Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria

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Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria
Born May 18, 1869(1869-05-18)
Birthplace Munich, Bavaria
Died August 2, 1955 (aged 86)
Place of death Schloß Leutstetten, Starnberg, Bavaria
Consort i) Duchess Marie Gabriele in Bavaria
ii) Princess Antoinette of Luxembourg
Issue Prince Luitpold
Princess Irmingard Maria
Prince Albrecht
Prince Rudolf
Prince Heinrich
Princess Irmingard
Princess Editha
Princess Hildegard
Princess Adelgunde
Princess Sophie
Royal House House of Wittelsbach
Father King Ludwig III
Mother Archduchess Maria Theresia of Austria-Este

Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria or Crown Prince Rupert of Bavaria (German: Kronprinz Rupprecht von Bayern) (18 May 1869 – 2 August 1955) was the last Bavarian Crown Prince.

His full title was His Royal Highness Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Bavaria, Duke of Bavaria, of Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine of the Rhine.[1]. He was also the Jacobite heir to the thrones of England, Ireland, Scotland, and France from the death of his mother in 1919.

Contents

[edit] Life

[edit] Childhood

Rupprecht was born in Munich, the eldest son of Ludwig III, the last King of Bavaria, and of Archduchess Maria Theresia of Austria-Este, niece of Duke Francis V of Modena. He was the oldest of thirteen children. His early education from the age of seven was conducted by Freiherr Rolf Kreusser, an Anglo-Bavarian. In his youth, he spent considerable time at Schloß Leustetten, Starnberg, and at the families 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 schooling and his training in horse riding and dancing, he was also obliged to learn a trade. His choice fell to carpentry[2].

[edit] Pre-first world war

Rupprecht's 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 Bavarian Infanterie-Leibregement 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 the Duchess Maria Gabrielle, whom he had five children with before her early death in 1912 at the age of 34.

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 Prinzregent 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 in uniform during World War I
Rupprecht in uniform during World War I

[edit] First world war

He commanded the German Sixth Army at the outbreak of World War I in Lorraine. The appointment to command of the Sixth Army was as a result of his royalty, but the level of study he had performed before he took command was a factor behind his successful direction of the Sixth Army, and he proved to be a highly able commander.[5] Rupprecht succeeded in holding back the French attack in August 1914, in the Battle of Lorraine, and then launched a counteroffensive later that month.[6] Rupprecht failed to break through the French lines. He was later in command of the 6th Army at Ypres, facing the British Expeditionary Force, and remained on the Western Front during the stalemate that would last until the end of the war.

Rupprecht achieved the rank of field marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) in July 1916 and assumed command of Army Group Rupprecht on 28th August that year, consisting of the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th Army. Rupprecht has been considered by some to be one of the best Royal commanders in the Imperial German Army of World War I, possibly even the only one to deserve his command. Rupprecht came to the conclusion much earlier then most other German generals (towards the end of 1917), that the war could not be won, seeing an ever increasing material advantage of the allies[7]. He also opposed the "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 11th November 1918[8].

He got engaged to the much younger Princess Antoinette of Luxembourg in 1918 but the German defeat made this marriage impossible and the engagement was canceled again[9][10].

[edit] Inter war years

Rupprecht lost his chance to rule Bavaria when it became a republic in the revolutions that followed the war. Although some royalists still referred to him as the King of Bavaria, the 738 years of Wittelsbacher rule ended in 1918. Rupprecht escaped to Tyrol in fear of reprisals from the brief communist rule in Bavaria under Kurt Eisner but returned in September 1919. While away from Bavaria, he succeeded his mother, Maria Theresia 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 (King of England) and IV (King of Scotland), although he has never claimed these crowns.

The changed political situation however allowed him to finally marry the Princess Antoinette of Luxembourg on 7 April 1921. The ceremony was carried out by the papal nuncio to Bavaria, Eugenio Pacelli, the later Pope Pius XII.

Shortly after the 1922 Washington Naval Conference, he made a statement regarding the possible ban of aerial bombing, poison gas, sea blockades and long range guns, blaming them for a majority of civilian casualties during the last war. He also advocated Germany's participation in future peace conferences, and he dismissed claims that Kaiser Wilhelm II was to blame for the first world war[11].

