Franz von Bayern
Head of the House of Wittelsbach since 1996 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Herzog von Bayern (born 14 July 1933), commonly known by the courtesy title Duke of Bavaria, is the head of the House of Wittelsbach, the former ruling family of the Kingdom of Bavaria. His great-grandfather King Ludwig III was the last ruling monarch of Bavaria, being deposed in 1918.
Franz von Bayern | |
---|---|
Head of the House of Wittelsbach | |
Tenure | 8 July 1996 – present |
Predecessor | Albrecht |
Heir presumptive | Max-Emanuel |
Born | Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Prinz von Bayern (1933-07-14) 14 July 1933 (age 90) Munich, Germany |
House | Wittelsbach |
Father | Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria |
Mother | Countess Maria Draskovich of Trakostjan |
Religion | Catholicism |
Franz was born in Munich. During the Second World War, the Wittelsbachs were anti-Nazi.[1] The family initially left Nazi Germany for Hungary but were eventually arrested when Germany invaded the country in 1944. Franz was 11 at the time. He spent time in several Nazi concentration camps, including Sachsenhausen, then Flossenbürg and finally Dachau.[1]
After the war, Franz was a student at the University of Munich and became a collector of modern art. Franz succeeded as head of the House of Wittelsbach, and as pretender to the Bavarian throne, on the death of his father in 1996. He lives at Nymphenburg Palace in Munich and Berg Palace.[2]