Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (Richard Casimir Karl August Robert Konstantin; 29 October 1934 – 13 March 2017) was the head of the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and husband of Princess Benedikte of Denmark.

Early life

''Richard Casimir Karl August Robert Konstantin'' was the eldest son and child of Gustav Albrecht, 5th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, a highly decorated

German army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

officer declared missing in 1944 yet only legally declared dead in 1969, and his wife, Margareta Fouché d'Otrante, a descendant of Napoleonic statesman Joseph Fouché, Duke d'Otrante.

Education

Richard was raised in Sweden with his maternal grandfather, the Duke of Otranto, at Elghammar Castle. He attended the boarding schools Viggbyholm and Sigtuna. Having studied arboreal science at

Munich University The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

, Prince Richard obtained his forestry diploma at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

. He took post-graduate training as ''Forstreferendar'', obtaining a degree as ''Assessor des Forstdienstes'' after passing the second-level examination at the North Rhine Westphalian State Forestry Service.

Marriage

Richard married Princess Benedikte of Denmark at Fredensborg Palace Church on 3 February 1968. She is the second daughter of

Frederik IX of Denmark Frederik IX (Christian Frederik Franz Michael Carl Valdemar Georg; 11 March 1899 – 14 January 1972) was King of Denmark from 1947 to 1972. Frederik was born into the House of Glücksburg during the reign of his great-grandfather King Chr ...

and

Ingrid of Sweden Ingrid of Sweden (Ingrid Victoria Sofia Louisa Margareta; 28 March 1910 – 7 November 2000) was List of Danish consorts, Queen of Denmark from 20 April 1947 to 14 January 1972 as the wife of King Frederik IX. Ingrid was born into the Hous ...

, younger sister of

Margrethe II of Denmark Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until Abdication of Margrethe II, her abdication on 14 January 2024. Ha ...

and elder sister of Queen Anne-Marie of Greece. The couple lived at Berleburg Castle. Pursuant to the marriage contract, in Denmark Richard and his children by Princess Benedikte were to be attributed the

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

of ''

Highness Highness (abbreviation HH, oral address Your Highness) is a formal style used to address (in second person) or refer to (in third person) certain members of a reigning or formerly reigning dynasty. It is typically used with a possessive adjec ...

'', rather than the unknown '' Durchlaucht'' ("Serene Highness") to which all

Sayn-Wittgenstein Sayn-Wittgenstein was a county of medieval Germany, located in the Sauerland of eastern North Rhine-Westphalia. History Sayn-Wittgenstein was created when Count Salentin of Sayn-Homburg (1314-1392), a member of the House of Sponheim, married ...

princes were historically entitled in Germany.Eilers, Marlene. Queen Victoria's Descendants. Rosvall Royal Books, Falkoping, Sweden, 1997. pp.100, 158-159, 179. While the couple were raising their family Princess Benedikte reduced her royal engagements in Denmark, where she spent only about a quarter of her time.

Children and grandchildren

* Gustav, 7th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (born 12 January 1969). On 3 June 2022, he married Carina Axelsson (born 5 August 1968). They have a son and a daughter. * Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (born 20 November 1970). She was married on 6 June 1998 at Gråsten Palace to Count Jefferson von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth (born 12 July 1967). The couple have two children and divorced in 2017. She remarried on 18 May 2019 Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille (born 26 February 1965). * Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (born 2 May 1975). On 27 May 2010, she married Alexander Johannsmann (born 6 December 1977). On 15 August 2022, the Danish court confirmed that Nathalie and Johannsmann had divorced. They have two children.

Conservation

Prince Richard engaged in several conservation programmes, while responsible for managing his family's extensive lands in Germany. He launched a project to re-introduce

European bison The European bison (: bison) (''Bison bonasus'') or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bi ...

to the native continent on part of his 32,000 acre estate in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

, credited as a success by Rewilding Europe as part of a larger effort to restore depleted animals across Europe.

Health issues and death

In July 2003, he underwent surgery for treatment of

prostate The prostate is an male accessory gland, accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found in all male mammals. It differs between species anatomically, chemica ...

cancer; previously, he had undergone treatment for skin cancer. Prince Richard died suddenly on 13 March 2017 at the castle of Berleburg in Germany. He was 82.

Titles, styles and honours

Titles

''His Highness'' The Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg

Honours

National honours

* : Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1st Class * : Knight of the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in ...

Foreign honours

* : Commander Grand Cross of the

Royal Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order o ...

* : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

* : Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown

Ancestry

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *

External links

Richard Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg
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