March 7, 1550: Death of Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria

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Albrecht V of Bavaria, Bishop of Rome, Counter Reformation, Duke Ludwig X of Bavaria, Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria, Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich III, House of Wittelsbach, Philipp of Baden, Pope Clement VII

Wilhelm IV (November 13, 1493 – March 7, 1550) was Duke of Bavaria from 1508 to 1550, until 1545 together with his younger brother Ludwig X, Duke of Bavaria. He was born in Munich to Albrecht IV and Archduchess Kunigunde of Austria, a daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich III and his wife Infanta Eleanor of Portugal.

Though his father had determined the everlasting succession of the firstborn prince in 1506, his younger brother Ludwig refused a spiritual career with the argument that he was born before the edict became valid.

With support of his mother and the States-General, Ludwig forced Wilhelm to accept him as co-regent in 1516. Ludwig then ruled the districts of Landshut and Straubing, in general in concord with his brother.

Wilhelm initially sympathized with the Reformation but changed his mind as it grew more popular in Bavaria.

In 1522 Wilhelm issued the first Bavarian religion mandate, banning the promulgation of Martin Luther’s works. After an agreement with Pope Clement VII in 1524 Wilhelm became a political leader of the German Counter Reformation, although he remained in opposition to the Habsburgs since his brother Ludwig X claimed the Bohemian crown.

Both dukes also suppressed the peasant uprising in South Germany in an alliance with the archbishop of Salzburg in 1525.

The conflict with the Habsburgs ended in 1534 when both dukes reached an agreement with Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I in Linz. Wilheln then supported Charles V in his war against the Schmalkaldic League in 1546, but however he did not succeed in preserving the Palatine electoral dignity. Wilhelm’s chancellor for 35 years was the forceful Leonhard von Eck.

On April 23, 1516, before a committee consisting of gentry and knights in Ingolstadt, Wilhelm issued his famous purity regulation for the brewing of Bavarian Beer, stating that only barley, hops, and water could be used. This regulation remained in force until it was abolished as a binding obligation in 1986 by Paneuropean regulations of the European Union.

In 1522 Wilhelm IV married his cousin Princess Maria Jacobäa of Baden,(1507–1580), a daughter of Margrave Philipp I of Baden and his consort Princess Elisabeth of the Palatinate. Princess Elizabeth of the Palatinate was a daughter of the elector Philipp (1448–1508) from his marriage to Margaret of Bavaria (1456–1501), daughter of Duke Ludwig IX of Bavaria-Landshut.

In 1523 with the appointment of Ludwig Senfl began the rise of the Bavarian State Orchestra. Of particular importance is the Eckbibel Johann Eck wrote on behalf of Wilhelm, a biblical translation from 1537, which is theologically directly against Luther and therefore belongs to the Catholic correction bibles. It is also significant in terms of linguistics because it is not written in the East German Saxon, but in Bavarian Upper German.

Wilhelm IV was a significant collector and commissioner of art. Among other works he commissioned an important suite of paintings from various artists, including the Battle of Issus by Albrecht Altdorfer.

This, like most of Wilhelm IV’s collection, is now housed in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. With his order to expand the Neuveste with the so-called Rundstubenbau and to set up the first Court Garden began the history of the Munich Residenz as a representative palace.

To the history cycle of the garden pavilion belonged Albrecht Altdorfer’s painting. In 1546, he and his son Albrecht V ordered the construction of Dachau Palace from a Gothic ruin into a Renaissance style four-winged palace with a court garden which later became the favored residence of the rulers of Bavaria.

Wilhelm IV died in 1550 in Munich and was succeeded by his son Albrecht V. He is buried in the Frauenkirche in Munich.

November 13, 1797: Birth of Princess Caroline of Baden

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Caroline of Baden, Elector of Bavaria, Emperor Franz II, Emperor Franz-Joseph of Austria, Holy Roman Empire, House of Wittelsbach, Kingdom of Bavaria, Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, Queen of Bavaria, Twins

Caroline of Baden (July 13, 1776 – November 13, 1841) was by marriage an Electress of Bavaria and later the first Queen consort of Bavaria by marriage to Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria.

Early life

Caroline of Baden was the eldest child of Charles Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Baden, and his wife Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt, the daughter of Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Henriette Caroline of Palatine-Zweibrücken. Caroline was born July 13, 1776, twin sister of Catharina Amalie Christiane Luise of Baden.

Caroline of Baden, Queen of Bavaria

Caroline was considered as a bride for Louis Antoine Henri de Bourbon, Duke of Enghien, but the fear of attracting opposition from France made her family hesitate.

Marriage

On March 9, 1797, in Karlsruhe, she became the second spouse of Maximilian, Duke of Palatine-Zweibrücken from 1795 to 1799. Two years later would inherit the Electorate of Bavaria and became Prince-Elector as Maximilian IV Joseph from 1799 to 1806. He was a member of the House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Zweibrücken, a branch of the House of Wittelsbach.

Maximilian’s first wife was Princess Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt, daughter of Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hesse-Darmstadt. They were married on September 30, 1785 in Darmstadt. In March 1796 Augusta Wilhelmine, who had always had delicate lungs, finally succumbed and died at Rohrbach. She was buried in the Schlosskirche in Darmstadt.

As a result of the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the rank of Elector became obsolete, and the ruler of Bavaria was promoted to the rank of King. As a result, Caroline became Queen of Bavaria. Caroline had seven children with her husband, including two pairs of twins, an interesting occurrence considering Caroline was also a twin herself.

Caroline was allowed to keep her Protestant religion and had her own Protestant pastor, which was unique for a Bavarian queen. She was described as a very dignified consort and hostess of the Bavarian court and raised her daughters to have a strong sense of duty.

Death and funeral

Caroline of Baden died November 13, 1841, outliving her husband by sixteen years and one month. Due to her Protestant religion, her funeral was conducted with so little royal dignity that there were public protests.

By order of the Catholic archbishop of Munich, Lothar Anselm von Gebsattel, all participating Catholic clergy were dressed in ordinary clothes instead of church vestments. The Protestant clergy were halted at the church door and not allowed to proceed inside for the service, so Ludwig Friedrich Schmidt gave the funeral sermon there.

