Eduard Julius Ernst August Erdmann, Prince von Anhalt (German: Eduard Julius Ernst August von Anhalt; born 3 December 1941), also referred to by the courtesy titlePrince Eduard, is the head of the House of Ascania,[1] the family which ruled the Duchy of Anhalt until 1918.
Eduard was born at Schloss Ballenstedt in Ballenstedt, in what is now the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the youngest of the five children of the last reigning Duke of Anhalt, Joachim Ernst, and of his second wife Editha "Edda" Charlotte Wilhelmine Marwitz, who allegedly paid 10,000 marks to Bertha von Stephani to improve her social standing by adult adoption.[2]
On 9 October 1963, Eduard's older brother Friedrich died childless in a car crash. Eduard uses the title Prince of Anhalt,[1][3] but is referred to by others as Duke of Anhalt.[4][5] The succession of Eduard and his brother was disputed by their uncle Prince Eugen who also claimed the headship of house after the death of Duke Joachim Ernst.[6][7] The death without male issue in 1980 of Prince Eugen left Prince Eduard as the sole claimant to the headship of the house.
Eduard lived in the United States for several years, working in a number of retail sales positions, before returning to Germany in 1967.[citation needed] He has been a journalist and columnist for numerous German magazines. He has also hosted a television programme Adel verpflichet (Noblesse oblige) for RTL Television.[8] Subsequently, Anhalt became a frequent German television commentator for royal events.[9]
In 1978, Eduard wrote a book[10] about his family's traditions, Askanische Sagen Über die Entstehung der Deutschen (English: Ascanian Legends About the Origins of the Germans).[11] A revised and expanded edition of the book with the title Sagenhaftes Askanien: Geschichten und Legenden (English: Incredible Ascania, Stories and Legends) was published in 2004.[12]
Eduard has served as deputy chairman of the Société des Amis of the Almanach de Gotha reboot.[5]
Due to his father's incarceration in a concentration camp from 1938 to 1944, Eduard's paternity has been questioned.[13][pageneeded][verification needed] In 1990 his eldest sister Princess Marie Antoinette (called Alexandra) termed him her 'half brother' to the press, and alleged that his father was Heinrich Himmler. Eduard responded by suggesting the matter was simply a dispute between siblings, and that she wished to besmirch his name.[14]
In April 1990, Eduard asserted ownership of the family seat Schloss Ballenstedt, which had been confiscated by the Communist authorities in East Germany after World War II.[8] He was unsuccessful, and there were lengthy administrative disputes, although relations with the town administration of Ballenstedt subsequently improved.[15][16]
After a further long legal fight with the town administration, which had insisted on first right of refusal, in May 2000 Eduard managed to purchase for 400,000 D-Marks another property of the family which had been requisitioned. This was the small but historic domed neoclassical hunting lodge, Röhrkopf, built in 1770, which lies within the former park of Schloss Ballenstedt.[17] It has now become the family seat, and three holiday apartments for general rental have been constructed within its garden.[18] Fear of lingering animosity towards the family, including over issues of restitution, inhibited his children from resettling in Anhalt, although after her divorce his wife bought a home in Dessau, and worked to promote the region.[17]
A difficulty for Eduard has been the adult adoptees of his aunt Princess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt. Adopted for what has been presumed to be monetary reasons, and laying claim to be princes of Anhalt, they are estimated to number 35 persons.[8] Outside of Germany the most notable of the adoptees is Frederic von Anhalt (formerly Hans Lichtenberg), the last husband of actress Zsa Zsa Gabor. In 2010, Eduard released a statement restating that such individuals would never be officially recognised by the family as members of House of Anhalt-Ascania.[19]
Eduard gained international attention in August 2010 when he claimed to have advanced knowledge of the engagement of his distant cousin Prince William of Wales to Catherine Middleton. Although a spokesperson for the British royal family denied Eduard's claim,[20] the engagement was indeed announced a few months later.[21]
Marriage and children
On 21 July 1980, in Munich, Eduard married Corinne Gisa Elisabeth Krönlein (born 19 August 1961, Würzburg), daughter of Günther Krönlein (a relative of Rhenish missionaryJohann Georg Krönlein) and wife Anneliese Benz, in a civil ceremony. The couple renewed their vows in a religious ceremony on 7 June 1986 in S-charl, near Scuol, Switzerland, but later divorced in 2014.[13] Eduard and Corinne have three daughters:
Julia Katharina Elisabeth (born 14 December 1980, Bad Tölz) married 12 July 2008 Marc Bernath, registered legally as "Marc Prinz von Anhalt":
Julius Maxime Laszlo Prinz von Anhalt[22] (born 21 December 2010, Munich)[3]
Julia Eilika Nicole (born 1 January 1985, Munich), has one son and one daughter with her partner, Fabian Harte:[3]
Leopold (b. 2011)
Julia Philine (b. 2013)
Julia Felicitas Leopoldine Friederike Franziska (born 14 May 1993, Munich)
Succession
Eduard is the last male of what is considered the "House of Ascania", itself from the Billung dynasty, traced back ultimately to the Count Wichmann (Wychmannus comes) in 811 AD. If Eduard died without male issue, the House would be considered extinct. The male line of Ascanians survives, however, in the Counts von Westarp, descendants of Prince Franz of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym and his morganatic wife Karoline Westarp and the Counts von Waldersee who descend from Count Franz Johann von Waldersee (1763–1823), illegitimate son of Leopold III, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau (1740–1817) and his mistress Eleonore Hofmeyer (1739–1816).[citation needed] In 2010 Eduard modified the House of Anhalt-Ascania Laws, abolishing the Salic or Semi-Salic laws; recognising his first born daughter as his heir; and ruling that gender would in future be irrelevant in determining the line of descent.[19]
The House of Ascania was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt.
