Figure 1.--This is Prince Ludwig wearing a velvet Fauntleroy suit and elaborate lace collar. e portrat is uyndated, but we suspect it was taken about 1925. Note the modern-looking akle socks. It is alittle difficult to tell, but he is wearing strap shoes.

We do not yet have much information on Prince Ludwig's childhood clothing. As best we can tell as a younger boy Ludwig was dressed in the fancy styles common with Bavarian royalty at the time. We can see the various styles with the clothes worn by the children of Crown Prince Ruprecht. We have fewer actual images of Prince Ludwig. The images taken during World War I show him as a younger boy wearing the same styles as his royal cousins. We see fancy blouses with big collar and velvet Fauntleroy styled suits. The fancy blouse seen on the previous page is a good example. After the War, the Wittelsbachs lost power. This affected their social sranding and wealth. As a result, of an agreement with the Bavarian Government (1923), however, they retained a great deal of property and thus wealth. The children thus continued to lead a very affluent lifestyle which included fancy clohes. Thus we see Ludwig as he approached his teen years still wearing a velvet Fauntleroy suit and elaborate lace collar (figure 1). There is a difference, however, he wears ankle socks rather than stockings. We at first thought he ws wearing low-cut oxfords rather than strap shoes, but on closer examination they are sra shoes which were fairly common in Germany at the time. We note other aristocratic boys in Germany who continued to be dressed in fancy outfits after the War, although usully not quite as fancy as the Wittelsbach children.

Created: 10:42 PM 7/28/2008
Last updated: 5:38 PM 8/29/2012