Afterward, the funeral procession dissipated, and the coffin was placed in the burial crypt without ceremony. This treatment of his beloved stepmother permanently softened the attitude of Caroline’s stepson King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who up until that time had been a strong opponent of Protestantism despite his marriage to the Protestant Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.

One of Caroline’s daughters was Princess Sophie of Bavaria (January 27, 1805 – May 28, 1872) Sophie was the identical twin sister of Princess Maria Anna of Bavaria, Queen of Saxony as wife of Friedrich August II of Saxony.

Sophie was said to be her father’s favorite daughter although she was more attached to her mother, Caroline, whom she loved dearly. Sophie adored her twin sister Maria Anna and was very close to all her sisters.

On November 4, 1824, Sophie married Archduke Franz Charles of Austria. Her paternal half-sister, Caroline Augusta of Bavaria, had married the groom’s widowed father, the last Holy Roman Emperor, Franz II, in 1816. Sophie and Franz Charles had six children, among them were, her eldest son Franz Joseph who reigned as Emperor of Austria, and King of Hungary; her second son was Maximilian briefly reigned as Emperor of Mexico.

Princess Elizabeth Stuart of England, Scotland and Ireland, Queen of Bohemia. Part II.

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Bavaria, Elizabeth Stuart, Frederick V of the Rhine, Holy Roman Empire, House of Wittelsbach, Prince-Elector, Princess of England, Scotland and Ireland

The man chosen for Elizabeth was Friedrich V, Count Palatine of the Rhine. Friedrich was of undeniably high lineage. His ancestors included the kings of Aragon and Sicily, the landgraves of Hesse, the dukes of Brabant and Saxony, and the counts of Nassau and Leuven. He and Elizabeth also shared a common ancestor in Henry II of England. He was “a senior Prince of the Empire” and a staunch defender of the Protestant faith.

Here is some background information on Friedrich and how the two became to be betrothed. He was an intellectual, a mystic, and a Calvinist. He was responsible for the construction of the famous Hortus Palatinus gardens in Heidelberg.

On September 19, 1610, Friedrich’s father, Friedrich IV, Prince-Elector of the Palatinate, died from “extravagant living”; his son being 14 years old at the time. Under the terms of the Golden Bull of 1356, Friedrich’s closest male relative would serve as his guardian and as regent of the Palatinate until Friedrich reached the age of majority.

However, his nearest male relative, Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg, was a Catholic, so, shortly before his death, Friedrich IV had named another Wittelsbach relative, Johann II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken, as his son’s guardian. Friedrich V welcomed Johann to Heidelberg, whereas Wolfgang Wilhelm was denied entry. This led to a heated dispute among the princes of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1613, Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor intervened in the dispute, with the result being that Friedrich V was able to begin his personal rule in the Palatinate even though he was still underage.

Friedrich IV’s marriage policy had been designed to solidify the Palatinate’s position within the Reformed camp in Europe. Two of Friedrich V’s sisters were married to leading Protestant princes: his sister Luise Juliane to his one-time guardian Johann II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken, and his sister Elizabeth Charlotte to Georg Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg. Friedrich IV had hoped that his daughter Katharina would marry the future Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden, although this never came to pass.

In keeping with his father’s policy, Friedrich V sought a marriage to Elizabeth Stuart of England. James had initially considered marrying Elizabeth to Louis XIII of France, but these plans were rejected by his advisors. Friedrich’s advisors in the Palatinate were worried that if Elizabeth were married to a Catholic prince, this would upset the confessional balance of Europe, and they were thus resolved that she should marry Frederick V. Hans Meinhard von Schönberg, who had served as Frederick V’s Hofmeister since his return to Heidelberg, was sent to London to court the princess in spring 1612. After intense negotiations, a marriage contract was signed on May 26, 1612.

Courtship

Friedrich arrived in England on October 16, 1612, and the match seemed to please them both from the beginning. Their contemporaries noted how Friedrich seemed to “delight in nothing but her company and conversation”. Friedrich also struck up a friendship with Elizabeth’s elder brother, Prince Henry, which delighted his prospective bride immensely.

King James did not take into consideration the couple’s happiness, but saw the match as “one step in a larger process of achieving domestic and European concord”. The only person seemingly unhappy with the match was Elizabeth’s mother Queen Anne (born a princessof Denmark). As the daughter of a king, the sister of a king, the wife of a king, and the mother of a future king, Queen Anne also desired to be the mother of a queen. She is said to have been somewhat fond of Friedrich mild manner and generous nature but simply felt that he was of too low of stock.

On November 6, 1612 Henry, Prince of Wales, died. His death took an emotional toll on Elizabeth, and her new position as second in line to the throne made her an even more desirable match. Queen Anne and those like-minded who had “always considered Friedrich of the Rhine to be an unworthy match for her, were emboldened in their opposition”. Elizabeth stood by Friedrich, whom her brother had approved, and whom she found to have the sentiments of a fine gentleman. Above all, he was “regarded as the future head of the Protestant interest in Germany.

The wedding took place on February 14, 1613 at the royal chapel at the Palace of Whitehall and was a grand occasion that saw more royalty than ever visit the court of England. The marriage was an enormously popular match and was the occasion for an outpouring of public affection with the ceremony described as “a wonder of ceremonial and magnificence even for that extravagant age”.

It was celebrated with lavish and sophisticated festivities both in London and Heidelberg, including mass feasts and lavish furnishings that cost nearly £50,000, and nearly bankrupted King James. Among many celebratory writings of the events was John Donne’s “Epithalamion, Or Marriage Song on the Lady Elizabeth, and Count Palatine being married on St Valentine’s Day”. A contemporary author viewed the whole marriage as a prestigious event that saw England “lend her rarest gem, to enrich the Rhine”.

Electress Palatine

After almost a two-month stay in London for continued celebrations, the couple began their journey to join the Electoral court in Heidelberg. The journey was filled with meeting people, sampling foods and wines, and being entertained by a wide variety of performers and companies. At each place the young couple stopped, Elizabeth was expected to distribute presents. The cash to allow her to do so was not readily available, so she had to use one of her own jewels as collateral so that the goldsmith Abraham Harderet would “provide her with suitable presents on credit.

