Borwin | |||||
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![]() Duke Borwin in Titisee Village in November 2010 | |||||
Head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz | |||||
Tenure | 26 January 1996 – present | ||||
Predecessor | Duke Georg Alexander | ||||
Head of the House of Mecklenburg | |||||
Tenure | 31 July 2001 – present | ||||
Heir apparent | Duke Alexander | ||||
Born | Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany | 10 June 1956||||
Spouse | Alice Marianne Wagner (m. 1985) | ||||
Issue | Duchess Olga Duke Alexander Duke Michael | ||||
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House | Mecklenburg-Strelitz | ||||
Father | Georg Alexander, Duke of Mecklenburg | ||||
Mother | Archduchess Ilona of Austria |
Borwin, Duke of Mecklenburg [1] (German : Borwin Herzog zu Mecklenburg; given names: Georg Borwin Friedrich Franz Karl Stephan Konrad Hubertus Maria; born 10 June 1956) has been the head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz since 1996 and of the entire House of Mecklenburg since 2001. [2] The death of Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin – his godfather – the last male member of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin on 31 July 2001 made Strelitz the only remaining line of the House of Mecklenburg, which ruled in Mecklenburg until 1918.
Borwin, his sons, Alexander and Michael, and his grandson, Leopold, are the only known surviving legitimate male-line descendants of the medieval princely dynasty descended from Niklot of the Obotrites, which has included Albert, King of Sweden.
Duke Borwin of Mecklenburg was born in Freiburg im Breisgau the youngest child and only son of Duke Georg Alexander of Mecklenburg and his wife Archduchess Ilona of Austria (1927–2011) the daughter of Archduke Joseph Francis of Austria and Princess Anna of Saxony. He is an agnatic descendant of Grand Duke Georg of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and through his mother a descendant of King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony and Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria.
Duke Borwin became the heir apparent to headship of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz on 6 July 1963 when his grandfather died and his father succeeded as head of the house. Borwin has studied viticulture at the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute and served as an officer in the German Army. He has also managed a Swiss drinks company. [3]
In politics, Duke Borwin is a former local party chairman for the Christian Democratic Union in the village of Hinterzarten in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district of Baden-Württemberg, leaving his post in May 2009. [4]
In 1928 his grandfather George was adopted by his uncle and the head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Duke Charles Michael. His grandfather subsequently assumed the title of Duke of Mecklenburg with the style Serene Highness which was confirmed on 18 July 1929 by the head of the Imperial House of Russia, Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich and then recognised on 23 December by the former Grand Duke Frederick Francis IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. [5] On 18 December 1950, Hereditary Grand Duke Friedrich Franz of Mecklenburg-Schwerin confirmed the ducal title and also granted the style Highness, which in conjunction with the title, is the style enjoyed by dynastic members of the House of Mecklenburg.[ citation needed ] His grandfather was also confirmed as head of the house. [6]
Duke Borwin succeeded as head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz following his father's death on 26 January 1996. [3] With the death of Hereditary Grand Duke Friedrich Franz on the 31 July 2001, the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin has become extinct in the male line leaving Mecklenburg-Strelitz as the only surviving branch of the grand ducal house.
Duke Borwin is the patron and protector of the Order of the Griffon which was revived in September 1984. The order was founded by Grand Duke Frederick Francis III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin on 15 September 1884. [7] He has also served on the Almanach de Gotha's Comité de Patronage. [8]
In 2005 Duke Borwin along with the head of the House of Hohenzollern, Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia attended the seasonal opening of Hohenzieritz Castle in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. [9] It was the castle where Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who married Frederick William III of Prussia and became Queen of Prussia, died in 1810.
