Ernst August V, Prince of Hanover
Encyclopedia
Ernst August, Prince of Hanover (Ernst August Albert Paul Otto Rupprecht Oskar Berthold Friedrich-Ferdinand Christian-Ludwig Prinz von Hannover born 26 February 1954 in Hanover
), is the third husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco
, heiress presumptive
to the throne of Monaco
. He is the head of the deposed royal House of Hanover
and claimant
to the thrones of the former Kingdom of Hanover
and the former Duchy of Brunswick
.
He is the eldest son of Ernst August, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick
(1914–1987) and his first wife, Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
(1925–1980). His wealth is estimated at £5 billion.
As the senior male-line descendant of George V of Hanover
Ernst August is head of the House of Hanover
(and the House of Welf). As such he is the pretender
to the former thrones
of the Kingdom of Hanover
and of the Duchy of Brunswick
. In Prussia
(which had annexed Hanover in 1866), "the privileges of former noble status" were dispensed with on 23 June 1920 in execution of the 1919 mandate of the Weimar Constitution
, titles being retained only as surnames.
The title of Prince of Great Britain and Ireland was accorded ad personam to his father, Ernest Augustus, Prince of Hanover (1914–1987), and his father's siblings by King George V of the United Kingdom
on 17 June 1914. His father was not deprived of that title under the Titles Deprivation Act 1917
, but the hereditary Dukedom of Cumberland and Teviotdale
and the Earldom of Armagh, borne in 1917 by his paternal great-grandfather, were suspended. However, on 29 August 1931, his grandfather Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick, as head of the House of Hanover, declared the formal resumption, for himself and his dynastic descendants, of use of his former British princely title as a secondary title of pretense
.
As heir of the last Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale and Earl of Armagh, Ernst August has the right to petition under the Titles Deprivation Act 1917
for the restoration of his ancestors' suspended British peerages, but to date he has not done so. His father, also called Ernst August
, did, however, successfully claim British nationality after World War II
by virtue of a hitherto overlooked (and since repealed) provision of the Sophia Naturalization Act 1705 (Attorney-General v HRH Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover [1957] 1 All ER 49).
Ernst August is also a great-grandson of the last German emperor, Wilhelm II. Until his marriage to Princess Caroline, he was 385th in the line of succession to the British throne
. Upon his marriage to Princess Caroline, a Roman Catholic, he was excluded from the line of succession under provisions of the Act of Settlement 1701
. His three children remain in the line of succession since they are being raised as Protestants.
He was also a nephew of Frederica of Hanover, queen consort
of the Hellenes
. This, in turn, makes him a first cousin of Sophia, Queen of Spain and Constantine II of Greece
, whose consort, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece
, is the younger sister of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
. He was also the nephew of Prince George William of Hanover, whose wife was Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark
, an elder sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
, the husband of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
, heiress
to a Swiss chocolate
fortune. They had two sons:
Ernst August and Chantal Hochuli divorced on 23 October 1997.
He married secondly, civilly in Monaco
on 23 January 1999 Princess Caroline of Monaco, who was pregnant at the time with their daughter:
Since he was born in the male-line
of George II of Great Britain
he is bound by the Royal Marriages Act 1772
. Thus, before his marriage to Princess Caroline, he officially requested permission to marry of Queen Elizabeth II, and on 11 January 1999, the aforementioned sovereign issued an Order in Council, "My Lords, I do hereby declare My Consent to a Contract of Matrimony between His Royal Highness Prince Ernst August Albert of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg and Her Serene Highness Princess Caroline Louise Marguerite of Monaco..." Without the Royal Assent
, the marriage would have been void in Britain where his family owns property and his lawful descendants remain in succession to both the British crown and the two suspended peerages. Similarly the Monégasque
court officially notified France
of Caroline's marriage to Ernst August and received assurance that there was no objection, in compliance with the (since defunct) Franco-Monegasque Treaty
of 1918.
event in Hanover, causing a diplomatic incident and a complaint from the Turkish Embassy accusing him of insulting the Turkish people. He sued those who published (Bild-Zeitung
) the photo for invasion of privacy. He was awarded 9,900 euro
s. The paper had previously published a photo of Ernst August urinating outside a hospital in Austria.
