Prince Hubertus of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Hubertus, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Dietmar Hubertus Friedrich Wilhelm Philipp; 24 August 1909 – 26 November 1943) was a German courier pilot and a member of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, which reigned over the eponymous duchy in the German Empire. Born a prince of Great Britain and Ireland as the great-grandson of Queen Victoria, Hubertus lost this title during the First World War. He became Hereditary Prince as heir apparent to the headship of his house in 1932, and he never married. Hubertus joined the Nazi Party upon the outbreak of the Second World War despite his opposition to Adolf Hitler and Nazism. He served in the German Army on the Eastern Front until he was killed in action. He is the maternal uncle of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

Little is known about the career of Prince Hubertus. He received a private education before enrolling at the Gymnasium Casimirianum in Coburg. He then studied law. According to Harald Sandner, biographer of Duke Charles Edward, it became evident during the studies that Prince Hubertus was homosexual, but his sexual orientation remained secret.

When his brother Hereditary Johann Leopold renounced his succession rights in order to marry a commoner in 1932, Hubertus became the new heir apparent to the defunct throne of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The same year, Hubertus attended the wedding of his sister Sibylla and Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten, staying close to the bride during the ceremony. Hubertus himself was not willing to marry.

The father of Prince Hubertus, Duke Charles Edward, was an ardent supporter of Adolf Hitler. The entire family enthusiastically welcomed the rise of German nationalism. Soon, however, Hubertus and his mother, Duchess Victoria Adelaide, grew to despise the rising Nazi Party. After witnessing the torture of Jews, Prince Hubertus was forbidden to discuss it at home. The Second World War broke out in September 1939, and all of Charles Edward's sons were enlisted in the German Army (Wehrmacht). Prince Hubertus formally became a member of the Nazi Party on 19 October 1939,[5] but remained opposed to Hitler for the rest of his life. In 1940, Hitler issued the Prinzenerlass, a decree prohibiting members of Germany's formerly reigning families from actively serving in the Wehrmacht, fearing that this would increase the public's sympathy for the deposed dynasties and threaten his grip on power. Such was Charles Edward's loyalty to Hitler, however, that the decree did not apply to the Duke's sons. During the war it was even reported that Hitler considered making Hubertus his Gauleiter for the United Kingdom.

Prince Hubertus was an accomplished aviator. Serving in the Luftwaffe as a courier pilot in the Eastern Front, Hubertus obtained the rank of Oberleutnant (senior pilot). He was killed in action when his plane was shot down by the Soviet Air Forces on 26 November 1943 in Mosty, modern-day Ukraine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Hubertus_of_Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha_(pilot)