Karl-Theodor
Duke in Bavaria
Born(1839-08-09)9 August 1839
Possenhofen Castle, Bavaria
Died30 November 1909(1909-11-30) (aged 70)
Kreuth, Germany
Burial
Schloss Tegernsee, Germany
SpousePrincess Sophie of Saxony
Infanta Maria Josepha of Portugal
IssueAmalie, Duchess of Urach, Queen of Lithuania
Sophie, Countess zu Törring-Jettenbach
Elisabeth, Queen of Belgium
Marie Gabrielle, Princess of Bavaria
Duke Ludwig Wilhelm in Bavaria
Duke Franz Joseph in Bavaria
HouseWittelsbach
FatherDuke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria
MotherPrincess Ludovika of Bavaria

Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria (9 August 1839 – 30 November 1909), was a member of the House of Wittelsbach and a professional oculist. He was the favorite brother of the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, and father of Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians.

Life

Karl Theodor, Duke in Bavaria, with his sister Elisabeth at 11 years old, and their dog "Bummerl", at Possenhofen Castle

Karl-Theodor was born at Possenhofen Castle, the third son of Duke Maximilian in Bavaria and of his wife, Princess Ludovika of Bavaria.

At the age of fourteen Karl-Theodor joined the Bavarian Army. In 1866 he fought in the Austro-Prussian War. When he left active duty, he became a student at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, where he studied philosophy, law, economics, and medicine. Among his teachers were the chemist Justus von Liebig, the pathologist Ludwig von Buhl, and the physicist Philipp von Jolly.

In 1870 Karl-Theodor's studies were interrupted by the Franco-Prussian War in which he served as a proprietary colonel of the 3rd Bavarian Light Horse. After the war he returned to his studies. In 1872 he was named an honorary Doctor of Medicine by the Ludwig Maximilian University; the following year he completed the requirements for the degree. Then he studied ophthalmology under Professor Deutschland and continued his education under Professor Arlt in Vienna and Professor Horner in Zürich.

In 1877 Karl-Theodor began practicing medicine in Mentone on the Côte d'Azur, often assisted by his wife Maria Josepha. In 1880 he opened an eye-clinic in his castle at Tegernsee. In 1895 he founded the Augenklinik Herzog Carl Theodor (English: Duke Charles Theodore Eye Clinic) in Munich; the clinic in the Nymphenburger Strasse remains one of the most respected eye clinics in Bavaria to the present day. Between 1895 and 1909 Carl Theodor personally carried out more than 5,000 cataract operations as well as treating countless other eye disorders.

Marriages and family

Karl-Theodor and his second wife, Infanta Maria Josepha of Portugal, 1890

On 11 February 1865, at Dresden, Karl-Theodor married his first cousin Princess Sophie of Saxony (1845–1867), daughter of King John of Saxony and his maternal aunt Princess Amalie Auguste of Bavaria. They had one child:

On 29 April 1874, at Kleinheubach, Karl-Theodor married Infanta Maria Josepha of Portugal (1857–1943), daughter of exiled King Miguel I of Portugal and Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, and had issue:

Prince Karl Theodor died from kidney trouble at Bayreuth on 30 November 1909.[1]

Honours

Karl-Theodor received a number of honours:[2]

He was honorary doctor of the University of Louvain, honorary colonel of the 5th Regiment of Prussian Dragoons, and an honorary member of the Academy of Medical Sciences in Brussels.

Karl-Theodor died at Kreuth in 1909. He is buried in the family crypt in Schloss Tegernsee.

Ancestry

Bibliography

  • Sexau, Richard. Fürst und Arzt, Dr. med. Herzog Carl Theodor in Bayern: Shicksal zwischen Wittelsbach und Habsburg. Graz: Verlag Styria, 1963.
  • Trevor-Roper, Patrick Dacre. "The Royal Oculist". British Journal of Ophthalmology 43 (1959): 1–2.

References

  1. ↑ "DUKE KARL THEODOR DEAD.; Head of Ducal Line of Bavarian House Was a Famous Eye Specialist". The New York Times. 1 December 1909. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  2. ↑ Hof- und - Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern (1908), "Landtag des Königreiches: Mitglieder der Kammer der Reichsräte". p. 157
  3. ↑ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1896) Großherzogliche Orden p. 62, Großherzogliche Orden p.76
  4. ↑ Boettger, T. F. "Chevaliers de la Toisón d'Or - Knights of the Golden Fleece". La Confrérie Amicale. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  5. ↑ Albert I;Museum Dynasticum N° .21: 2009/ n° 2.
  6. ↑ "Schwarzer Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (supp.) (in German), vol. 1, Berlin, 1886, p. 5 – via hathitrust.org{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ↑ Staatshandbuch für den Freistaat Sachsen: 1873. Heinrich. 1873. pp. 4, 33.
  8. ↑ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1907), "Königliche Orden" p. 29
  9. ↑ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen (1879), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" p. 11
  10. ↑ Journal de Monaco
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