Christoph, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein (legal name in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: ''Christoph Prinz zu Schleswig-Holstein''; born 22 August 1949), has been the head of the

House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

(commonly known as the House of Glücksburg) and, by agnatic

primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

, of the entire

House of Oldenburg The House of Oldenburg is a German dynasty with links to Denmark since the 15th century. It has branches that rule or have ruled in Denmark, Iceland, Greece, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Schleswig, Holstein, and Oldenburg. The cu ...

since 1980.''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser'' XVI. ''Haus Holstein''. C.A. Starke Verlag, 2001, pp.44-50. (German). . He is the current titular eighth

Duke of Schleswig-Holstein The following is a list of rulers (usually dukes) who ruled both Schleswig and Holstein, starting from the first Holstein count who received Schleswig, until both territories were annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1866; and afterwards, titular ...

and Duke of

Glücksburg Glücksburg (; da, Lyksborg) is a small town northeast of Flensburg in the district Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and is the northernmost town in Germany. It is situated on the south side of the Flensborg Fjord, an inlet ...

, traditionally styled as ''

His Highness Highness (abbreviation HH, oral address Your Highness) is a formal style used to address (in second person) or refer to (in third person) certain members of a reigning or formerly reigning dynasty. It is typically used with a possessive adje ...

''. He is a male-line descendant of

Christian I of Denmark Christian I (February 1426 – 21 May 1481) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). From 1460 to 1481, he was also duke of Schleswig (within Den ...

, and is also descended cognatically from numerous more recent monarchs, including

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

, Emperor

Alexander II of Russia Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Fin ...

and several more recent Danish kings.

House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

The House of Oldenburg — in one of its cadet branches — is patrilineally the royal house of Denmark (since 1448), Norway (1450–1818 and since 1905), and the United Kingdom (since 2022), and has been the reigning dynasty of several other countries including Greece, Sweden and Russia. As such, Christoph is the agnatic head of the family that today includes

Margrethe II of Denmark Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent femal ...

Harald V of Norway Harald V ( no, Harald den femte, ; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He acceded to the throne on 17 January 1991. Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the l ...

Constantine II of Greece Constantine II ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Βʹ, ''Konstantínos II''; 2 June 1940) reigned as the last King of Greece, from 6 March 1964 until the abolition of the Greek monarchy on 1 June 1973. Constantine is the only son of King Paul a ...

and, patrilineally,

Charles III of the United Kingdom Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

. His great-great-grandfather,

Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (23 October 1814 in Schleswig, Schleswig – 27 November 1885 in Luisenlund, Schleswig-Holstein, Prussia, Germany) was the third Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. Fried ...

, was the older brother of

Christian IX of Denmark Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein- ...

, and through him Christoph is heir by male

to the Danish title Duke of Glücksburg conferred by the Danish crown in 1825. Christoph is also,

cognatic Cognatic kinship is a mode of descent calculated from an ancestor counted through any combination of male and female links, or a system of bilateral kinship where relations are traced through both a father and mother. Such relatives may be know ...

ally, a descendant of

and

Life

Christoph was born in

Louisenlund Castle Stiftung Louisenlund is a privately run boarding school for boys and girls in Güby, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. History The school's main building is in Louisenlund Castle, which was built by Hermann von Motz between 1772 and 1776 for Prince ...

Güby Güby ( da, Gyby) is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde Rendsburg-Eckernförde (; da, Rendsborg-Egernførde) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the city of Kiel, th ...

, near

Eckernförde Eckernförde ( da, Egernførde, sometimes also , nds, Eckernför, sometimes also ) () is a German town in Schleswig-Holstein, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, on the coast of the Baltic Sea approximately 30 km north-west of Kiel. The population is ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

, the eldest son of Peter, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (1922–1980), and his wife Princess Marie Alix of

Schaumburg-Lippe Schaumburg-Lippe, also Lippe-Schaumburg, was created as a county in 1647, became a principality in 1807, a free state in 1918, and was until 1946 a small state in Germany, located in the present day state of Lower Saxony, with its capital at Bü ...

(1923-2021). He has a

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

in Agricultural Engineering. Christoph served as a

Reservist A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is ...

in the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

for two years holding the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

. He succeeded to the headship of the ducal house on 30 September 1980 following the death of his father. While possession of the united duchies of Schleswig and Holstein had been allocated by a series of wars and treaties since the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswi ...

of 1848 and the London Protocol of 1852, the ducal title was borne by Christoph's father and paternal grandfather (as inherited from his great-grandfather, Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg in 1934). However Christoph is known also by the title which is shared by male cadets of the dynasty, "Prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg". Since 1980, Christoph chairs the board of the family foundation that owns the ancestral castle,

Glücksburg Castle Glücksburg Castle (German: Schloss Glücksburg, Danish: ''Lyksborg Slot'') is one of the most significant Renaissance castles in Northern Europe. The castle was the headquarters of the ducal lines of the house of Glücksburg and temporarily serve ...

. He is a founding member of the GLC Glücksburg Consulting Group and serves as chairman of its advisory board. He resides in Grünholz near

Schwansen Swania (german: Schwansen, da, Svans or ''Svansø'', meaning "swan island/peninsula") is a peninsula in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, protruding into the Baltic Sea. It is located between the Eckernförde Bay to the south and the Schlei (Englis ...

where he has business interests in agriculture, forestry and real estate. He is the owner of the Grünholz and Bienebek estates and is one of the largest landowners of Schleswig-Holstein. His sister, Princess Ingeborg, chairs the board of a further family foundation, the '' Stiftung Louisenlund''. File:Luftbild Kulturdenkmal Schloss Glücksburg Wasserschloss Schleswig-Holstein - Foto Wolfgang Pehlemann Steinberg IMG 6753.jpg,

File:Gut Grünholz, Herrenhaus.JPG, Grünholz Estate File:Herrenhaus Louisenlund.JPG,

Family

Christoph married Princess Elisabeth of

Lippe-Weissenfeld The House of Lippe-Weissenfeld (German spelling: Lippe-Weißenfeld) is one of the junior branches of the House of Lippe, a dynasty ruling the Principality of Lippe until the German Revolution of 1918–19. Branches of the House of Lippe The Li ...

(born 28 July 1957 in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

), daughter of Prince Alfred Karl Friedrich Georg Franz of

(b. 1922) and wife Baroness Irmgard Julinka Wagner von Wehrborn (b. 1928), at

civilly on 23 September 1981 and religiously on 3 October. Christoph and Elisabeth have four children: *Princess Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein (born 9 October 1983 in

), she married

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

Anders Wahlquist (born 1968) in 2015. They have two children. *Friedrich Ferdinand, Hereditary Prince of Schleswig-Holstein (born 19 July 1985 in Eckernförde), he married

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

Anjuta Buchholz (born 1985/1986) in 2017. *Prince Constantin of Schleswig-Holstein (born 14 July 1986 in Eckernförde), engaged to Countess Sophia von der

Schulenburg Schulenburg is a city in Fayette County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,633 at the 2020 census. Known for its German culture, Schulenburg is home of the Texas Polka Music Museum. It is in a rural, agricultural area settled by Germa ...

(born 17 April 1990 in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

) *Prince Leopold of Schleswig-Holstein (born 5 September 1991 in Eckernförde)

Ancestry

References

External links

Schloss GlücksburgThe Prince of Schleswig-Holstein's company website
{{Authority control 1949 births Living people 20th-century German people 21st-century German people 20th-century German military personnel Princes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg People from Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein People from Eckernförde