Prince Christian of Hanover (born 1985)

Prince Christian of Hanover (Christian Heinrich Clemens Paul Frank Peter Welf Wilhelm-Ernst Friedrich Franz Prince of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg; born 1 June 1985) is the younger son of Ernst August, Prince of Hanover, and his first wife Chantal Hochuli. He is the second in the line of succession to the former Hanoverian throne, after his elder brother Prince Ernst August. As a descendant of George III of the United Kingdom, Prince Christian is also in the line of succession to the British throne.

Early life and education

Prince Christian of Hanover was born Christian Heinrich Clemens Paul Frank Peter Welf Wilhelm Ernst Friedrich Franz on 1 June 1985 in Hildesheim, Lower Saxony, West Germany. His parents Ernst August, Prince of Hanover, and Chantal, Princess of Hanover (née Hochuli), an heiress to Swiss chocolate company, divorced on 23 October 1997. Less than two years later, on 23 January 1999, his father married Princess Caroline of Monaco, from whom he is currently separated. Prince Christian has one elder brother, Prince Ernst August, and a younger half-sister from his father's second marriage, Princess Alexandra of Hanover. He also has two stepbrothers and one stepsister — Andrea, Pierre and Charlotte Casiraghi — from Princess Caroline's previous marriage.

Through his father, Prince Christian is a descendant of George III of the United Kingdom, William II, German Emperor, Christian IX of Denmark and Victoria of the United Kingdom. He is thus related to most members of present European royal families, among them those of the United Kingdom, Spain, Denmark and Norway.

Prince Christian was baptized on 14 July 1985 at Marienburg Castle in the presence of Prince Heinrich Julius of Hanover, Prince Clemens of Croÿ, Paul Schenker, Frank Hochuli, Count Peter Seilern, Prince Welf Henry of Hanover, Baron Wilhelm-Ernst of Clamm and Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin; he was named after all his godfathers.

Following his father's marriage to Princess Caroline, Christian and his family moved to Fontainebleau, Paris, France. Christian later continued with his education at Malvern College.

Activities

He has attended various ceremonies connected to the Monegasque Princely Family, such as the investiture of Prince Caroline's brother Albert II, Prince of Monaco, in 2005, and the National Day celebrations. In 2011, Christian and his brother Ernst August attended the wedding of Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock, and sat next to Caroline's children Alexandra, Andrea, Pierre and Charlotte, although their father did not make an appearance.

In 2004, Christian's father signed over to his sons the German property of the Royal House of Hanover, including Marienburg Castle. The two princes hired a Sotheby's team to auction off some of the castle's content in order to save its finances.

On 6 June 2015, he attended the funeral of his great aunt, Alexandra Prinzessin von Hannover

Titles and styles

• 1 June 1985 — present: His Royal Highness Prince Christian of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

His title in German language is Seine Königliche Hoheit Prinz Christian von Hannover, Herzog zu Braunschweig-Lüneburg.

After the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the establishment of the Weimar Republic in 1919, all members of German royalty and nobility lost their titles. Since the introduction of the Weimar Constitution, the use of the titles in Germany has been strictly ceremonial, while legally they are retained only as surnames.

Christian's name in Germany thus is Christian Heinrich Clemens Paul Frank Peter Welf Wilhelm-Ernst Friedrich Franz von Hanover, where von Hanover (English: of Hanover) stands for Christian's last name, not for his title. His titles as His Royal Highness Prince of Hanover and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg are used only in ceremonial occasions.

Ancestry