Duke Borwin married Alice Marianne Wagner (born 2 August 1959 in Hinterzarten, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany), daughter of Dr. Jürgen-Detlev Wagner (28 January 1918, Lübeck, 18 August 1918 - ?) and wife Marianne Biehl (3 February 1930 – Hinterzarten, 26 April 2008) in a civil marriage on 24 December 1985 in Hinterzarten followed by a religious ceremony on 19 July 1986 also in Hinterzarten. They have three children.[ citation needed ]
Styles of Borwin, Duke of Mecklenburg | |
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Reference style | His Highness |
Spoken style | Your Highness |
Ancestors of Borwin, Duke of Mecklenburg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II divided the Duchy of Mecklenburg between Schwerin and Strelitz. Ruled by the successors of the Nikloting House of Mecklenburg, Mecklenburg-Schwerin remained a state of the Holy Roman Empire along the Baltic Sea littoral between Holstein-Glückstadt and the Duchy of Pomerania.
Frederick Francis I ruled over the German state of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, first as duke (1785–1815), and then as grand duke (1815–1837).
Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg, was the first Duke of the Mecklenburg-Strelitz, reigning from 1701 until his death. Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a part of the Holy Roman Empire.
The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Polabian origin that ruled until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (1909–2004), former Queen of the Netherlands (1948–1980), was an agnatic member of this house.
The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a territory in Northern Germany held by the House of Mecklenburg residing at Schwerin. It was a sovereign member state of the German Confederation and became a federated state of the North German Confederation and finally of the German Empire in 1871.
The House Order of Hohenzollern was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various versions of the order were crosses and medals which could be awarded to lower-ranking soldiers and civilians.
Adolphus Frederick VI was the last reigning grand duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Adolphus Frederick V was reigning grand duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz from 1904 to 1914.
Frederick William was a German sovereign who ruled over the state of Mecklenburg-Strelitz as grand duke from 1860 until his death.
Charles Michael, Duke of Mecklenburg was an officer in the Imperial Russian Army, heir presumptive to the throne of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and from 1918 head of the Grand Ducal House.
George, Duke of Mecklenburg was the head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz from 1934 until his death. Through his father, he was a descendant of Emperor Paul I of Russia.
Georg Alexander, Duke of Mecklenburg was the head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz from 1963 until his death.
The House Order of the Golden Lion was an order of the German Landgraviate and Electorate of Hesse-Kassel and later, the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine. It was first instituted in 1770 by Landgrave Frederick II, in honour of and under the patronage of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, an ancestor of the House of Hesse, and was intended to award auspicious merit.
The Duchy of Mecklenburg was a duchy within the Holy Roman Empire, located in the region of Mecklenburg. It existed during the Late Middle Ages and the early modern period, from 1471 to 1520, as well as 1695 to 1701. Its capital was Schwerin.
The House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Frederick Louis or proper German Oldenburg House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Frederick Louis was a civil and military order of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, a member state of the German Empire. The order was founded by Grand Duke Augustus of Oldenburg on 27 November 1838, to honor his father, Peter Frederick Louis of Oldenburg. It became obsolete in 1918 after the abdication of the last grand duke.
The House Order of Albert the Bear was founded in 1836 as a joint House Order by three dukes of Anhalt from separate branches of the family: Henry, Duke of Anhalt-Köthen, Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau, and Alexander Karl, Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg.
The House Order of the Wendish Crown is a dynastic order that was jointly instituted on 12 May 1864 by Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Grand Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. It is the oldest and most senior order of the House of Mecklenburg.
The Order of the Griffon was a State Order of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Established on 15 September 1884, it was created to honour benevolence and outstanding service to the public. In August 1904, the Order of the Griffon was extended to citizens of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, with the rulers of the two grand duchies serving jointly as the Grand Masters of the order.
During its history, the state of Mecklenburg has been repeatedly partitioned into various successor states. Modern historians distinguish three main Partitions of Mecklenburg:
...Als zwölftes Oberhaupt des Strelitzer Hauses trat Herzog Georg Borwin die Nachfolge seines Vaters an. Er durchlief die Offizierslaufbahn der Bundeswehr, studierte Weinbau und ist heute Manager in einem schweizerischen Getränkekonzern...