Ladies and gentlemen meet Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Herzog von Bayern Duke of Bavaria born 1933 He is also the current senior co-heir-general of Charles I, King of England and Scotland, and thus is considered by Jacobites to be the heir of the House of Stuart and the rightful ruler of England and Scotland, though he himself does not advance the claim.
he is descended from Henrietta Anne, Duchess of Orléans
1644-1670
daughter of Charles I. He is also a great-grandson of the last King of Bavaria, Ludwig III, who was deposed in 1918.
His royal highness Ludwig III of Bavaria 1845-1921
The Wittelsbachs continue to be held in high esteem in Bavaria. Under German law their titles are only recognised legally as a part of their surnames. Franz is a Senator of the University of Munich and an Honorary Member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and holds many honorary positions in civic and religious organisations in Bavaria.
Franz is the heir-general of the Royal House of Stuart and thus is regarded by Jacobites as the rightful King of England and Scotland. Jacobites refer to him as King Francis II of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, though he himself does not use these titles.
His royal highness the duke of Bavaria
Franz is also, according to the provisions of 1843 Greek Constitution, the heir of the deposed king Otto of Greece, his late great-great-granduncle who died in 1867. Otto had always declined to convert to the Orthodox creed, but it was intended that his successors should be Orthodox. Also, the reign of Franz' great-grandfather Louis III in Bavaria (1913-18), a kingdom other than Greece, may have impeded the theoretical Greek succession, since the Greek Constitution forbade the sovereign to be ruler of another country. Theoretically, it is possible in 1913, that the rights to the throne of Greece would have devolved to Prince Leopold of Bavaria, next brother of King Louis, and son-in-law of the Empress Elisabeth (Sisi) of Austria.
He is current Grand Master of the Royal Order of Saint George for the Defense of the Immaculate Conception.
Franz has never married and on his death his position as head of the House of Wittelsbach will pass to his brother Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria, (that is Duke "in", not "of", Bavaria). Because Max has no sons, the Bavarian titles will pass after his death to a cousin, Prince Luitpold of Bavaria or Luitpold's son, Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, and his descendants, while the position of heir of the House of Stuart will pass to Max's daughter Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein.
