Bernhard Prinz und Markgraf von Baden (born 27 May 1970), styled Margrave of Baden and Duke of Zähringen, is the head of the

House of Baden A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

since 29 December 2022 following the death of his father, Maximilian. He is a first cousin once removed of

King Charles III of the United Kingdom Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

Early life and family

Bernhard was born at Schloss Salem in Salem,

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, 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 i ...

, on 27 May 1970. He is the eldest son of

Maximilian, Margrave of Baden Maximilian, Margrave of Baden (Maximilian Andreas Friedrich Gustav Ernst August Bernhard Prinz und Markgraf von Baden; 3 July 1933 – 29 December 2022), also known as Max von Baden, was a German businessman and the head of House of Baden. Thro ...

, and Archduchess Valerie of Austria (born 1941) and was styled as the heir of his father, Hereditary Prince of Baden. His paternal grandparents were Berthold, Margrave of Baden, and Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark, who was a sister of

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

. His maternal grandparents were Archduke Hubert Salvator of Austria and Princess Rosemary of Salm-Salm.

Activities

A commercial lawyer by training, he studied business administration and law in Hamburg and Switzerland. Prince Bernhard manages the family estates, including Staufenberg Castle, and the margravial wineries dedicated to preserving the grape variety

Müller-Thurgau Müller-Thurgau () is a white grape variety (sp. ''Vitis vinifera'') which was created by Hermann Müller from the Swiss Canton of Thurgau in 1882 at the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute in Germany. It is a crossing of Riesling with Made ...

. Between 2000 and 2009, he oversaw the transfer of many family assets, including Eberstein Castle and parts of Schloss Salem, to the German state in order to stabilise the family's finances. Bernhard has close relations with the

British royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

, and his granduncle,

, often came to Germany to shoot with the Baden family. On 17 April 2021, Bernhard was one of only thirty mourners at Prince Philip's ceremonial funeral at

St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel, formally titled The King's Free Chapel of the College of St George, Windsor Castle, at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal peculiar, Royal Peculia ...

. Bernhard, along with his cousins Philipp, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, and Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse, was chosen to represent the families of the Duke's late sisters who had been prevented from attending his wedding in 1947. Bernhard and his wife and siblings later attended a service of thanksgiving for Prince Philip's life at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

on 29 March 2022. He and his wife and mother were also present at the

state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, died on 8 September 2022 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, at the age of 96. Elizabeth's reign of 70 years and 214 days was the List of monarchs in Britain by length of ...

at Westminster Abbey and subsequent service of committal at St George's Chapel on 19 September 2022. On 30 March 2023, he and his wife attended a state banquet given by

Frank-Walter Steinmeier Frank-Walter Steinmeier (; born 5 January 1956) is a German politician who has served as President of Germany since 2017. He was previously Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), federal minister for foreign affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again f ...

President of Germany The president of Germany, officially titled the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international correspondence; the official English title is President of the F ...

, at Bellevue Palace during

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

and

Queen Camilla Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. Camilla was raised in East ...

's state visit to Germany. On 29 December 2022, his father, Maximilian, died and Bernhard became head of the former grand ducal house of Baden. Though royal and noble titles were abolished in Germany in 1919 when the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

was proclaimed, he is sometimes styled and titled ''His Royal Highness The Margrave of Baden, Duke of Zähringen'', by

courtesy Courtesy (from the word , from the 12th century) is gentle politeness and courtly manners. In the Middle Ages in Europe, the behaviour expected of the nobility was compiled in courtesy books. History The apex of European courtly culture was ...

. Prior to this, he was styled and titled ''His

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 ...

Hereditary Prince of Baden''. Legally in Germany, these titles form part of his surname. On 24 April 2025 the Margrave attended the funeral of Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as the representative of Charles III.

Marriage and children

Bernhard married Stephanie Anne Kaul (born 27 June 1966), daughter of Christian Kaul and Hannelore Scheel, in a civil ceremony on 22 June 2001 and a religious ceremony the following day at Schloss Salem. The marriage was acknowledged as dynastic by his father. The couple have three sons. The family lives in

Linzgau Linzgau is a historic region in Southern Germany, Southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located north of Lake Constance and south of the Danube valley. Geography The region is bounded by the shore of Lake Constance on the sou ...

near Schloss Salem.

Ancestry

Notes and References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernhard Of Baden, Hereditary Prince 1970 births Living people People from Bodenseekreis House of Zähringen Princes of Baden Margraves of Baden Pretenders