Prince Of Prussia Karl Franz

Notable

Family

Prussian prince as the only child of Prince Joachim of Prussia and his wife Princess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt. He was also the grandson of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, himself a grandson of Queen Victoria, which made Prince Karl a great-great-grandson of the British queen. Karl Franz was the Emperor's fourth grandchild to be born since World War I began; he was consequently very young when Hohenzollern fortunes fell. His grandfather abdicated in 1918, and his father Prince Joachim committed suicide in 1920. At the time of his grandfather's abdication, Prince Karl Franz was twelfth in line of succession to the German and Prussian thrones. After his father's suicide, Karl Franz was taken into custody by his paternal uncle Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia. As the legal head of the House of Hohenzollern, he claimed this right because Emperor Wilhelm had issued an edict placing Hohenzollern powers in Eitel's hands. This was later declared to have been illegal, and his mother was given full custody of him in 1921. In 1922, Marie-Auguste sued ex-Emperor Wilhelm for financial support that had been promised in her and Joachim's marriage contract. Wilhelm's attorney argued that the House of Hohenzollern laws were no longer valid, and therefore there was no obligation to support her. In 1926, his mother remarried to Johannes-Michael, Baron von Loën. They were divorced in 1935. In World War II, Karl Franz served as a lieutenant in an armored car division, and at one point was stationed on the Polish front. He was awarded the Iron Cross. On 5 October 1940, Karl Franz married Princess Henriette Hermine Wanda Ida Luise of Schönaich-Carolath. They had three children, and divorced on 5 September 1946. Karl Franz married morganatically on 9 November 1946 to Luise Dora Hartmann. The marriage was childless and they divorced in 1959. Prince Karl married lastly, on 20 July 1959 in Lima, Peru to Doña Eva Maria Herrera y Valdeavellano. They were married until Prince Karl's death and had two daughters. He died on 23 January 1975, aged 58, in Arica, Chile. Link to Wikipedia biography