In 2004, he was convicted of aggravated assault and causing grievous bodily harm after beating a man with a knuckleduster
.
. The next day, he fell into a deep coma
, two days before the death of his father-in-law, Rainier III, Prince of Monaco
. On Friday, 8 April 2005, hospital officials reported that he was no longer in a coma but remained in intensive care. A report the same day on BBC World
described his condition as "serious but not irreversible." On 9 April 2005, according to a report on BBC, a hospital spokesman reported that Ernst August was receiving "permanent medical care." He has since been released and was subsequently seen in public with his wife.
In Germany, the legal privileges of royalty and nobility were abolished in 1919, thereafter for legal purposes, noble titles form part of the name only.
|-
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
), is the third husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco
Caroline, Princess of Hanover
Caroline, Princess of Hanover, Hereditary Princess of Monaco , formally styled Her Royal Highness The Princess of Hanover , has been heiress presumptive to the throne of Monaco since 2005, a position which she previously held from 1957 to 1958.She is the wife of...
, heiress presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
to the throne of Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
. He is the head of the deposed royal House of Hanover
House of Hanover
The House of Hanover is a deposed German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Kingdom of Hanover, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
and claimant
Pretender
A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished....
to the thrones of the former Kingdom of Hanover
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...
and the former Duchy of Brunswick
Duchy of Brunswick
Brunswick was a historical state in Germany. Originally the territory of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in the Holy Roman Empire, it was established as an independent duchy by the Congress of Vienna in 1815...
.
He is the eldest son of Ernst August, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick
Ernest Augustus IV, Prince of Hanover
Ernst August IV, Prince of Hanover, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick, Prince of Great Britain and Ireland was head of the House of Hanover from 1953 until his death...
(1914–1987) and his first wife, Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg , was a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and a Princess of...
(1925–1980). His wealth is estimated at £5 billion.
Name and ancestry
Ernst August was christened, Ernst August Albert Paul Otto Rupprecht Oskar Berthold Friedrich-Ferdinand Christian-Ludwig.As the senior male-line descendant of George V of Hanover
George V of Hanover
George V was King of Hanover, the only child of Ernest Augustus I, and a grandchild of King George III of the United Kingdom. In the peerage of Great Britain, he was 2nd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, 2nd Earl of Armagh...
Ernst August is head of the House of Hanover
House of Hanover
The House of Hanover is a deposed German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Kingdom of Hanover, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
(and the House of Welf). As such he is the pretender
Pretender
A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished....
to the former thrones
Abolished monarchy
Throughout history, monarchies have been abolished, either through revolutions, legislative reforms, coups d'état, or wars. The twentieth century saw a major acceleration of this process, with many monarchies violently overthrown by revolution or war, or else abolished as part of the process of...
of the Kingdom of Hanover
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...
and of the Duchy of Brunswick
Duchy of Brunswick
Brunswick was a historical state in Germany. Originally the territory of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in the Holy Roman Empire, it was established as an independent duchy by the Congress of Vienna in 1815...
. In Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
(which had annexed Hanover in 1866), "the privileges of former noble status" were dispensed with on 23 June 1920 in execution of the 1919 mandate of the Weimar Constitution
Weimar constitution
The Constitution of the German Reich , usually known as the Weimar Constitution was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic...
, titles being retained only as surnames.
The title of Prince of Great Britain and Ireland was accorded ad personam to his father, Ernest Augustus, Prince of Hanover (1914–1987), and his father's siblings by King George V of the United Kingdom
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
on 17 June 1914. His father was not deprived of that title under the Titles Deprivation Act 1917
Titles Deprivation Act 1917
The Titles Deprivation Act 1917 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which authorised enemies of the United Kingdom during the First World War to be deprived of their British peerages and royal titles. -Background:...
, but the hereditary Dukedom of Cumberland and Teviotdale
Duke of Cumberland
Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the county of Cumberland.-History:...
and the Earldom of Armagh, borne in 1917 by his paternal great-grandfather, were suspended. However, on 29 August 1931, his grandfather Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick, as head of the House of Hanover, declared the formal resumption, for himself and his dynastic descendants, of use of his former British princely title as a secondary title of pretense
Pretender
A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished....
