Karl Anselm, Duke of Urach

Karl Anselm Franz Joseph Wilhelm Louis Philippe Gero Maria, 4th Duke von Urach, Count von Württemberg (born 5 February 1955) is the former head of the morganatic Urach branch of the House of Württemberg.[1][2] He was the third pretender to the defunct Lithuanian throne following the death of his uncle, Karl Gero.

Karl Anselm
Duke von Urach
Reign15 August 1981 – 9 February 1991
PredecessorDuke Karl Gero
SuccessorDuke Wilhelm Albert
Born (1955-02-05) 5 February 1955 (age 69)
Regensburg, Bavaria, West Germany
Spouse
Saskia Wüsthof
(m. 1991; div. 1996)
Uta Maria Priemer
(m. 2014)
IssueWilhelm
Maximilian
HouseUrach
FatherPrince Eberhard von Urach
MotherPrincess Iniga of Thurn and Taxis

Biography

He was born in Regensburg, West Germany, the son of Prince Eberhard von Urach and Princess Iniga of Thurn and Taxis.[3] He is a grandson of Wilhelm, Duke von Urach,[3] who was from 11 July 1918 to November 1918 the King-elect Mindaugas II of Lithuania.[4] The title "Duke of Urach" was abolished alongside all other noble privileges in Germany in 1919, with hereditary titles thereafter being relegated to surnames.[5]

He became an engineer, having studied agronomy at the University of Kiel.[4] Karl Anselm succeeded his childless uncle Karl Gero as fourth Duke von Urach following his death in 1981.[4][6][self-published source?] He held the defunct ducal title until 9 February 1991 when he married a commoner and renounced it.[4] His brother Wilhelm Albert succeeded him as head of the Urach branch of the House of Württemberg.[4] Karl Anselm lives at Niederaichbach Castle, Bavaria, and is the owner of Greshornish Forestry estate in Inverness, Scotland.[1]

Marriage and issue

He married Saskia Wüsthof (born 1968) on 9 February 1991 at Stuttgart. They had two children before divorcing in 1996.[4]

  • Wilhelm Karl Gero Eberhard Peter Maria Prinz von Urach, born 8 July 1991
  • Maximilian Emanuel Wolfgang Luitpold Robert Prinz von Urach, born 5 May 1993

He married Uta Maria Priemer (born 1964, whose daughter Teresa von Bülow married Count Ferenc Kornis de Göncz-Ruszka, grandson of Prince Rasso of Bavaria) on 2 September 2014.[citation needed]

Ancestry[3]

References

Karl Anselm, 4th Duke of Urach
Born: 5 February 1955
Titles in pretence
Preceded by— TITULAR —
King of Lithuania
15 August 1981 – 9 February 1981
Succeeded by
— TITULAR —
Duke of Urach
15 August 1981 – 9 February 1991