Prince Franz of Bavaria

Franz was born at Schloss Leutstetten, Starnberg, Bavaria. He was the third son of King Ludwig III of Bavaria and his wife Archduchess Maria Theresia of Austria-Este. Initially, Franz served as a commander of the 2. Infanterie-Regiments König, but shortly before the outbreak of World War I, he was given command of the 3. bayerische Infanteriebrigade, which was later renamed and became the 4. Infanterie-Brigade. Prince Franz led this brigade through its victories at Fort Douaumont, Passchendaele and Kemmelberg.

For his exemplary leadership during these operations he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Max Joseph on 25 May 1916 and on 28 October 1916 was given command of the entire 4. Bayerische Infanterie-Division. In Spring 1918, Prince Franz was also awarded the Commander's Cross of the Military Order of Max Joseph and the prestigious Pour le Mérite, Prussia's highest military decoration, on 16 May 1918. However, during the summer 1918, the 4. Bayerische Infanterie-Division suffered severe loses during the Battle of the Somme and was transferred to Italian Front on border protection duties, where he stayed for the remainder of the war.

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On 12 July 1912, Prince Franz married Princess Isabella Antonie of Croÿ, daughter of Duke Karl Alfred of Croÿ and Princess Ludmilla of Arenberg. The wedding took place at the Schloss Weilburg in Baden near Vienna, Austria-Hungary. They had six children:

• Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (1913–2008); married Princess Irmingard of Bavaria (1923–2010).
• Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria (1914–2011); married Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza (1909–1981).
• Princess Adelgunde Maria of Bavaria (1917–2004); married Baron Zdenko von Hoenning-O'Carroll (1906–1996).
• Princess Eleonore Marie of Bavaria (1918–2009); married Count Konstantin of Waldburg-Zeil (1909–1972).
• Princess Dorothea Therese of Bavaria (1920–2015); married Archduke Gottfried of Austria (1902–1984).
• Prince Rasso Maximilian Rupprecht of Bavaria (1926–2011); married Archduchess Theresa of Austria (b. 1931).

Prince Franz of Bavaria died on 25 January 1957 at Schloss Leutstetten in Starnberg, Bavaria and is buried in the Colombarium in the Michaelskirche in Munich, Bavaria.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}

Bavaria

• Order of St. Hubertus
• Military Order of Max Joseph, Knight's Cross (1916) and Commander's Cross (1918)
• Military Merit Order, Star to 2nd Class with Swords
• Military Merit Order, 2nd Class with Swords
• Military Merit Order, 3rd Class with Crown
• Jubilee Medal
• Service Distinction Cross 2nd Class, for 25 years' service

Prussia

• Order of the Black Eagle
• 1914 Iron Cross 1st Class
• 1914 Iron Cross 2nd Class
• 1918 Wound Badge in Black
• Pour le Mérite
• Order of the Crown, 2nd Class with Star with Swords
• Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Honor Cross 1st Class with Swords
• Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Honor Cross 1st Class

Other German states

• Baden: House Order of Fidelity
• Brunswick: War Merit Cross, 2nd. Class
• Hesse-Darmstadt: Ludewig Order
• Lippe-Detmold: War Honor Cross for Heroic Deeds
• Saxony: Order of the Rue Crown
• Duchies of Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Saxe-Meiningen: Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order, Grand Cross
• Württemberg: Order of the Württemberg Crown, Grand Cross

Other countries

• Austria-Hungary: Order of the Golden Fleece
• Austria-Hungary: Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, Grand Cross
• Austria-Hungary: Military Merit Cross, 2nd Class with War Decoration
• Ottoman Empire: Imtiaz Medal in Gold with Swords
• Ottoman Empire: Turkish War Medal (so-called "Gallipoli Star")
• Ottoman Empire: Order of Osminieh, 1st Class

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|1= 1. Prince Franz of Bavaria

|2= 2. Ludwig III of Bavaria

|3= 3. Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este

|4= 4. Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria

|5= 5. Archduchess Auguste Ferdinande of Austria

|6= 6. Archduke Ferdinand Karl Viktor of Austria-Este

|7= 7. Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria

|8= 8. Ludwig I of Bavaria

|9= 9. Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen

|10= 10. Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany

|11= 11. Princess Maria Anna of Saxony

|12= 12. Francis IV, Duke of Modena

|13= 13. Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy

|14= 14. Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary

|15= 15. Duchess Maria Dorothea of Württemberg

|16= 16. Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria

|17= 17. Princess Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt

|18= 18. Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg

|19= 19. Duchess Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

|20= 20. Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany

|21= 21. Princess Luisa of Naples and Sicily

|22= 22. Maximilian, Hereditary Prince of Saxony

|23= 23. Princess Carolina of Parma

|24= 24. Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Este

|25= 25. Maria Beatrice d'Este, Duchess of Massa

|26= 26. Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia

|27= 27. Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este

|28= 28. Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor

|29= 29. Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain

|30= 30. Duke Louis of Württemberg

|31= 31. Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg

}}

{{Reflist}}

• Das Bayernbuch vom Kriege 1914-1918, Konrad Krafft von Dellmensingen, Friedrichfranz Feeser, Chr. Belser AG, Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1930
• Die Wittelsbacher. Geschichte unserer Familie. Adalbert, Prinz von Bayern. Prestel Verlag, München, 1979

{{Bavarian princes}}

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Category:1875 births

Category:1957 deaths

Category:People from Starnberg

Category:Bavarian generals

Category:Military personnel from the Kingdom of Bavaria

Category:Princes of Bavaria

Category:House of Wittelsbach

Category:Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria

Category:Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)

Category:Commanders of the Military Order of Max Joseph

Category:Members of the Bavarian Reichsrat

Category:Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class

Category:Recipients of the Gold Imtiyaz Medal

Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary

Category:Burials at St. Michael's Church, Munich

Category:Sons of kings