Today marks the fifth anniversary of the death of Prince Andreas of Hohenlohe Langeburg. Belonging to one of the oldest German princely houses, the prince was linked by close family ties to the British royal family: his mother, Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark, was, in fact, the elder sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Born on November 24, 1938, in Schwäbisch Hall, Baden-Württemberg, Georg Andreas Heinrich was the third child and second son of Gottfried, 8th Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, and Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark. Andreas had an older brother, Kraft, who in 1960 succeeded their father as the 9th Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, and an older sister, Princess Beatrix. The family also included younger twins, Princes Rupprecht and Albrecht.
His life unfolded against the backdrop of a dense network of dynastic ties that linked German princely families to the royal houses of Greece, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. His paternal grandparents were Ernst II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, and Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha—daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, and granddaughter of Queen Victoria. On his maternal side, his grandparents were Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark—son of King George I of Greece and grandson of King Christian IX of Denmark—and Princess Alice of Battenberg, daughter of Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine and a great-granddaughter of the British sovereign. Among his first cousins—in addition to King Charles III and his siblings—we can mention: Princess Christina of Hesse and Yugoslavia, Princess Dorothea of Windisch-Graetz, Prince Karl of Hesse, Princess Margarita of Baden and Yugoslavia, and Margrave Maximilian of Baden.
Among the events that attest to the ties between the House of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and the royal houses of Europe are the famous “Cruises of the Kings,” organized by Queen Frederica of Greece in the 1950s. The first took place in 1954 aboard the *Agamemnon*, bringing together numerous sovereigns, princes, and princesses from across Europe. Two years later, in August 1956, Queen Frederica organized a second cruise—this time aboard the steamship *Achilleus*—through the waters of the Ionian Islands. Among the guests were the Prince and Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, accompanied by their children: Kraft, Andreas, and Beatrix. Prince Andreas also attended the Wedding Ball of Prince Juan Carlos of Spain and Princess Sophia of Greece in 1962.
One of the most significant events in the recent history of Schloss Langenburg was the visit of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in May 1965, during the sovereign’s official trip to West Germany. Among the family members present was Prince Andreas, along with other members of the family. The castle still bore the marks of a serious fire that had occurred in 1963, which had caused extensive damage to the building. Although the reconstruction work was not yet fully complete, the family hosted a reception in the restored Baroque hall, followed by a private dinner.
The visit concluded with the departure of the Queen and Prince Philip from the Langenburg railway station, as they were bid farewell in an evocative atmosphere, illuminated by torchlight.
On September 9, 1968, Prince Andreas married Princess Luise of Schönburg-Waldenburg, daughter of Prince Georg Ulrich of Schönburg-Waldenburg and Countess Pauline of Castell-Castell. Luise was the youngest of four sisters. Two of the older sisters had, through their respective marriages, forged ties with other families of the aristocracy and European dynasties. Princess Stephanie, married Count Ludwig von Waldburg zu Wolfegg und Waldsee in 1960. Princess Anna-Amalie married Archduke Franz Salvator of Austria, Prince of Tuscany, in 1962. Her life, however, was tragically short: she died in 1966, at the age of just thirty, following a car accident in Austria.
Prince Andreas and Luise had two daughters: Princess Katharina, born in 1972, and Princess Tatjana, born in 1975. Katharina married Prince Nikolaus of Waldeck and Pyrmont in 2002. The couple had two daughters. Tatjana married Hubertus Stephan in 2010 and they had two children. Hubertus died in 2018.
Prince Andreas died on October 28, 2021, at the age of 82. His passing occurred just a few months after that of his maternal uncle, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who died on April 9 of the same year. The bond between the two families returned to the spotlight on March 29, 2022, when a memorial service in honor of the Duke of Edinburgh was held at Westminster Abbey in London. The ceremony brought together members of the British Royal Family and representatives from various European royal houses, who gathered to commemorate the life and public service of Prince Philip. Also present at the memorial were Prince Andreas’s daughters, Princesses Katharina and Tatjana, representing their late father.
Thank You to Antonio Orefice for sharing this article with us!