Her arrival in Heidelberg was seen as “the crowning achievement of a policy which tried to give the Palatinate a central place in international politics” and was long anticipated and welcomed. Elizabeth’s new husband transformed his seat at Heidelberg Castle, creating between 1610 and 1613 the Englischer Bau (i.e., English Building) for her, a monkey-house, a menagerie, and the beginnings of a new garden in the Italian Renaissance garden style popular in England at the time. The garden, the Hortus Palatinus, was constructed by Elizabeth’s former tutor, Salomon de Caus. It was dubbed the “Eighth Wonder of the World” by contemporaries.

Although Elizabeth and Friedrich were considered to be genuinely in love and remained a romantic couple throughout the course of their marriage, problems already had begun to arise. Before the couple had left England, King James had made Friedrich promise that Elizabeth “would take precedence over his mother, of Louise Juliana of Orange-Nassau, the daughter of Willem I the Silent, Prince of Orange, and Charlotte de Bourbon-Montpensier. James further had Friedrich promise his daughter would always be treated as if she were a Queen”. This at times made life in the Palatinate uncomfortable for Elizabeth, as Friedrich’s mother Louise Juliana had “not expected to be demoted in favour of her young daughter-in-law” and, as such, their relationship was never more than cordial.

Issue:

Elizabeth gave birth to three children in Heidelberg, Heinrich Friedrich, Hereditary Prince of the Palatinate, was born in 1614, Charles Ludwig in 1617, (the future Prince-Elector Palatine of the Rhine) and Elisabeth in 1619.

The rest of the children born to Friedrich and Elizabeth were:

Prince Rupert, Duke of Cumberland (fought with his uncle King Charles I of England in the English Civil Wars)
Prince Maurice
Louise Hollandine, Abbess of Maubuisson
Prince Ludwig
Prince Eduard, Count Palatine of Simmern
Princess Henriette Marie
Prince Philipp Friedrich
Princess Charlotte
Sophia, Electress of Hanover (mother of King George I of Great Britain)
Prince Gustavus Adolphus

September 28, 1322: Battle of Mühldorf.

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Battle of Müldorf, Electoral Collage, Frederick I of Austria, Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV, House of Habsburg, House of Luxembourg, House of Wittelsbach, Imperial Elector, John the Blind of Bohemia

From The Emperor’s Desk: I generally am not too interested in wars and battles but this was an important battle in the History of the Holy Roman Empire.

The Battle of Mühldorf (also Battle of Ampfing) was fought near Mühldorf am Inn on September 28, 1322 between the Duchy of (Upper) Bavaria and Austria. The Bavarians were led by the Holy Roman Emperor Ludwig IV of the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach, while the Austrians were under the command of his cousin, Friedrich the Fair from the House of Habsburg, was Duke of Austria and Styria from 1308 as Friedrich I as well as King of Germany (King of the Romans) from 1314 (anti-king until 1325) as Friedrich III until his death.

picture: Friedrich I of Austria

Background

The early 14th century had the powerful dynasties of Habsburg, Luxembourg, and Wittelsbach rivaling for the rule over the Holy Roman Empire, while the Prince-Electors were anxious not to allow one noble family to install their dynasty permanently turning the Holy Roman Empire into a hereditary monarchy.

After the death of Emperor Heinrich VII of the House of Luxembourg in 1313, the Electoral Collage denied the succession of his son Johann, (1296 – 1346) who was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of Poland.

Instead the Electoral Collage accorded its favor to Ludwig of Wittelsbach and Friedrich of Habsburg, but were split over the question of whom to choose. I’ve already mentioned the credentials of Friedrich the Fair, here is some background on Ludwig of Wittelsbach.

He was the son of Ludwig II, Duke of Upper Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine, and Matilda of Austria, a daughter of King Rudolph I of Germany, of the House of Habsburg. Ludwig (III) was Duke of Upper Bavaria from 1294/1301 together with his elder brother Rudolf I, served as Margrave of Brandenburg until 1323, and as Count Palatine of the Rhine until 1329, and he became Duke of Lower Bavaria.

Therefore, because the Electoral Collage was split in 1314, a double election took place at Frankfurt. Cologne, the Electorate of the Palatinate, Bohemia, and the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg voted for Friedrich of Habsburg as Rex Romanorum.

Mainz, Archbishopric of Trier, Brandenburg and Elector Johann II of Saxe-Lauenburg (whose electoral dignity was denied by their Saxe-Wittenberg cousins) adopted Ludwig of Bavaria.

The draw resulted in a protracted conflict with violent fights, in which both sides tried to gain the support of the Imperial estates. In addition, Ludwig had to settle the domestic dispute with his brother Count Palatine Rudolf I (who had voted against him), which finally ended with Rudolf’s death in 1319.

Meanwhile, Friedrich continued his campaigns into Bavaria, devastating Ludwig’s’ duchy several times without meeting much resistance.

The battle

In 1322, Friedrich, encouraged by his previous expeditions, allied with the Bishop of Passau and the Salzburg Archbishopric. Their armed forces met on September 24 near Mühldorf on the Inn River, where Friedrich expected the arrival of further troops from Further Austria, led by his brother Leopold.

The battle did not go well for the Austrians. Ludwig had forged an alliance with King Johann of Bohemia and Burggrave Friedrich IV of Nuremberg (of the House of Hohenzollern) and on September 28 reached Mühldorf with a sizable army, including 1,800 knights and 500-600 mounted Hungarian archers.

Meanwhile, Leopold’s relief troops were barred from reaching the battlefield in time. Despite this unfavorable situation Friedrich agreed to meet Ludwig’s knights at once.

Friedrich’s army was defeated by Ludwig’s army outnumbering forces under high losses on both sides. More than 1,000 noblemen from Austria and Salzburg were captured, as was Friedrich himself and his younger brother, Heinrich the Friendly.

