Who Would Be the Monarchs of Germany Today?

Germany once had several monarchies operating simultaneously. Before World War I, the German Empire had an emperor, known as the Kaiser, alongside three subordinate kings. Austria had a separate emperor, while Hanover had previously been an independent kingdom. These six royal lines form the basis for identifying who might occupy their thrones if the monarchies had survived.

For more than 800 years, Germany was a collection of smaller states within the Holy Roman Empire. Rather than existing as one unified country, the German territories formed a loose political structure with numerous rulers, dynasties, and competing interests.

The defeat of Napoleon in 1814 marked a major turning point in German political organization. Around this period, the kingdoms of Bavaria, Saxony, Württemberg, and Hanover emerged alongside the existing Kingdom of Prussia. The Austrian Empire, ruled by the former Holy Roman Emperor, was another major power.

The German states formed the German Confederation instead of restoring the Holy Roman Empire. The new arrangement brought together the principal German states while preserving their separate monarchies and political identities.

Prussia and Austria both possessed territory inside and outside the German Confederation. Neither state was geographically confined to the Confederation, reflecting the complicated territorial arrangements of nineteenth-century Central Europe.

The Austrian emperor became president of the German Confederation. As its highest-ranking monarch, he received the additional title of president while retaining his position as Emperor of Austria.

Prussia's victory over Austria in 1866 transformed Germany's political structure. The Austro-Prussian War ended the existing Confederation, allowed Prussia to annex Hanover, and established Prussian dominance over the northern German states.

Austria was excluded from the newly organized North German Confederation. The reorganization following the 1866 war separated Austria from the developing Prussian-led German political system.

The North German Confederation subsequently became the German Empire. The King of Prussia acquired the additional title of German Emperor, or Kaiser, creating an imperial monarchy without eliminating the remaining subordinate German kingdoms.

The German Empire and Austrian Empire had separate emperors. The German Kaiser ruled alongside three kings within the German Empire, while the Austrian emperor headed a separate monarchy. This arrangement continued until the collapse of the monarchies at the end of World War I.

World War I ended the German and Austrian monarchies. The imperial and royal institutions discussed in the episode were abolished following the war, leaving their former ruling families with hereditary claims but no governing authority.

Wilhelm I of the House of Hohenzollern became the first German Kaiser. Already King of Prussia, he received the additional imperial title and ruled as German Emperor for approximately 17 years.

Friedrich III succeeded Wilhelm I but ruled for only three months. Wilhelm's son inherited the German imperial throne but died of cancer shortly afterward.

Wilhelm II became German Kaiser at age 29 and ruled for approximately 30 years. The son of Friedrich III, he led Germany during World War I and lost his throne following Germany's defeat.

Wilhelm II spent the remainder of his life in the Netherlands. After losing the German crown, he lived in exile and survived long enough to witness the first two years of World War II.

The former Crown Prince Wilhelm would have become Wilhelm III if the German monarchy had continued. He was Wilhelm II's son and the next hereditary successor, but Germany was under Nazi rule by the time he became head of the former imperial family.

Several members of the former German imperial family participated in World War II. Although the former Crown Prince Wilhelm did not fight, other family members did. His eldest son, Prince Wilhelm, died in battle in 1940.

Prince Louis Ferdinand opposed the Nazis and became central to the surviving Hohenzollern succession. He was identified as the next eldest son of the former Crown Prince Wilhelm, and the present dynastic line continues through his descendants.

Morganatic marriages changed the Hohenzollern succession. Louis Ferdinand's first two sons married women considered to be of unequal dynastic rank. Under the family's succession rules, their descendants were excluded from inheriting its noble titles.

Georg Friedrich became head of the House of Hohenzollern in 1994. When Louis Ferdinand died, the position passed to his grandson Georg Friedrich because the intervening heir, Louis Ferdinand Jr., had already died and the senior branches were affected by marriage restrictions.

Georg Friedrich is the presenter's hypothetical German Kaiser. He was 46 at the time of the episode and would have inherited the imperial position had the monarchy and its succession rules continued.

Georg Friedrich's princely title carries no official noble status in modern Germany. The presenter explains that Germany no longer legally recognizes nobility as a privileged social class, so Georg Friedrich is legally an ordinary citizen despite his dynastic ancestry.

The former German imperial family retained considerable wealth after losing its throne. According to the presenter, the Hohenzollerns preserved substantial family assets despite the abolition of their official titles.

Franz Joseph I of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine ruled Austria throughout the German Empire's existence. His reign lasted almost 68 years, which the presenter describes as the longest reign by an emperor in world history.

