Ministry of the Royal Family (Prussia)

Last updated

In Prussia, the Minister of the Royal Family was responsible for the administration of the crown estates and the safeguarding of other royal rights.

Contents

Until the March Revolution, the Ministry of the Royal Family was officially part of the State Ministry. Due to its special responsibilities, the respective office holders rarely participated in government meetings. [1] After 1848, the Minister of the Royal Family was formally a court authority associated with the Office of the Chief Chamberlain. It was no longer part of the Prussian State Ministry. [2]

Responsibilities

The ministry was responsible for, among other things, the Herald's Office, the archives of the royal house, the administration of family estates, and the family trust. In addition to the civilian secret cabinet, it also served to handle clemency cases and was responsible for carrying out royal orders that were not the responsibility of the government. [3]

Ministers of the Royal Family

NameTerm BeganTerm EndedImage
Wilhelm zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein 18191851

Franz Kruger Portrait Ludwig von Massow.jpg Staatsminister Freiherr von Schleinitz (1865) - Adolf Friedrich Erdmann von Menzel (Museum Georg Schafer).jpg Ottosw.jpg

Ludwig von Massow (interim)18511851
Anton Graf zu Stolberg-Wernigerode 18511854
Ludwig von Massow (interim)18541856
Ludwig von Massow18561858
Alexander von Schleinitz 18611885
Otto zu Stolberg-Wernigerode 18851888
Wilhelm von Wedel 18881907
August zu Eulenburg 19071918

Residences

Originally, the minister resided in the Berlin City Palace, and the administration was temporarily distributed among other royal or other properties. With the purchase of the palace at Wilhelmstraße 73 in 1858, the ministry acquired a single office building for the first time.

References

  1. Acta Borussica 4/I S.27
  2. Acta Borussica 6/II. S. 762
  3. Caspar Bluntschli:Deutsches Staatswörterbuch 1864