Aftermath

Though Emperor Ludwig IV had prevailed, his Imperial title remained contested, especially by Pope John XXII and Friedrich’s brother Leopold, who remained a fierce opponent.

After three years Emperor Ludwig IV had to release Friedrich from captivity and reconcile with him, even offering him a joint rule and the Rex Romanorum title in return for his support to receive the Imperial crown.

Neither the House of Wittelsbach nor the Habsburgs were able to defend their claims to the royal title, which after Ludwig IV’svdeath in 1347 again passed to Charles IV from the House of Luxembourg.

Birth of Albert IV of Austria. House of Babenburg and Habsburg

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Duke Albert IV of Austria, House of Babenburg, House of Habsburg, House of Wittelsbach, King Richard I of England, Leopold V of Austria, Luitpoldings, Robertians, The Second Crusade

Albert IV of Austria (19 September 1377 – 14 September 1404) was a Duke of Austria.

He was born in Vienna, the son of Albert III of Austria and Beatrix of Nuremberg. He was the Duke of Austria from 1395 until 1404, which then included roughly today’s Lower Austria and most of Upper Austria, as the other Habsburg dominions were at that time ruled by his relatives of the Leopoldinian Line of the family.

Albert’s rule was characterized by quarrels with that part of his family and with members of the Luxemburg dynasty, Wenceslaus and Sigismund.

Albert died at Klosterneuburg, Lower Austria, in 1404. He is buried in the Ducal Crypt in the Stephansdom in Vienna. He was succeeded by his son Albert. Through his maternal grandmother, Elisabeth of Meissen, Albert IV descended from Babenberg dukes of Austria.

He was married in Vienna 24 April 1390 to Joanna Sophia of Bavaria, daughter of Albrecht I, Duke of Bavaria-Straubing and Margarete of Brieg.

I have not mentioned the House of Babenburg on this blog and since Albert IV of the House of Habsburg brings the blood of the House of Babenburg back into Austria, I’ll give some basic information on this Royal House.

House of Babenberg

The House of Babenberg was a noble dynasty of Austrian margraves and dukes. Originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia (present-day Bavaria), the Babenbergs ruled the Imperial Margraviate of Austria from its creation in 976 AD until its elevation to a duchy in 1156, and from then until the extinction of the line in 1246, whereafter they were succeeded by the House of Habsburg.

The Babenberg family can be broken down into two distinct groups: 1) The Franconian Babenbergs, the so-called Elder House of Babenberg, whose name refers to Babenburg Castle, the present site of Bamberg Cathedral. Also called Popponids after their progenitor Count Poppo of Grapfeld (d. 839-41), they were related to the Frankish Robertian dynasty and ancestors of the Franconian Counts of Henneberg and of Schweinfurt.

The aforementioned Robertians, (sometimes called the Robertines in modern scholarship), are the proposed Frankish family which was ancestral to the Capetian dynasty, and thus to the royal families of France and of many other countries.

2) The Austrian Babenbergs, descendants of Margrave Leopold I, who ruled Austria from 976 onwards. This second group claimed to have originated from the first, however, scholars have not been able to verify that claim. This branch of the House of Babenburg is theorized to be connected to the The Luitpoldings who were a medieval dynasty which ruled the German stem duchy of Bavaria from some time in the late ninth century off and on until 985. The Babenburg and Luitpoldings May have an affiliation with the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach is possible though not proven.

Leopold V (1157 – 1194), was Duke of Austria from 1177 and Duke of Styria from 1192 until his death. He was a member of the House of Babenberg and was the Austrian Duke who captured King Richard I of England and held him for ransom after the Second Crusade.

The Babenbergs and the Habsburgs

The next dynasty in Austria—the Habsburgs—were originally not descendants of the Babenbergs. It was not until the children of Albert I of Germany that the Babenberg blood was brought into the Habsburg line, though this blood was from the pre-ducal Babenbergs. A side effect of this marriage was the use of the Babenberg name Leopold by the Habsburgs for one of their sons.

The Habsburgs did eventually gain descent from the Babenberg dukes, though at different times. The first Habsburg line to be descended from the Babenbergs was the Albertine line. This was achieved through the marriage of Albert III, Duke of Austria to Beatrix of Nuremberg. As such, their son, Albert IV, Duke of Austria, was the first Habsburg duke who was descended from the Babenberg dukes. However, the male line of that branch of the Habsburgs died out in 1457 with Ladislas V Posthumus of Bohemia.

The next Habsburg line to gain Babenberg blood was the Styrian line, which occurred with the children of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary, the latter of whom descended from Babenberg dukes. It was actually from Elizabeth of Austria, the sister of Ladislas V Posthumus of Bohemia, that the Styrian line gained their Babenberg blood.

The Spanish line was the last Habsburg line to gain Babenberg blood. Again it was via the previous Habsburg line to gain Babenberg blood (i.e. the Styrian) that the Spanish Habsburg gained their descent from the Babenbergs — Anna of Austria, the wife of Felipe II of Spain and mother of Philip (from whom all subsequent Spanish Habsburgs were descended), was a male-line granddaughter of Ferdinand and Anna. As a result, after 1598, all Habsburg scions descended from the Babenberg Dukes.

August 26, 1596: Birth of Friedrich V, King of Bohemia.

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Elizabeth Stuart, Frederick V of Bohemia, Frederick V of the Rhine, House of Habsburg, House of Wittelsbach, king James I-VI of England and Scotland, Sophia of the Rhine (Electress Sophia), Thirty Years War

Friedrich V. (August 26, 1596 – November 29, 1632) was the Elector Palatine of the Rhine in the Holy Roman Empire from 1610 to 1623, and reigned as King of Bohemia from 1619 to 1620. He was forced to abdicate both roles, and the brevity of his reign in Bohemia earned him the derisive sobriquet “the Winter King”.

Friedrich V was born at the Jagdschloss Deinschwang (a hunting lodge) near Amberg in the Upper Palatinate. He was the son of Friedrich IV and of Louise Juliana of Orange-Nassau, the daughter of Willem I the Silent Prince of Orange and Charlotte de Bourbon-Montpensier. An intellectual, a mystic, and a Calvinist, he succeeded his father as Prince-Elector of the Rhenish Palatinate in 1610. He was responsible for the construction of the famous Hortus Palatinus gardens in Heidelberg.

