Prince Alfons of Bavaria (; 24 January 1862 – 8 January 1933) was a member of the

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 ...

n Royal

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, ...

and a General of Cavalry.

Early life and family

Alfons was born 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 ...

. He was the second son of Prince Adalbert of Bavaria and his wife

Infanta Amalia of Spain Infanta Amalia of Spain (; 12 October 1834 – 27 August 1905) was the youngest daughter of Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain. Her eldest brother, Francis, Duke of Cádiz, Francisco de Asís, married Isabella II, Queen Isabella II of Spain, who ...

. In 1880, as so many young men of his age, Alfons joined the army, soon after becoming a young courtier protege to

Ludwig II of Bavaria Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886), also called the Swan King or the Fairy Tale King (), was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke ...

. On 15 April 1891, Prince Alfons married

Princess Louise Victoire d'Orléans-Alençon Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for t ...

, the daughter of Duke Ferdinand of Alençon and

Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria Duchess Sophie Charlotte Auguste in Bavaria (22 February 1847 – 4 May 1897) was a granddaughter-in-law of King Louis Philippe of France, the youngest sister of Empress Elisabeth of Austria and fiancée of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. L ...

. The wedding took place at the

Nymphenburg Palace The Nymphenburg Palace (, Palace of the Nymphs) is a Baroque palace situated in Munich's western district Neuhausen-Nymphenburg, in Bavaria, southern Germany. The Nymphenburg served as the main summer residence for the List of rulers of Bavaria, ...

, Bavaria. The couple had two children: *

Prince Joseph Clemens of Bavaria Prince Joseph Clemens of Bavaria () (25 May 1902 – 8 January 1990) was a member of the Bavarian Royal House of Wittelsbach and a leading German art historian. Early life Joseph Clemens was born in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria. He was the fi ...

(1902–1990) * Princess Elisabeth Maria of Bavaria (1913–2005) married twice, first to Ernest Kusnter and secondly to Hubertus Joseph Alphonse Carl Michael Maria Graf von Kageneck.

Military career

Prince Alfons was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Royal Bavarian 1st Infantry Regiment "König" and later served in the Royal Bavarian 3rd Field Artillery Regiment "Königin Mutter". In 1882, he was transferred into the Royal Bavarian 1st Heavy Cavalry Regiment "Prinz Karl von Bayern", where he was promoted to ''

Rittmeister Rittmaster () is usually a commissioned officer military rank used in a few armies, usually equivalent to Captain. Historically it has been used in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A is typically in charge of a s ...

'' in 1894, where he served as a squadron commander (''Eskadronschef''). He was promoted to Major on 8 March 1889Bayerisches Kriegsministerium (Herausg.): ''Militär-Handbuch des Königreichs Bayern'', Drucksachen-Verlag des Kriegsministeriums, Munich 1916 and was named commander of the 1st Heavy Cavalry Regiment on 15 July 1892. While commander of the regiment, he was promoted to ''

Oberstleutnant () (English: Lieutenant Colonel) is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, ...

'' (lieutenant colonel) on 21 March 1894 and ''

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German language, German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the Army, ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, a ...

'' (colonel) on 1 September 1896. On 17 December 1899, he was promoted to ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

'' and named commander of the Royal Bavarian 1st Cavalry Brigade. On 18 January 1901, he was promoted to ''

Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

'' and passed command of the brigade to the later-''

General der Kavallerie General of the Cavalry () was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers of equivalent rank were called ...

'' Karl Freiherr von Schacky auf Schönfeld. He was promoted to ''

'' on 23 March 1905.

Death

Prince Alfons of Bavaria died on 8 January 1933 at

and is buried in the Colombarium in the Michaelskirche in

, Bavaria.

Honorary titles

À la suite À la suite (, ''in the entourage f') was a military title given to those who were allotted to the army or a particular unit for honour's sake and were entitled to wear a regimental uniform but otherwise had no official position. In Prussia ...

of the Royal Bavarian 1st Heavy Cavalry Regiment (''Königlich Bayerisches 1. Schwere-Reiter-Regiment „Prinz Karl von Bayern“''), 1901 *

Inhaber ''Inhaber'', or Proprietor, was a term used in the Habsburg military to denote special honors extended to a noble or aristocrat. The Habsburg army was organized on principles developed for the feudal armies in which regiments were raised by a weal ...

of the Royal Bavarian 7th Chevauléger Regiment (''Königlich Bayerisches 7. Chevaulegers-Regiment „Prinz Alfons“''), 24 September 1909 *

Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

of the Royal Prussian 5th Dragoon Regiment (''Dragoner-Regiment „Freiherr von Manteuffel“ (Rheinisches) Nr. 5''), 16 June 1913 Günter Wegner: ''Stellenbesetzung der Deutschen Heere 1815-1939. Band 3: Die Stellenbesetzung der aktiven Regimenter, Battalione und Abteilungen von der Stiftung bzw. Aufstellung bis zum 26. August 1939'', Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 1993, ISBN 3-7648-2413-1, p. 58

Decorations and awards

Prince Alfons received the following orders and decorations:

German states

Foreign states

Ancestry

References

* ''Das Bayernbuch vom Kriege 1914-1918''. Konrad Krafft von Dellmensingen, Friedrichfranz Feeser, Chr. Belser AG, Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1930 * ''Die Wittelsbacher. Geschichte unserer Familie''. Prestel Verlag, München, 1979 {{DEFAULTSORT:Alfons Of Bavaria, Prince Princes of Bavaria House of Wittelsbach 1862 births 1933 deaths People from the Kingdom of Bavaria Members of the Bavarian Reichsrat Bavarian generals Burials at St. Michael's Church, Munich Recipients of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria) Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Knights of Santiago