Luitpold Rupprecht Heinrich Prinz von Bayern (born 14 April 1951) is a member and second in line of succession to the headship of the House of

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

, which reigned as Kings of Bavaria until 1918,''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser'' XVI. "Haus Bayern". C.A. Starke Verlag, 2001, pp. 3, 6-7,9. . and the head of

König Ludwig Schlossbrauerei The König Ludwig GmbH & Co. KG Schlossbrauerei Kaltenberg is a brewery in Fürstenfeldbruck, Upper Bavaria, Germany. Their slogan, "Bier von königlicher Hoheit", or "Beer of royal highness", refers to the brewery's heritage which can be trac ...

Early life

Luitpold was born at Schloß Leutstetten near

Starnberg Starnberg is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany, some southwest of Munich. It is at the north end of Lake Starnberg, in the heart of the "Five Lakes Country", and serves as capital of the Starnberg (district), district of Starnberg. Recor ...

, in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. He is the only surviving child of Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (1913–2008) and his wife

Princess Irmingard of Bavaria Princess Irmingard of Bavaria (29 May 1923 – 23 October 2010) was the daughter of Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria and his second wife, Princess Antonia of Luxembourg. She was a half-sister of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria. Life Irmingard wa ...

(1923–2010).

Marriage

On 25 June 1979, Luitpold married Katrin ''Beatrix'' Wiegand (born 19 September 1951 in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

), daughter of Gerd Wiegand (1922 in

Cottbus Cottbus () or (;) is a university city and the second-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after the state capital, Potsdam. With around 100,000 inhabitants, Cottbus is the most populous city in Lusatia. Cottbus lies in the Sorbian ...

– 1994 in

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, and first wife Ellen Schumacher. Initially the union was considered

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

, but on 3 March 1999, the marriage was declared retroactively to be

dynastic A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. Historians ...

on the condition their children contracted dynastic marriages. The couple had five children.

Business activities

Luitpold is the proprietor and CEO of a brewery located at Kaltenberg Castle ('' König Ludwig GmbH & Co. KG Schlossbrauerei Kaltenberg'') which was founded in 1871, and largely extended by him. He who also purchased ''Marthabräu'' brewery at

Fürstenfeldbruck Fürstenfeldbruck () is a town in Bavaria, Germany, 32 kilometres west of Munich. It is the capital of the district of Fürstenfeldbruck. it had a population of 35,494. Since the 1930s Fürstenfeldbruck has had an air force base. Geography F ...

in 1980, where his wheat beer is produced. At Kaltenberg he also organizes an annual

jousting Jousting is a medieval and renaissance martial game or hastilude between two combatants either on horse or on foot. The joust became an iconic characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism. The term is derived from Old French , ultim ...

tournament. In 2011 he purchased the

Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory The Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory (German: ''Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg'') is located at the ''Nördliches Schloßrondell'' (northern palace circle) in one of the ''Cavalier Houses'' in front of the Nymphenburg Palace in Munich, Germa ...

, founded in 1745 by Maximilian III Joseph, Prince-Elector of Bavaria. Luitpold owns the Bavarian castles of Leutstetten and Kaltenberg, in which he lives with his family. File:Schloss Leutstetten-2.jpg, Leutstetten Castle File:Schloss Kaltenberg (8713168255).jpg, Kaltenberg Castle

Ancestry

References

# Die Wittelsbacher. Geschichte unserer Familie. Adalbert, Prinz von Bayern. Prestel Verlag, München, 1979 , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Prinz von Bayern, Luitpold House of Wittelsbach 1951 births Living people People from Starnberg Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany