| Franz von Bayern | |
|---|---|
 Franz in 2023 | |
| Head of the House of Wittelsbach | |
| Tenure | 8 July 1996 – present |
| Predecessor | Albrecht |
| Heir presumptive | Max-Emanuel |
| Born | Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Prinz von Bayern 14 July 1933 Munich, Germany |
| House | Wittelsbach |
| Father | Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria |
| Mother | Countess Maria Draskovich of Trakostjan |
| Religion | Catholicism |
Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Herzog von Bayern (born 14 July 1933), commonly known by the courtesy title Duke of Bavaria, is the head of the House of Wittelsbach, the former ruling family of the Kingdom of Bavaria. His great-grandfather King Ludwig III was the last ruling monarch of Bavaria, being deposed in 1918.
Franz was born in Munich. During the Second World War, the Wittelsbachs were anti-Nazi.[1] The family initially left Nazi Germany for the Kingdom of Hungary but were eventually arrested following Operation Panzerfaust in 1944. Franz, who was only 11 at the time, spent time in several Nazi concentration camps, including Sachsenhausen, then Flossenbürg and finally Dachau.[1]
After the war, Franz was a student at the University of Munich and became a collector of modern art. Franz succeeded as head of the House of Wittelsbach, and as pretender to the Bavarian throne, on the death of his father in 1996. He lives at Nymphenburg Palace in Munich and Berg Palace.[2]
- ^ a b Cowell, Alan (11 July 1996). "Duke Albrecht Is Dead at 91; Pretender to Bavarian Throne". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
- ^ "The blue-blooded Bavarian Duke". www.thelocal.de. The Local. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2020.