914) was a battle on the Western Front during the First World War. The armies of France and Germany had completed their mobilisation, the French with Plan XVII, to conduct an offensive through ...

. This led to criticism of the close ties between the Luxembourgish

Grand Ducal Family The Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg constitutes the House of Luxembourg-Nassau, headed by the sovereign Grand Duke, and in which the throne of the grand duchy is hereditary. It consists of heirs and descendants of the House of Nassau-Weilburg, w ...

and the royalty of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

at a time when Luxembourg was occupied by Germany. This added to the pressure already on

Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and co ...

, who was forced to abdicate on 10 January 1919.Thewes (2003), p. 86 Despite the abdication of her elder sister, and the overthrow of the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German E ...

in favour of a

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

, the two were married on 7 April 1921 at Schloss Hohenburg. Antonia and Rupprecht had six children, through whom they have a large number of descendants. * Prince Heinrich Franz Wilhelm of Bavaria (28 March 1922–14 February 1958) he married Anne Marie de Lustrac on 31 July 1951. * Princess Irmingard Marie Josefa of Bavaria (29 May 1923–23 October 2010) she married Prince Ludwig of Bavaria on 20 July 1950. They have three children, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. *

Princess Editha Marie Gabrielle Anna of Bavaria Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

(16 September 1924 – 4 May 2013) married Tito Tomasso Maria Brunetti on 12 November 1946. They had three daughters, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She remarried Professor Gustav Christian Schimert on 29 December 1959. They have three sons and six grandchildren. *

Princess Hilda Hildegard Marie Gabriele of Bavaria Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

(24 March 1926 – 5 May 2002) married Juan Bradstock Edgart Lockett de Loayza on 12 February 1949. They had four children and four grandchildren. *

Princess Gabriele Adelgunde Marie Theresia Antonia of Bavaria Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

(10 May 1927 – 19 April 2019) married

Karl Emmanuel Herzog von Croÿ Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austrian ...

, later 14th

Duke of Croÿ Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

on 17 June 1953. They have three children and ten grandchildren. *

Princess Sophie Marie Therese of Bavaria Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

(born 1935) married

Jean, 12th Duke of Arenberg The House of Arenberg is an aristocratic lineage that is constituted by three successive families that took their name from Arenberg, a small territory of the Holy Roman Empire in the Eifel region. The inheritance of the House of Croÿ-Aarschot m ...

on 18 January 1955. They have five children, eleven grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.

Later life

As opponents of the

Nazi regime 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 ...

, Antonia and Rupprecht were forced into exile in the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

in 1939. From there, they moved to the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

. When Germany occupied Hungary in October 1944, Antonia and her children were captured, while Rupprecht, still in Italy, evaded arrest. They were imprisoned at

Sachsenhausen 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 prisoners ...

. In early April 1945, they were moved to

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 ...

. Although liberated that same month, the imprisonment greatly impaired Antonia's health; the ordeal led to her vow never to return to German soil, and she died nine years later, at

Lenzerheide Lenzerheide ( Romansh: ''Lai'') is a mountain resort in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland at the foot of the Parpaner Rothorn. The village lies in the municipality Vaz/Obervaz in the district of Albula, sub-district Alvaschein. The vil ...

, Graubünden,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Titles and honours

;Titles *7 October 1899 – 7 April 1921: ''

Her Grand Ducal Highness His or Her Grand Ducal Highness (abbreviation: HGDH) is a style of address used by the non-reigning members of some German ruling families headed by a Grand Duke. No currently reigning family employs the style, although it was used most recently by ...

'' Princess Antonia of Luxembourg *7 April 1921 - 18 October 1921: '' Her Royal Highness'' The Crown Princess of Bavaria *18 October 1921 - 31 July 1954: ''Her Royal Highness'' Crown Princess Antonia of Bavaria, Princess of Luxembourg ;National * : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau The Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau (french: Ordre du Lion d'Or de la Maison de Nassau, nl, Huisorde van de Gouden Leeuw van Nassau) is a chivalric order shared by the two branches of the House of Nassau (the Ottonian and Walramian ...

* : Grand Cross of the

Order of Adolphe of Nassau The Order of Civil and Military Merit of Adolph of Nassau (french: Ordre de Mérite civil et militaire d’Adolphe de Nassau) is an order of merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg for meritorious service to the Grand Duke, the Grand-Ducal House ...

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 ...

: Dame Grand Cross of the Military Merit Order * Flag of Bavaria (striped)

: Grand Mistress of the

Order of Theresa The Order of Theresa was an order for noble ladies in the Kingdom of Bavaria. It continues to function today as an honorary society to which belong the princesses of the House of Wittelsbach as well as other ladies from Bavarian noble families. H ...

: Grand Mistress of the

Order of Saint Elizabeth The Order of Saint Elizabeth was an all-female chivalric and charitable order in the Kingdom of Bavaria. The following excerpt is from ''The Orders of Knighthood, British and Foreign'' (1884): History The first Consort of the Elector Charles T ...

;Foreign * : Dame of the

Order of the Starry Cross The Order of the Starry Cross (or Order of the Star Cross/Star Cross Order; German: ''Sternkreuz-Orden'') is an imperial Austrian dynastic order for Catholic noble ladies, founded in 1668. The order still exists under the House of Habsburg-Lorraine ...

* Germany/Prussia: Dame of the

Order of Louise The Order of Louise (German: ''Luisen-Orden'') was founded on 3 August 1814 by Frederick William III of Prussia to honor his late wife, the much beloved Queen Louise (''née Luise Auguste Wilhelmine Amalie, Herzogin zu Mecklenburg-Strelitz''). T ...

Ancestry

Footnotes

Bibliography

* Schlim, Jean Louis. ''Antonia von Luxemburg: Bayerns letzte Kronprinzessin''. München: LangenMüller, 2006. . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Antonia Of Luxembourg, Princess 1899 births 1954 deaths People from Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen House of Nassau-Weilburg House of Wittelsbach Luxembourgian royalty Bavarian princesses Luxembourgian women in World War I Luxembourgian people imprisoned abroad Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivors Dachau concentration camp survivors German expatriates in Hungary German expatriates in Switzerland