Kraft, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Kraft, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (German: Kraft Alexander Ernst Ludwig Georg Emich Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg; 25 June 1935 – 16 March 2004) was the eldest son of Gottfried, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. He was the titular Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg from 1960 until his death.

Early life

Kraft was born at Schwäbisch Hall, Germany, the first child of Gottfried, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1897–1960) (son of Ernst II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) and his wife, Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark (1905–1981) (daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg), and thus a nephew of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Through both of his parents he was descendant of Queen Victoria and Tsar Nicholas I; then, through his mother, he was descendant of Christian IX of Denmark.

Marriage

Kraft married on 5 June 1965 in Langenburg to Princess Charlotte of Croÿ (b. 31 December 1938), eldest daughter of Prince Alexander of Croÿ and his wife, Anne Elspeth Campbell.^[1] They divorced on 26 May 1990 at Crailsheim.

They had three children:

• Princess Cécile Marita Dorothea of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (b. 16 December 1967), married Count Cyril Amédée de Commarque on 6 June 1998, no issue. Commarque is the grandson of Princess Marie Clotilde Bonaparte. They divorced in 2008.^[2]
• Philipp, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (b. 20 January 1970), married Saskia Lita Binder on 6 September 2003, in Langenburg, Germany, and has issue.
  • Max Leopold Ernst Kraft Peter, Hereditary Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (b. 22 March 2005 in Munich)
  • Prince Gustav Philipp Friedrich Alexander of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (b. 28 January 2007 in Bad Mergentheim)
  • Princess Marita Saskia Friedelinde Charlotte of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (b. 23 November 2010)
• Princess Xenia Margarita Anne of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (b. 8 July 1972), married Max Soltmann on 13 August 2005, has issue:
  • Ferdinand Gabriel Kraft Soltmann (b. 5 November 2005 in Bad Mergentheim, Germany)
  • Louisa Marei Charlotte Soltmann (b. 6 April 2008 in Bad Mergentheim, Germany)

He married, secondly, Irma Pospesch (b. 1946) on 22 May 1992, in Graz, Austria.

Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

On the death of his father in 1960, Kraft became the titular Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.^[1] Upon Kraft's death in 2004, aged 68, the title was inherited by his son. Philipp.

Titles and styles

• 25 June 1935 – 11 May 1960: His Serene Highness Prince Kraft of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
• 11 May 1960 – 16 March 2004: His Serene Highness The Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Ancestry

Notes and sources

• thePeerage.com — Kraft Alexander Ernst Ludwig Georg Emich IX Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg
• Genealogics — Leo van de Pas — Kraft, 9.Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg
• Queen Victoria's Descendants, New York, 1987, Eilers, Marlene A., Reference: 197
• The Royal House of Stuart, London, 1969, 1971, 1976, Addington, A. C., Reference: I 185
• Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser, Reference: 2004 167