Carl, Duke of Württemberg
| Carl Herzog von Württemberg | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head of the House of Württemberg | |||||
| Tenure | 17 April 1975 – present | ||||
| Predecessor | Philipp Albrecht | ||||
| Heir apparent | Duke Wilhelm | ||||
| Born | 1 August 1936 Friedrichshafen, Germany | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | Duke Friedrich Duchess Mathilde Duke Eberhard Duke Philipp Duke Michael Duchess Eleonore | ||||
| |||||
| House | Württemberg | ||||
| Father | Philipp Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg | ||||
| Mother | Archduchess Rosa of Austria-Tuscany | ||||
| Religion | Roman Catholic | ||||
Carl Maria Peter Ferdinand Philipp Albrecht Joseph Michael Pius Konrad Robert Ulrich Herzog von Württemberg (born 1 August 1936) is the current head of the House of Württemberg. His heir-apparent is his grandson Wilhelm.
Life[]
Carl was born in Friedrichshafen on 1 August 1936.[1] He was the second son of Philipp Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg (1893–1975), and Archduchess Rosa of Austria, Princess of Tuscany (1906–1983).[2] He was educated at the classical grammar school in Riedlingen and the University of Tübingen, where he studied law. After graduating, he joined the family estate business, based at Altshausen Palace.
Carl became heir-presumptive to the headship of the House of Württemberg on 29 June 1959, when his older brother, Ludwig, renounced his succession rights.[3] He became head of the family in 1975. The company manages around 5500 hectares of forest, around 2000 hectares of meadows and fields, fifty hectares of vineyards, other land in Germany and abroad, forests in Canada and Austria, and company holdings. It also maintains some seventy cultural monuments of the House of Württemberg. The current headquarters of the estate is Friedrichshafen Castle.
The Duke takes part in many social and charitable activities, including the German Red Cross, the Friends of Cancer Children, the Free School Foundation, the Art Foundation, the Preventive Youth Welfare Foundation, and the Baden-Württemberg Monument Foundation, which he chaired from 2002 to 2008. He is Patron of the Society for the Promotion of the State Museum of Württemberg, an honorary senator of the Universities of Tübingen and Hohenheimas, and chairman of the Friends of the University of Tübingen and the University Foundation. In Altshausen, where he lives, he is Patron of the Citizens Guard Yellow Hussars.
On 31 May 2002, Pope John Paul II made the Duke the Commander-in-Chief of the Papal Order of St Gregory the Great. [4] On November 8, 2008, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in theology from the University of Vallendar, and he became a Knight of Honour of the Teutonic Order in 2009.
Marriage and issue[]
On 21 July 1960, he married Princess Diane d'Orléans (born 1940), the daughter of Prince Henri, Count of Paris, and his wife Princess Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza. They had four sons and two daughters:[5]
- Friedrich Philipp Carl Franz Maria (1 June 1961 – 9 May 2018).
- Mathilde Marie-Antoinette Rosa Isabelle (born 11 July 1962 in Friedrichshafen)
- Eberhard Alois Nikolaus Heinrich Johannes Maria (born 20 June 1963 in Friedrichshafen).
- Philipp Albrecht Christoph Ulrich Maria (born 1 November 1964 in Friedrichshafen).
- Michael Heinrich Albert Alexander Maria (born 1 December 1965 in Friedrichshafen).
- Eleonore Fleur Juanita Charlotte Eudoxie Marie-Agnès (born 4 November 1977 in Altshausen).
Dynastic honours[]
 | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (June 2021) |
House of Württemberg: Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown- House of Württemberg: Sovereign of the Order of Olga
- House of Württemberg: Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Military Merit
- House of Württemberg: Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Frederick I, Special Class
Bavarian Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Hubert
Ducal Family of Anhalt: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Albert the Bear
Austrian Imperial and Royal Family: Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece
Italian Royal Family: Knight Grand Collar of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation
Two Sicilian Royal Family: Bailiff Knight Grand Cross of Justice of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
Ancestry[]
Citations[]
- ^ Opfell 2001, p. 125.
- ^ Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh 1973, p. 227.
- ^ Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, Burke's Royal Families of the World Vol. 1 (1977), p. 191
- ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis 95 (2003), n. 1, p. 91
- ^ Jump up to: a b Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, p. 5, 122-126.
References[]
- Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels. Fürstliche Häuser (in German). XVIII. C.A. Starke Verlag. 2007. ISBN 978-3-7980-0841-0.
- Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh, ed. (1973). Burke's Guide to the Royal Family. Burke's Peerage. ISBN 0-220-66222-3.
- Opfell, Olga S. (2001). Royalty Who Wait: The 21 Heads of Formerly Regnant Houses of Europe. McFarland. ISBN 9780786450572.
External links[]
| show Heads of the House of Württemberg since 1918 |
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- 1936 births
- Pretenders to the throne of Württemberg
- Living people
- People from Friedrichshafen
- Dukes of Württemberg
- Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg
- Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria
- Honorary Knights of the Teutonic Order