Friedrich IV’s marriage policy had been designed to solidify the Palatinate’s position within the Reformed camp in Europe. Two of Frederick V’s sisters were married to leading Protestant princes: his sister Luise Juliane to his one-time guardian Johann II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken, and his sister Elizabeth Charlotte to Georg Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg. Friedrich IV had hoped that his daughter Katharina would marry the future King Gustaf II Adolph of Sweden, although this never came to pass.

In keeping with his father’s policy, Friedrich V sought a marriage to Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of James I-VI of England and Scotland. James had initially considered marrying Elizabeth to Louis XIII of France, but these plans were rejected by his advisors. Friedrich’s advisors in the Palatinate were worried that if Elizabeth were married to a Catholic prince, this would upset the confessional balance of Europe, and they were thus resolved that she should marry Friedrich V.

Hans Meinhard von Schönberg, who had served as Friedrich V’s Hofmeister since his return to Heidelberg, was sent to London to court the princess in spring 1612. After intense negotiations, a marriage contract was signed on May 26, 1612, over the objection of her mother, Queen Anne.

Friedrich V travelled to London to collect his bride, landing on English soil on October 16, 1612. Friedrich and Elizabeth, who had previously corresponded in French, now met each other for the first time, and got on well together. They were formally engaged in January 1613 and married on February 14, 1613 at the royal chapel at the Palace of Whitehall.

In 1618 the largely Protestant estates of Bohemia rebelled against their Catholic King Ferdinand, triggering the outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War. Friedrich was asked to assume the crown of Bohemia. He accepted the offer and was crowned on 4 November 1619, as Friedrich I. The estates chose Friedrich since he was the leader of the Protestant Union, a military alliance founded by his father, and hoped for the support of Friedrich’s father-in-law, James I- VI of England and Scotland.

However, James opposed the takeover of Bohemia from the Habsburgs and Friedrich’s allies in the Protestant Union failed to support him militarily by signing the Treaty of Ulm (1620). His brief reign as King of Bohemia ended with his defeat at the Battle of White Mountain on 8 November 1620 – a year and four days after his coronation.

After the battle, the Imperial forces invaded Friedrich’s Palatine lands and he had to flee to his uncle Prince Maurice, Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic in 1622. An Imperial edict formally deprived him of the Palatinate in 1623. He lived the rest of his life in exile with his wife and family, mostly at The Hague, and died in Mainz in 1632.

His eldest surviving son Charles I Ludwig, Elector Palatine, returned to power in 1648 with the end of the war. Another son was Prince Rupert of the Rhine, one of the most colourful figures of his time. His daughter Princess Sophia was eventually named heiress presumptive to the British throne, and is the founder of the Hanoverian line of kings.

July 11, 1662: Birth of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria

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Elector of Bavaria, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, House of Wittelsbach, King Carlos II of Spain, Maximilian II Emanuel of Bavaria, Prince Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria, War of the Spanish Succession

Maximilian II Emanuel (July 11, 1662 – February 26, 1726), also known as Max Emanuel or Maximilian Emanuel, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and a Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the last governor of the Spanish Netherlands and Duke of Luxembourg. An able soldier, his ambition led to conflicts that limited his ultimate dynastic achievements. By virtue of his electoral title, the Elector of Bavaria was a member of the Council of Electors in the Imperial Diet as well as Archsteward of the Holy Roman Empire.

Maximilian II Emanuel, Prince-Imperial Elector of Bavaria

He was born in Munich to Ferdinand-Maria, Elector of Bavaria and Princess Henriette-Adelaide of Savoy (d.1676). His maternal grandparents were Victor-Amadeus I of Savoy and Christine Marie of France, daughter of King Henri IV.

Maximilian II Emanuel inherited the elector’s mantle while still a minor in 1679 and remained under his uncle Maximilian-Philipp’s regency until 1680. By 1683 he was already embarked on a military career, fighting in the defence of Vienna against the attempt of the Ottoman Empire to extend their possessions further into Europe.

He returned to court for long enough to marry Archduchess Maria-Antonia of Austria, (Maria Antonia Josepha Benedicta Rosalia Petronella; January 18, 1669 – December 24, 1692) daughter of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and Infanta Margaret-Theresa of Spain. She was the heir to the Spanish throne after her maternal uncle Carlos II of Spain from 1673 until her death.

The birth of Archduchess Maria-Antonia of Austria was the result of the inbreeding chronic in the Habsburg family during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Her father Leopold was her mother’s maternal uncle and paternal first cousin once removed. Also, her maternal grandparents, King Felipe IV of Spain and Queen Mariana, were uncle and niece.

Archduchess Maria-Antonia of Austria

The marriage between Elector Maximilian II Emanuel and Archduchess Maria-Antonia of Austria occurred on July 15, 1685 in Vienna, Austria. This marriage was very unhappy since the couple disliked each other, but it was successful in producing the desired heir for both Bavaria and the Spanish monarchy. Maximilian II Emanuel’s fame was assured when, in 1688, he led the capture of Belgrade from the Turks, with the full support of Serbian insurgents under the command of Jovan Monasterlija.

In the War of the Grand Alliance he again fought on the Habsburgs’ side, protecting the Rhine frontier, and, being the Emperor’s son-in-law and the husband of the King of Spain’s niece, was appointed governor of the Spanish Netherlands in late 1691.

Maximilian II Emanuel, by virtue of his marriage to Archduchess Maria-Antonia, the sole child of Emperor Leopold I’d Spanish marriage, was one of the more serious claimants to the Spanish inheritance of Carlos II of Spain, and the birth of his son Joseph-Ferdinand in October 1692 immediately created a new pretender to the Spanish throne.

In October 1698, William III of England and Louis XIV of France concluded the First Partition Treaty, which gave the Spanish crown with the Indies to Joseph-Ferdinand, Milan to Emperor Joseph’s younger son Archduke Charles, and the rest of Spanish Italy to France.

