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Prince Leopold of Bavaria (b. 1943)
Encyclopedia
Prince Leopold (Poldi) of Bavaria (born 21 June 1943) is a member of the Bavaria
n Royal House of Wittelsbach
and a former champion race car driver.
. He is the eldest son of Prince Konstantin of Bavaria
and his first wife Princess Maria Adelgunde of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.
Since his parents separated soon after he was born, Leopold was raised by his grandparents Prince Friedrich von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
and Princess Margarete Carola of Saxony. He grew up on Schloss Umkirch together with his uncle Prince Ferfried who is only two months his senior. It was there the Prince developed his love for cars and racing. He started his career with rallying
and in 1969 moved to touring car racing
winning the North American Championships with Porsche
in 1972. In 1984 he also took part in the legendary sports car endurance race 24 Hours of Le Mans
together with Walter Brun and Bob Akin
, finishing fourth. In 1986, Leopold became a factory driver
for the Munich
based car manufacturer BMW
and although he retired from competitive racing in 1998, he remains involved with the BMW racing team as an adviser.
Prince Leopold didn't just compete in Europe and America during his racing life. He competed in Australia
also with a drive the 1984 James Hardie 1000
driving a Group A BMW 635CSi
for Frank Gardner's factory backed team partnering former Formula One
world champion Denny Hulme
. In Australian touring car racing Group A was only a minor class 1984 before taking over as top class in 1985. After a troubled week which included the Prince crashing the BMW at the top of the mountain due to a lost front wheel, the pair finished the race in 15th place and 2nd in class, 4 laps behind the class winning TWR
Rover
and 15 laps behind the race winning Holden Commodore
.
on Lake Starnberg
in Bavaria. The religious ceremony followed a month later, on 19 November 1977 in Aufkirchen, Bavaria
. Initially the union was considered morganatic
, but on 3 March 1999 the marriage was decreed to be conditionally dynastic in accordance with the Bavarian house laws. Since his son Manuel married dynastically, he is kept in line of succession. The couple has four children:
south of the Bavarian capital, Munich and is often seen in the company of the current Swedish King Carl Gustav
whom he has known since his teens. He is a godfather of King Gustaf's only son, Prince Carl Philip of Sweden
.
Prince Leopold is also involved with charitable causes helping disabled children, such as the Special Olympics
and organizations promoting the use of animal-assisted therapy
. This is in part, because his oldest daughter Princess Pilar has a form of autism
, which she developed as a baby after she was given the wrong anesthetic during a heart surgery.
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n Royal House of Wittelsbach
Wittelsbach
The Wittelsbach family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Bavaria.Members of the family served as Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria , Counts Palatine of the Rhine , Margraves of Brandenburg , Counts of Holland, Hainaut and Zeeland , Elector-Archbishops of Cologne , Dukes of...
and a former champion race car driver.
Early life & racing career
Leopold was born on Schloss Umkirch near Freiburg im Breisgau in Baden-WürttembergBaden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
. He is the eldest son of Prince Konstantin of Bavaria
Prince Konstantin of Bavaria
Prince Konstantin of Bavaria was a member of the Bavarian Royal House of Wittelsbach, journalist, author and a German politician.-Early life:Konstantin was born in Munich, Bavaria...
and his first wife Princess Maria Adelgunde of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.
Since his parents separated soon after he was born, Leopold was raised by his grandparents Prince Friedrich von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern
Frederick, Prince of Hohenzollern He was the eldest son of William, Prince of Hohenzollern and Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies...
and Princess Margarete Carola of Saxony. He grew up on Schloss Umkirch together with his uncle Prince Ferfried who is only two months his senior. It was there the Prince developed his love for cars and racing. He started his career with rallying
Rallying
Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...
and in 1969 moved to touring car racing
Touring car racing
Touring car racing is a general term for a number of distinct auto racing competitions in heavily-modified street cars. It is notably popular in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Scandinavia and Britain.-Characteristics of a touring car:...
winning the North American Championships with Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
in 1972. In 1984 he also took part in the legendary sports car endurance race 24 Hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
together with Walter Brun and Bob Akin
Bob Akin
Robert Macomber "Bob" Akin, III was a successful business executive, journalist, television commentator and champion sports car racing driver.- Biography :...
, finishing fourth. In 1986, Leopold became a factory driver
Factory-backed
Factory-backed is a term commonly used in motorsports to describe a sponsored racing team, car, motorcycle or driver that competes with official sanction and financial support, or "backing" from a manufacturer. As motorsports competition is an expensive endeavor, some degree of factory support is...
for the Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
based car manufacturer BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
and although he retired from competitive racing in 1998, he remains involved with the BMW racing team as an adviser.
