Prince Karl of Hesse

German aristocrat (1937–2022)

Prince Karl of Hesse

Born| (1937-03-26)26 March 1937
Berlin, Nazi Germany
Died| 23 March 2022(2022-03-23) (aged 84)
Munich, Germany
Spouse| Countess Yvonne Szapáry
Issue|

* Prince Christoph
* Princess Irina, Countess of Schönburg-Glauchau

| Names

Karl Adolf Andreas
House| Hesse-Kassel
Father| Prince Christoph of Hesse
Mother| Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark

Prince Karl Adolf Andreas Prinz von Hesse (German: Karl Adolf Andreas Prinz Von Hessen; 26 March 1937 – 23 March 2022) was a member of the defunct German noble House of Hesse-Kassel. He was a first cousin of King Charles III of the United Kingdom through his uncle Prince Philip.

## Early life and ancestry

[edit]

Born on 26 March 1937 in Berlin, into an elder line of the House of Hesse, a house directly descended from the House of Brabant, Karl Adolf Andreas was the eldest son of Prince Christoph of Hesse and his wife, Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark, youngest sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.[1] At the time of his birth, his parents had close ties with the Nazi regime and the child was given Adolf among his first names in honor of Adolf Hitler.[2]

## Biography

[edit]

The outbreak of the Second World War deprived Karl of his father, who enlisted in the German army in the first months of the conflict[3] and who disappeared in an air accident in 1943.[4] In 1946, his mother was married again to Prince George William of Hanover, maternal grandson of Wilhelm II.[5] Orphaned by his father at an early age, Karl was later adopted by one of his paternal uncles, Prince Wolfgang of Hesse, in 1952.[6]

Related to most European dynasties, Karl participated in the major events of the gotha. In 1954, he and his family were invited to take part in the Cruise of the Kings, organized by King Paul of Greece and his wife Queen Frederica. In 1960, Karl was invited to Stockholm on the occasion of a grand ball organized in honor of the granddaughters of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden.[6]

The wedding of Prince Karl and Countess Yvonne Szapáry (1966), some royal attendants in the photo include Prince Philip, Princess Irene of Greece, Queen Anne-Marie, Constantine II of Greece, Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia, Juan Carlos I of Spain, Queen Sofia[citation needed]

In 1966, Karl married his distant relative, Countess Yvonne Szapáry von Muraszombath (b. 1944), the only daughter of Count Béla Szapáry (1901-1993) and his wife, Baroness Ursula von Richthofen (1907-2002).[7] Two children were born from this marriage:

* Christopher of Hesse-Kassel (1969), prince of Hesse-Kassel, single;
* Irina Verena of Hesse-Kassel (1971), princess of Hesse-Cassel, who married, in 1999, Alexander, Count of Schönburg-Glauchau (1969), the Head of the House of Schönburg-Glauchau. The couple had three children: Maria-Letitia (2001), Maximus (2003) and Valentin (2005)[8]

While he was established in Munich with his wife, Karl was known for his interest in oriental philosophies and alternative medicines.[9]

Karl briefly discussed his mother's childhood and her ties to the Nazi regime in a documentary in 2015 about his uncle, Prince Philip: The Plot to Make a King (2015).[10]

## Death

[edit]

Prince Karl of Hesse died in Munich, at the age of 84 years, on March 23, 2022. His body is interred in Panker, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.[11]

## Ancestry

[edit]

Ancestors of Prince Karl of Hesse[12]

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 8\. Prince Frederick William of Hesse-Kassel

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| 4\. Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse|

|  |  |
| 9\. Princess Anna of Prussia

| 2\. Prince Christoph of Hesse|

|  |  |  |  |
| 10\. Frederick III, German Emperor

| 5\. Princess Margaret of Prussia|

|  |  |
| 11\. Victoria, Princess Royal

| 1\. Prince Karl of Hesse|
|  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 12\. George I of Greece

| 6\. Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark|

|  |  |
| 13\. Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia

| 3\. Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark|

|  |  |  |  |
| 14\. Prince Louis of Battenberg

| 7\. Princess Alice of Battenberg|

|  |  |
| 15\. Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine

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

## References

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1. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 440.
2. ^ Petropoulos 2006, p. 221.
3. ^ Petropoulos 2006, p. 119.
4. ^ Petropoulos 2006, p. 308-309.
5. ^ https://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00012203&tree=LEO
6. ^ a b Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 442.
7. ^ https://www.genealogics.org/relationship.php?altprimarypersonID=I00012204&savedpersonID=&secondpersonID=I00002463&maxrels=1&disallowspouses=1&generations=8&tree=LEO&primarypersonID=I00012204
8. ^ https://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00012206&tree=LEO
9. ^ Mateos Sainz de Medrano 2004, p. 443.
10. ^ Brooks-Pollock, Tom (20 July 2015). "Queen Nazi salute film: Documentary will show Prince Philip's sister calling Hitler 'charming and modest'". The Independent.
11. ^ http://www.royaltyguide.nl/families/fam-H/hessen/hessenkassel5.htm
12. ^ Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XVIIII. "Haus Hessen" (in German). C.A. Starke Verlag. 2007. pp. 34–35\. ISBN 978-3-7980-0841-0.34-35&rft.pub=C.A.+Starke+Verlag&rft.date=2007&rft.isbn=978-3-7980-0841-0&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Prince+Karl+of+Hesse" class="Z3988">

* Holland: Royal Wedding In The Hague -- Charles Von Hessen Marries Countess Yvonne Margit Valerie Szapary 1966. Pathé News.
* Mateos Sainz de Medrano, Ricardo (2004). "El príncipe Carlos de Hesse". La Familia de la Reina Sofía: La Dinastía griega, la Casa de Hannover y los reales primos de Europa (in Spanish). Madrid: La Esfera de los Libros. pp. 440–443\. ISBN 978-84-9734-195-0.440-443&rft.pub=La+Esfera+de+los+Libros&rft.date=2004&rft.isbn=978-84-9734-195-0&rft.aulast=Mateos+Sainz+de+Medrano&rft.aufirst=Ricardo&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Prince+Karl+of+Hesse" class="Z3988">
* Petropoulos, Jonathan (2006). Royals and the Reich: The Princes von Hessen in Nazi Germany. Oxford University Press. p. 524\. ISBN 978-0-19-533927-7.

* Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels 110 (1996), p. 275 (Richthofen).
* Nederland's Adelsboek 97 (2012), p. 40-41 (De Vos van Steenwijk).
* Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels 155 (2014), p. 37-38 (Hessen).

* v
* t
* e

Princes and Landgraves of Hesse

1st generation|

* none

2nd generation|

* William I, Elector of Hesse1
* Prince Charles1
* Prince Frederick1

3rd generation|

* William II, Elector of Hesse1
* Prince Frederik1
* Prince Christian1
* Prince William1

4th generation|

* Frederick William I, Elector of Hesse1
* Frederick William II, Landgrave of Hesse

5th generation|

* Frederick William III, Landgrave of Hesse
* Alexander Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse
* Frederick Charles, Landgrave of Hesse

6th generation|

* Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse
* Prince Wolfgang
* Prince Christoph
* Prince Richard

7th generation|

* Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse
* Prince Heinrich
* Prince Karl

8th generation|

* Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse

* 1 Prince and Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel until 1803

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