- Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein
- Infobox Person | name = Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein
other_names = Joseph Wenzel Maximilian Maria
imagesize = 80px
caption = unverifiedimage
birth_date = birth date and age|1995|05|24
birth_place =London ,England
title = Prince of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg
religion =Roman Catholic
relations =Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein and Princess Sophie of Bavaria
Infobox Royal styles
royal name=Prince Joseph of Liechtenstein
dipstyle=His Serene Highness
offstyle=Your Serene Highness
altstyle=Sir.|Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg ("Joseph Wenzel Maximilian Maria von und zu Liechtenstein"), born
24 May 1995 inLondon ), is the eldest child ofPrince Alois of Liechtenstein and his wife Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Duchess in Bavaria. [http://www.jacobite.ca/kings/wenzel.htm] the Jacobite Heritage of Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein]The prince has three younger siblings: Princess Marie-Caroline (b. 1996), Prince Georg-Antonius (b. 1999) and Prince Nikolaus Sebastian (b. 2000).
Joseph Wenzel is named in honour of his ancestor Josef Wenzel, Reigning Prince of Liechtenstein from 1712 to 1718 and from 1748 to 1772. He bears the name
Maximilian in honour of his maternal grandfatherPrince Max, Duke in Bavaria , and his paternal uncle and godfather,Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein . In accordance with the custom of severalRoman Catholic dynasties inEurope , including that of both his parents, he was given the name Maria in honour of theVirgin Mary .Dynastic ties
The Princely House of Liechtenstein
Since birth, Joseph Wenzel has borne the title "Prince of Liechtenstein" and "Count of Rietberg." He is second in line for the throne of
Liechtenstein , preceded only by his father who has been Regent of Liechtenstein ("Stellvertreter des Fürsten") since15 August 2004 . [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1066002.stm#leaders Country profile: Liechtenstein - Leaders] BBC News,6 December 2006 . Retrieved29 December 2006.]However, Joseph Wenzel's grandfather Prince Hans-Adam formally remains
Head of State and head of the Princely House of Liechtenstein. When Prince Alois inherits that top position, Joseph Wenzel will become the Hereditary Prince ("Erbprinz"), i.e., the immediate heir to the throne of Liechtenstein.The Royal House of Stuart
Joseph Wenzel is regarded by Jacobites as third in line for the kingship of
England ,Scotland andIreland . Joseph Wenzel's grand-uncleFranz, Duke of Bavaria , is the current Stuartpretender although he makes no claim to the thrones of the British Isles, nor did any of his ancestors through whom he descends fromCharles I of England . [ Those unfamiliar with the vocabulary of dynastic succession should note that "pretender " (from the French word "prétendre" which means "to claim") has no implication of falsity and connotes nothing about whether the claim is irrefutably legitimate, blatantly phony or somewhere between. The term is even used in cases when some interested party (in this case the Jacobites) makes a claim which the pretenders themselves (in this case theWittelsbach s) do "not".] [ Franz's relevant ancestor,Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia , was the second cousin and contemporary ofHenry Benedict Stuart , the last descendant of Charles I to publicly claim the thrones of England, etc.]Prince Franz is elderly and has no children. Accordingly, upon Franz' death the status of Stuart pretender falls to his brother Prince Max, then to Max's eldest daughter Sophie, Joseph Wenzel's mother. Thirdly, the status of Jacobite pretender would fall to Joseph Wenzel himself. [ This assumes that none of them predecease an older relative, in which case each would merely "moves up a spot". ]
Joseph Wenzel's birth generated some excitement in Jacobite circles. Firstly, having been born at
Portland Hospital in London, he is the first Jacobite heir born inGreat Britain sinceJames Francis Edward Stuart in 1688. Secondly, barring unforeseen circumstances, Joseph Wenzel will eventually become a Head of State, a position not held by a Stuart pretender since his five-greats-grandfather Victor Emmanuel I ruled Sardinia.The Royal House of Wittelsbach
Although Joseph Wenzel's grandfather Prince Max will become
Duke of Bavaria and head of the Royal House of Wittelsbach when his older brother Prince Franz dies, these titles are governed bySalic Law and cannot pass to Princess Sophie by any means nor, through her, to Joseph Wenzel. Instead, when Max and Franz are deceased, these honors will pass to thecadet branch of the Wittelsbach family to which Joseph Wenzel's cousin Prince Ludwig belongs. [ [http://www.gen.heinz-wember.de/wittelsbacher/] "Die Genealogie der Wittelsbacher Gesamtindex" ] [This splitting up of the long- combined House of Stuart and House of Wittelsbach because ofSalic Law is akin to what happened in 1837 whenWilliam IV of the United Kingdom died. He was the fourth in his line to be bothKing of the United Kingdom andKing of Hanover . When he died, the throne of the United Kingdom passed to the only child of his late brother Edward, Duke of Kent, and she becameQueen Victoria . The German title, however, could not go to a female and passed instead to the next younger brother of William and Edward, who becameErnest Augustus I of Hanover .]Ancestry
Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtensteinee also
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Princely Family of Liechtenstein References and notes
succession box two to one
title1=Line of Succession
to Liechtenstein throne | before1=Prince Alois
title2=Order of Succession to
Jacobite claim to British throne | before2=Sophie, Hereditary
Princess of Liechtenstein
after=Prince Georg | years1=| years2=
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