The suicide of Franz Joseph's only son disrupted the Austrian succession. With his son dead, the succession passed toward his younger brother, Archduke Karl Ludwig, and subsequently Karl Ludwig's eldest son, Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 helped trigger World War I. Franz Ferdinand was the Austrian heir presumptive when he was assassinated, placing the Habsburg succession at the center of the crisis that developed into the war.

Franz Ferdinand's morganatic marriage meant his children could not inherit the imperial throne. Even had Franz Ferdinand survived to become emperor, the succession would eventually have passed to his nephew Karl rather than to his own descendants.

Karl I became Emperor of Austria during World War I. He succeeded Franz Joseph following the latter's death but ruled for less than two years before the Habsburg monarchy collapsed.

Karl I died in exile at age 34. Following the war, he was exiled to a Portuguese island in the Atlantic Ocean, where he died of pneumonia.

Otto von Habsburg became head of the former Austrian imperial family after Karl I. As Karl's eldest son, he inherited the dynastic position even though the Austrian imperial throne no longer existed.

Otto von Habsburg could theoretically have reigned for 89 years. Because he lived to age 98, the presenter calculates that an uninterrupted reign would have exceeded those of Queen Elizabeth II by 19 years, Louis XIV by 17 years, and Sobhuza II of Swaziland by six years.

Otto von Habsburg became an important advocate of European integration. Although he never ruled Austria, he supported the political unification of Europe and contributed to the movement that eventually produced the European Union.

Otto served in the European Parliament for 20 years. His political career gave the former Habsburg heir a significant public role in European affairs despite the disappearance of his family's empire.

Otto transferred leadership of the House of Habsburg to his son Karl in 2007. He remained alive until 2011 but relinquished the dynastic position four years before his death.

Karl von Habsburg is the presenter's hypothetical Emperor of Austria. He would also be the hereditary claimant to the titles of Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, and King of Bohemia if the corresponding monarchies were restored under their former dynastic arrangements.

Karl von Habsburg's eldest son and heir is Ferdinand Habsburg. Rather than preparing for an actual monarchy, Ferdinand has pursued a career as a racing driver.

Bavaria was the largest of the three subordinate kingdoms within the German Empire. Its ruling family was the House of Wittelsbach, which retained its dynastic identity after the abolition of the Bavarian monarchy.

Ludwig III was the last King of Bavaria. Following his death, the hereditary claim passed to his eldest son, former Crown Prince Rupprecht, then to Rupprecht's son Albrecht, and subsequently to Albrecht's son Franz.

Franz, Duke of Bavaria, is the presenter's hypothetical Bavarian king. He was 89 at the time of the episode and held the unofficial title Duke of Bavaria as head of the House of Wittelsbach.

Franz also possesses a Jacobite claim to the British throne. This separate hereditary claim descends through the wife of Ludwig III and follows a different succession tradition from the Bavarian monarchy.

Franz has no children, making his brother Max the next potential successor. The presenter notes that Franz is openly gay and has never had children. If Franz dies before Max, Max would inherit the family's dynastic position.

Max has five daughters but no sons. This creates an important distinction between the family's British Jacobite claim and its former Bavarian royal succession.

Max's eldest daughter is the Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein. Under the Jacobite succession, Max's claim would eventually pass to her, connecting the Wittelsbach succession to Liechtenstein's ruling family.

The Bavarian succession traditionally excludes women. Because German royal houses generally followed strict male-line succession, Max's daughters would not inherit the Bavarian throne under the rules described by the presenter.

Prince Luitpold would follow Max in the Bavarian male-line succession. Luitpold is Max's second cousin through the male line and first cousin through a female line, giving the two men multiple family connections.

The Bavarian and Jacobite succession lines would therefore separate after Max. His eldest daughter would inherit the Jacobite claim, while Luitpold would become the next Bavarian dynastic successor under the male-only rule.

Saxony has a disputed succession rather than one universally accepted claimant. Unlike the other former German kingdoms discussed, two competing branches claim leadership of the former Saxon royal house.

Friedrich August III of the House of Wettin was the last King of Saxony. He lost his throne in 1918 and died in 1932, after which the family's leadership passed to his second son, Friedrich Christian.

The Saxon and Austrian ruling families were closely related. Friedrich August III's sister was the mother of Karl I, the last Austrian emperor, making their descendants relatives through the Wettin-Habsburg connection.

Queen Elizabeth II also descended from the House of Wettin. Her ancestry followed a different branch of the same wider dynasty, demonstrating the extensive family connections among European royal houses.

