page_title: Prince Karl Franz of Prussia
section_title: Early life
hierarchical_section_title: Prince Karl Franz of Prussia / Early life
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Ansichtskarte von Marie Auguste von Anhalt (Gemahlin von de:Joachim von Preußen) mit Sohn de:Karl Franz Joseph von Preußen.
context_page_description: Prince Karl Franz of Prussia was the only child of Prince Joachim of Prussia and his wife Princess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt. He was also the grandson of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, himself a grandson of Queen Victoria, which made Prince Karl a great-great-grandson of the British Queen.
context_section_description: Prince Karl Franz was born on 15 December 1916 in Potsdam. He was the only child born to Prince Joachim of Prussia by his wife Princess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt. Karl Franz was the Emperor's fourth grandchild to be born since World War I began; he was consequently very young when Hohenzollern fortunes fell. His grandfather abdicated in 1918, and his father Prince Joachim committed suicide in 1920. At the time of his grandfather's abdication, Prince Karl Franz was twelfth in line of succession to the German and Prussian thrones.
  After his father's suicide, Karl Franz was taken into custody by his paternal uncle Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia. As the legal head of the House of Hohenzollern, he claimed this right because Emperor Wilhelm had issued an edict placing Hohenzollern powers in Eitel's hands. This was later declared to have been illegal, and his mother was given full custody of him in 1921. She was given this right despite the fact that she had run away from her husband and that there had been numerous servants testifying against her. Eitel's defence had also stated that Marie-Auguste was not a fit person for Karl Franz's guardianship. Marie-Auguste went to court however and made a plea that she was heartbroken, which may have helped win the case for her.
  In 1922, Marie-Auguste sued ex-Emperor Wilhelm for financial support that had been promised in her and Joachim's marriage contract. Wilhelm's attorney argued that the House of Hohenzollern laws were no longer valid, and therefore there was no obligation to support her.
  In 1926, his mother remarried to Johannes-Michael, Baron von Loën. They were divorced in 1935.
  In World War II, Karl Franz served as a lieutenant in an armoured car division, and at one point was stationed on the Polish front. He was awarded the Iron Cross.
caption: Karl Franz as a child with his mother Marie-Auguste of Anhalt.
exif: {}