Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia

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Pretender: Louis Ferdinand

Born	November 9, 1907
Regnal name claimed	Louis Ferdinand I
Title(s) if any	Prince of Prussia
Throne claimed	Germany, Prussia
Pretend from	{{{pretend from}}}
Monarchy abolished	1918
Last monarch	William II
Connection with	grandson
Royal House	Hohenzollern
Father	Wilhelm, Crown Prince of Germany
Mother	Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Spouse	Kira Kirillovna of Russia
Predecessor	Wilhelm
Successor	Georg Friedrich

Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia (German: Louis Ferdinand Viktor Eduard Albert Michael Hubertus Prinz von Preussen) (November 9, 1907 - September 26, 1994), a member of the Hohenzollern family, was the pretender to the abolished German monarchy, opponent of the National Socialist German Workers Party in Germany, a business man, and patron of the arts.

Louis Ferdinand was born as the third in succession to the throne over the German Empire, after his father, Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and elder brother Prince Wilhelm of Prussia. The monarchy was abolished after Germany's revolution in 1918. When Louis Ferdinand's older brother Prince Wilhelm renounced his succession rights to marry a commoner in 1933 (he was later to be killed in action in France in 1940 fighting in the German army), Louis Ferdinand took his place in line for the throne following the deaths of the Kaiser and the Crown Prince.

Louis Ferdinand was educated in Berlin and deviated from his family's tradition by not pursuing a military career. Instead, he travelled extensively and settled for some time in Detroit, where he befriended Henry Ford and became acquainted with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, among others. He held a great interest in engineering. Recalled from the United States upon his brother's renunciation of the throne, he got involved in the German aviation industry, but was barred by Hitler from taking any active part in German military activities.

Louis Ferdinand disassociated himself from the Nazis after this, and may even have been involved in the July 20 Plot against Hitler in 1944.

He married the Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna of Russia in 1938 in first a Russian Orthodox in Potsdam and then Lutheran ceremony in Huis ten Doorn, Netherlands. Kira was the second daughter of Grand Duke Kyril Vladimirovich and Grand Duchess Viktoria Feodorovna. They had four sons and three daughters. His two eldest sons both renounced their succession rights in order to marry commoners. His third son, and heir, Prince Louis Ferdinand II died in 1977 during military maneuvers, and thus his eighteen-year-old grandson Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia became heir to the Prussian and Imperial throne and head of the Hohenzollern family upon Louis Ferdinand's death in 1994.

After the reunification of Germany, Louis Ferdinand arranged to have the remains of several Hohenzollern members reinterred at the imperial vault in Potsdam.

[edit] Children

Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia (born February 10, 1939), married firstly Waltraud Freytag, secondly Ehrengard von Reden, thirdly Sibylle Kretschmer; he renounced his succession rights September 18, 1967.
- Philip Prinz von Preussen (born 1968)
  - Paul Wilhelm Prinz von Preussen (born 1995)
  - Maria Luise Prinzessin von Preussen (born 1997)
  - Elisabeth Christine Prinzessin von Preussen (born 1998)
  - Anna Sophie Prinzessin von Preussen (born 2001)
  - Johanna Amalie Prinzessin von Preussen (born 2002)
  - Timotheus Friedrich Prinz von Preussen (born 2005)
- Friedrich Wilhelm Prinz von Preussen (born 1979)
- Viktoria Luise Prinzessin von Preussen (born 1982)
- Joachim-Albrecht Prinz von Preussen (born 1984)
Prince Michael of Prussia (born March 22, 1940), married firstly Jutta Jorn, secondly Brigitte von Dallwitz; he renounced his succession rights August 29, 1966.
- Micaela Prinzessin von Preussen (born 1967)
- Nataly Prinzessin von Preussen (born 1970)
Princess Marie Cécile of Prussia (born May 28, 1942)
Princess Kira of Prussia (June 27, 1943–January 10, 2004)
Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia (August 25, 1944–July 11, 1977)
- Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia (born 1976)
- Princess Cornelie-Cecile of Prussia (born 1978)
Prince Christian-Sigismund of Prussia (born March 14, 1946)
- Isabelle-Alexandra Grandmontagne-Prinzessin von Preussen (born 1969)
- Prince Christian Ludwig of Prussia (born 1986)
- Princess Irina of Prussia (born 1988)
Princess Xenia of Prussia (December 9, 1949–January 18, 1992)

[edit] External links

House of Hohenzollern Born: 9 November 1907 Died: 26 September 1994
Titles in pretence
Preceded by Crown Prince Wilhelm	* NOT REIGNING * German Emperor (1951-1994)	Succeeded by Georg Friedrich
Preceded by Crown Prince Wilhelm	* NOT REIGNING * King of Prussia (1951-1994)	Succeeded by Georg Friedrich