Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria

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Rupprecht
Crown Prince of Bavaria
Rupprecht in uniform prior to World War I
Head of the House of Wittelsbach
Tenure18 October 1921 – 2 August 1955
PredecessorLudwig III
SuccessorAlbrecht
Born(1869-05-18)18 May 1869
Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria
Died2 August 1955(1955-08-02) (aged 86)
Schloß Leutstetten, Starnberg, Free State of Bavaria, West Germany
Burial
Theatine Church, Munich
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1900; died 1912)​
​
​
(m. 1921; died 1954)​
Issue
Archduchess Maria Theresia of Austria-Este

Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria, Duke of Bavaria, Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine by the Rhine (Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand; English: Robert Maria Leopold Ferdinand; 18 May 1869 – 2 August 1955), was the last heir apparent to the Bavarian throne. During the first half of World War I, he commanded the 6th Army on the Western Front. From August 1916, he commanded Army Group Rupprecht of Bavaria, which occupied the sector of the front opposite the British Expeditionary Force.

Childhood

Portrait of Rupprecht as a child by Franz von Lenbach c. 1874.

Rupprecht was born in

Louis XIV of France and William the Conqueror. As a direct descendant of Henrietta of England, daughter of Charles I of England, he was claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland in the Jacobite succession.[1] His early education from the age of seven was conducted by Freiherr Rolf Kreusser, an Anglo-Bavarian. In his youth, he spent much of his time at Schloss Leutstetten, Starnberg, and at the family's villa near Lindau, Lake Constance, where he was able to develop a keen interest in sports. His education was traditional and conservative, but he became the first member of the royal house of Bavaria to spend time at a public school, when he was educated at the Maximilian-Gymnasium in Munich, where he spent four years. Apart from his academic studies and his training in riding and dancing, at school he was also obliged to learn a trade, and he chose carpentry.[2]

Pre-war

Rupprecht's paternal grandfather, Luitpold, became de facto ruler of Bavaria when King Ludwig II and his successor Otto both were declared insane in 1886. Rupprecht's own position changed somewhat through these events as it became clear that he was likely to succeed to the Bavarian throne one day.

After graduating from high school, he entered the

Infanterie-Leibregiment as a second lieutenant. He interrupted his military career to study at the universities of Munich and Berlin from 1889 to 1891. He rose to the rank of a colonel and became the commanding officer of the 2nd Infanterie Regiment Kronprinz but found enough opportunity to travel extensively to the Middle East, India, Japan and China. His early journeys were made with his adjutant, Otto von Stetten
. Later he was accompanied by his first wife.

At the age of 31, Rupprecht married his kinswoman Duchess Marie Gabrielle in Bavaria, with whom he had five children before her early death in 1912 at the age of 34.

In 1900, he became the 1,128th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Austria.

In 1906, Rupprecht was made commander of the Bavarian I Army Corps, with the rank of lieutenant general of the infantry, promoted to full general in 1913.[3]

In 1912, Luitpold was succeeded in the position of Prince Regent by his son Ludwig. On 5 November 1913, Ludwig was made king by vote of the Bavarian Senate, becoming Ludwig III. This decision also made Rupprecht the Crown Prince of Bavaria.[4]

Rupprecht and Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia each commanded an army on the western front (the Sixth Army and the Fifth Army, respectively) and were directly involved in the implementation of the Schlieffen Plan.[5]

First World War

After the outbreak of

polio
in Munich (27 August 1914).

During the spring of 1915, Rupprecht sent an answer to General

Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine and the rest of Lorraine was to be partitioned between Bavaria and Prussia.[8] Rupprecht aimed to reduce Prussia's hegemonic role in the Reich by building a sort of an imperial triumvirate of power between Prussia, Bavaria and the Netherlands.[8] Likewise when Moltke the Younger ordered Bavarian troops to defend Prussia from the East, he declined. As a result, troops had to be withdrawn from the Belgian front - a more difficult undertaking.[7]

In November 1915 Hermann von Kuhl became Rupprecht's new Chief of Staff. This work relationship would last for the remainder of the war.[5]

Rupprecht achieved the rank of

scorched-earth" policy during withdrawals, but his royal position made a resignation on those grounds impossible for him, even though he threatened it. He eventually resigned from his command on 11 November 1918[3] - the day of the armistice
.

