Princess Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria

Family background

Elisabeth was born at Stockholm, Sweden on 31 December 1940. She was the first daughter of Count Carl Ludvig Douglas and Ottora Maria Haas-Heye. She was a granddaughter of General Vilhelm Archibald Douglas. Her maternal great-grandfather was Philip, Prince von Eulenburg (1847–1921) (friend of Wilhelm II, German Emperor), whose youngest child Viktoria Ada Astrid Agnes (1886–1967) married in 1909 Professor Otto Ludwig Haas-Heye (1879–1959), and had issue, including two daughters.

Elisabeth descends through both her mother and father from medieval Scandinavian nobility and rulers. However, her father's patrilineal ancestry is Scottish, of the Swedish-German branch, descended from the youngest son of James Douglas, 1st Baron of Dalkeith, ancestor of the 15th century Earls of Morton. She is, further, legitimately descended from Patrick Douglas, of Standingstone, who married Cairistiona Leslie, and whose son Robert Douglas (1611-1662) emigrated to Sweden and became the first Swedish Count Douglas]. All these Douglases were of the Morton branch of the ancient Clan Douglas.

Elisabeth's younger sister Rosita married in 1972 John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough, from whom she was divorced in 2008.

Marriage and family

Countess Elisabeth married on 10 January 1967 in a civil ceremony in Kreuth, to Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria, son of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria and his first wife, Countess Maria Draskovich of Trakostjan and great-grandson of King Ludwig III of Bavaria. They married in a religious ceremony in Munich on 24 January 1967.

They had five daughters:

Max and Elisabeth live at Schloss Tegernsee and Schloss Wildenwart.

Titles and styles

Honours