Prince Christoph of Schleswig-Holstein

Christoph of Schleswig-Holstein (22 August 1949 – 27 September 2023) (German: Christoph Prinz zu Schleswig-Holstein) was the head of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (commonly known as the House of Glücksburg) and, by agnatic primogeniture, of the entire House of Oldenburg between 1980 and 2023. Traditionally he would have been the eighth Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and Duke of Glücksburg, styled as His Highness. Charles III of the United Kingdom. His great-great-grandfather, Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was the older brother of Christian IX of Denmark, and through him Christoph is heir by male primogeniture to the Danish title Duke of [Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-]Glücksburg (heir of the last extant ducal branch of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg) conferred by the Danish crown in 1825.

Life and activities Christoph was born in Louisenlund Castle in Güby, near Eckernförde, Schleswig-Holstein, West Germany, the eldest son of Peter, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (1922–1980), and his wife, Princess Marie Alix of Schaumburg-Lippe (1923-2021). He had a diploma in Agricultural Engineering.

Christoph succeeded to the headship of the ducal house on 30 September 1980 following the death of his father. While possession of the united duchies of Schleswig and Holstein had been allocated by a series of wars and treaties since the First Schleswig War of 1848 and the London Protocol of 1852, the ducal title was borne by Christoph's father and paternal grandfather (as inherited from his great-grandfather, Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg in 1934). However, Christoph was known also by the title which is shared by male cadets of the dynasty, "Prinz zu (Prince of) Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg". He was the owner of the Grünholz and Bienebek estates and was one of the largest landowners of Schleswig-Holstein. His sister, Princess Ingeborg, chairs the board of a further family foundation, the Stiftung Louisenlund.

Marriage and issue Christoph's wife: Princess Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein, Duchess of Glücksburg née Princess of Lippe-Weissenfeld (b. 1957). Christoph married Princess Elisabeth of Lippe-Weissenfeld (b. 28 July 1957 in Munich), the youngest child of Prince Alfred Karl Friedrich Georg Franz of Lippe-Weissenfeld (1922-2024), who served as UNHCR representative for Italy, and his wife, Baroness Irmgard Julinka Wagner von Wehrborn (b. 1928). The couple married at Glücksburg civilly on 23 September 1981 and religiously on 3 October.

They had four children: Sophie (born 9 October 1983 in Eckernförde), who married Swedish entrepreneur Anders Wahlquist (born 1968) in 2015. They have two children꞉ Cecil Wahlquist (born 2016) Sirai Wahlquist (born 2018) Friedrich Ferdinand (born 19 July 1985 in Eckernförde), 9th Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and Head of the House of Oldenburg, who married fashion model Anjuta Buchholz (born 19 July 1986) in March 2017. They have twin sons꞉ Hereditary Prince Alfred of Schleswig-Holstein (b. 15 June 2018) Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein (b. 15 June 2018) Constantin (born 14 July 1986 in Eckernförde), who married civilly in March 2023 Countess Sophia von der Schulenburg (born 17 April 1990 in Valencia, Spain). They married religiously on 1 June 2024 in Sóller, Mallorca, and they have one son꞉ Prince Tassilo of Schleswig-Holstein (born July 2023) Leopold (born 5 September 1991 in Eckernförde), who married in 2025 Alix Preuss-Neudorf, daughter of Christian Preuss-Neudorf and Countess Margareta von der Schulenburg, and first cousin of her sister-in-law Princess Sophia (née von der Schulenburg).

Death Christoph died on 27 September 2023, at the age of 74, after a long-term illness. He was succeeded as head of the House of Oldenburg by his eldest son.

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Ancestry