Duke of Urach
The title Duke of Urach (German: Herzog von Urach) was created in the Kingdom of Württemberg for Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander Ferdinand, Count of Württemberg on 28 March 1867, with the style of HSH. The 1st Duke of Urach was the first Head of the House of Urach. "Urach" is pronounced Oo-raakh (IPA /uːrɑːx/)
Family
Wilhelm was the son of Duke Wilhelm of Württemberg (1761-1830) and his morganatic wife, Baroness (Freiin) Wilhelmine von Tunderfeldt-Rhodis (1777-1822), whom he married at Coswig on 23 August 1800. His paternal grandfather was Friedrich II Eugen (1732-1797), from whom all claimants to the Kingdom of Württemberg are descended. Because of his first marriage to Théodolinde de Beauharnais, the first Duke had converted to Roman Catholicism. His second marriage to Princess Florestine of Monaco gave rise to the Monaco Succession Crisis of 1918.
The 2nd Duke of Urach was briefly chosen as Mindaugas II, King of Lithuania in 1918. The family owns Lichtenstein Castle, rebuilt by the first duke in the 1840s.
Dukes of Urach (1867)
| Ducal Family of Urach |
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- Wilhelm, 1st Duke of Urach (1810-1869)
- Wilhelm, 2nd Duke of Urach (1864-1928)
- Karl Gero, 3rd Duke of Urach (1899-1981)
All legal privileges of the nobility were officially abolished in 1919 by the Weimar Republic (1919-1933), and nobility is no longer conferred or recognised by the Federal Republic of Germany, former hereditary titles being allowed only as part of the surname.
- Karl Anselm, 4th Duke of Urach (born 1955) Renounced the dukedom in 1991
- Wilhelm Albert, 5th Duke of Urach (born 1957)
Heir apparent: Prince Karl Philipp of Urach (born 1992)
See also
- History of Württemberg
- Uradel
- Coat of arms of Württemberg
Titles
The duke has always been addressed as: Herzog von Urach; his wife as Herzogin; his sons as Fürst von Urach (Prince of Urach); all male members of the family as Graf von Württemberg (Count of Württemberg); female members as: Fürstin von Urach and Gräfin von Württemberg.