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor

The unexpected death of Joseph-Ferdinand four months later voided this plan and in the Second Partition Treaty, the Bavarian portion of the inheritance was allotted to Archduke Charles. By the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession in 1701, Maximilian II Emanuel, who had long-term imperial aspirations, had hoped that his governorship of the Spanish Netherlands might yet reap the reward of a share of the Spanish inheritance from either Leopold or, failing him, Louis XIV. Allying himself with the French against Austria, his campaign against Tyrol in 1703 did not have success and his plans were then frustrated by the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704.

Elector Maximilian II Emanuel was again forced to flee the Netherlands after the Battle of Ramillies on May 23, 1706 and found refuge at the French court in Versailles where his late sister Archduchess Maria-Anna (1660–1690) had been the wife of Prince Louis, the Grand Dauphin.

Back in Bavaria, Maximilian II Emanuel focused on architecture projects to balance the failure of his political ambitions. It was bitter for him to witness the royal elevation of the German princes Augustus II the Strong of Saxony became King of Poland (1697), Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg became King Friedrich I in Prussia (1701) and Elector Georg-Ludwig of Hanover became King George I of Great Britain and Ireland 1714) as well as of his cousin Victor-Amadeus II of Savoy became the King of Sardinia (1713) while his own political dreams could not be realized.

Maximilian II Emanuel supported the new wars of the Habsburg against the Turks with Bavarian auxiliary forces (1717). In 1724 he created a union of all lines of the Wittelsbach dynasty to increase the influence of his house. The Wittelsbach Prince-Elector Maximilian II Emanuel, his son Clemens-August of Cologne, Charles III Philipp, Elector Palatine of the Rhine and Franz-Ludwig of Trier had at that time four votes at their disposal for the next imperial election.

Theresa Kunegunda Sobieska of Poland

Maximilian II Emanuel second marriage was to Theresa Kunegunda (Polish: Teresa Kunegunda Sobieska, German: Kurfürstin Therese Kunigunde) (March 4, 1676 – March 10, 1730) was a Polish princess, She also served as Regent of the Palatinate in 1704–05.

She was a daughter of John III Sobieski King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania and Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d’Arquien. Theresa was baptized in Jaworow on July 19, 1676, having for godfather Charles II, king of England and for godmother Marie-Thérèse of Austria, wife of Louis XIV.

The crown of the Holy Roman Empire was sought for either Maximilian II Emanuel or his son Charles-Albert. Already in 1722 Charles-Albert had been married to the Habsburg princess Archduchess Maria-Amalia of Austria. Charles-Albert was elected Holy Roman Emperor as Charles VII (1697-1745) in 1742. A member of the House of Wittelsbach, as the son of Maximilian II Emanuel, Charles VII’s reign marked the end of three centuries of uninterrupted Habsburg imperial rule.

Charles VII Albert, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles VII was, however, related to the Habsburgs both by blood and by marriage. After the death of emperor Charles VI in 1740 he claimed the Archduchy of Austria due to his marriage to Archduchess Maria-Amalia of Austria, the niece of Charles VI, and was from 1741 to 1743 as Charles III briefly King of Bohemia.

In 1726, Maximilian II Emanuel died of a stroke. He is buried in the crypt of the Theatinerkirche in Munich.

July 7, 1528: Birth of Archduchess Anna of Austria, Duchess consort of Bavaria.

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Albert V of Bavaria, Archduchess Anna of Austria, Archduke of Austria, Archduke of Austria and Johanna, Barbara, Catherine, Charles II, Duchess consort of Bavaria, Duchess of Ferrara, Duchess of Mantua, Duchess of Tuscany, Eleanor, Elizabeth, Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, House of Habsburg, House of Wittelsbach, Maximilian II, Queen of Poland

Archduchess Anna of Austria (July 7, 1528 – October 16, 1590), was a member of the Imperial House of Habsburg, and she was Duchess of Bavaria from 1550 until 1579, by her marriage with Duke Albrecht V.

Born at the Bohemian court in Prague, Anna was the third of fifteen children of King Ferdinand I (1503–1564) from his marriage with the Jagiellonian princess Anna of Bohemia and Hungary (1503–1547). Her siblings included: Elizabeth, Queen of Poland, Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria, Catherine, Queen of Poland, Eleanor, Duchess of Mantua, Barbara, Duchess of Ferrara, Charles II, Archduke of Austria and Johanna, Duchess of Tuscany.

Archduchess Anna of Austria

Anna’s paternal grandparents were King Felipe I of Castile and his wife Queen Joanna I. Her maternal grandparents were King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his third wife Anne de Foix.

Life

Young Anna was engaged several times as a child, first to Prince Theodor of Bavaria (1526–1534), the eldest son of Duke Wilhelm IV, then to Charles d’Orléans (1522–1545). However, both died at a young age.

Anna finally married on July 4, 1546 in Regensburg at the age of 17, Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria the younger brother of her first fiancé. Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria (1528-1579) was Duke of Bavaria from 1550 until his death. He was born in Munich to Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria and Princess Maria Jacobäa of Baden.

The wedding gift was 50,000 Guilder. This marriage was part of a web of alliances in which her uncle Emperor Charles V hoped to secure Duke Wilhelm IV’s support before embarking on the Schmalkaldic Wars. Indeed, Duke Wilhelm IV, though he remained formally neutral, granted the passage of Imperial troops to march against the forces of the Schmalkaldic League which besieged the Ingolstadt fortress.

Albrecht V, Duke of Bavaria

After their marriage, the young couple lived at the Trausnitz Castle in Landshut, until Albrecht became duke upon his father’s death on March 7, 1550. At the Munich Residenz, Anna and Albrecht had great influence on the spiritual life in the Duchy of Bavaria, and enhanced the reputation of Munich as a city of art, by founding several museums and laying the foundations for the Bavarian State Library.

