Richard, Fürst zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg

Richard Casimir Karl August Robert Konstantin zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg.

He gained the title of 6th Fürst zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg in 1944.

Links:

• The Peerage
• Geneall
• Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg:

Predecessor: Gustav Albrecht

• Wikipedia: English Deutsch Grafschaft Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg

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Richard ist der älteste Sohn von Gustav Albrecht Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1907–1944) und seiner Frau, der schwedischen Gräfin Margareta Fouché d’Otrante (1909–2005). Adelsrechtlich ist er der 6. Fürst zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, jedoch hat er mit Rücksicht darauf, daß sein Vater seit 1944 in Rußland vermisst war und dessen Tod nie nachgewiesen werden konnte, den (namensrechtlich seit 1919 ohnehin inoffiziellen) Fürstentitel nie geführt. Seitdem sein Vater im Jahr 1969 offiziell für tot erklärt wurde, ist Richard das Oberhaupt des Hauses Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg und des Gesamthauses Sayn-Wittgenstein. Richard besuchte das Gymnasium und studierte Rechtswissenschaften in Tübingen. Nach seinem Studium trat er in die Wittgenstein-Berleburgische Rentkammer mit Sitz auf Schloss Berleburg ein; die Rentkammer verwaltet ca. 13.000 Hektar Wald und etwa 150 Grundstücke im In- und Ausland, sowie Firmenbeteiligungen.

Auf der Hochzeit der damaligen niederländischen Kronprinzessin Beatrix von Oranien-Nassau mit dem deutschen Diplomaten Claus von Amsberg lernte Richard seine zukünftige Frau kennen. Am 3. Februar 1968 heiratete er auf Schloss Fredensborg Prinzessin Benedikte von Dänemark (* 29. April 1944), zweite Tochter von König Friedrich IX. (1899–1972) und Königin Ingrid (1910–2000). Aus der Ehe gingen drei Kinder hervor: Gustav Frederik Philip Richard (* 12. Januar 1969), Alexandra Rosemarie Ingrid Benedikte (* 20. November 1970) und Nathalie Xenia Margareta Benedikte (* 2. Mai 1975).

Am 7. Mai 1997 wurde in Frederikshavn, Dänemark, die RoRo- und Eisenbahnfähre Prins Richard auf seinen Namen getauft.

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_zu_Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg

Richard Casimir Karl August Robert Konstantin was the eldest son of Gustav Albrecht, 5th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, a highly decorated German army officer declared missing in 1944 yet only legally declared dead in 1969, and Margareta Fouché d'Otrante, a descendant of Napoleonic statesman Joseph Fouché. Richard was raised in Sweden with his maternal grandfather, the Duke of Otranto, at Elghammar Castle. He attended the boarding schools Viggbyholm and Sigtuna.

Having studied arboreal science at Munich University, Prince Richard obtained his forestry diploma at the University of Göttingen in Lower Saxony. He took post-graduate training as Forstreferendar, obtaining a degree as Assessor des Forstdienstes after passing the second-level examination at the North Rhine Westphalian State Forestry Service.

In July 2003, he underwent surgery for treatment of prostate cancer; previously, he had undergone treatment for skin cancer.

Prince Richard engaged in several conservation programmes, while responsible for managing his family's extensive lands in Germany. He launched a project to re-introduce European bison to the native continent on part of his 32,000 acre estate in North Rhine-Westphalia, credited as a success by Rewilding Europe as part of a larger effort to restore depleted animals across Europe.

Richard married Princess Benedikte of Denmark at Fredensborg Palace Church on 3 February 1968. She is the second daughter of Frederick IX of Denmark and Ingrid of Sweden and younger sister of Margrethe II of Denmark. The couple lived at Berleburg Castle. Pursuant to the marriage contract, in Denmark Richard and his children by Princess Benedikte were to be attributed the style of Highness, rather than the unknown Durchlaucht ("Serene Highness") to which the Sayn princes were historically entitled in Germany.

While the couple were raising their family Princess Benedikte reduced her royal engagements in Denmark, where she spent only about a quarter of her time.

Prince Richard died suddenly on 13 March 2017 at the castle of Berleburg in Germany. He was 82.

Gustav, 7th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (born 12 January 1969) Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (born 20 November 1970). On 6 June 1998 at Gråsten Palace, she is married to Count Jefferson von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth, an investment consultant based in Paris prior to the wedding. The couple have two children: Count Richard von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth (born 14 September 1999) Countess Ingrid von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth (born 16 August 2003). Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (born 2 May 1975). On 27 May 2010, she married Alexander Johannsmann. The couple have two children: Konstantin Johannsmann (born 24 July 2010). Louisa Johannsmann (born 28 January 2015)

https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prins_Richard