.
As heir of the last Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale and Earl of Armagh, Ernst August has the right to petition under the Titles Deprivation Act 1917
Titles Deprivation Act 1917
The Titles Deprivation Act 1917 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which authorised enemies of the United Kingdom during the First World War to be deprived of their British peerages and royal titles. -Background:...
for the restoration of his ancestors' suspended British peerages, but to date he has not done so. His father, also called Ernst August
Ernest Augustus IV, Prince of Hanover
Ernst August IV, Prince of Hanover, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick, Prince of Great Britain and Ireland was head of the House of Hanover from 1953 until his death...
, did, however, successfully claim British nationality after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
by virtue of a hitherto overlooked (and since repealed) provision of the Sophia Naturalization Act 1705 (Attorney-General v HRH Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover [1957] 1 All ER 49).
Ernst August is also a great-grandson of the last German emperor, Wilhelm II. Until his marriage to Princess Caroline, he was 385th in the line of succession to the British throne
Line of succession to the British Throne
The line of succession to the British throne is the ordered sequence of those people eligible to succeed to the throne of the United Kingdom and the other 15 Commonwealth realms. By the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701, the succession is limited to the descendants of the Electress Sophia of...
. Upon his marriage to Princess Caroline, a Roman Catholic, he was excluded from the line of succession under provisions of the Act of Settlement 1701
Act of Settlement 1701
The Act of Settlement is an act of the Parliament of England that was passed in 1701 to settle the succession to the English throne on the Electress Sophia of Hanover and her Protestant heirs. The act was later extended to Scotland, as a result of the Treaty of Union , enacted in the Acts of Union...
. His three children remain in the line of succession since they are being raised as Protestants.
He was also a nephew of Frederica of Hanover, queen consort
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of the Hellenes
Kingdom of Greece
The Kingdom of Greece was a state established in 1832 in the Convention of London by the Great Powers...
. This, in turn, makes him a first cousin of Sophia, Queen of Spain and Constantine II of Greece
Constantine II of Greece
|align=right|Constantine II was King of Greece from 1964 until the abolition of the monarchy in 1973, the sixth and last monarch of the Greek Royal Family....
, whose consort, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece
Queen Anne-Marie of Greece
Queen Anne-Marie of Greece is the wife of former King Constantine II of Greece, who was deposed in referendums in 1973 and in 1974. Her title "Queen of Greece" is not recognized under the terms of the republican Constitution of Greece...
, is the younger sister of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1972 she became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margaret I, ruler of the Scandinavian countries in 1375-1412 during the Kalmar Union.-Early life:...
. He was also the nephew of Prince George William of Hanover, whose wife was Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark
Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark
Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark was the fourth child and youngest daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg, making her the elder sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
, an elder sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
, the husband of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
Family
Ernst August first married, civilly on 28 August 1981 and religiously on 30 August 1981, Chantal HochuliChantal Hochuli
Chantal, Princess of Hanover , is heiress to a Swiss chocolate fortune. She is the former wife of Ernst August V, Prince of Hanover.-Biography:Chantal was born in Zürich, Switzerland. She is the daughter of Johann Gustav Hochuli and Rosmarie Lembeck....
, heiress
Beneficiary
A beneficiary in the broadest sense is a natural person or other legal entity who receives money or other benefits from a benefactor. For example: The beneficiary of a life insurance policy, is the person who receives the payment of the amount of insurance after the death of the insured...
to a Swiss chocolate
Swiss chocolate
Switzerland's chocolates have earned an international reputation for high quality.The famous Toblerone came from Switzerland; a man named Jean Tobler started the business in 1867.-History:The 17th century saw the start of chocolate processed in Switzerland...
fortune. They had two sons:
- Prince Ernst August Andreas Philipp Constantin Maximilian Rolf Stephan Ludwig Rudolph (born 19 July 1983)
- Prince Christian Heinrich Clemens Paul Frank Peter Welf Wilhelm-Ernst Friedrich Franz (born 1 June 1985)
Ernst August and Chantal Hochuli divorced on 23 October 1997.