Anna and Albrecht were also patrons to the painter Hans Muelich and the Franco-Flemish composer Orlande de Lassus. In 1552, the duke commissioned an inventory of the jewelry in the couple’s possession. The resulting manuscript, still held by the Bavarian State Library, was the Jewel Book of the Duchess Anna of Bavaria (“Kleinodienbuch der Herzogin Anna von Bayern“), and contains 110 drawings by Hans Muelich.

A religious woman, Anna made extensive donations to the Catholic abbey of Vadstena in Sweden and generously supported the Franciscan Order. She also provided a strict education of her grandson, the later Elector Maximilian I of Bavaria.

When her husband died on October 24, 1579 and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Wilhelm V, Anna as Dowager Duchess maintained her own court at the Munich Residenz. 150 years after her death in 1590, her descendant Elector Charles I of Bavaria used her marriage treaty with Albrecht as a pretext to claim the Austrian and Bohemian crown lands of the Habsburg Monarchy.

July 2, 1849: Birth of Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este.

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Archduchess Maria-Theresa of Austria-Este, Duke of Modena., House of Habsburg, House of Wittelsbach, Jacobite Succession, James Francis Stuart, Ludwig III of Bavaria, Luitpold of Bavaria, Queen of England, Regent of Bavaria

Archduchess Maria-Theresa of Austria-Este (Maria Theresa Henriette Dorothee; July 2, 1849 – February 3, 1919) was the last Queen of Bavaria. She was the daughter and only child of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este and his wife, Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria, the daughter of Palatine Joseph of Hungary (1776–1847) and his third wife Maria Dorothea of Württemberg (1797–1855).

Archduchess Maria-Theresa of Austria-Este

Her father Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este was the second son of Francesco IV Duke of Modena and his niece-consort Maria-Beatrice of Savoy. His paternal grandmother had been heiress to the Duchy of Modena, because her father Ercole III d’Este had no sons.

On February 20, 1868 she married Prince Ludwig of Bavaria eldest son of Bavaria’s Prince Regent Luitpold, in the Augustinerkirche in Vienna. Ludwig III (Ludwig Luitpold Josef Maria Aloys Alfried; 1845-1921) was the last king of Bavaria, reigning from 1913 to 1918. He served as regent and de facto head of state from 1912 to 1913, ruling for his cousin, Otto.

He was the son of Prince Luitpold of Bavaria and of his wife, Archduchess Augusta of Austria (daughter of Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany). He was a descendant of both Louis XIV of France and William the Conqueror. Hailing from Florence, Augusta always spoke in Italian to her four children. Ludwig was named after his grandfather, King Ludwig I of Bavaria.

The couple had fallen in love during a visit of Ludwig at Pfingsten in Austria to attend the burial of Archduchess Mathilda and their decision to marry initially angered the Emperor Franz-Joseph, who had wished for her to marry Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany. The chief witness was Count Antonius Schaffgotsch.

Leopold III, King of Bavaria

The family mostly lived on their farms at Leutstetten south of Munich, where Maria-Theresa cultivated rose gardens.
Maria-Theresa became queen consort of Bavaria in 1913 when her husband the reigning Prince Regent proclaimed himself king as King Ludwig III in place of his living but insane cousin King Otto.

She became the first Catholic Queen in Bavaria since Bavaria was made a kingdom 1806. She spoke German, Hungarian, Czech, French, and Italian.

In 1914, she hosted festivities during the royal Bavarian jubilee. She appeared with her husband when war was announced. During World War I, she visited wounded soldiers and encouraged the women of Bavaria to support the troops by providing food and clothes, including with the donations references to legendary heroines.

On November 7, 1918 Ludwig III was forced to abdicate the Bavarian throne, and Maria-Theresa fled Munich with her family to Wildenwart Castle near Frasdorf, in order to escape from the Bolsheviks. The health of the Queen soon declined and she died there on February 3, 1919, being buried at the local chapel. On November 5, 1921 her remains were transferred to the cathedral of Munich along with those of her husband, who died less than a month before.

The Jacobite succession

Upon the extinction of the Royal Stuart line with the death of Henry, Cardinal of York, and applying male-preference primogeniture unaltered by the Act of Settlement 1701, the succession would have passed to the individuals named in the table below. However, unlike the Stuart pretenders, none of them has claimed the British throne (or the thrones of England, Scotland or Ireland) or incorporated the arms of these countries in their coats-of-arms. Nevertheless, since the 19th century, there have been small groups advocating the restoration of the Jacobite succession to the throne.

As a granddaughter of Maria Beatrice of Savoy who was known as Queen Mary III-II to the Jacobite supporters and niece of Francesco V, Duke of Modena (King Francis I. to the Jacobites) she was recognised by the Jacobites as “Princess of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland”.

Since Maria-Theresa was the niece and heir of the childless Francesco V, Duke of Modena who had been, at the time of his death, the Jacobite heir-general to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland; as such, she became the heir after his death in 1875. Neither she, nor any of her Jacobite forebears since 1807, ever seriously pursued this claim. To Jacobites Maria-Theresa was Queen Mary IV-III England, Scotland, France, and Ireland.

Maria-Theresa was the first Jacobite heir-general since James Francis Edward Stuart (1688-1766) who could (but for her religion) also have claimed to be a natural-born citizen of Great Britain. While she was not born on British soil, as James had been, Maria-Theresa was a descendant of the Electress Sophia of Hanover.

Under the terms of the Sophia Naturalization Act 1705, the Electress Sophia and all “issue of her body” were declared to be natural-born British subjects, regardless of the actual place of their birth, unless they were Roman Catholics. The 1705 Act was not repealed until 1948 and, consequently, Maria-Theresa would have been covered by its provisions.

Following her death in 1919, Maria-Theresa’s son Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria inherited the Jacobite claim. Like his mother, he and his descendants have not pursued a claim to the British thrones.

10. The Crown of Bavaria.

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Austrian Empire, Crown of Bavaria, Elector of Bavaria, Elector Palatine of the Rhine, Emperor of the French, Holy Roman Empire, House of Wittelsbach, Kingdom of Bavaria, Maximilian IV Joseph of Bavaria, Maximilian of Bavaria, Napoleon Bonaparte

The Crown of the King of Bavaria is a part of the Bavarian Crown Jewels and was ordered and designed between 1804–1807 for Maximilian I after Napoleon had raised Bavaria to kingdom status.

