Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia

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The Prince of Prussia
The Prince in 2014
Head of the Royal House of Prussia
Tenure 26 September 1994 – present
Predecessor Louis Ferdinand
Heir apparent Carl Friedrich
Born (1976-06-10) 10 June 1976 (age 47)
Bremen, West Germany
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2011)​
Issue Carl Friedrich, Hereditary Prince of Prussia
Prince Louis Ferdinand
Princess Emma Marie
Prince Heinrich
Full name
Georg Friedrich Ferdinand
House Hohenzollern
Father Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia
Mother Countess Donata of Castell-Rüdenhausen
Religion Roman Catholic

Georg Friedrich Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia (In German: Georg Friedrich Prinz von Preußen; born 10 June 1976) is a German businessman who is the current head of the Prussian branch of the House of Hohenzollern, the former ruling dynasty of the German Empire and of the Kingdom of Prussia.[1][2] He is the great-great-grandson and historic heir of Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, who abdicated and went into exile upon Germany's defeat in World War I in 1918. Thus he is a fourth great-grandson of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and a distant cousin of many European monarchs.

Education and career[edit]

Georg Friedrich is the only son of Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia (1944–1977) and Countess Donata of Castell-Rüdenhausen (1950–2015).[3][4] Born into a mediatised princely family, his mother later became Duchess Donata of Oldenburg when she married secondly Duke Friedrich August of Oldenburg, who had previously been married to her sister-in-law Princess Marie Cécile of Prussia.[5] His only sister is Cornelie-Cécile (b. 1978).[4]

He attended grammar schools in Bremen and Oldenburg and completed his education at Glenalmond College near Perth, Scotland, where he passed his A-levels. He then served for a two-year commission in the Alpine troops of the Bundeswehr and was discharged after his term of service. Georg Friedrich earned his degree in business economics at the Freiberg University of Mining and Technology.[6]

Georg Friedrich works for a company specialising in helping universities to bring their innovations to market.[7] He also administered the Princess Kira of Prussia Foundation, founded by his grandmother Grand Duchess Kira of Russia in 1952, now administered by his wife.[8] In 2018 he moved from a house near Bremen, where he had also spent his childhood, to Babelsberg, a district of Potsdam, the capital city of the German state of Brandenburg.

He owns a two-thirds share of his family's original seat, Hohenzollern Castle, while the other share is held by the head of the Swabian branch, Karl Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern. He also owns the Princes' Island in the Great Lake of Plön. In 2017 he founded a beer trademark called Kgl. Preußische Biermanufactur (Royal Prussian Beer Manufactory) producing a Pilsner brand called Preussens.

Prince Georg Friedrich continues to claim compensation for land and palaces in Berlin expropriated from his family, a claim begun in March 1991 by his grandfather Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia under the Compensation Act (EALG).[9]

House of Hohenzollern[edit]

Georg Friedrich succeeded his grandfather, Louis Ferdinand, as Head of the Royal House of Prussia,[10] a branch of the House of Hohenzollern, on 26 September 1994. He stated that he learned to appreciate the history and responsibility of his heritage during time spent with his paternal grandfather, who often recounted to him anecdotes from the life in exile of his own grandfather, the last German Kaiser, Wilhelm II.[11]

His position as sole heir to the estate of his grandfather was challenged by his uncles, Friedrich Wilhelm and Michael, who filed a lawsuit claiming that, despite their renunciations as dynasts at the time of their marriages,[4] the loss of their inheritance rights based on their selection of spouse was discriminatory and unconstitutional.[12] His uncles were initially successful, the Regional Court of Hechingen and the higher Regional Court of Stuttgart ruling in their favour in 1997 on the grounds that the requirement to marry equally was "immoral".[13] However, the Federal Court of Justice of Germany overturned the original rulings in favour of Georg Friedrich's uncles, the case being remanded to the courts at Hechingen and Stuttgart. This time both courts ruled in favour of Georg Friedrich. His uncles then took their case to the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany which overruled the previous court rulings in Georg Friedrich's favour.[12] On 19 October 2005, a German regional court ruled that Georg Friedrich was indeed the principal heir of his grandfather, Louis Ferdinand (who was the primary beneficiary of the trust set up for the estate of Wilhelm II), but also concluded that each of the children of Louis Ferdinand was entitled to a portion of the Prussian inheritance.

Family[edit]

Georg Friedrich and his wife

In 2011 Georg Friedrich married Princess Sophie of Isenburg. The civil wedding took place in Potsdam on 25 August 2011,[7] and the ecumenical religious wedding took place at the Church of Peace in Potsdam on 27 August 2011, in commemoration of the 950th anniversary of the founding of the House of Hohenzollern.[14][15][16] The religious wedding was also broadcast live by local public television.[7]

On 20 January 2013, Georg Friedrich's wife, Sophie, gave birth to twin sons in Bremen, Carl Friedrich Franz Alexander and Louis Ferdinand Christian Albrecht. Carl Friedrich, the elder of the two, is his father's heir apparent.[17] Their third child, Emma Marie Charlotte Sofia, was born on 2 April 2015. On 17 November 2016, Sophie gave birth to Heinrich Albert Johann Georg, their fourth child.[18]

