Duke Georg Borwin of Mecklenburg

Infobox Pretender
English name = Georg Borwin


birth_date = Birth date and age|1956|6|10|df=y
birthplace = Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
death_date =
deathplace =
regnal =
title = Duke of Mecklenburg
throne = Mecklenburg-Strelitz
pretend from = 26 January 1996
year = 1918
king = Adolf Friedrich VI
relationship = 2nd cousin twice removed
house = Mecklenburg¹
father = Duke Georg Alexander
mother = Archduchess Ilona of Austria
spouse = Alice Wagner
children = Olga, Alexander, Michael
predecessor = Duke Georg Alexander
successor =
footnotes =¹ Strelitz line|

Georg Borwin, Duke of Mecklenburg ("Georg Borwin Friedrich Franz Karl Stephan Konrad Hubertus Maria Herzog zu Mecklenburg"; born 10 June 1956) has been the head of the Grand Ducal House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz since 1996. With the extinction of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 2001 this is the only remaining line of the House of Mecklenburg, the dynasty which ruled in Mecklenburg until 1918.

Early life

Duke Georg Borwin of Mecklenburg was born in Freiburg im Breisgau the youngest child and only son of Duke Georg Alexander of Mecklenburg and his wife Archduchess Ilona of Austria (born 1927). He is a male line descendant of Grand Duke Georg of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and through his mother a descendant of King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony and Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria.

In 1928 his grandfather Georg was adopted by his uncle and the head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Duke Charles Michael. His grandfather subsequently assumed the title of Duke of Mecklenburg with the style Serene Highness which was confirmed by the head of the Imperial House of Russia, Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich on 18 July 1929 and then recognised on 23 December by Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.cite book |last= Huberty |first= Michel |coauthors= Alain Giraud, F. B. Magdelaine |title= L'Allemagne Dynastique, Tome VI : Bade-Mecklembourg |isbn= 9782901138068 |pages=235 ] On 18 December 1950, Hereditary Grand Duke Friedrich Franz of Mecklenburg-Schwerin confirmed the title and also granted the style Highness, which in conjunction with the title, is the style enjoyed by all members of the House of Mecklenburg.

Duke Georg Borwin became the heir apparent to headship of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz on 6 July 1962 when his grandfather died and his father succeeded as head of the house. Georg Borwin has studied Viticulture and served as an officer in the German Army. He has also managed a Swiss drinks company.

Head of the house

Duke Georg Borwin succeeded as head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz following his father's death on 26 January 1996.cite book |last = Erstling | first = Frank | coauthors = Frank Saß, Eberhard Schulze, Harald Witzke | title = Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Beiträge zur Geschichte einer Region | year = 2001 | month = April | publisher = Steffen | location = Friedland
language = German | isbn = 3980753204 | chapter = Das Fürstenhaus von Mecklenburg-Strelitz |pages=191 |quote=...Als zwölftes Oberhaupt des Strelitzer Hauses trat Herzog Georg Borwin die Nachfolge seines Vaters an. Er durchlief die Offizierslaufbahn der Bundeswehr, studierte Weinbau und ist heute Manager in einem schweizerischen Getränkekonzern... ] With the death of Hereditary Grand Duke Friedrich Franz on the 31 July 2001, the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin has become extinct in the male line leaving Mecklenburg-Strelitz as the only surviving branch of the grand ducal house.

Duke Georg Borwin is the patron and protector of the Order of the Griffin which was revived in September 1984. The order was founded by Grand Duke Frederick Francis III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin on 15 September 1884. [cite web |url=http://www.ritterorden.sewid.de/fileadmin/downloads/pdf/Ordenskurier2007.pdf |title= Ordenskurier 2007 |accessdate= 2008-03-07 |format= PDF |publisher= Ritterorden der Greif] In politics, he serves as the Christian Democratic Union's local party chairman for Hinterzarten in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district of Baden-Württemberg. Georg Borwin has also served on the Almanach de Gotha's Comité de Patronage. [cite web |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20060211154712/www.almanachdegotha.com/site/pat.htm |title=Comité de Patronage |accessdate=2008-08-09 |publisher=Almanach de Gotha ]