The Crown of Bavaria

Maximilian I Joseph (May 27, 1756 – October 13, 1825) was Duke of Zweibrücken from 1795 to 1799, Prince-Elector of Bavaria (as Maximilian IV Joseph) from 1799 to 1806, then King of Bavaria (as Maximilian I Joseph) from 1806 to 1825. He was a member of the House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Zweibrücken, a branch of the House of Wittelsbach.

On April 1, 1795, Maximilian succeeded his brother Duke Charles II August as Duke of Zweibrücken, however his duchy was entirely occupied by revolutionary France at the time.

Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria, Elector of Bavaria, Count Palatine of the Rhine

On February 16, 1799, he became Elector of Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine, Arch-Steward of the Empire, and Duke of Berg upon the extinction of the Palatinate-Sulzbach line at the death of Elector Charles IV Theodore of Bavaria.

The new elector Maximilian IV Joseph found the Bavarian army in abject condition on his accession to the throne: Hardly any of the units were at full strength, the Rumford uniforms were unpopular and impractical, and the troops were badly-trained. The young Prince-Elector, who had served under the Ancien Régime in France as a colonel in the Royal Deux-Ponts regiment, made the reconstruction of the army a priority.

Maximilian’s sympathy with France and the ideas of enlightenment at once manifested itself when he acceded to the throne of Bavaria. In the newly organized ministry, Count Max Josef von Montgelas, who, after falling into disfavour with Charles IV Theodore, had acted for a time as Maximilian IV Joseph’s private secretary, was the most potent influence, wholly “enlightened” and French.

Elector Charles IV Theodore of Bavaria, Count Palatine of the Rhine

Creation of the Kingdom of Bavaria

On December 30, 1777, the main line of the Bavarian Wittelsbachs became extinct, and the succession to the Electorate of Bavaria passed to Charles IV Theodore, the Elector Palatine of the Rhine. After a separation of four and a half centuries, the Palatinate, to which the duchies of Jülich and Berg had been added, was thus reunited with Bavaria.

Upon the succession of Charles IV Theodore, now both the Electorate of Bavaria and the Palatine of the Rhine, the title and authority of the two Electorates were combined, with Charles IV Theodore and his heirs retaining only the one vote and precedence as the Bavarian elector, although subsequent monarchs continued to use the title ‘Count Palatine of the Rhine.’

In 1792, French revolutionary armies overran the Palatinate; in 1795, the French, under Moreau, invaded Bavaria itself, advanced to Munich—where they were received with joy by the long-suppressed Liberals—and laid siege to Ingolstadt.

Charles IV Theodore, who had done nothing to prevent wars or to resist the invasion, fled to Saxony, leaving a regency, the members of which signed a convention with Moreau, by which he granted an armistice in return for a heavy contribution on September 7, 1796. Between the French and the Austrians, Bavaria was now in a bad situation. Before the death of Charles IV Theodore (16 February 1799), the Austrians had again occupied the country, in preparation for renewing the war with France.

Maximilian IV Joseph, the new elector, succeeded to a difficult inheritance. Though his own sympathies, and those of his all-powerful minister, Maximilian von Montgelas, were, if anything, French rather than Austrian, the state of the Bavarian finances, and the fact that the Bavarian troops were scattered and disorganized, placed him helpless in the hands of Austria.

Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria

On December 2, 1800, the Bavarian armies were involved in the Austrian defeat at Hohenlinden, and Moreau once more occupied Munich. By the Treaty of Lunéville (February 9 1801), Bavaria lost the Palatinate and the duchies of Zweibrücken and Jülich. In view of the scarcely disguised ambitions and intrigues of the Austrian court, Montgelas now believed that the interests of Bavaria lay in a frank alliance with the French Republic; he succeeded in overcoming the reluctance of Maximilian IV Joseph; and, on August 24, a separate treaty of peace and alliance with France was signed at Paris.

In foreign affairs, Maximilian IV Joseph’s attitude was, from the German point of view, less commendable. He never had any sympathy with the growing sentiment of German nationality, and his attitude was dictated by wholly dynastic, or at least Bavarian, considerations. His reward came with the Treaty of Pressburg (26 December 1805), by the terms of which he was to receive the royal title and important territorial acquisitions in Swabia and Franconia to round off his kingdom. He assumed the title of king on 1 January 1806. On March 15, he ceded the Duchy of Berg to Napoleon’s brother-in-law Joachim Murat.

The King still served as an Elector until Bavaria seceded from the Holy Roman Empire on August 1, 1806. The Duchy of Berg was ceded to Napoleon only in 1806. The new kingdom faced challenges from the outset of its creation, relying on the support of Napoleonic France.

Until 1813, he was the most faithful of Napoleon’s German allies, the relationship cemented by the marriage of his eldest daughter, Princess Augusta of Bavaria, to Eugène de Beauharnais, Napoleon’s stepson.

The new King of Bavaria was the most important of the princes belonging to the Confederation of the Rhine, and remained Napoleon’s ally until the eve of the Battle of Leipzig, when by the Treaty of Ried (October 8, 1813) he made the guarantee of the integrity of his kingdom the price of his joining the Allies. On 14 October, Bavaria made a formal declaration of war against Napoleonic France.

Crown of Bavaria

The Crown of Bavaria was commissioned to the French goldsmith Jean-Baptiste de Lasne, who drew inspiration from the crown of Louis XV of France. Maximilian’s alliance with Emperor Napoleon earned him the royal title and vast territorial increases at the Treaty of Pressburg (1805). This made him one of the chief members of the Confederation of the Rhine.

Maximilian I ordered the regalia which can be seen today in the Treasury at the Residenz in Munich. Made by Biennais, the most famous French goldsmith of the day, the Royal Crown of Bavaria is set with rubies, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and pearls. The Wittelsbach Diamond was removed and sold in 1931 by the Wittelsbach family.

Like other royal insignia, the crown was not worn by the sovereign. It was placed on a cushion during official ceremonies.