He became engaged to the much younger Princess Antonia of Luxembourg in 1918, but Germany's capitulation delayed their marriage, and the engagement was postponed again.[4][10]

Links to military aviation

Fokker Eindecker
aircraft.

Primarily to see these fighting machines, yesterday the Crown Prince of Bavaria visited the field and inspected us and Abteilung 20. Director Fokker, the constructor of the combat aircraft, was presented to him.[11]

Interwar years

Prince Rupprecht and his second wife, Princess Antonia of Luxembourg

On 12 November 1918, in the wake of civil unrest in the last days of the war, Rupprecht's father, Ludwig III, promulgated the

Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, the last Queen of Bavaria, as the Jacobite heir. This occurred upon her death on 3 February 1919. As such, under his anglicized name, he would be King Robert I of England and King Robert IV of Scotland, although he never claimed these crowns and "strongly discouraged" anyone from claiming them on his behalf.[12]

The changed political situation however allowed him finally to marry

Pius XII
, officiated at the ceremony.

Shortly after the 1922

Kaiser Wilhelm II was to blame for the First World War.[13]

While opposed to the

Linderhof, to the Bavarian people. Afterwards, Rupprecht became critical of wars like World War I. Rupprecht once said to the New York Times that the Washington Naval Conference would be able to make future warfare more humane. Rupprecht added that future conferences would entirely abolish chemical warfare.[13]

Rupprecht was never enticed to join the Nazis in Germany, despite

King George V at a lunch in London in the summer of 1934 that he considered Hitler to be insane.[17]
With the worsening of the
Reichskanzler in 1933 by Hindenburg and the hesitant Bavarian government under Heinrich Held
ended all hopes for the idea.

Rupprecht continued to believe that restoration of the monarchy was possible, an opinion he voiced to the British ambassador Eric Phipps in 1935.

Second World War

Rupprecht was forced into exile in Italy in December 1939 (the last straw being the confiscation of Schloß Leutstetten by the Nazis) where he stayed as a guest of King

Victor Emmanuel, residing mostly in Florence. He and his family were barred from returning to Germany. He continued to harbor the idea of the restoration of the Bavarian monarchy, in a possible union with Austria as an independent Southern Germany.[2] In a memorandum in May 1943, he voiced his opinion that Germany would be completely defeated in the war and hoped to spare the German people from the worst when the Nazi regime finally fell. He even mentioned his ambition for the German crown, which had been held by the House of Wittelsbach in the past.[17]

In October 1944, when Germany occupied Hungary, Rupprecht's wife and children were captured, while he, still in Italy, evaded arrest. They were first imprisoned in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp at Oranienburg, Brandenburg. In April 1945, they were moved to the Dachau concentration camp, where they were liberated by the United States Army. Antonia never recovered completely from the captivity, and died in 1954 in Switzerland, having vowed never to return to Germany after her ordeal. She was buried in Rome but her heart was, complying with Wittelsbach tradition, enshrined in the Gnadenkapelle (Chapel of the Miraculous Image) at Altötting.

Post-war

Rupprecht with six of his children.

Rupprecht continued to advocate the restoration of the Bavarian monarchy upon his return but found no support from the US occupation authorities who, however, treated him courteously. General Dwight D. Eisenhower provided a special plane to fly him back to Munich in September 1945 and he returned to Schloss Leutstetten.

Of the 170 members of the Bavarian parliament, 70 declared themselves to be monarchists in September 1954, a clear sign of support for the Crown Prince.[18]

Death

Upon his death in 1955 at

Theatinerkirche in Munich near his grandfather Prince Luitpold and great-great-grandfather King Maximilian I
, between his first wife Duchess Maria Gabrielle and his eldest son Prince Luitpold.

