by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021
Berthold, Margrave of Baden was the Head of the House of Zähringen and Pretender to the former Grand Ducal throne of Baden from 1929 until his death in 1963.
Prince Berthold Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst August Heinrich Karl of Baden was born in Karlsruhe, Germany on February 24, 1906. He was the only son of Prince Maximilian of Baden, Margrave of Baden and Princess Marie Luise of Hanover. Berthold had one older sister:
- Princess Marie Alexandra of Baden (1902) – married Prince Wolfgang of Hesse, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, no issue
Berthold, his wife and two elder children, c1936. source: private collection
On August 17, 1931 in Baden-Baden, Berthold married Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark, the second daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg (as well as the elder sister of Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh). The couple were second cousins through their mutual great-grandfather, King Christian IX of Denmark. Berthold and Theodora had three children:
- Princess Margarita of Baden (1932) – married Prince Tomislav of Yugoslavia, had issue
- Prince Maximilian, Margrave of Baden (1933) – married Archduchess Valerie of Austria, had issue
- Prince Ludwig of Baden (1937) – married Princess Marianne of Auersperg-Breunner, had issue
The last reigning Grand Duke of Baden, Friedrich II, had no children. Although the Headship of the House would pass to Berthold’s father Max, the Grand Duke’s assets would not. As part of an agreement following the end of the monarchy, Friedrich’s assets and estates would pass to the Republic of Baden if he had no legal children. To avoid this from happening, Friedrich and his wife, Hilda, legally adopted Berthold in August 1927. When Friedrich died the following year, his father became Head of the House, but it was Berthold who actually inherited all of the family’s assets.
Berthold, Margrave of Baden died suddenly on October 27, 1963 in Spaichingen, Germany, from an apparent heart attack. He is buried in the Mimmenhausen Cemetery in Salem, along with his wife, his parents, and his daughter.
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Baden Resources at Unofficial Royalty
- Grand Duchy of Baden Index
- Profiles: Grand Dukes and Consorts of Baden
- Baden Royal Burial Sites
- Baden Royal Dates
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