House of Urach
House of Urach | |
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Mindaugas II (1918) | |
Titles |
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Estate(s) | Kingdom of Lithuania |
The House of Urach is a
Origins
Medieval
The comital House of Urach were part of Swabian nobility in the 12th to 13th centuries, with their ancestral seat at Urach.
The first mention of the name dates to the early 11th century, with the brothers Egino and Rudolf, whose seat was at Dettingen. Older historiography points to an origin of the name in the given name Unruoch, possibly Unruoch III (d. 874) of the Unruochings. More recent literature prefers an origin of the name in toponymy, derived from of Aura.[1] The two brothers built
After the extinction of the
Modern
The title of count or duke of Urach was revived in the 18th and 19th centuries for morganatic lineages of the House of Württemberg.
In the early modern period, the
Although
The Kingdom of Württemberg survived until 1918 as part of the Confederation of the Rhine and later the German Empire, and was ruled by four kings:
- Frederick I (1806–1816)
- William I (1816–1864)
- Charles I(1864–1891)
- William II(1891–1918)
The House of Urach was founded by the secret marriage of
Members of the family
However, not all of the issue of the marriage were recognised as princes or dukes. Initially, the children of this marriage were accorded only the title Count/Countess von Württemberg.[3] The eldest son, Count Alexander (1801-1844), married Countess Ilona Festetics von Tolna in 1832 (daughter of the Croatian Count Ladislas Festetics von Tolna (1785–1846) and his wife, born Princess Josephine of Hohenzollern-Hechingen). The last of his four children died in 1911, the two sons leaving no issue to bear the Württemberg comital title.[3]
Alexander's sister Marie (1815-1866) was Countess von Württemberg until her marriage in 1842, and she became Countess von Taubenheim.[3]
King Frederick and Duke Wilhelm's youngest brother,
Dukes
Count Wilhelm von Württemberg (1810-1869), Duke Wilhelm's third son, would become the first Duke von Urach in 1867 and ancestor of the current princely Urach line. Although both of his marriages were to dynastic princesses, he wed them as a count, marrying Théodelinde de Beauharnais, Princess of Leuchtenburg (1814–1857) in 1841 and Princess Florestine of Monaco (1833–1897) in 1863.[3]
Following the 1863 marriage of the widowed Count Wilhelm von Württemberg to Princess Florestine, sister of
The 2nd Duke von Urach,
The current and 5th duke (according to the 1867 grant) is Wilhelm Albert, Duke of Urach (b. 1957), who since 1991 has been married to Karen von Brauchitsch (Grafin Berghe von Trips, by 1988 adoption). They have a son, Prince Karl-Philipp (born 1992) and two daughters. Wilhelm inherited the dukedom from his brother, the 4th Duke Karl Anselm (born 1955), who renounced the title on 16 February 1991, a few weeks after his marriage to Saskia Wüsthof. Their uncle, Karl Gero (1899–1981), had been the 3rd Duke, but left no children. He had been preceded in the title by his father Duke Wilhem (1864-1928), his elder brother Prince Wilhelm (1897-1957) having renounced his right of succession in January 1928 to marry Elisabeth Theurer.
Property
The House of Urach established three Familienfideikommissen during its history: the Württemberg Countship Trust for the Counts of Württemberg, the Urach Ducal Trust for the Dukes of Urach, and the Urach Princely Trust for Prince Karl of Urach (1865-1925), the younger son of Duke Wilhelm who was not expected to inherit his father's dukedom and who died childless.[7]
The comital trust was set up in October 1837, originally for the brothers Count Alexander (1801-1844) and Count Wilhelm (1810-1869, later 1st Duke of Urach), funded by an inheritance from a childless uncle, Duke Ferdinand of Württemberg (1763–1834), as stipulated in his will.[7] Still extant, although subject to substantial modern legal restrictions, the ducal trust came to include, besides liquid assets, several castles, town houses, farmlands, hunting grounds, commercial and rental buildings, and other property in Germany, France and Monaco, notably Lichtenstein Castle which remains the hereditary seat of the dukes.[7]
Like the ducal trust, the title Duke of Urach was hereditary by
Lithuania
Despite being ineligible to reign in Germany, in 1918 the House of Urach was invited to rule another country – the
The Kingdom of Lithuania was a short-lived constitutional monarchy created toward the end of World War I when Lithuania was part of the German Empire. The Taryba declared Lithuania's independence on February 16, 1918, but was unable to form a government, police, or other state institutions due to the continued presence of German troops.
