Christian, Duke of Oldenburg (; born 1 February 1955) is the head of the Grand Ducal Family of Oldenburg.

Family and life

Christian was born in

Rastede Rastede (Low German: ''Raastäe/Raas'') is a municipality in the Ammerland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 12 km north of Oldenburg. It is the site of the Schloss Rastede. The Rastede railway station is ...

, Lower Saxony, the only son of Duke Anton-Günther of Oldenburg and his wife Princess Ameli of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg (b. 1923). Christian has an elder sister, Duchess Helene (b. 1953) who is unmarried. Christian has a

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

in Business. Christian is a great-grandson of the last Grand Duke of Oldenburg to

reign A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., King of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia, List of Belgian monarchs, Belgium, Co-princes of Andorra, Andorra), of a people (e.g., List of Frankish kin ...

, Frederick Augustus II and through his mother he is related to the Princes of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg, who belong to a morganatic branch of the

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

descending from Frederick I, Elector Palatine. Christian became heir to the headship of the Grand Ducal family on 3 April 1970 when his grandfather Hereditary Grand Duke Nikolaus died. According to his father's obituary issued by the family his ancestral titles (however not all part of his official German surname) are: ''HRH The Duke of Oldenburg, Heir in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, Duke of

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been di ...

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

, Stormarn,

Dithmarschen Dithmarschen (, ; archaic English: ''Ditmarsh''; ; ) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Nordfriesland, Schleswig-Flensburg, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, and Steinburg, by the ...

and Oldenburg, Prince of Lübeck and

Birkenfeld Birkenfeld () is a town and the district seat of the Birkenfeld (district), Birkenfeld Districts of Germany, district in southwest Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is also the seat of the Birkenfeld (Verbandsgemeinde), like-named ''Verbandsge ...

, Lord of

Jever Jever () is the capital of the district of Friesland (district), Friesland in Lower Saxony, Germany. The name Jever is usually associated with a major brand of beer, Jever Pilsener, which is produced there. The city is also a popular holiday res ...

and Knyphausen''. The ancestral home of the House of Oldenburg is Oldenburg castle, nowadays a museum owned by the state. Present seats of the Duke of Oldenburg are Rastede Palace near Oldenburg and Güldenstein Manor, Harmsdorf, in Schleswig-Holstein. Eutin Castle in Schleswig-Holstein is a museum owned by a family foundation set up by his father. File:Schloß Oldenburg (01).JPG,

Schloss Oldenburg Schloss Oldenburg (Oldenburg palace) is a ''schloss'', or palace, in the city of Oldenburg (city), Oldenburg in the present-day state of Lower Saxony, Germany. The first castle on the site was built around 1100 and became the ancestral home of the ...

File:Schloss Rastede.jpg, Rastede Palace File:Gueldenstein Hof-2.JPG, Güldenstein Manor, Harmsdorf File:Eutin Schloss 1.jpg, Eutin Castle

Marriage and children

Christian married on 26 September 1987 at Pronstorf Countess Caroline zu Rantzau (b. 1962), daughter of Count Christian Karl zu Rantzau (1924-2002) and his wife Heloise von Lettow-Vorbeck (b. 1923). They have four children.

Ancestry

Notes

References

External links

*
Website of the ''Herzoglich Oldenburgische Verwaltung''
(Ducal Oldenburgian Administration) at Güldenstein (with image of Duke Christian) 1955 births Living people People from Lübeck Dukes of Oldenburg Pretenders {{Germany-royal-stub