Gottfried, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Gottfried, 8th Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (German: Gottfried Hermann Alfred Paul Maximilian Viktor Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg; 24 March 1897 – 11 May 1960) was the only surviving son of Ernst II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

Early life

Prince Gottfried at the age of nine

Gottfried was born at Langenburg, Kingdom of Württemberg, the first child of Ernst II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1863–1950), (son of Hermann, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Leopoldine of Baden) and his wife, Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1878–1942), (daughter of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia). Through his maternal grandparents, he was a great-grandson of Queen Victoria and of Tsar Alexander II.

After the fall of the Imperial German monarchy in 1918, Gottfried continued to serve as a leader of the European royalty. He served in the German army in World War II, becoming severely injured at the Russian front. He was dismissed from the army after the abortive attempt on Adolf Hitler's life on 20 July 1944.^[1]

Marriage and issue

Gottfried had a short engagement to Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt who was a widow in 1927-1928. Then on 3 December 1930 he became engaged to Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark who was the daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and his wife, Princess Alice of Battenberg. Gottfried and Margarita are second cousins once removed through Queen Victoria and third cousin through Nicholas I of Russia. They have six children, six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren:

Stillborn daughter (born and died 3 December 1933)
Prince Kraft Alexander Ernst Ludwig Georg Emich (25 June 1935 – 16 March 2004); succeeded his father as Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
Princess Beatrix Alice Marie Melita Margarete of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (10 June 1936 – 15 November 1997)
Prince Georg Andreas Heinrich of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (born 24 November 1938) married Luise, Princess of Schönburg-Waldenburg on 9 September 1968. They have two daughters:
- Princess Katharina Clementine Beatrix of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (born 21 November 1972) married Prince Nikolaus of Waldeck and Pyrmont on 29 September 2002. They have two daughters:
  - Princess Laetitia of Waldeck and Pyrmont (born 2 December 2003)
  - Princess Alexia of Waldeck and Pyrmont (born 20 June 2006)
- Princess Tatiana Luise of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (born 10 February 1975) married Hubertus Stephan on 10 September 2010. They have two sons:
  - Carl Stephan (born 22 January 2012)
  - Wolf Thomas Dres Stephan (born 5 October 2013)
Prince Rupprecht Sigismund Philipp Ernst of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (7 April 1944 – 8 April 1978)
Prince Albrecht Wolfgang Christoph of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (7 April 1944 – 23 April 1992) married Maria-Hildegard Fischer on 23 January 1976. They have one son:
- Prince Ludwig of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (21 April 1976)

Their four elder children were all born at Schwäbisch Hall, while the two youngest boys, twins, were born in Langenburg.^[2]

Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

At the death of his father in 1950, Gottfried inherited the title of Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.^[1]^[3]

Titles and styles

24 March 1897 – 11 December 1950: His Serene Highness Prince Gottfried of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
11 December 1950 – 11 May 1960: His Serene Highness The Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Ancestry

Ancestors of Gottfried, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

16. Charles Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

8. Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

17. Countess Amalie of Solms-Baruth

4. Hermann, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

18. Emich Carl, 2nd Prince of Leiningen

9. Princess Feodora of Leiningen

19. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

2. Ernst II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

20. Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden

10. Prince William of Baden

21. Luise Geyer von Geyersberg

5. Princess Leopoldine of Baden

22. Duke Louis of Württemberg

11. Duchess Elisabeth Alexandrine of Württemberg

23. Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg

1. Gottfried, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

24. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

12. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

25. Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg

6. Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

26. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn

13. Victoria of the United Kingdom

27. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (= 19)

3. Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

28. Nicholas I of Russia

14. Alexander II of Russia

29. Princess Charlotte of Prussia

7. Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia

30. Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine

15. Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine

31. Princess Wilhelmine of Baden

Notes

1 2 "Prince Hohenlohe-Langenburg of German Noble Family Dies", The New York Times, Bonn, 12 May 1960
↑ Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XIII. "Haus Griechenland". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1987, pp. 38, 203–204.
↑ Marlene A. Eilers, Queen Victoria's Descendants (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1987), page 181. Hereinafter cited as Queen Victoria's Descendants.

Sources

thePeerage.com — Gottfried Hermann Alfred Paul Maximilian Viktor VIII Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg
Genealogics — Leo van de Pas — Gottfried, 8.Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg
Queen Victoria's Descendants, New York, 1987, Eilers, Marlene A., Reference: 197

External links

Media related to Gottfried zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg at Wikimedia Commons

Titles in pretence
Gottfried, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg House of Hohenlohe-Langenburg Cadet branch of the House of Hohenlohe Born: 24 March 1897 Died: 11 May 1960
Preceded by Ernst II	— TITULAR — Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg 1950 – 1960 Reason for succession failure: German nobility titles abolished	Succeeded by Kraft

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