Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia


Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia is a German businessman and member of the House of Hohenzollern, the former ruling German imperial house and royal house of Prussia. From 1976 to 1986 he was known as Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich of Russia. As a great-grandson of Wilhelm II, he is also a great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria and a fourth cousin of Charles, Prince of Wales.

Biography

Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia was born in Grünberg, Silesia, as the son of Prince Karl Franz of Prussia and his first wife Princess Henriette von Schönaich-Carolath. He had a twin brother, Prince Friedrich Christian, who died three weeks after his birth. Prince Franz Wilhelm is a grandson of Prince Joachim of Prussia, the youngest son of Emperor William II.
In 2002 Prince Franz Wilhelm with Theodor Tantzen founded the Prinz von Preussen development company, which restores old buildings in Germany. In 2004, with financing from a group of investors, he purchased the Royal Porcelain Manufacture Berlin, saving it from insolvency.

Personal life

Prince Franz Wilhelm married his third cousin once-removed, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, in a civil marriage at Dinard on 4 September 1976 and religiously on 22 September 1976 in Madrid. Before his marriage he converted to the Russian Orthodox faith and was created a Grand Duke of Russia with the name Mikhail Pavlovich by his father-in-law Grand Duke Vladimir of Russia. Prince Franz Wilhelm and Grand Duchess Maria had one son before divorcing in 1985, at which point he reverted to his previous title. He married Nadia Nour in 2019.

Titles and styles

In 1919 royalty and nobility were mandated to lose their privileges in Germany; thereafter hereditary titles were to be legally borne only as part of the surname, according to Article 109 of the Weimar Constitution. Styles such as majesty and highness were not retained.