Property claims[edit]

In mid-2019 it was revealed that Georg Friedrich had filed claims for permanent right of residency for his family in Cecilienhof, or one of two other former Hohenzollern palaces in Potsdam, as well as return of the family library, 266 paintings, an imperial crown and sceptre, and the letters of Empress Augusta Victoria.[19] This sparked a public debate about the legitimacy of these claims and the role of the Hohenzollern during and before the Nazi regime in Germany, specifically Crown Prince Wilhelm's involvement.[20][21][22]

In June 2019, a claim made by Georg Friedrich that Rheinfels Castle be returned to the Hohenzollern family was dismissed by a court. In 1924, the ruined castle had been given to the town of St Goar, under the proviso it was not sold. In 1998 the town leased the ruins to a nearby hotel. His case made the claim that this constituted a breach of the bequest.[23]

Ancestry[edit]

{{ahnentafel |align=center |boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc; |boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9; |boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; |boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc; |1= 1. Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia |2= 2. Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia |3= 3. Countess Donata of Castell-Rüdenhausen |4= 4. Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia |5= 5. Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna of Russia |6= 6. Siegfried, Prince of Castell-Rüdenhausen [de] |7= 7. Countess Irene of Solms-Laubach |8= 8. Wilhelm, German Crown Prince |9= 9. Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin |10= 10. Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia |11= 11. Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha |12= 12. Casimir, Prince of Castell-Rüdenhausen |13= 13. Countess Mechtilde of Bentinck |14= 14. George Frederick, Count of Solms-Laubach |15= 15. Princess Johanna of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich

Titles and Styles

10 June 1976-26 September 1994 His Royal Highness Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia

26 September 1994-present His Imperial and Royal Highness The Prince of Prussia

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "George Frederick The Prince of Prussia" Archived 26 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine preussen.de
  2. ↑ "Germany 1815-90; Vol II 1852-71". Retrieved 2017-12-15.
  3. ↑ Eilers, Marlene. Queen Victoria's Descendants. Rosvall Royal Books, Falkoping, Sweden, 1997. pp. 16-17, 123, 172. ISBN 91-630-5964-9
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser Band XIV. "Haus Preussen". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1991, p. 123, 146. ISBN 3-7980-0700-4
  5. ↑ Willis, Daniel. The Descendants of King George I of Great Britain. Clearfield, Baltimore, US, 2002, pp. 688-689. ISBN 0-8063-5172-1
  6. ↑ de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. Coutant de Saisseval, Guy. Le Petit Gotha. Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery, Paris 2002, pp. 77-79, 99, 106, 108-111. (French) ISBN 2-9507974-3-1
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Heir to Prussian throne to get televised wedding". Expatica.com. 2011-08-25. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
  8. ↑ "George Frederick The Prince of Prussia". Archived from the original on 21 June 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  9. ↑ "Preußen-Prinz bittet Berlin zur Kasse". Südwest Presse Online. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
  10. ↑ DeMarco, Anthony (29 February 2012). "A 35-Carat Diamond of Royal Historical Significance Will Be Sold at Sotheby's". Forbes. Retrieved 18 November 2012. After the death of Prince Louis Ferdinand, the diamond was inherited as part of the estate by his grandson, Georg Friedrich (1976-), Prince of Prussia and current head of the Royal House of Prussia
  11. ↑ Majesty. Interview, March 2009.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Francois Velde. "The Hohenzollern Succession Dispute". Heraldica.org. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
  13. ↑ Andrew Gimson, "Kaiser's rule on marriage still applies to heirs"[dead link], The Telegraph (18 December 1998).
  14. ↑ "George Friedrich Prince of Prussia and Sophie Princes: German set for Its Own Royal ?Wedding," Spiegel, 26 August 2011.
  15. ↑ "Verlobung im Haus Hohenzollern". Preussen.de. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
  16. ↑ "Prinz von Preußen heiratet in Potsdam". Charivari.de. 2016-01-01. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
  17. ↑ "Official Website of the House of Hohenzollern: Prinz Georg Friedrich von Preußen". Archived from the original on 18 February 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  18. ↑ "BUNTE.de verrät: So heißt ihr Baby-Prinz!".
  19. ↑ Scally, Derek (15 July 2019). "The fall of the House of Hohenzollern". The Irish Times. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  20. ↑ McLean, Scott; Schmidt, Nadine (30 December 2022). "Germany's ex-royals want their riches back, but past ties to Hitler stand in the way". CNN. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  21. ↑ Häntzschel, Jörg (16 November 2019). "Jan Böhmermann, der Aufklärer" (in German). Süddeutsche Zeitung. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  22. ↑ "Historian Christopher Clark on the Hohenzollern Dispute". Der Spiegel. 26 October 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  23. ↑ Le Blond, Josie (25 June 2019). "Kaiser's descendant loses court battle to regain 13th-century castle". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 May 2021.

External links[edit]

Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia
Born: 10 June 1976
Titles in pretence
Preceded by — TITULAR —
German Emperor
King of Prussia
26 September 1994 – present
Reason for succession failure:
Monarchy abolished in 1918 		Incumbent
Hereditary Prince:
Carl Friedrich
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