Figure 1.--This photograph shows five of the six children from Prince Rupprecht's second family. The photograph was probably taken about 1928.

Rupprecht first wife Maria Gabriele had died in 1912 before World War I. Prince Rupprecht after the death of his first wife, met Antoinette von Nassau, of Luxembourg (1899- ) during World War I. Germany invaded the Grand Duchy as it invaded Belgium, launching Worldf War I. Unauspiciously the Prince, an officer in the Bavarian Army, met her during the German occupation of Luxenbourg. Consorting with the occupying Germans made her very unpopular in her own country. Marriage was not possible during the War. After the War Prince Ripprecht married again. He married Princess Antoinette on April 6, 1921 at Schloss Honenburg, Lengries. Of course they now no longer were reigning royals, but the Bavarian royal family still retained considerable popularity, unlike the Hohenzollerns. Rupprecht and Antoinette had six children, a boy and five girls. The children were: Heinrich (Henry), Prince of Bavaria (1922- ), Irmingard, Princess of Bavaria (1923- ), Editha, Princess of Bavaria (1924- ), Hilda, Princess of Bavaria (1926- ), Gabriele, Prince of Bavaria (1927- ), and Sophie, Princess of Bavaria (1935- ). It is interesting to note how differently bthese children were dressed compared with the way his firsrt sons were dressed. One reason may be the different fashion sence of his new, young wife. The primary reason, however, is how significantly fashions changed in the 1920s after World War I. We have no information on the chidhood and adult lives of the children at this time. Perhaps our German readers will know something about them.

Parents

Father

Crown Prince Rupprecht (Ruppert) was born in 1869. He succeeded as head of the Wittelsbach dynasty in 1921 upon the death of his father, Ludwig III, the last ruling King of Bavaria. Since then, royal titles have no longer carried any legal status. Lingering monarchist sympathies still exist in Bavaria, but there have been no serious attempts to reinstate the Wittelsbacher. Putting Rupprecht, King Ludwig III's son, onto the throne was considered in the early 1930s, as a way to check Hitler's rise to power, and in the 1940s at the end of the Second World War, but never came about. His first wife was Marie Gabriele, née Duchess in Bavaria (1884-1912). They had four children, including Albrecht, Prince of Bavaria (1905- ). He had a second family after World War I.

Mother: Princess Antoinette (1921- )

Princess Antoinette (1899- ) was the younger sister of Grand Duchess Marie Adelaïde. We know very little about her.

World War I (1914-18)

Prince Rupprecht first wife Maria Gabriele had died in 1912 before World War I. I am not sure when he met Princess Antoinette von Nassau of Luxembourg (1899- ). The German's in violation of international treaties occupied Luxembourg the first day of the War. It was part of their great Western Offensive through Belgium launching World War I. Unauspiciously the Prince, an officer in the Bavarian Army, met her during the German occupation of Luxenbourg. Consorting with the occupying Germans made her very unpopular in her own country. Marriage was not possible during the War. There were, however, close relations with the Luxembourg royal family. Grand Duchess Marie Adelaïde in particular was close to the Germans. Prince Rupprecht wa older than Antoinette, Grand Duchess Marie Adelaïde's younger sister. Presumably the two met during the ocupation. She returned his affections. They considered marriage at the end of the War, but attitudes in Luxembourg asaesult of the occupation made the marriage impossible. Grand Duchess Marie Adelaïde herself had to abdicate because she was so close toi the Germans.

Marriage

After the War Prince Ripprecht married again. He married Princess Antoinette on April 6, 1921 at Schloss Honenburg, Lengries. The marriage ceremony was carried out by the papal nuncio to Bavaria, Eugenio Pacelli--the future Pope Pius XII. Of course they now no longer were reigning royals, but the Bavarian royal family still retained considerable popularity, unlike the Hohenzollerns.

Children

Ruppecht and Antoinette had six children including: Heinrich, Prince of Bavaria (1922-58), Irmingard, Princess of Bavaria (1923- ), Editha, Princess of Bavaria (1924- ), Hilda, Princess of Bavaria (1926- ), Gabriele, Prince of Bavaria (1927- ), and Sophie, Princess of Bavaria (1935- ). We know very little about their childhood. We have little no biographical information on the children at this time. As their father wa an ani-NAZI, we wonder how the children fared during the 1930s and World War II. Hopefully our Bavarian readers will provide us some information. We do know that Prince Heirich survived the War. He married Anne Marie de Lustrac, the daughter of Baron Jean de Lustrac and his wife Helen Reid. The marriage ceremony was held in Saint-Jean-de-Luz on the Basque coast in France (1951). The couple did not have any children. Prince Heinrich was killed as a result of a car accident in San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina (1958).His wife, died also in a car crash in Milan, Italy (1999).

Changing Fashions

It is interesting to note how differently these children were dressed compared with the way his firsrt sons were dressed. One reason may be the different fashion sence of his new, young wife. The primary reason we believe, however, is how significantly fashions changed in the 1920s after World War I.

Limited Informaion

A HBC reader comments, "You may be right about the diffences in clothes, but can you really tell from this one photo? Maybe the clothes were chosen to be folk clothes such as some of the pictures Luitpold and Albrecht are seen wearing." Our reader is quite corect. There is no way of making definitive judgements based on one photograph, especially with the children in folk costume. This is, however all we have to go on at this time. So our aessessment is a tentative one until more information becomes avilable.

Girl's Outfits

One interesting aspect is the girl's outfits. While the boys' outfits are similar to pre-World War I Bavarian folk costumes, the girls' outfits are very different. Rather than dindrels, the girls wear outfits rathe like the boys only with skirts rather than short pants. We never noticed this before World War I.

Created: May 7, 2002
Last updated: 5:02 AM 1/4/2010