Prince Christian of Hanover (born 1985)

Prince Christian
Born (1985-06-01) 1 June 1985
Hildesheim, Lower Saxony, West Germany
Spouse
Alessandra de Osma (m. 2018)
Full name
Christian Heinrich Clemens Paul Frank Peter Welf Wilhelm-Ernst Friedrich Franz
House Hanover
Father Ernst August, Prince of Hanover
Mother Chantal Hochuli
Religion Protestantism

Prince Christian of Hanover (Christian Heinrich Clemens Paul Frank Peter Welf Wilhelm-Ernst Friedrich Franz; born 1 June 1985) is a German noble, the younger son of Ernst August, Prince of Hanover, and his first wife, Chantal Hochuli.[1] He is second in the line of succession to the former Hanoverian throne, after his elder brother, Prince Ernst August. As a descendant of Queen Victoria, through her daughter, the Empress Frederick, Christian is also in the line of succession to the British throne.

Early life and education

Hanover was born Christian Heinrich Clemens Paul Frank Peter Welf Wilhelm Ernst Friedrich Franz on 1 June 1985 in Hildesheim, Lower Saxony, West Germany.[1] His parents Ernst August, Prince of Hanover, and Chantal (née Hochuli), an heiress to a Swiss chocolate company, divorced on 23 October 1997.[1] Less than two years later, on 23 January 1999, his father married Princess Caroline of Monaco,[2] from whom he is currently separated.[3] Hanover has one elder brother, Prince Ernst August, and a younger half-sister from his father's second marriage, Princess Alexandra. He also has two stepbrothers and one stepsister — Andrea, Pierre and Charlotte Casiraghi — from Princess Caroline's previous marriage.

Through his father, Hanover is a descendant of George III of the United Kingdom, William II, German Emperor, Christian IX of Denmark and Victoria of the United Kingdom.[4] He is thus related to most members of present European royal families, among them those of the United Kingdom, Spain, Denmark and Norway.

Hanover was baptized on 14 July 1985 at Marienburg Castle in the presence of Prince Heinrich Julius of Hanover, Prince Clemens of Croÿ, Paul Schenker, Frank Hochuli, Count Peter Seilern, Prince Welf Henry of Hanover, Baron Wilhelm-Ernst von Cramm and Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin; he was named after all his godfathers.

Following his father's marriage to Princess Caroline, Christian and his family moved to Fontainebleau, Paris, France. Christian later continued with his education at Malvern College.

Inheritance

In 2004, Christian's father signed over to his sons the German property of the House of Hanover, including Marienburg Castle. The two brothers hired a Sotheby's team to auction off some of the castle's content in order to save its finances.[5]

Marriage

On 24 November 2017, Christian married Peruvian lawyer Alessandra de Osma Foy (born 1988), daughter of Felipe de Osma Berckemeyer and Elizabeth Foy Vásquez, during a civil service at the Chelsea and Westminster register office in London. The House of Osma has the Spanish title of Count of Vistaflorida. The current title holder is Alessandra's cousin, José Domingo de Osma y Wakonigg, 9th Count of Vistaflorida. The couple celebrated their religious wedding on 16 March 2018 at St. Peter's Church, Lima, with Bishop Norbert Klemens Strotmann of the Lima archdiocese officiating.[6][7] On that day, Alessandra de Osma became Her Royal Highness Princess Christian of Hanover.

Titles and styles

After the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the establishment of the Weimar Republic in 1919, legal recognition of hereditary titles was abolished. Since the introduction of the Weimar Constitution, the use of titles in Germany has been unofficial, while legally they are retained only as surnames.[8][9]

Christian's name in Germany thus is Christian Heinrich Clemens Paul Frank Peter Welf Wilhelm-Ernst Friedrich Franz Prinz von Hanover, where Prinz von Hanover is his last name, not his title.[10] The right of princes of Hanover under the monarchy to the traditional style of Royal Highness was abolished in 1919 and where attributed is thus by custom.

Ancestry

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XVIII. "Haus Hannover". C.A. Starke Verlag, 2007, pp. 22–26. ISBN 978-3-7980-0841-0.
  2. ↑ "The turbulent love lives and marriages of Albert's sisters". Hello. 14 June 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  3. ↑ Allen, Peter (12 September 2009). "Princess Caroline 'to divorce third husband', reigniting fears of a Monaco royal curse". Daily Mail. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  4. ↑ Willis, Daniel A., The Descendants of King George I of Great Britain, Clearfield Company, 2002, p. 73. ISBN 0-8063-5172-1
  5. ↑ "Christian, Prinz von Hannover, Herzog zu Braunschweig-Lüneburg". House of Welf (in German). 2005. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  6. ↑ "Civil Wedding of Prince Christian of Hanover and Alessandra de Osma Held in London". The Royal Forums. 2017-11-27. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
  7. ↑ "Alessandra de Osma y Principe Christian de Hannover: Asi llego la novia a la Basilica de San Pedro," Wapa, 16/3/18
  8. ↑ "Unequal and Morganatic Marriages in German Law: After 1919" (in German). 1920. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  9. ↑ Almanach de Gotha, Braunschweig-Lüneburg (Gotha: Justus Perthes, 1944), pages 38-39, 169 (French)
  10. ↑ "The Reich Constitution of August 11th 1919 with Modifications Article 109" (in German). Retrieved 18 January 2013.
Prince Christian of Hanover (born 1985)
Cadet branch of the House of Welf
Born: 1 June 1985
Lines of succession
Preceded by
Prince Ernst August of Hanover		 Line of succession to the former Hanoverian throne
2nd position		 Succeeded by
Prince Otto Heinrich of Hanover
Line of succession to the British throne
descended from Victoria, Princess Royal, daughter of Queen Victoria		 Succeeded by
Princess Alexandra of Hanover
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