Michael | |||||
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Prince of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach | |||||
Head of the House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach | |||||
Tenure | 14 October 1988 - present | ||||
Predecessor | Hereditary Grand Duke Charles Augustus | ||||
Heir-Presumptive | Prince Wilhelm Ernst | ||||
Born |
Bamberg, Germany |
15 November 1946 ||||
Spouse | Renate Henkel Dagmar Hennings |
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Issue | Princess Leonie | ||||
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House | House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach | ||||
Father | Charles Augustus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach | ||||
Mother | Baroness Elisabeth of Wangenheim-Winterstein | ||||
Religion | Lutheranism |
Full name | |
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Michael Benedikt Georg Jobst Carl Alexander Bernhard Claus Friedrich |
Extended family
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Michael, Prince of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (German: Michael Prinz von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) (born 15 November 1946) is the current head of the Grand Ducal House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, as well as the most senior agnate of the entire House of Wettin.
Prince Michael was born in Bamberg, Bavaria, the only son of Hereditary Grand Duke Charles Augustus of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Baroness Elisabeth of Wangenheim-Winterstein (1912–2010). Among his godparents were Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and the Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia imposter, Anna Anderson, who was living with his aunt Princess Luise of Saxe-Meiningen.
When his father died in 1988, Michael succeeded as Head of the House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. In 1991 he inherited the leadership in the House of Saxe-Altenburg, as that line went extinct and since 2012 he regards the Albertine royal Saxon line to also be extinct.
In 2004 he withdrew his claim for restitution of numerous properties, archives (partly including those of Schiller and Goethe) as well as priceless artwork in a settlement with the Free State of Thuringia and acquired some forest estates in exchange.
Michael is in the line of succession to the British throne, being a great5-grandson of Princess Augusta, eldest sister of King George III. As he has no sons, the current heir to the headship of the grand ducal house is his cousin Prince Wilhelm Ernst (b. 1946), followed by Wilhelm Ernst's son Prince Constantin (b. 1977).