Prince Luitpold of Bavaria (born 14 April 1951) is a member of the 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...

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 CEO of König Ludwig GmbH & Co. KG Schlossbrauerei Kaltenberg

König Ludwig Schlossbrauerei

The König Ludwig GmbH & Co. KG Schlossbrauerei Kaltenberg is a brewery with headquarters located in Fürstenfeldbruck in Upper Bavaria. Their slogan, "Bier von königlicher Hoheit," or "Beer of royal highness," refers to the brewery's heritage which can be traced back through the Kingdom of Bavaria...

.

Early life

Prince Luitpold was born at Schloß Leutstetten near Starnberg

Starnberg

The city of Starnberg is in Bavaria, Germany, some 30 km south-west of Munich. It lies at the north end of Lake Starnberg, in the heart of the "Five Lakes Country", and serves as capital of the district of Starnberg...

, in 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...

. He is the only surviving child of Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (1913–2008) and his wife Princess Irmingard of Bavaria

Princess Irmingard of Bavaria

Princess Irmingard of Bavaria was the daughter of Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria and his second wife, Princess Antonia of Luxembourg. She was a half-sister of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria.-Early life:...

 (1923–2010).

Marriage

On 25 June 1979 Prince Luitpold married Katrin Beatrix Wiegand, the daughter of Gerd Wiegand and his wife Ellen Schumacher. The civil wedding took place at Starnberg

Starnberg

The city of Starnberg is in Bavaria, Germany, some 30 km south-west of Munich. It lies at the north end of Lake Starnberg, in the heart of the "Five Lakes Country", and serves as capital of the district of Starnberg...

 and the religious ceremony followed a day later at the Andechs Abbey in Andechs

Andechs

The Benedictine abbey of Andechs is a place of pilgrimage on a hill east of the Ammersee in the Landkreis of Starnberg in Germany, in the municipality Andechs. Andechs Abbey is famed for its flamboyant Baroque church and its brewery...

, Bavaria. 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 dynastic in accordance with the Bavarian house laws. The couple had five children:

• Princess Augusta of Bavaria (b. 1979) who is married to Prince Ferdinand of Lippe-Weissenfeld.
• Princess Alice of Bavaria (b. 1981) who is married to Prince Lukas of Auersperg.
• Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (b. 1982)
• Prince Heinrich of Bavaria (b. 1986)
• Prince Karl of Bavaria (b. 1987)

Later life

Prince Luitpold is the CEO of brewery located at Kaltenberg Castle

Schloss Kaltenberg

The Schloss Kaltenberg is a castle located in the village of Geltendorf in Upper Bavaria, Germany. The castle was built in 1292 and is currently under the proprietorship of Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, the great-grandson of the last king of Bavaria, Ludwig III....

 (König Ludwig GmbH & Co. KG Schlossbrauerei Kaltenberg

König Ludwig Schlossbrauerei

The König Ludwig GmbH & Co. KG Schlossbrauerei Kaltenberg is a brewery with headquarters located in Fürstenfeldbruck in Upper Bavaria. Their slogan, "Bier von königlicher Hoheit," or "Beer of royal highness," refers to the brewery's heritage which can be traced back through the Kingdom of Bavaria...

) and an organizer of the annual jousting

Jousting

Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two knights mounted on horses and using lances, often as part of a tournament.Jousting emerged in the High Middle Ages based on the military use of the lance by heavy cavalry. The first camels tournament was staged in 1066, but jousting itself did not...

 tournament at Kaltenberg.

Because the current head of the Royal House of Bavaria, Duke Franz

Franz, Duke of Bavaria

Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Herzog von Bayern , styled as His Royal Highness The Duke of Bavaria, is head of the Wittelsbach family, the former ruling family of the Kingdom of Bavaria...

 and his younger brother Max

Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria

Max-Emanuel Ludwig Maria Herzog in Bayern, sometimes styled Prince Max of Bavaria, Duke in Bavaria, born 21 January 1937 as son of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria, is the heir presumptive to both the headship of the former Bavarian Royal House and the Jacobite Succession...

 are old and have no male offspring, Luitpold and his son Prince Ludwig will very likely inherit the Bavarian Succession.

Ancestry