German Royalty: Charles Anthony Hohenzollern of Sigmaringen (1868-1919)


Figure 1.--The script here reads the Princess Charles de Hohenzollern. She is Princess Josephine of Belgium. Charles of course refers to her husband's name--Charles Anthony. The children are Stépahnie, Marie Antoinette, and Albrecht.

Charles Anthony Hohenzollern was born in 1868. The German form is Karl Anton Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig von Hohenzollern. He married Josephine of Belgium in 1894. She was the daughter of Philip, Count of Flanders. They had three children, Marie Antoinette, Stephanie, and Albrecht. Charles Anthony died in 1919 immediately after World War I. We have few details on the children at this time.

Hohenzollern Dynasty

The Sigmaringen family is a line of the older Swabian (Catholic) branch of the House of Hohenzollern. They ruled the petty German principalities of Hechingen and Signaringen. Unkile the younger branch of the family, they were relatively unimportant in German history. They did, however, have royal linage and married into the great royal houses of Europe. Charles Anthony's grandfather, Prince of Hohenzollern, for whom this Charles Anthony is named, ceded Hohenzollern-Signaringen to Prussia in 1849. The Hohenzollern-Hechingen line became extinct in 1869.

Parents

Father

Charles Anthony's father was Leopold Hohenzollern of Sigmaringen. Leopold was considered for the Spanish crown in 1870. He was made Prince of Romania when his younger brother became King Carol I of Romania. I also am unsure why Leopold's younger brother Carol was chosen to be Prince then King of Romania instead of Leopold.

Mother

Charles' mother was Antonia Saxe-Coburg. She was the daughter of Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, King Consort of Portugal (1816- ) and Queen Maria II de Bragança of Portugal (1819- ).

Siblings

Charles Anthony had two brothers. Ferdinand the middle brother became King Ferdinand I.

William (1864-1927)

William of Hohenzollern was born in 1864. He married Maria Theresia de Bourbon in 1889. They had one daughter Auguste Victoria de Hohenzollern who was born in 1890. I do not have the details at this time as to why William did not succeed his Uncle Carol as king instead of his yonger brother Ferdinand.

Ferdinand (1865- )

Ferdinand I (1865-1927) was born Ferdinand Victor Albert Meinrad Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. His parents were Leopold Hohenzollern and Antonia Saxe-Coburg. He was born at Sigmaringen, Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany. He succeeded his uncle Carol I who died without a male heir in 1914 as king of Romania. This could not have been a worse time to inherit the throne as it was the year World War I broke out in Europe. Ferdinand married in 1893 at age 27 to Mary Saxe-Coburg, age 17. The children included Carol II (King of Romania), Elizabeth Hohenzollern, Ileana Hohenzollern, Mary Hohenzollern, Mircea Hohenzollern, and Nicholas Hohenzollern. While at first declaring neutrality in World War I, Romania finally joined the Allies in 1916 despite the family relationship to the Germans. Romania suffered some serious defeats during the war, but in the post-war settlement gainedf territory. King Ferdinand died in 1927 at the age of 62 at Sinaia, Romania.

Charles Anthony

Charles Anthony was the youngest sion. He was named after his grandfather, Prince Charles Anthony Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen who ceded Sigmaringen to Prussia in 1849.

Childhood

Charles Anthony was born in Sigmaringen (Germany) in 1868. We have no information on his childhood.

Marriage

Charles Anthony married Josephine of Belgium in 1894. She was a daughter of of Philip, Count of Flanders. Her grandfather was Leopold I and her brother was Albert I. Josephine died in 1958.

Children

Charles Anthony and Josephine had three children, Marie Antoinette, Stephanie, and Albrecht. Actually they had a fourth child who tragically died in infancy after only a month. The three surviving children are shown here (figure 1). The honorific is L.L.A.A.R.R.Mma. The Children were about the same age, born 1895-98. The portrait looks to be dated about 1905 severak years before World War I. We have little information about the family at this time.

Stephjanie (1895- )

Stephanie, married Prince Joseph Ernst Fugger von Glött (1895- ).

Marie Antoinette (1896- )

Marie Antoinette, married Baronesse Egon Eyrl von und zu Waldgriesb (1896- ).

Albrecht (1898-1977 )

Albrecht was born in Potsdam during 1898. He married unequally after the War in 1921 to Ilse Margot von Friedeburg (1901- ). Many German royals lost their positions as a result of the War. Albrecht and Margot had four children: Josephine Wilhelmine (1922- ), Luise Dorothea (1924- ), Rose Margaretha (1930), and Godehard Friedrich (1939- ). A HBRC reader tells us, "He also had a 12-year relationship with the mother of my husband which resulted in the birth of a fifth child--Rudolf in 1929." [Reid]

Children's Clothes

We know that Albrecht wore white sailor suits and had short hair cuts.

Death

Charles Anthony died in 1919 immediately after World War I in Namedy.

Sources

Reid, Margaret. E-mail message, June 2, 2008.






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Created: June 7, 2002
Last updated: 5:20 AM 6/4/2008