Prince Karl Franz of Prussia

Prince Karl Franz Josef Wilhelm Friedrich Eduard Paul of Prussia (15 December 1916 – 23 January 1975) was the only child of Prince Joachim of Prussia and Princess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt. His grandfather abdicated in 1918, and his father, Prince Joachim, committed suicide in 1920. As the legal head of the House of Hohenzollern, he claimed this right because Emperor Wilhelm had issued an edict placing Hohenzollern powers in Eitel's hands. She was given this right despite the fact that she had run away from her husband and that there had been numerous servants testifying against her. Wilhelm's attorney argued that the House of Hohenzollern laws were no longer valid, and therefore there was no obligation to support her. They were divorced in 1935.

In World War II, Karl Franz served as a lieutenant in an armoured car division, and at one point was stationed on the Polish front. He was awarded the Iron Cross.

Marriages

First On 1 October 1940, Karl Franz married Princess Henriette Hermine Wanda Ida Luise of Schönaich-Carolath. She was the daughter of Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz, who had been the second wife of Karl Franz's grandfather Emperor Wilhelm II since 1922 (Henriette was thus Kaiser Wilhelm's stepdaughter). Held at Wilhelm's private residence without much ceremony, he and Hermine attended the ceremony, as did a few other guests. Prince Friedrich Christian of Prussia (3 September 1943 – 26 September 1943) Prince Franz Friedrich of Prussia (born 17 October 1944), married firstly in 1970 in a morganatic marriage to Gudrun Edith Winkler (born 29 January 1949), divorced in 1996, and had one daughter, Christine Prinzessin von Preußen (born 22 February 1968). He married secondly in 1998 to Potsdam politician and former pianist Susann Genske (born 12 January 1964), with no issue.

They divorced in 1946.

Second Karl Franz married secondly, on 9 November 1946, to Luise Dora Hartmann (5 September 1909 Hamburg, Germany – 23 April 1961 Hamburg, Germany). Their marriage was childless and the couple divorced in 1959.

Third Karl Franz married lastly, on 20 July 1959 in Lima, Peru, Eva Maria Herrera y Valdeavellano (10 June 1922 Lima, Peru – 6 March 1987 Lima, Peru). They were married until Prince Karl's death and had two daughters: Alexandra Maria Augusta Juana Consuelo Prinzessin von Preußen (born 29 April 1960 Lima, Peru). She married Dr. Alberto Reboa in October 1995 in Hechingen, Germany. They have two children (Alberto and Alexandra). Désirée Anastasia Maria Benedicta Prinzessin von Preußen (born 13 July 1961 Lima, Peru). She married Juan Carlos Gamarra y Skeels, Ambassador of Peru to Switzerland, to the Holy See, then to the United Kingdom, on 25 May 1983 at Lima, Peru. They have two children (Juan Francisco and Ines Sofia).

Ancestry