Marriages and children

Franz
in 1948

Rupprecht married twice and had children with both of his wives. His first wife was

Duke Karl-Theodor in Bavaria, married on 10 July 1900 in Munich
. They had five children:

His second wife was Princess Antonia of Luxembourg (7 October 1899 – 31 July 1954), daughter of William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, married on 7 April 1921 in Lenggries. They had six children.

  • Prince Heinrich Franz Wilhelm of Bavaria (28 March 1922 – 14 February 1958). Married non-dynastically Anne Marie de Lustrac (1927–1999).[19] No issue. Heinrich was killed in a car accident in Argentina.[19] His wife Anne was killed in a similar accident in Milan forty years later.[19]
  • Princess Irmingard Marie Josefa of Bavaria (29 May 1923 – 23 October 2010). Married her first cousin Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (1913–2008) and had issue.
  • Princess Editha Marie Gabriele Anna of Bavaria (16 September 1924 – 4 May 2013). Married first Tito Tommaso Maria Brunetti (1905–1954) and second Prof. Gustav Christian Schimert (1910–1990). Had issue by both.[20]
  • Princess Hilda Hildegard Marie Gabriele of Bavaria (24 March 1926 – 5 May 2002). Married Juan Bradstock Edgar Lockett de Loayza (1912–1987) and had issue.
  • Princess Gabriele Adelgunde Marie Theresia Antonia of Bavaria (10 May 1927 – 19 April 2019). Married Carl, 14th Duke of Croÿ (1914–2011), and had issue.
  • Princess Sophie Marie Therese of Bavaria (b. 20 June 1935). Married Prince Jean-Engelbert, 12th
    Duke of Arenberg
    (1921–2011), and has issue.

Titles, styles and honours

Royal monogram

Titles and styles

His full style was "His Royal Highness Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Bavaria, Duke of Bavaria, of Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine by the Rhine".[6]

Honours

German honours[15]
Foreign honours[15]

Military ranks

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ Barbara W. Tuchman, The Guns of August: The Pulitzer Prize-Winning Classic About the Outbreak of World War I (Kindle Location 3936). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
  2. ^
    ISBN 3-88309-133-2
    .
  3. ^ a b Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria, 1869-1955, J. Rickard (6 November 2007)
  4. ^ a b Wittelsbacher (in German), Historisches Lexikon Bayerns
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-1-85109-420-2
    .
  6. ^ a b c Turner, Cambrai 1917: The birth of armoured warfare, 15
  7. ^ a b Indy Neidell, The Schlieffen Plan - And Why It Failed I THE GREAT WAR Special feat. AlternateHistoryHub, [1]
  8. ^ a b c d e Fischer, Fritz. Germany's War Aims in the First World War, p. 181
  9. ^ "The National Archives - Exhibitions & Learning online - First World War - Glossary". www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
  10. ^ The Kaiser's Warlords: German Commanders of World War I - Kronprinz Rupprecht von Bayern google book review, pp. 27–29
  11. ^ van Wyngarden, G (2006). Early German Aces of World War I, Osprey Publishing Ltd.
    ISBN 1-84176-997-5
  12. ^ "Royal Stuart Society – Succession". www.royalstuartsociety.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  13. ^ a b The New York Times, 4 January 1922
  14. ^ "The Prince of Possibilities: Kronprinz Rupprecht von Bayern". Archived from the original on 9 August 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
  15. ^ a b c "Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand von Wittelsbach Kronprinz von Bayern K.H." the Prussian Machine. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  16. ^ Irvine, Wendell C. (November 1931). "Adolf Hitler / The Man and His Ideas". The Improvement Era. p. 13. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  17. ^ a b Royals and the Reich: The Princes Von Hessen in Nazi Germany google book review, p. 72, author: Jonathan Petropoulos, accessdate: 29 April 2008
  18. ^ "Die Monarchie als Staatsform (in German)". Historisches Lexikon Bayerns. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
  19. ^
    ISBN 2-9507974-3-1
  20. ^ Rhodes, Michael (9 May 2013). "Peerage News: Princess Editha Marie Gabrielle Anna of Bavaria 1924-2013".
  21. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Bayern (1908), "Königliche Orden", p. 7
  22. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch ... Bayern (1908), "Königliche Orden", p. 11
  23. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1896), "Großherzogliche Orden", p. 63
  24. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch ... Baden (1896), "Großherzogliche Orden", p. 77
  25. ^ "Ludewigs-orden", Großherzoglich Hessische Ordensliste (in German), Darmstadt: Staatsverlag, 1914, p. 5 – via hathitrust.org
  26. ^ "Schwarzer Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (supp.) (in German), vol. 1, Berlin, 1886, p. 5 – via hathitrust.org{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  27. ^ Justus Perthes, Almanach de Gotha (1914) p. 14
  28. ^ "A Szent István Rend tagjai" Archived 22 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  29. ^ Boettger, T. F. "Chevaliers de la Toisón d'Or - Knights of the Golden Fleece". La Confrérie Amicale. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  30. ^ a b Albert I;Museum Dynasticum N° .21: 2009/ n° 2; pag.30.
  31. ^ 刑部芳則 (2017). 明治時代の勲章外交儀礼 (PDF) (in Japanese). 明治聖徳記念学会紀要. p. 150.
  32. ^ "Real y distinguida orden de Carlos III", Guóa Oficial de España (in Spanish), 1914, p. 200, retrieved 4 March 2019
  33. ^ Sveriges statskalender (in Swedish). 1905. p. 441. Retrieved 6 January 2018 – via runeberg.org.