Saxony's former Crown Prince Georg gave up his expected dynastic position to become a Catholic priest. Although he was Friedrich August III's eldest son, his religious vocation left his younger brother Friedrich Christian to become head of the house.

Prince Georg fought in World War I and received the Iron Cross. He was wounded during the conflict and received the military decoration for his wartime service.

Georg had been engaged to a daughter of Crown Prince Albrecht of Württemberg. The proposed marriage would have connected the Saxon and Württemberg royal families, but he ended the engagement after Germany's defeat and his father's loss of the throne.

Georg entered religious life after abandoning his marriage plans. He first became a Franciscan and subsequently joined the Jesuits, choosing a clerical career over his former royal expectations.

Prince Georg openly opposed the Nazis and helped Jews facing persecution. According to the presenter, he assisted Jews seeking protection or escape during the Nazi period.

Georg died in 1943 under circumstances that generated suspicion. His death was officially ruled a swimming accident, but some questioned whether it had genuinely been accidental. The episode does not establish an alternative cause.

Georg's nephew Maria Emanuel also opposed the Nazis. At age 18, he was captured and sentenced to death because of his opposition. His sentence was later reduced, allowing him to survive World War II.

Maria Emanuel eventually became head of the House of Wettin and remained in that position until 2012. His leadership continued long after the abolition of the Saxon monarchy.

Maria Emanuel had no biological children and adopted his sister's son Alexander as his heir. The adoption was intended to preserve a dynastic successor despite Alexander's lack of direct male-line descent.

The original Saxon succession arrangement placed Albrecht before Alexander. Under the agreement described in the episode, Maria Emanuel's younger brother Albrecht would become head of the house first, with Alexander succeeding him afterward.

Alexander's claim conflicted with traditional male-line succession rules. Because he descended from the Wettin family through his mother, he would ordinarily have been ineligible under the dynasty's customary succession requirements.

Albrecht changed the succession plan after Maria Emanuel died. Once he became head of the house, he rejected the agreed transfer to Alexander and instead sought to preserve succession through a male-line descendant.

Albrecht designated his first cousin once removed, Rüdiger, as his heir. This decision created the central succession dispute between Alexander's adopted line and Rüdiger's male-line branch.

Rüdiger's death transferred his competing claim to his son Daniel. The presenter says Rüdiger had died the previous year, leaving Daniel as his successor within that branch of the Wettin family.

Alexander and Daniel are the two rival hypothetical kings of Saxony. Alexander claims through Maria Emanuel's adoption and the original succession agreement, while Daniel claims through the male-line arrangement established by Albrecht.

The presenter considers Alexander's claim stronger. Matt Baker explicitly favors Alexander in the dispute, although he acknowledges that the dynastic succession remains contested.

The Saxon royal family also possesses a historical claim to the Polish throne. Consequently, the dispute between Alexander and Daniel could theoretically apply to a restored Polish monarchy as well as Saxony.

Alexander married a Bavarian princess. The marriage illustrates how descendants of former European royal families continue to form connections with other dynasties despite no longer possessing official governing authority.

The Saxon royal heirs use the unofficial title Margrave of Meissen. The presenter explains that their ancestors held the title before becoming kings of Saxony, making it an older hereditary designation associated with the family.

The title Margrave of Meissen reflects Saxony's earlier position within the Holy Roman Empire. Before becoming kings, the family had been Electors of Saxony rather than Dukes of Saxony. With no Holy Roman Emperor remaining to elect, the descendants use their next-highest historical title, which is also their oldest.

Wilhelm II was the last King of Württemberg. Unlike some other German monarchs, he had no surviving sons and lacked sufficiently close male relatives to continue the succession directly through his immediate family.

Württemberg had already identified a distant successor before its monarchy ended. The throne was expected to pass to Wilhelm II's third cousin, Crown Prince Albrecht, under the family's succession arrangements.

The modern Württemberg claim descends from Crown Prince Albrecht. His descendants inherited leadership of the former royal house after the disappearance of the monarchy.

Duke Carl of Württemberg held the family's leadership until shortly before the episode. He was Crown Prince Albrecht's grandson and died the year before the recording.

Carl's eldest son Friedrich died in a car accident in 2018. Because Friedrich died before his father, he never succeeded Carl as head of the house.

Wilhelm became head of the House of Württemberg following Duke Carl's death. Wilhelm is Friedrich's son and Carl's grandson. He was 28 at the time of the episode and holds the unofficial title Duke of Württemberg.

Wilhelm is the presenter's hypothetical King of Württemberg. His succession illustrates how hereditary claims can pass across generations when an expected successor dies before the previous head of the dynasty.

