Christoph, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein

Prince of Schleswig-Holstein

Christoph

Prince of Schleswig-Holstein

The prince in November 2010

Head of the House of Schleswig-Holstein
Predecessor| Peter II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
Heir apparent| Friedrich Ferdinand, Hereditary Prince of Schleswig-Holstein

Born|  (1949-08-22) 22 August 1949 (age 73)
Schloss Louisenlund, Güby, near Eckernförde, Schleswig-Holstein, West Germany
Spouse| Princess Elisabeth of Lippe-Weissenfeld
Issue|

* Princess Sophie
* Prince Friedrich Ferdinand
* Prince Constantin
* Prince Leopold

House| Glücksburg
Father| Peter II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
Mother| Princess Marie Alix of Schaumburg-Lippe

Christoph, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein[1] (legal name in German: Christoph Prinz zu Schleswig-Holstein; born 22 August 1949), has been the head of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (commonly known as the House of Glücksburg) and, by agnatic primogeniture, of the entire House of Oldenburg since 1980.[2][3] He is the current titular eighth Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and Duke of Glücksburg, traditionally styled as His Highness.[3] He is a male-line descendant of Christian I of Denmark, and is also descended cognatically from numerous more recent monarchs, including Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Emperor Alexander II of Russia and several more recent Danish kings. His paternal grandmother was Princess Marie Melita of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

## House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg[edit]

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.[3] As such, Christoph is the agnatic head of the family that today includes Margrethe II of Denmark,[4] Harald V of Norway, Constantine II of Greece and, patrilineally,[5] Charles III of the United Kingdom. His great-great-grandfather, Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was the older brother of Christian IX of Denmark, and through him Christoph is heir by male primogeniture to the Danish title Duke of Glücksburg conferred by the Danish crown in 1825.[3] Christoph is also, cognatically, a descendant of Queen Victoria and Alexander II of Russia.[6]

## Life[edit]

Christoph was born in Louisenlund Castle in Güby, near Eckernförde, Schleswig-Holstein, West Germany, the eldest son of Peter, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (1922–1980), and his wife Princess Marie Alix of Schaumburg-Lippe (1923-2021). He has a diploma in Agricultural Engineering.[3] Christoph served as a Reservist in the German Army for two years holding the rank of lieutenant.[7]

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 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".[3]

Since 1980, Christoph chairs the board of the family foundation that owns the ancestral castle, Glücksburg Castle. 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 where he has business interests in agriculture, forestry and real estate.[8] 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.

* Glücksburg Castle

* Grünholz Estate

* Louisenlund Castle

* With his wife and Swedish visitors at Grünholz in 2010

## Family[edit]

Christoph married Princess Elisabeth of Lippe-Weissenfeld (born 28 July 1957 in Munich), daughter of Prince Alfred Karl Friedrich Georg Franz of Lippe-Weissenfeld (b. 1922) and wife Baroness Irmgard Julinka Wagner von Wehrborn (b. 1928), at Glücksburg 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 Eckernförde), she married Swedish entrepreneur Anders Wahlquist (born 1968)[9] in 2015. They have two children.
* Friedrich Ferdinand, Hereditary Prince of Schleswig-Holstein (born 19 July 1985 in Eckernförde).
* Prince Constantin of Schleswig-Holstein (born 14 July 1986 in Eckernförde), engaged in December 2022 to Countess Marie Sophia Franziska Marlen von der Schulenburg (born 17 April 1990 in Valencia, Spain)[10][11]
* Prince Leopold of Schleswig-Holstein (born 5 September 1991 in Eckernförde)[12]

## Ancestry[edit]

Ancestors of Christoph, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 8\. Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| 4\. Wilhelm Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein|

|  |  |
| 9\. Princess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg

| 2\. Peter, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein|

|  |  |  |  |
| 10\. Ernst II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

| 5\. Princess Marie Melita of Hohenlohe-Langenburg|

|  |  |
| 11\. Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

| 1\. Christoph, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein|
|  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 12\. George, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe

| 6\. Prince Stephan of Schaumburg-Lippe|

|  |  |
| 13\. Princess Marie Anne of Saxe-Altenburg

| 3\. Princess Marie Alix of Schaumburg-Lippe|

|  |  |  |  |
| 14\. Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg

| 7\. Duchess Ingeborg Alix of Oldenburg|

|  |  |
| 15\. Duchess Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## References[edit]

1. ^ Burke's Royal Families of the World I Europe & Latin America ISBN 0850110238 p 282
2. ^ Burke's Royal Families of the World, p. 60. ISBN 0-85011-023-8.
3. ^ a b c d e f Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XVI. Haus Holstein. C.A. Starke Verlag, 2001, pp.44-50. (German). ISBN 3-7980-0824-8.
4. ^ Burke's Royal Families of the World ISBN 0-85011-023-8 p. 60
5. ^ Burke's Royal Families of the World ISBN 0-85011-023-8 p. 325
6. ^ Michel Huberty, L'Allemagne dynastique, Volume 7, Giraud, 1994, ISBN 2-901138-07-1, ISBN 978-2-901138-07-5
7. ^ "Christoph, Prinz zu Schleswig-Holstein". GLC Glücksburg Consulting Group. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2008.
8. ^ "Family". Glücksburg Castle. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2008.
9. ^ Descendants of Queen Victoria's siblings 2.5.3.5.3.2.1.
10. ^ "Royal Musings: Two royal engagements in Holstein and Prussia". 23 December 2022.
11. ^ "Descendants of Franz von Cramm".
12. ^ "Elisabeth, Prinzessin zur Lippe-Weissenfeld : Genealogics".

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Christoph of Schleswig-Holstein.

* Schloss Glücksburg
* The Prince of Schleswig-Holstein's company website

Christoph, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein

House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg

Born: 22 August 1949

German royalty
Preceded by

Peter

| — TITULAR —
Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
30 September 1980 - present
Reason for succession failure:
Duchy annexed by Prussia in 1866 | Incumbent
Heir:
Friedrich Ferdinand, Hereditary Prince of Schleswig-Holstein

* v
* t
* e

Princes of Schleswig-Holstein

1st generation|

* Frederick VIII*
* Prince Christian*

2nd generation|

* Ernst Gunther*
* Prince Christian Victor*^
* Albert*^

3rd generation|

* Wilhelm Friedrich**

4th generation|

* Hans Albrecht**

5th generation|

* Christoph**

* also a prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg
^ only a prince of Schleswig-Holstein in the United Kingdom
** also a prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

* v
* t
* e

Princes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

Generations indicate descent from Duke Philip of the elder Glücksburg line; generations beyond 6 start anew with Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of the junior line, a 6th generation descendant of Princess Augusta.

5th generation|

* none

6th generation|

* Karl^
* Friedrich^
* Christian IX of Denmark^,**
* Prince Julius^
* Prince Johann

7th generation|

* Friedrich Ferdinand
* Frederick VIII of Denmark**
* George I of Greece**
* Prince Valdemar**

8th generation|

* Wilhelm Friedrich*

9th generation|

* Hans Albrecht*

10th generation|

* Christoph*

^ also a prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck until 1825
* also a prince of Schleswig-Holstein
** also a prince of Denmark
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template