Works

  • Mein Kriegstagebuch. München: Deutscher National Verlag, 1929.
  • Reiseerinnerungen aus Indien. München: Josef Kösel & Friedrich Pustet, 1922.
  • Reiseerinnerungen aus Ostasien. München: Josef Kösel & Friedrich Pustet, 1923.
  • Reiseerinnerungen aus dem Südosten Europas und dem Orient. München: Josef Kösel & Friedrich Pustet, 1923.

Further reading

  • Berger, Manfred (2003). "Rupprecht, Maria Luitpold Ferdinand, Kronprinz von Bayern, Pfalzgraf bei Rhein, Herzog von Bayern, Franken und in Schwaben usw.". In Bautz, Traugott (ed.). Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German). Vol. 22. Nordhausen: Bautz. cols. 1173–1186.
    ISBN 3-88309-133-2
    .
  • "Crown Prince Rupprecht". Firstworldwar.com.
  • Garnett, Robert S., Jr. Lion, Eagle, and Swastika: Bavarian Monarchism in Weimar Germany, 1918–1933.
  • Rickard, J. "Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria, 1869–1955". Historyofwar.org.
  • Sendtner, Kurt. Rupprecht von Wittelsbach, Kronprinz von Bayern. München: Richard Pflaum, 1954.
  • Weiß, Dieter J. Kronprinz Rupprecht von Bayern: Eine politische Biografie. Regensburg: Friedrich Pustet, 2007.

External links

Media related to Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria at Wikimedia Commons

Wikisource has the text of the 1922 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Rupprecht".
Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
Born: 18 May 1869 Died: 2 August 1955
Titles in pretence
Preceded by — TITULAR —
Kingdom abolished in 1918
 Succeeded by
Preceded by
Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este
 — TITULAR —
King of England, Scotland and Ireland
3 February 1919 – 2 August 1955
Military offices
Preceded by
Formed from
IV Army Inspectorate

(IV. Armee-Inspektion)
 Commander, 6th Army
2 August 1914 – 28 August 1916 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Formed from
Army Group Gallwitz
 Commander, Army Group Rupprecht of Bavaria
28 August 1916 – 11 November 1918 		Dissolved
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