Prince Paul of Thurn and Taxis | |||||
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Prince of Thurn and Taxis, created Herr von Fels by King Ludwig II on 19 June 1868 | |||||
Born |
Regensburg, Kingdom of Bavaria |
27 May 1843||||
Died | 10 March 1879 Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, France |
(aged 35)||||
Burial | Cannes, France, Cimetière du Grand Jas, Allée du Silence no. 33 | ||||
Spouse | Elise Kreuzer (marriage on 7 June 1868 in Astheim, Germany) | ||||
Issue | Heinrich von Fels (born on 30 June 1867, date of death unknown) | ||||
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House | Thurn and Taxis | ||||
Father | Maximilian Karl, 6th Prince of Thurn and Taxis | ||||
Mother | Princess Mathilde Sophie of Oettingen-Oettingen and Oettingen-Spielberg | ||||
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Full name | |
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German: Paul Maximilian Lamoral |
Paul Maximilian Lamoral, Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full German name: Paul Maximilian Lamoral Fürst von Thurn und Taxis; 27 May 1843, Castle Donaustauf near Regensburg – 10 March 1879 Cannes, France), was the third child of Maximilian Karl, 6th Prince of Thurn and Taxis and his second wife Princess Mathilde Sophie of Oettingen-Oettingen and Oettingen-Spielberg. He was buried in Cannes, at the Cimetière du Grand Jas, Allée du Silence no. 33 under the name of Paul de Fels.
At the request of his father to King Maximilian II of Bavaria, he was appointed on 15 November 1861 as junior lieutenant in the 2nd Bavarian artillery regiment (military registry no. KA OP 69 547) and was assigned as orderly officer of then Crown Prince Ludwig on 1 May 1863. Ludwig and Paul became close friends after spending three weeks together in Berchtesgaden in September 1863. After Ludwig’s accession to the throne in 1864, Paul was promoted to personal aide-de-camp of the king on 18 January 1865. In the following two years, Paul von Thurn und Taxis, who matched the king in his good looks, became the closest friend and confidant of the monarch, who gave him the nickname Faithful Friedrich:
“Let me assure you that I shall always foster with the same sincerity the feelings of gratefulness and faithful love which I bear for you in my heart. Remember with love, your faithful Ludwig” (Letter of Ludwig II to Paul).
Although this infatuation, like that with Richard Wagner, was probably not sexually expressed, there were rumours in Munich that Ludwig was sexually intimate with his aide-de-camp.
Paul appears to have kept a diary, but like everything else concerning him in the Regensburg archives of the Thurn und Taxis family, it has been destroyed. Following letter was sent by Paul to Ludwig from his apartment at Türkenstrasse 82 in Munich on 5 May 1866: