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Friedrich, 7th Prince Fugger von Babenhausen

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Coat of arms of the Princes of Fugger-Babenhausen

Friedrich Carl Georg Maria Fugger von Babenhausen (26 November 1914 – 22 December 1979) was the head of the House of Fugger-Babenhausen from 1934 to 1979, and formed Fürst Fugger Privatbank in 1954.

Early life

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Friedrich was born on 26 November 1914 in Potsdam in Brandenburg, Germany into the ancient House of Fugger.[1] He was the only son of Georg, 6th Prince Fugger von Babenhausen,[a] and Danish Countess Elisabeth von Plessen (1891–1976).[3] His sister, Countess Marie-Louise Fugger von Babenhausen, was the wife of Wilhelm von Hagen.[4]

His paternal grandparents were Karl, 5th Prince Fugger von Babenhausen, and Princess Eleonora of Hohenlohe-Bartenstein.[5] Among his extended family were aunts Countess Friederike Fugger von Babenhausen (wife of Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart),[6] Countess Sylvia Fugger von Babenhausen (wife of Count Friedrich zu Münster, son of Prince Alexander Münster),[7][8] and Countess Maria Theresia Fugger von Babenhausen (who married Prince Heinrich von Hanau und Horowitz, a grandson of Frederick William, Elector of Hesse).[9][10] His paternal uncle was Count Leopold Fugger von Babenhausen (who married Countess Vera Czernin von und zu Chudenitz).[10][b] His maternal grandfather was Count Carl Gabriel Joachim Wilhelm Scheel-Plessen of Selsø.[9][12]

Career

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Fugger Castle, 1910

Upon his father's death in 1934, he inherited the Fugger-Babenhausen fideicommissum, including Fugger Castle in Babenhausen, and succeeded to the primogeniture title, 7th Prince Fugger von Babenhausen.[5]

In 1954, he acquired the small Augsburg bank, Friedl and Dumler GmbH, which served the Swabia region of Bavaria. In 1994, his son renamed the bank, Fürst Fugger Privatbank, in reference to his family's historical Fugger banking house that closed in the 17th century.[4]

Personal life

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On 10 October 1942 at Sturefors Castle in Östergötland, Prince Friedrich married Countess Gunilla Bielke (1919–2015), a daughter of Count Thure Gabriel Bielke and Brigitta Marianne Sparre of Söfdeborg. A member of the Swedish nobility, her ancestor and namesake Gunilla Bielke, was the Queen of Sweden as consort to King John III of Sweden.[13] Together, they were the parents of five children, including:[14]

Prince Fugger von Babenhausen died at Wellenburg Castle in Augsburg, a city in the Bavarian part of Swabia, on 22 December 1979.[4]

Descendants

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Through his son Herbertus, he was a grandfather of Franziska Fugger von Babenhausen (born 1979), Leopold Fugger von Babenhausen (born 1980), Alexander Fugger von Babenhausen (born 1981), Anastasia Fugger von Babenhausen (born 1986), and Nikolaus Fugger von Babenhausen (born 1993).[14]

Through his son Johannes, he was a grandfather of Constantin Fugger von Babenhausen (who married Sophie von Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg).

References

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Notes
  1. ^ In 1912, before his parents were married, The New York Times reported that Prince Georg had fallen in love with Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia, the only daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II, but the Kaiser had forbidden the marriage because the Fuggers were Roman Catholic.[2]
  2. ^ Count Leopold Fugger von Babenhausen and Countess Vera Czernin von und zu Chudenitz divorced in 1936, and in 1938 she married the former Chancellor of Austria Kurt Schuschnigg.[11]
Sources
  1. ^ Gothaisches genealogisches Taschenbuch der gräflichen Häuser (in German). Justus Perthes. 1917. p. 822. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  2. ^ Times, Marconi Transatlantic Wireless Telegraph To the New York (28 March 1912). "KAISER'S DAUGHTER LOVES COUNT IN VAIN; Princess Is Prostrated When Romance with a Handsome Lieutenant Is Cut Short". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  3. ^ Gothaisches genealogisches Taschenbuch der gräflichen Häuser (in German). Justus Perthes. 1889. p. 1189. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Montague-Smith, Patrick W. (2003). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage. Debrett's Peerage Limited. pp. 101–102. ISBN 978-0-333-66093-5. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  5. ^ a b Fugger (Fürstin), Nora (1932). The Glory of the Habsburgs: The Memoirs of Princess Fugger. Dial Press.
  6. ^ Ogden, Alan (4 November 2021). The Life and Times of Lieutenant General Adrian Carton de Wiart: Soldier and Diplomat. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-350-23314-0. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  7. ^ Korotin, Ilse Erika (2016). BiografiA: Lexikon österreichischer Frauen (in German). Böhlau Verlag. ISBN 978-3-205-79590-2. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  8. ^ Shaw, Christine (2007). Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage 2008. Debrett's. p. 576. ISBN 978-1-870520-80-5. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  9. ^ a b The Titled Nobility of Europe: An International Peerage, Or "Who's Who", of the Sovereigns, Princes and Nobles of Europe. Harrison & Sons. 1914. pp. 674–675. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  10. ^ a b McNaughton, Arnold (1973). The Book of Kings: The Royal Houses. Garnstone Press. pp. 61, 133. ISBN 978-0-900391-19-4. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  11. ^ Schuschnigg, Kurt von; Schuschnigg, Janet Von (1 January 2012). When Hitler Took Austria: A Memoir of Heroic Faith by the Chancellor's Son. Ignatius Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-58617-709-6. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  12. ^ Herrenhaus, Prussia (Kingdom) Landtag (1911). Handbuch für das preussische Herrenhaus (in German). Heymanns. p. 356. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  13. ^ Matheson-Pollock, Helen; Paul, Joanne; Fletcher, Catherine (16 July 2018). Queenship and Counsel in Early Modern Europe. Springer. p. 85. ISBN 978-3-319-76974-5. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  14. ^ a b c d e Almanach de Gotha: Annual Genealogical Reference. Almanach de Gotha. 2004. pp. 500–505. ISBN 978-0-9532142-5-9. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  15. ^ "Charles Anton Fugger And Helene De Polignac". slimaaronsprint.com. Slim Aarons Print. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  16. ^ Seligman, Martin E.P. (2014-09-18). Aprenda optimismo: Haga de la vida una experiencia maravillosa. ISBN 9788499087979.
  17. ^ Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage. Kelly's Directories. 1973. p. 117. Retrieved 30 July 2024.