Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia

Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and a grandson of Wilhelm II, German Emperor. He was the second son of Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and a nephew of Eitel Friedrich of Prussia and Adalbert of Prussia. Prince Louis Ferdinand was also a cousin of Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and Haakon VII of Norway, and a great-grandson of Frederick III, German Emperor and Victoria, Princess Royal. He was related to several other European monarchs, including George V of the United Kingdom and Nicholas II of Russia.

● Early Life

Prince Louis Ferdinand was born in Potsdam and spent his early years at the New Palace, Potsdam, surrounded by his family, including his grandparents, Wilhelm II, German Emperor and Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. He was educated at the Prussian Academy of Arts and later at the University of Berlin, where he studied alongside Klaus von Stauffenberg and Henning von Tresckow. Prince Louis Ferdinand was also a member of the German Olympic Committee and participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, which were attended by Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring. He was a friend of Otto von Bismarck's grandson, Otto von Bismarck (jr.), and a distant relative of Leopold of Bavaria.

● Career

Prince Louis Ferdinand began his military career in the Reichswehr and later joined the Wehrmacht, where he served alongside Erwin Rommel and Heinz Guderian. He was a member of the German General Staff and participated in the Invasion of Poland and the Battle of France, which involved Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle. Prince Louis Ferdinand was also a supporter of the 20 July Plot and was friends with several of the conspirators, including Claus von Stauffenberg and Ludwig Beck. He was a cousin of Prince Frederick of Prussia and a nephew of Joachim of Prussia, and was related to several other German princes, including Prince Hubertus of Prussia and Prince Wilhelm of Prussia.

● Personal Life

Prince Louis Ferdinand married Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna of Russia in 1938, and the couple had seven children, including Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia and Prince Michael of Prussia. He was a member of the Russian Orthodox Church and was friends with several Russian émigrés, including Ivan Bunin and Vladimir Nabokov. Prince Louis Ferdinand was also a supporter of the Monarchist Party of Russia and was in contact with several Russian monarchists, including Kirill of Russia and Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia. He was a cousin of Queen Marie of Romania and a nephew of Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and was related to several other European monarchs, including King Leopold III of Belgium and King Haakon VII of Norway.

● Ancestry and Family

Prince Louis Ferdinand was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and a descendant of Frederick I of Prussia and Frederick William I of Prussia. He was a great-grandson of Frederick III, German Emperor and Victoria, Princess Royal, and a grandson of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. Prince Louis Ferdinand was also a cousin of Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and Haakon VII of Norway, and a great-grandson of Christian IX of Denmark and Queen Louise of Denmark. He was related to several other European monarchs, including George V of the United Kingdom and Nicholas II of Russia, and was a member of the Order of the Black Eagle and the Order of the Red Eagle.

● Later Life and Death

Prince Louis Ferdinand lived in Bremen after the war and was involved in several business ventures, including the Volkswagen company, which was founded by Ferdinand Porsche. He was a member of the German Chamber of Commerce and was friends with several German businessmen, including Konrad Adenauer and Ludwig Erhard. Prince Louis Ferdinand died in 1994 in Bremen and was buried in the Castle Church in Stolzenberg, alongside his wife, Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna of Russia. He was a cousin of Prince Frederick of Prussia and a nephew of Joachim of Prussia, and was related to several other German princes, including Prince Hubertus of Prussia and Prince Wilhelm of Prussia. Prince Louis Ferdinand was also a great-uncle of Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia and a distant relative of Leopold of Bavaria and Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria.

Category:House of Hohenzollern