Who would be Queen of Bavaria today?

The Kingdom of Bavaria existed between 1806 and 1918. The Kingdom is now a part of the Federal Republic of Germany.

However, the heirs of the lost kingdom still exist today. The kingdom operated under Salic law, which did not allow for the succession of women. The Queens mentioned are, therefore, consorts and not reigning Queens. Any claimed titles since the end of the kingdom are titular.

The last King of Bavaria was King Ludwig III. He was married to Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, with whom he had thirteen children. After King Ludwig was forced to abdicate, she fled with the family to Wildenwart Castle, where she died a few months later. King Ludwig survived her for 2,5 years, and he died in 1921.

He was succeeded as titular King by his eldest son, Crown Prince Rupprecht. By then, Rupprecht was on his second marriage. His first marriage had been to his kinswoman, Duchess Marie Gabriele in Bavaria, a niece of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. She died of renal failure at the age of 34 in 1912. Of their five children, only a son named Albrecht survived to adulthood. Rupprecht remarried Princess Antonia of Luxembourg shortly before his father’s death in 1921. They went on to have six children together. Rupprecht pressed his claims to the Bavarian throne but never succeeded in becoming King. Upon his death in 1955, his claim was inherited by his eldest son, Albrecht.

Albrecht went by the titular title of Duke of Bavaria, and he had married Countess Maria Draskovich of Trakostjan in 1930. This was originally considered an unequal marriage, but it was later ruled to be dynastic. They went on to have four children together before Maria’s death in 1969. He remarried Countess Marie-Eugenie Jenke Keglevich of Buzin in 1971 but had no further children. Upon his death in 1996, he was succeeded in his claim by his eldest son, Franz.

Franz was born in 1933. He has been together with Thomas Greinwald since 1980, but they have never married. As such, the position of titular Queen of Bavaria is currently vacant. Franz’s heir is his brother, Prince Max, who is married to Countess Elisabeth Douglas. They have five daughters together but no sons. The claim is set to pass to their male-line second cousin, Prince Luitpold.

Prince Luitpold is married to Beatrix Wiegand, with whom he has five children.