Prince Leopold of Bavaria (b. 1943)

Infobox_Prince| name = Prince Leopold of Bavaria


caption =
consort =Ursula ("Uschi") Möhlenkamp
royal house =House of Wittelsbach
father =Prince Konstantin of Bavaria
mother =Princess Maria Adelgunde von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
date of birth =birth date and age|1943|6|21|mf=y
place of birth =Schloss Umkirch near Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg
date of death =
place of death =
place of burial=|

Prince Leopold (Poldi) of Bavaria ( _de. Leopold Rupprecht Ludwig Ferdinand Adalbert Friedrich Maria et omnes sancti Prinz von Bayern) (b. June 21, 1943) is a member of the Bavarian Royal House of Wittelsbach and a former champion race car driver.

Early life & racing career

Leopold was born on Schloss Umkirch near Freiburg im Breisgau in Baden-Württemberg. He is the eldest son of Prince Konstantin of Bavaria and his first wife Princess Maria Adelgunde von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.

Since his parents separated soon after he was born, Leopold was raised by his grandparents Prince Friedrich von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Princess Margarete Carola of Saxony. He grew up on Schloss Umkirch together with his uncle Prince Ferfried who is only two months his senior. It was there the Prince developed his love for cars and racing. He started his career with rallying and in 1969 moved to touring car circuit racing winning the North American Championships with Porsche in 1972. In 1984 he also took part in the legendary sports car endurance race 24 Hours of Le Mans together with Walter Brun and Bob Akin, finishing fourth. In 1986, Leopold became exclusive driver for the Munich based car manufacturer BMW and although he retired from competitive racing in 1998, he remains involved with the BMW racing team as an adviser.

Marriage

On October 21, 1977 Prince Leopold married Ursula ("Uschi") Möhlenkamp, the daughter of Willi Möhlenkamp and Ingeborg Brauckmann. The civil ceremony took place at Berg on Lake Starnberg in Bavaria. The religious ceremony followed a month later, on November 19, 1977 in Aufkirchen, Bavaria.Initially the union was considered morganatic, but on March 3, 1999 the marriage was decreed to be dynastic in accordance with the Bavarian house laws. The couple has four children:

* Prince Manuel of Bavaria (b. out of wedlock in 1972)
* Princess Maria del Pilar of Bavaria (b. 1978)
* Princess Maria Felipa of Bavaria (b. 1981)
* Prince Konstantin of Bavaria (b. 1986)

Later life

The Prince resides in a villa on the Lake Starnberg south of the Bavarian capital, Munich and is often seen in the company of the the current Swedish King Carl Gustav whom he has known since his teens. He is a godfather of King Gustaf's only son, Prince Carl Philip of Sweden.Prince Leopold is also involved with charitable causes helping disabled children, such as the Special Olympics and organizations promoting the use of animal-assisted therapy. This is in part, because his oldest daughter Princess Pilar has a form of autism, which she developed as a baby after she was given the wrong anesthetic during a heart surgery. [ [http://www.zeit.de/2003/39/Traum_2fPoldi_39 Ich habe einen Traum: Seine königliche Hoheit Prinz Leopold von Bayern gehört dem Adelsgeschlecht der Wittelsbacher an, das fast 800 Jahre lang regierte, bis 1918 die Monarchie abgeschafft wurde. Er träumt vom Fortleben seiner Seele als Geist | Nachr... ] ]

References

* "Die Wittelsbacher. Geschichte unserer Familie". Adalbert, Prinz von Bayern. Prestel Verlag, München, 1979
* "Prinz und Demokrat. Konstantin von Bayern: Ein Gedenkbuch." Konstantin, Prinz von Bayern and Arens, Hanns. München; Wien : Langen/Müller, 1970
* "Ich habe einen Traum." DIE ZEIT, September 18, 2003. Nr.39

Notes