The Duchy of Anhalt was a historical German duchy. The duchy was located between the Harz Mountains in the west and the River Elbe and beyond to the Fläming Heath in the east. The territory was once ruled by the House of Ascania, and is now part of the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt.
The House of Wettin was a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its origins can be traced back to the town of Wettin, Saxony-Anhalt. The Wettins gradually rose to power within the Holy Roman Empire. Members of the family became the rulers of several medieval states, starting with the Saxon Eastern March in 1030. Other states they gained were Meissen in 1089, Thuringia in 1263, and Saxony in 1423. These areas cover large parts of Central Germany as a cultural area of Germany.
Ballenstedt is a town in the Harz district, which is a district in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt is a German-American businessman best known as the last husband and widower of Zsa Zsa Gabor. Following his adoption as an adult by Princess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt in 1980, he changed his name.
Prince Aribert Joseph Alexander of Anhalt was regent of Anhalt from September to November 1918 on behalf of his underage nephew Joachim Ernst, Duke of Anhalt. As regent, following the German revolution, he abdicated in the name of his nephew on 12 November 1918, thus ending the rule of the House of Ascania in Anhalt.
Alexander Prinz von Sachsen, is the nephew, adopted son and heir of Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen, and a businessman. Following the death of Maria Emanuel in July 2012 he assumed the headship of the Royal House of Saxony, based on a 1997 agreement that named him heir, but which was repudiated a few years later by a number of signatories. His claim is disputed by his cousin Prince Daniel of Saxony.
Joachim Ernst, Duke of Anhalt was the last ruler of the Duchy of Anhalt.
Leopold Friedrich Franz Sieghard Hubertus Erdmann, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt was the head of the House of Ascania, the family which ruled the Duchy of Anhalt until 1918.
Eduard Georg Wilhelm Maximilian was a German prince of the House of Ascania and the penultimate ruler of the Duchy of Anhalt from April to September 1918.
Frederick II was the Duke of Anhalt from 1904 until 1918.
Frederick I was a German prince of the house of Ascania who ruled the Duchy of Anhalt from 1871 to 1904.
Princess Marie Auguste of Anhalt was the daughter of Eduard, Duke of Anhalt, and his wife, Princess Louise Charlotte of Saxe-Altenburg. She married and divorced a son of Kaiser Wilhelm II, then married and divorced a baron.
Ernest I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau. He was the second son of George I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, yet the first born by his fourth wife Anna, daughter of Albert VIII, Count of Lindow-Ruppin.
Victor Frederick of Anhalt-Bernburg, was a German prince of the House of Ascania. He was Reigning prince of the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg from 1721 to 1765.
Alexius Frederick Christian of Anhalt-Bernburg, was a German prince of the House of Ascania. From 1796 until 1807 he was Reigning prince of the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg, and from 1807 until 1834 the first Duke of the Duchy of Anhalt-Bernburg.
Hubertus Prinz von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha is the eldest son of Ernst-Leopold Prinz von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha and his first wife, Ingeborg Henig.
Prince Ernst August of Lippe was a claimant to the headship of the House of Lippe. Between 1950 and 1954 he was the president of the Vespa Club of Germany (VCVD).
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.
Schloss Köthen is a palace (schloss) in Köthen (Anhalt), Germany. Begun as a castle, it was protected by a moat. It was the residence of the Princes and Dukes of Anhalt from 1244 to 1847, and now belongs to a foundation for the preservation of sites in Saxony-Anhalt.
References
1 2 Casagrande, Sabina (31 August 2007). "German Duke: Diana Revolutionized Europe's Monarchies". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 4 December 2011. Prince Julius Eduard von Anhalt, Duke of Saxony, is the head of the House of Anhalt-Ascania and a member of Germany's higher nobility.
↑ Von Tuma, Thomas (20 March 2000). "Rent A Royal". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 4 December 2011. In Wahrheit, glauben Experten, ließe sich aus den Wappenträgern noch weit mehr rausholen. "Die Werbewirtschaft hat die Zugkraft deutscher Adelshäuser, die Geschichte und Glaubwürdigkeit repräsentieren, einfach noch nicht erkannt", glaubt Eduard Prinz von Anhalt, medialer Aktiv-Posten des deutschen Hochadels und gern bei Königshochzeiten als TV-Kommentator präsent.
↑ Deutschen Nat. "Anhalt, Eduard von". Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
↑ Anhalt, Eduard Prinz von (1978). Askanische Sagen Über die Entstehung der Deutschen (in German). München, Bayern, Deutschland: Mahnert-Lueg.
↑ Prinz von Anhalt, Eduard (2004). Sagenhaftes Askanien. Geschichten und Legenden (in German). München, Bayern, Deutschland: Langen/Müller. ISBN978-3-7844-2974-8.
1 2 Burke's Royal Families of the World, Europe and Latin America
↑ Sturm, Christian Peinlicher Familienkrachim Hause Sachsen-Anhalt: Ist Prinz Eduard Himmler's Sohn, Bild, 14 February 1990, Page 3
↑ "Palace clears up mystery of Kate and Wills' wedding". Hello. 20 August 2010. Archived from the original on 24 August 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2011. The recent rumour of royal wedding bells soon ringing for Kate Middleton and Prince William has been called "nonsense and speculation" by St James's Palace.
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