In 2005 Georg Borwin along with the head of House of Hohenzollern, Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia attended the seasonal opening of Hohenzieritz Castle in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. [cite web | title =Saisoneröffnung in Hohenzieritz | publisher =preussen.de | url= http://www.preussen.de/de/heute/aktuell/archiv/saisoneroeffnung_in_hohenzieritz.html;jsessionid=DA0FC1967015394303F90EE00CB8F315| | accessdate = 2007-08-26 ] It was at the castle where Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz who married Frederick William III of Prussia and became Queen of Prussia, died in 1810.

Marriage and children

Duke Georg Borwin married Alice Wagner (born 2 August, 1959 in Hinterzarten) the daughter of Dr Jürgen-Detlev Wagner and Marianne Bichl in a civil marriage on December 24, 1985 in Hinterzarten followed by a religious ceremony on July 19, 1986. They have three children.cite web |url= http://pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff/gotha/mecklenburg.html |title= Mecklenburg |accessdate= 2008-03-06 |last= Theroff |first= Paul |publisher= Online Gotha ]
*HH Duchess Helene "Olga" Feodora Donata Maria Katharina Theresia of Mecklenburg (born 13 October, 1988 in Freiburg im Breisgau)
*HH Duke Georg "Alexander" Michael Heinrich Ernst Franz Ferdinand Maria of Mecklenburg (born 17 July, 1991 in Freiburg im Breisgau)
*HH Duke Carl "Michael" Borwin Georg Friedrich Franz Hubertus Maria of Mecklenburg (born 30 January, 1994 in Freiburg im Breisgau)

Ancestry

ahnentafel top|Ancestors of Georg Borwin, Duke of Mecklenburg|width=100%ahnentafel-compact5
style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
border=1
boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
1=1. Georg Borwin, Duke of Mecklenburg
2=2. Georg Alexander, Duke of Mecklenburg
3=3. Archduchess Ilona of Austria
4=4. Georg, Duke of Mecklenburg
5=5. Irina Mikhailovna Raievskya
6=6. Archduke Joseph Franz of Austria
7=7. Princess Anna Monika of Saxony
8=8. Duke George Alexander of Mecklenburg
9=9. Natalia Vanljarskaya, Countess of Carlow
10=10. Mikhail Nikolaievich Raievsky
11=11. Princess Mariya Grigorievna Gagarina
12=12. Archduke Joseph August of Austria
13=13. Princess Augusta Maria of Bavaria
14=14. Frederick Augustus III of Saxony
15=15. Archduchess Luise of Austria, Princess of Tuscany
16=16. Duke Georg August of Mecklenburg
17=17. Grand Duchess Catherine Mikhailovna of Russia
18=18. Feodor Vanjlarsky
19=19. Maria Feodorovna Uwarow
20=20. Nicholas Nicoleavitch Raiveisky
21=21. Anna Mikhailovna Borozdine
22=22. Prince Gregori Gregorievitch Gagarin
23=23. Sophia Andreievna Dachkov
24=24. Archduke Joseph Karl of Austria
25=25 Princess Clotilde of Saxe-Coburg-Kohary
26=26. Prince Leopold of Bavaria
27=27. Archduchess Gisela of Austria
28=28. George of Saxony
29=29. Infanta Maria Anna of Portugal
30=30. Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany
31=31. Princess Alice of Bourbon-Parmaahnentafel bottom

References

infobox hrhstyles|royal name=Georg Borwin, Duke of Mecklenburg|

dipstyle=His Highness|offstyle=Your Highness|altstyle=Sir|

External links

* [http://www.ritterorden.sewid.de/ The Order of the Griffin] De icon
* [http://www.ritterorden.sewid.de/typo3temp/pics/d1c597eca8.jpgPhoto of Duke Georg Borwin (front centre) at an Order of the Griffin event]