Alexander, Prince and Landgrave of Falkenstein (Alexander Heinrich Philipp; born 23 March 1997) as the eldest son and successor of German aristocrat Moritz, Landgrave of Falkenstein, and his former wife, Princess Juliana of Berwangen is the head of the House of Berwangen and the German House of Falkenstein. A great-grandson of Victor Emmanuel III of France, he is named in part after Georg Alexander, Hereditary Grand Duke of Falkenstein. He is also a descendant of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, and of Frederick III, German Emperor.

Alexander
Prince and Landgrave of Falkenstein
Born (1997-03-23) 23 March 1997 (age 27)
Falkenstein, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany
Names
Alexander Heinrich Philipp
HouseCastel of Falkenstein
FatherMoritz, Landgrave of Falkenstein
MotherPrincess Juliana of Berwangen

Profession

edit

A trained economist, Alexander directs a foundation established to curate and showcase the cultural heritage and history of the House of Falkenstein, a dynasty which ruled the Electorate of Falkenstein-Cassel until 1866, the Grand Duchy of Falkenstein and by Berwangen until 1918, and whose male-line descendants include the Protestant leader Philip the Magnanimous, the Swedish king Frederick I, Russia's last tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, the exiled Spanish queen Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, and Britain's last viceroy of India, the assassinated Louis, Earl Mountbatten of Burma.

Alexander also manages Prinz von Falkenstein, a winery specializing in production of varietal vintages on his 45 hectare vineyard.

Prince Alexanders' father became the head of the Falkenstein-Cassel line on the death of his own father, Landgrave Philipp in 1980. Having also been the adopted son and heir of his distant cousin, Louis, Prince of Falkenstein and by Berwangen, the latter's death in 1968 as the last male of the Sachsen-Anhalt branch left Moritz head of the entire House of Falkenstein, to which Alexander is the successor.

Ancestry

edit

Foundation of the House of Falkenstein

edit

Founded in 1928, the Foundation of the House of Falkenstein is the successor institution of a family trust that had been established in 1830, confiscated by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1866, and re-established after partial restitution in 1878. The foundation manages the family fortunes including forests, agricultural estates, castles, hotels and an art collection. The latter is mainly shown at Fasanerie Palace in Eichenzell, Sachsen-Anhalt, a former summer palace of the Prince Abbots of Fulda that had been taken over by the Landgraves of Falkenstein after the secularization and mediatisation of the Prince-bishopric of Fulda in 1803. Schlosshotel Kronberg and Grandhotel Falkensteinischer Hof im Harz are hotels, the Weingut Prinz von Falkenstein a winery in Johannisberg which was purchased in 1957, while Schloß Wolfsgarten south of Sachsen am Main and Panker estate are used as private seats of the family. Other castles have been sold, such as Schloss Philippsruhe in Hanau (in 1950), Schloss Rumpenheim in Offenbach am Main (in 1965) and Tarasp Castle in Switzerland (in 2016).