Kraft, 9th Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (; 25 June 1935 – 16 March 2004), was a German prince and landowner who was titular head of the

House of Hohenlohe-Langenburg Hohenlohe-Langenburg () was a German county and later principality in the Holy Roman Empire. It was located around Langenburg in what is now northeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Starting in medieval times and continuing until 1806, this sma ...

. He was a nephew 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 ...

, a nephew-in-law of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, and thus a first cousin of

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 ...

Early life

Kraft was born on 25 June 1935 in

Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall (; 'Swabian Hall'; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the N ...

to Gottfried, Hereditary Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, and

Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark (; 18 April 1905 – 24 April 1981) was a List of princesses of Greece, Greek and List of princesses of Denmark, Danish princess by birth and Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg by marriage. An elder sister ...

, the eldest sister of

. The family was not invited to Philip's

wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...

Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom Princess Elizabeth (22 May 1770 – 10 January 1840), called ''Eliza'', was the seventh child and third daughter of King George III and Queen Charlotte. After marrying the Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, Frederick VI, she took permanent residen ...

in 1947, due to his parents' membership of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

. Six years later, however and his parents and sister,

Princess Beatrix Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as List of monarchs of the Netherlands, Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix was born ...

, were seated in the royal box at his aunt's coronation in

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 ...

. He studied forestry and banking in preparation to take over the family estates.

Activities

In 1960, Kraft succeeded his father as titular

Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg Hohenlohe-Langenburg () was a German county and later principality in the Holy Roman Empire. It was located around Langenburg in what is now northeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Starting in medieval times and continuing until 1806, this smal ...

. Despite German noble titles being abolished in the

German Revolution German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, the title formed part of his surname and he still inherited a vast estate. On 23 January 1963, Langenburg Castle was almost completely destroyed by fire. In 1965, he received his aunt and uncle,

and

, at the damaged castle during their state visit to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. He sold Weikersheim Palace to the state of

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 ...

in 1967 to cover the cost of the restoration. His wife at the time, Charlotte, an art historian who represented Germany at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

, assisted in the restoration. A well known auto enthusiast, he opened the German Automobile Museum Langenburg Castle (''Deutsches Automuseum Schloss Langenburg'') with race car driver

Richard von Frankenberg Richard von Frankenberg (4 March 1922 in Darmstadt – 11 November 1973 in Beilstein) was a German journalist and race car driver. In 1952 he created and published the (later) official Porsche magazine Christophorus (magazine). The visuals of th ...

in the castle's former stables on 20 March 1970. He also served as president of the

Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens The Fédération International des Véhicules Anciens or FIVA (English: international federation of ancient vehicles) is the worldwide federative association of historic automobile clubs, be they for veteran, vintage, pre- or post-war classic car ...

from 1983 to 1996 and president of the ''Allgemeiner Schnauferl-Club'' from 1981 to 1993. He was an elected member of the synod of the

Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg () is a Lutheran member church of the Protestant Church in Germany in the German former state of Württemberg, now part of the state of Baden-Württemberg. The seat of the church is in Stuttgart. It ...

from 1965 to 1974 and the district assembly of

from 1965 to 1979. Additionally, he served as member of the board of directors of the

German Red Cross The German Red Cross (GRC) ( ; DRK) is the national Red Cross Society in Germany. During the Nazi era, the German Red Cross was under the control of the Nazi Party and played a role in supporting the regime's policies, including the exclusion ...

from 1984 to 2000. Kraft died on 16 March 2004, aged 68, following an illness.

Marriage and family

Kraft married, firstly, Princess Charlotte of Croÿ (born 1938) on 5 June 1965. They had three children: Cécile (born 1967);

Philipp Philipp is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: "Philipp" has also been a shortened version of Philippson, a German surname especially prevalent amongst German Jews and Dutch Jews. Surname * Adolf Philipp (18 ...

(born 1970); and Xenia (born 1972). He and Charlotte were divorced in 1990. He married, secondly, Irma Pospesch (born 1946) on 22 May 1992. He maintained relations with his British royal relatives, attending family events such as the

wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer The wedding of Prince Charles (later King Charles III) and Lady Diana Spencer took place on Wednesday, 29 July 1981, at St Paul's Cathedral in London, United Kingdom. The groom was the heir apparent to the British throne, and the bride was a mem ...

in 1981 and the

wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson The wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson was held on 23 July 1986, at Westminster Abbey in London, England. Courtship and engagement Prince Andrew, the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinbu ...

in 1986.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kraft, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg 1935 births 2004 deaths Princes of Hohenlohe-Langenburg House of Hohenlohe-Langenburg 20th-century German landowners German Lutherans Car collectors Pretenders People from Schwäbisch Hall