Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand

Rupprecht was born in Munich as the eldest son of Ludwig III, the last King of Bavaria, and his wife Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este. He was a descendant of both Louis XIV of France and William the Conqueror. He received a traditional and conservative education from his tutors and at public schools. He also studied at the universities of Munich and Berlin and pursued a military career in the Bavarian Army. He married his cousin Duchess Marie Gabrielle in Bavaria in 1900 and they had six children, but only four survived infancy. His wife died in 1912 after a long illness. He remarried Princess Antonia of Luxembourg in 1921 and they had six more children. Rupprecht became the heir apparent to the Bavarian throne in 1886 when his grandfather Luitpold became the regent for his mentally ill cousins Ludwig II and Otto. He was a supporter of constitutional monarchy and federalism in Germany and opposed the Prussian-dominated unification under Wilhelm II. He was also a patron of art, science, and education and founded several cultural and academic institutions in Bavaria. During World War I, Rupprecht commanded the German Sixth Army on the Western Front from 1914 to 1916. He participated in the battles of Lorraine, the Marne, the Somme, and Ypres. He was promoted to field marshal in 1916 and given command of Army Group Rupprecht of Bavaria, which consisted of four armies. He fought against the British Expeditionary Force in the battles of Arras, Passchendaele, Cambrai, and Amiens. He was one of the few German generals who realized that the war was unwinnable for Germany and advocated for a negotiated peace. He also opposed the unrestricted submarine warfare and the use of poison gas. After the war, Rupprecht supported the establishment of the Weimar Republic and recognized it as the legitimate government of Germany. He renounced his claim to the Bavarian throne in 1918 but retained his royal titles and privileges. He lived in exile in Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, and France during the Nazi regime and refused to cooperate with Hitler. He returned to Bavaria in 1945 after the end of World War II. He died in 1955 at his residence in Leutstetten at the age of 86. He was buried at the Theatine Church in Munich alongside his wives and some of his children.