The Germans presented various proposals to incorporate Lithuania into an expanded German Empire. The Lithuanians resisted this idea and hoped to preserve their independence by creating a separate constitutional monarchy, so they invited Prince Wilhelm of Urach to become their king.
The reign of Mindaugas II was accepted by the Catholic Church and by several European countries, as is seen in the letter from Pope Benedict XV welcoming Wilhelm's selection as the future King of Lithuania. Such authoritative registers as the Almanach de Gotha also acknowledged the new monarchy.
Rules of succession
This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2022) |
According to the rules of the old House of Urach and to the requirements imposed by the Taryba in 1918, the Head of the House of Urach and of Lithuanian monarchy must:
- be firstborn in the male line;
- document no fewer than 32 noble quarters in ancestry;[citation needed]
- marry or issue from no morganatic marriage with a commoner or a noblewoman of fewer than 32 noble quarters;[9][unreliable source?]
- hold military rank;
- undertake to learn the Lithuanian language;
- reside in Lithuania.
Succession to the throne of Lithuania was to be hereditary in the House of Urach.
While Duke Karl Anselm renounced his succession to marry morganatically, the current Duke Wilhelm Albert was unconvinced as to whether his own marriage to Karen von Brauchitsch-Berghe von Trips was also morganatic as she did not meet the immediate requirement of 32 noble ancestors.[citation needed] The brothers ultimately agreed that Wilhelm Albert would remain head of the House of Urach in Germany while Inigo would be head of the House in Lithuania.[9]
Ancestors of the House of Urach
] | Father: Prince Eberhard of Urach |
Paternal Grandfather: King of Lithuania )
|
Paternal Great-grandfather: Wilhelm, 1st Duke of Urach
|
Paternal Great-grandmother: Princess Florestine of Monaco | |||
Paternal Grandmother: Duchess Amalie in Bavaria |
Paternal Great-grandfather: Karl Theodor, Duke in Bavaria | ||
Paternal Great-grandmother: Princess Sophie of Saxony | |||
Mother: Princess Iniga of Thurn and Taxis |
Maternal Grandfather: Prince Ludwig Philipp of Thurn and Taxis |
Maternal Great-grandfather: Albert, 8th Prince of Thurn and Taxis | |
Maternal Great-grandmother: Archduchess Margarethe Klementine of Austria | |||
Maternal Grandmother: Princess Elisabeth of Luxembourg (1901–1950) |
Maternal Great-grandfather: William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg | ||
Maternal Great-grandmother: Infanta Marie Anne of Portugal |
References
- ^ Hans Jänichen, "Die Grafen von Urach", Alemannisches Jahrbuch, 1976/78, 1–15.
- ^ Britannica.com, House of Württemberg, Encyclopædia Britannica. retrieved 14 August 2014.
- ^ ISBN 2-901138-02-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-3-7980-0841-0.
- ^ Liudvikas Jakavicius-Grimalauskas, history of the House of Urach – the last Lithuanian royal family[permanent dead link], The Lithuania Tribune, DELFI.LT.
- ^ Arben Puto, L'indépendance albanaise et la diplomatie des grandes puissances: 1912–1914 (Tirana: Editions "8 Nëntori", 1982), 456.
- ^ a b c Landesarchive Baden-Wurttemberg. Historical Outline and Content of the GU 10 File: Pooled Documents for Asset Management of the House of Urach. Eberhard Merk. Stuttgart. 2011. retrieved 17 August 2014.
- ^ Liudvikas Jakavicius-Grimalauskas, Princas Inigo von Urachas jaučia pareigą padėti lietuvai, Kulturos barai Magazine No. 4 (year 2013) pages 17, 18, 19 and 20
- ^ a b Caputo, Salvatore. "The Monarchy in Lithuania: History, Rights and Prospects" (PDF).
- ^ https://vilnews.com/2013-05-19052. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
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