Bavaria

Ludwig III

Ruled by the Wittelsbach family from 1180 till 1918. Joined the German Empire in 1871 during the reign of "crazy" Ludwig II. Ludwig bankrupt the country building castles and sponsoring Wagner concerts.  He mysteriously drowned and was succeeded by his psycho brother Otto I.

Otto became King of Bavaria upon his older brother's death in 1886. However, Otto never truly ruled as King and was by some accounts not even aware that he had become King. Otto suffered from severe mental illness and had been declared insane in 1875. He was kept confined in Fürstenried Palace under medical supervision until his death. Otto's uncle, Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, served as Prince Regent for Otto until Luitpold's death. Luitpold's son Ludwig then became the next Prince Regent. The constitution of Bavaria was amended on 4 November 1913, to include a clause specifying that if a regency for reasons of incapacity lasted for ten years with no expectation that the King would ever be able to reign, the Regent could proclaim the end of the regency and assume the crown himself. The following day, Otto was deposed by his cousin, Prince Regent Ludwig, who then assumed the title Ludwig III. The parliament assented on 6 November, and Ludwig III took the constitutional oath on 8 November. Otto was permitted to retain his title and honours, which he did until his death in 1916.

Luitpold Karl Joseph Wilhelm Ludwig, Prince Regent of Bavaria 1886-1912 (Würzburg 12 Mar 1821-Munich 12 Dec 1912); m.Florence 15 Apr 1844 Auguste Archdss of Austria Pss of Tuscany (Florence 1 Apr 1825-Munich 26 Apr 1864)

LUDWIG III Leopold Joseph Maria Aloys Alfred, King of Bavaria 5 Nov 1913 until the revolution in Nov 1918 (Munich 7 Jan 1845-Sárvár, Hungary 18 Oct 1921); m.Vienna 20 Feb 1868 Marie Therese Archdss of Austria Pss of Modena (Brünn 2 Jul 1849-Wildenwart 3 Feb 1919)

RUPPRECHT Maria Luitpold Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Bavaria (Munich 18 May 1869- Leutstetten 2 Aug 1955); m.1st Munich 10 Jul 1900 Marie Gabriele Dss in Bavaria (Tegernsee 9 Oct 1878-Sorrento 24 Oct 1912); m.2d Hohenburg bei Lenggries 7 Apr 1921 Antonia Pss of Luxemburg Pss von Nassau (Hohenburg 7 Oct 1899-Lenzerheide, Switzerland 31 Jul 1954)

Rupprecht,  Crown Prince of Bavaria (Munich 18 May 1869- Leutstetten 2 Aug 1955) was the son of Ludwig III and Archducess Maria Therese of Austria. He married Duchess Marie Gabriele (MG) in Bavaria in 1900.  She was the sister of Queen Elizabeth of Belgium. Their children were: Luitpold (1901-1913; Irmingard who died at 8 mos in 1903; Albrecht (1905-1996); Rudolf (1909- 1912) . Luitpold contracted polio from a playmate and died. Irmingard died of diptheria and Rudolf had diabetes. There was a stillborn daughter as well. MG died in 1912 due to a longtime kidney problem.

Rupprecht secondly married Princess Antonia of Luxemburg in 1921 when he was 53 and she was 22. Antonia (1899-1954) was one of the 6 beautiful sisters. Antonia was imprisoned, along with several of her children, in a concentration camp on order of the Nazis. This was because Rupprecht (still a tremendously popular figure in Bavaria—a Nazi stronghold) was virulently anti-Nazi. He was able to escape to Switzerland but his family was caught. Antonia was apparently never the same after this and refused to ever return to Germany after she was freed. Her health was broken by her ordeal and she died at age 55.

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