Luitpold Prinz von Bayern

Luitpold was born at Schloß Leutstetten near Starnberg, in Bavaria. He is the only surviving child of Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (1913–2008) and his wife Princess Irmingard of Bavaria (1923–2010).^[1]

On 25 June 1979, Luitpold married Katrin Beatrix Wiegand (born 19 September 1951 in Munich), daughter of Gerd Wiegand (1922 in Cottbus – 1994 in Munich), architect, and first wife Ellen Schumacher.^[1][3][4] Initially the union was considered morganatic, but on 3 March 1999, the marriage was declared retroactively to be dynastic on the condition their children contracted dynastic marriages.^[1] The couple had five children.^[1]

The eldest son is Ludwig Prinz von Bayern (b. 1982), the next heir presumptive to the headship of the House of Wittelsbach after his father. He is involved in development aid in Kenya, where he established the “Learning Lions” project, a campus where up to 250 students live and learn, with the Nymphenburg Aid Association, a family-run aid organization dating back to the 1950s.^[5] Ludwig and his wife Sophie Alexandra Evekink (b. 1989) have a son, Rupprecht (b. 2024).^[6] Luitpold's eldest daughter Auguste [de] (b. 1979), married to Ferdinand Prince of Lippe-Weissenfeld, is a biologist and conducts research on birds at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence.^[7][8] Her next younger sister Alice (b. 1981), married to Lukas (Prince of) Auersperg, also conducts research in the same field for the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna.

Luitpold is the proprietor and former CEO of a brewery located at Kaltenberg Castle (König Ludwig GmbH & Co. KG Schlossbrauerei Kaltenberg) which was founded in 1871, purchased by his mother in 1955, and largely extended by him. He also purchased Marthabräu brewery at Fürstenfeldbruck in 1980, where his wheat beer is produced.^[9] The breweries are now chaired by employed managers. Luitpold also founded the annual jousting tournament Kaltenberger Ritterturnier at Kaltenberg, previously managed by his wife. The second son, Heinrich Rudolf (b. 1986), and his wife now run the event sector, including the event catering.^[10]

In 2011 he purchased the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory, founded in 1745 by Maximilian III Joseph, Prince-Elector of Bavaria.^[11] He converted the cavalier house on the northern roundabouts of Nymphenburg Palace that previously housed the manufactory's administration (production takes place in buildings at the rear), into a luxury holiday home in 2025, available for daily rental, under the name Nymphenburg Palace Royal Residence. It is managed by Kempinski Hotels.^[12] A collection of over 1,000 handcrafted porcelain exhibits from 1747 onwards, are on display on the first floor of the former court stables houses in the south wing of the palace itself.^[13]

Luitpold owns the Bavarian castles of Leutstetten (a district of Starnberg), previously the residence of his parents, and Kaltenberg, where he lived for the longest time and raised his children.^[1] In 2024, he vacated them for his sons and moved into Bullachberg Castle^[14] as a tenant − a property the family-run Wittelsbach Compensation Fund^[15] had acquired that same year to expand its holdings surrounding Hohenschwangau Castle.^[16]

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  Leutstetten Castle
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  Kaltenberg Castle
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  Bullachberg Castle