While opposed to the Weimar Republic and never having renounced his rights to the throne, Rupprecht envisioned a Constitutional monarchy for Bavaria. Upon his father's death in October 1921, Rupprecht declared his claim to the throne since his father had never formally renounced his crown in the Anif declaration. While never crowned king, he did become the head of the House of Wittelsbach after his fathers death. He formed the Wittelsbacher Ausgleichfond in 1923, which was an agreement with the state of Bavaria leaving the most important of the Wittelsbach palaces, like Neuschwanstein and Linderhof, to the Bavarian people.

He was never enticed to join the far right in Germany, despite Hitler's attempts to win him over through Ernst Röhm and promises of royal restoration[12]. Hitler confided in private to a personal dislike of the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince in turn confessed to King George V at a lunch in London in the Summer of 1934 that he considered Hitler to be insane[13].

With the worsening of the Great Depression in 1932, a plan was floated to give Rupprecht dictatorial powers in Bavaria under the title of Staatskommissar. The plan attracted support from a wide coalition of parties, including the SPD and the post-war Bavarian Minister-President (First Minister) Wilhelm Hoegner but the legal appointment of Hitler as 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.

[edit] Second world war

Rupprecht was forced into exile in Italy in December 1939 (the last straw being the confiscation of Schloß Leustetten 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[14]. 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[15].

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. Crown Princess Antoinette never recovered completely from the captivity, and died a few years later 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.

[edit] Post war

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 Leustetten.

It is estimated that he had the support of 60 to 70% of the Bavarian population in his goal to restore the monarchy in the post-war years.[citation needed] 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[16].

[edit] Death

Upon his death in 1955 at the age of eighty-six, he was treated like a deceased monarch, receiving a state funeral. He is buried in the crypt of the Theatinerkirche in Munich near his grandfather Prince Luitpold and great-great-grandfather King Maximilian I, between his first wife Duchess Maria Gabrielle and his oldest son Prince Luitpold.

[edit] Children

Rupprecht married twice and had a total of eleven children:

[edit] Decorations and honors

Among others, Rupprecht received the following Medals and Orders:

Bavaria

Kingdom of Prussia

Other German states

Other countries

[edit] Military ranks

[edit] References

  1. ^ Turner, Cambrai 1917: The birth of armoured warfare, 15
  2. ^ Rupprecht von Bayern (in German). Kirchenlexikon. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  3. ^ Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria, 1869-1955
  4. ^ Wittelsbacher (in German), Historisches Lexikon Bayerns
  5. ^ Turner, Cambrai 1917: The birth of armoured warfare, 15
  6. ^ Turner, Cambrai 1917: The birth of armoured warfare, 15
  7. ^ The National Archives, UK
  8. ^ Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria, 1869-1955, J.Rickard (6 November 2007)
  9. ^ Wittelsbacher (in German), Historisches Lexikon Bayerns
  10. ^ The Kaiser's Warlords: German Commanders of World War I - Kronprinz Rupprecht von Bayern google book review, Page 27 to 29
  11. ^ The New York Times, January 4 1922
  12. ^ The Prince of Possibilities: Kronprinz Rupprecht von Bayern. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  13. ^ Royals and the Reich: The Princes Von Hessen in Nazi Germany google book review, Page 72, author: Jonathan Petropoulos, accessdate: 29 April 2008
  14. ^ Rupprecht von Bayern (in German). Kirchenlexikon. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  15. ^ Royals and the Reich: The Princes Von Hessen in Nazi Germany google book review, Page 72, author: Jonathan Petropoulos, accessdate: 29 April 2008
  16. ^ Die Monarchie als Staatsform (in German). Historisches Lexikon Bayerns. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.

[edit] External links

[edit] Sources

[edit] Further reading

  • Mein Kriegstagebuch (in German), by Rupprecht, Crown prince of Bavaria, Deutscher National Verlag, 1929
  • Lion, Eagle, and Swastika: Bavarian Monarchism in Weimar Germany, 1918-1933 by Robert S. Garnett, Jr.
Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
Born: May 18 1869 Died: August 2 1955
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
King Ludwig III		 — TITULAR —
King of Bavaria
October 18, 1921 – August 2, 1955
Reason for succession failure:
Kingdom abolished in 1918		 Succeeded by
Duke Albrecht
Preceded by
Maria Theresia of Austria-Este		 Jacobite succession
February 3, 1919 – August 2, 1955