King Charles III also descends from the Württemberg dynasty. His connection comes through a morganatic branch that ultimately joined the British royal family.

A Württemberg duke's marriage to a countess created the branch that produced the British royal connection. Because the countess was regarded as lower in dynastic rank, the marriage was considered morganatic.

The couple's son Francis received the title Duke of Teck. His descendants formed a branch through which the Württemberg dynasty became connected to the British monarchy.

Francis's daughter Mary of Teck became Queen Consort of the United Kingdom. She was the paternal grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II, establishing the line of descent connecting Württemberg to King Charles III.

Queen Camilla was crowned using a crown previously worn by Mary of Teck. The presenter identifies the historical connection as another example of former German royal families remaining represented within modern British royal traditions.

Hanover was absorbed by Prussia before the German Empire was established. Although the kingdom disappeared in 1866, the presenter includes its royal succession to identify who might rule if Hanover had remained independent and survived World War I.

George III of the United Kingdom was also the first King of Hanover. This initially placed the British and Hanoverian kingdoms in a personal union, with one monarch ruling both states.

The British and Hanoverian thrones separated when Queen Victoria inherited the British crown. British succession permitted Victoria to become queen, while Hanover's male-only succession rules prevented her from inheriting the German kingdom.

William IV's death produced different successors in Britain and Hanover. Victoria inherited the British throne, while William's younger brother Ernst August became King of Hanover.

Ernst August was succeeded by his son George V of Hanover. The presenter emphasizes that this George V must not be confused with the later British King George V.

George V was the last King of Hanover. Prussia conquered and annexed his kingdom during his reign, ending Hanover's independence.

An uninterrupted Hanoverian monarchy would have produced several kings named Ernst August. The presenter traces the hypothetical succession through Ernst August II, III, IV, and V.

Ernst August V is the presenter's hypothetical King of Hanover. He represents the surviving hereditary line of Hanover's former royal dynasty.

Ernst August V is also a descendant of the last German Kaiser. His paternal grandmother, Viktoria Luise, connects the Hanoverian royal family to Wilhelm II's Hohenzollern dynasty.

Germany had many more hereditary monarchies than its imperial and royal thrones. Immediately before the end of World War I, there were also six grand duchies, five duchies, and seven principalities among the German states.

These additional 18 monarchies had their own ruling families and hereditary successions. Their existence demonstrates that German monarchical history extended far beyond the six major dynasties examined in the episode.

Bernhard is identified as the current hereditary claimant to the former Grand Duchy of Baden. The presenter uses Baden as an example of the smaller German monarchies whose descendants continue to preserve historical dynastic identities.

Bernhard of Baden is King Charles III's first cousin once removed. Bernhard's paternal grandmother was a sister of Prince Philip, creating a direct family connection between the former ruling house of Baden and the modern British monarchy.

German royal families remain closely connected to Europe's surviving monarchies. The Saxon, Bavarian, Württemberg, Hanoverian, Austrian, and Baden examples show how centuries of dynastic marriages created family relationships that continue long after the German thrones disappeared.

Morganatic marriage is one of the most important distinctions in understanding these successions. A marriage considered unequal in dynastic rank could prevent children from inheriting titles or royal claims, as demonstrated by the Hohenzollern, Habsburg, and Württemberg families.

Male-only succession is another major reason hereditary claims follow unexpected branches. Bavaria, Saxony, and Hanover demonstrate how traditional rules could favor distant male relatives over daughters, sisters, or descendants through female lines.

Hereditary succession is not always determined simply by the eldest surviving child. Deaths, religious vocations, morganatic marriages, adoption, competing family agreements, and historical succession laws all affected who became head of the former royal houses.

The Saxon succession demonstrates how the abolition of monarchy can leave inheritance disputes unresolved. With no functioning royal institution to settle the matter, rival branches can preserve competing interpretations of their family's historical succession rules.

Former royal titles now function primarily as dynastic and historical designations. The individuals identified as hypothetical monarchs do not exercise the political powers associated with their ancestors' thrones, and their traditional titles do not constitute legally recognized nobility in Germany.

The episode identifies six principal hypothetical monarchs rather than one ruler for all German-speaking territories. They are Georg Friedrich for the German imperial and Prussian thrones, Karl von Habsburg for Austria, Franz for Bavaria, Alexander or Daniel for Saxony, Wilhelm for Württemberg, and Ernst August V for Hanover.

Restoring the former monarchies would require resolving historical questions beyond identifying living descendants. The competing claims in Saxony, different succession systems in Bavaria, and historical separation of Hanover, Austria, and the German Empire demonstrate why the surviving family trees do not automatically establish a single modern German monarchy.