He married secondly, civilly in Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
on 23 January 1999 Princess Caroline of Monaco, who was pregnant at the time with their daughter:
- Princess Alexandra Charlotte Ulrike Maryam Virginia (born 20 July 1999)
Since he was born in the male-line
Patrilineality
Patrilineality is a system in which one belongs to one's father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritance of property, names or titles through the male line as well....
of George II of Great Britain
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
he is bound by the Royal Marriages Act 1772
Royal Marriages Act 1772
The Royal Marriages Act 1772 is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which prescribes the conditions under which members of the British Royal Family may contract a valid marriage, in order to guard against marriages that could diminish the status of the Royal House...
. Thus, before his marriage to Princess Caroline, he officially requested permission to marry of Queen Elizabeth II, and on 11 January 1999, the aforementioned sovereign issued an Order in Council, "My Lords, I do hereby declare My Consent to a Contract of Matrimony between His Royal Highness Prince Ernst August Albert of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg and Her Serene Highness Princess Caroline Louise Marguerite of Monaco..." Without the Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
, the marriage would have been void in Britain where his family owns property and his lawful descendants remain in succession to both the British crown and the two suspended peerages. Similarly the Monégasque
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
court officially notified France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
of Caroline's marriage to Ernst August and received assurance that there was no objection, in compliance with the (since defunct) Franco-Monegasque Treaty
Franco-Monegasque Treaty
The Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861 granted sovereignty to Monaco. Previously, under the Treaty of Vienna it had been a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia....
of 1918.
Controversy
He was photographed urinating on the Turkish Pavilion at the Expo 2000Expo 2000
Expo 2000 was a World's Fair held in Hanover, Germany from Thursday, June 1 to Tuesday, October 31, 2000. It was located on the Hanover fairground , which is famous for hosting CeBIT...
event in Hanover, causing a diplomatic incident and a complaint from the Turkish Embassy accusing him of insulting the Turkish people. He sued those who published (Bild-Zeitung
Bild-Zeitung
The Bild is a German tabloid published by Axel Springer AG. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday, while on Sundays, Bild am Sonntag is published instead, which has a different style and its own editors...
) the photo for invasion of privacy. He was awarded 9,900 euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
s. The paper had previously published a photo of Ernst August urinating outside a hospital in Austria.
In 2004, he was convicted of aggravated assault and causing grievous bodily harm after beating a man with a knuckleduster
Brass knuckles
Brass knuckles, also sometimes called knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, or knuckledusters, are weapons used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles are pieces of metal, usually steel despite their name, shaped to fit around the knuckles...
.
Health
On Monday, 3 April 2005, Ernst August was admitted to hospital with acute pancreatitisAcute pancreatitis
Acute pancreatitis or acute pancreatic necrosis is a sudden inflammation of the pancreas. It can have severe complications and high mortality despite treatment...
. The next day, he fell into a deep coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
, two days before the death of his father-in-law, Rainier III, Prince of Monaco
Rainier III, Prince of Monaco
Rainier III, Prince of Monaco , styled His Serene Highness The Sovereign Prince of Monaco, ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest ruling monarchs of the 20th century.Though he was best known outside of Europe for having married American...
. On Friday, 8 April 2005, hospital officials reported that he was no longer in a coma but remained in intensive care. A report the same day on BBC World
BBC World
BBC World News is the BBC's international news and current affairs television channel. It has the largest audience of any BBC channel in the world...
described his condition as "serious but not irreversible." On 9 April 2005, according to a report on BBC, a hospital spokesman reported that Ernst August was receiving "permanent medical care." He has since been released and was subsequently seen in public with his wife.
Separation
As of September 2009, it is reported in the French and English press that he is living separately from his wife Caroline, who has returned to Monaco.Titles and styles
- His Royal Highness Prince Ernst August of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Prince of Great Britain and Ireland (1954-1987)
- His Royal Highness The Prince of Hanover (from 1987).
In Germany, the legal privileges of royalty and nobility were abolished in 1919, thereafter for legal purposes, noble titles form part of the name only.
Ancestry
External links
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