Prince Leopold didn't just compete in Europe and America during his racing life. He competed in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
also with a drive the 1984 James Hardie 1000
1984 James Hardie 1000
The 1984 James Hardie 1000 was the 25th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 30 September 1984 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia and was Round 4 of the 1984 Australian Endurance Championship...
driving a Group A BMW 635CSi
BMW E24
The BMW E24 series was the first BMW 6 Series coupé, produced by the German automaker BMW between the 1976 and 1989 model years. The 6 Series name reappeared with the BMW E63 chassis beginning in the 2004 model year. The E24 borrowed heavily from contemporary 5-series cars .- Model history :The...
for Frank Gardner's factory backed team partnering former Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
world champion Denny Hulme
Denny Hulme
Denis Clive "Denny" Hulme, OBE was a New Zealand racing driver, the 1967 Formula One World Champion for the Brabham team....
. In Australian touring car racing Group A was only a minor class 1984 before taking over as top class in 1985. After a troubled week which included the Prince crashing the BMW at the top of the mountain due to a lost front wheel, the pair finished the race in 15th place and 2nd in class, 4 laps behind the class winning TWR
Tom Walkinshaw Racing
Tom Walkinshaw Racing , was an auto racing team and engineering firm founded in 1976 by touring car racer Tom Walkinshaw.-History:TWR started by modifying BMW 3.0 CSLs, but soon was contracted to head Mazda's works program in the British Touring Car Championship. The TWR developed RX-7, with Win...
Rover
Rover SD1
Rover SD1 is both the code name and eventual production name given to a series of large executive cars made by British Leyland or BL through its Specialist, Rover Triumph and Austin Rover divisions from 1976 until 1986....
and 15 laps behind the race winning Holden Commodore
Holden VK Commodore
The Holden VK Commodore was introduced in 1984 and replaced the VH. It was the first Commodore to have plastic bumpers and introduced rear quarter windows for a six-window design as opposed to the four-window design on previous Commodore models...
.
Marriage
On 21 October 1977 Prince Leopold married Ursula (Uschi) Möhlenkamp, the daughter of Wilhelm (Willi) Möhlenkamp and Ingeborg Brauckmann. The civil ceremony took place at BergBerg, Upper Bavaria
Berg is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany.It is most famous for the royal Castle Berg....
on Lake Starnberg
Lake Starnberg
Lake Starnberg , 25 kilometers southwest of Munich in southern Bavaria, is Germany's fifth largest freshwater lake and, due to its large average depth, the second richest in water...
in Bavaria. The religious ceremony followed a month later, on 19 November 1977 in Aufkirchen, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
. Initially the union was considered morganatic
Morganatic marriage
In the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...
, but on 3 March 1999 the marriage was decreed to be conditionally dynastic in accordance with the Bavarian house laws. Since his son Manuel married dynastically, he is kept in line of succession. The couple has four children:
- Prince Manuel of BavariaPrince Manuel of BavariaPrince Manuel of Bavaria is a member of the deposed Bavarian Royal House of Wittelsbach, and a cardiology researcher at Columbia University.-Early life:...
(b. out of wedlock in 1972) - Princess Maria del Pilar of Bavaria (b. 1978)
- Princess Maria Felipa of Bavaria (b. 1981)
- Prince Konstantin of Bavaria (b. 1986)
Later life
The Prince resides in a villa on the Lake StarnbergLake Starnberg
Lake Starnberg , 25 kilometers southwest of Munich in southern Bavaria, is Germany's fifth largest freshwater lake and, due to its large average depth, the second richest in water...
south of the Bavarian capital, Munich and is often seen in the company of the current Swedish King Carl Gustav
Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
Carl XVI Gustaf is the reigning King of Sweden since 15 September 1973, succeeding his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf because his father had predeceased him...
whom he has known since his teens. He is a godfather of King Gustaf's only son, Prince Carl Philip of Sweden
Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland
Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland , is the second child of three children and only son of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden. Born Crown Prince of Sweden, he retained his title and first place in succession for seven months until 1 January 1980...
.
Prince Leopold is also involved with charitable causes helping disabled children, such as the Special Olympics
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....
and organizations promoting the use of animal-assisted therapy
Animal-Assisted Therapy
Animal-assisted therapy is a relatively new field of study, although the human-animal bond has existed for thousands of years. AAT is a type of therapy that involves animals as a form of treatment. The goal of AAT is to improve a patient’s social, emotional, or cognitive functioning...
. This is in part, because his oldest daughter Princess Pilar has a form of autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
, which she developed as a baby after she was given the wrong anesthetic during a heart surgery.