View source for Duke Franz Joseph

{{Infobox royalty
|title =Duke Franz Joseph in Bavaria
|name =Duke [[Franz Joseph in Bavaria]]
| image =Franz Joseph in Bayern.jpg
|date of birth ={{birth date|1888|3|23|df=y}}
|place of birth =''Schloss Tegernsee, Bavaria''
|date of death ={{death date and age|1912|9|23|1888|3|23|df=y}}
|place of death =''Munich, Germany''
|full name =''Franz Joseph Michael Karl Maria Evaristus Quirinus Ottokar Herzog in Bayern''
|house = [[House of Wittelsbach|Wittelsbach]]
|father=[[Karl Theodor, Duke in Bavaria]]
|mother=[[Infanta Maria José of Portugal]]
|Paternal Grandparents=[[Duke Maximilian Joseph  of Bavaria]] and [[Princess Ludovika of Bavaria]]
|Maternal Grandparents=[[Miguel I of Portugal]] and [[Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein]]
[[File:Herzog Franz Josef in Bayern 1897.png|thumb|Duke Franz Joseph in Bavaria in 1897]]

| module =[[File:Princely Hat.svg|100px]]<br/>[[File:Armoiries ducs en Bavière.svg|100px]] 
}}
'''Duke Franz Joseph in Bavaria''', full [[German language|German]] name: ''Franz Joseph Michael Karl Maria Evaristus Quirinus Ottokar Herzog in Bayern'' (23 March 1888, [[Tegernsee Abbey|Schloss Tegernsee]], [[Kingdom of Bavaria]] &ndash; 23 September 1912, [[Munich]], Kingdom of Bavaria) was a [[Duke in Bavaria]] and member of the [[House of Wittelsbach]]. 

Franz Joseph was the fifth and youngest child of [[Duke Karl Theodor in Bavaria]], the son of [[Duke Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria]] and [[Princess Ludovika of Bavaria]]; and his second wife [[Infanta Maria José of Portugal]], the daughter of [[Miguel I of Portugal]] and [[Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein]]. 

Franz Joseph had one brother, [[Duke Ludwig Wilhelm in Bavaria]] and four sisters; [[Duchess Amalie in Bavaria]], [[Duchess Sophie Adelheid in Bavaria]], [[Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of the Belgians|Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria]], [[Duchess Marie Gabrielle in Bavaria]], and half-sister [[Duchess Amalie in Bavaria]], from his father's previous marriage to [[Princess Sophie of Saxony]].


==Military Career==
Duke Franz Joseph in Bavaria was a first lieutenant in [[Wilhelm II|Kaiser Wilhelm]]'s own regiment of [[Uhlan]]s, and a special instructor in the royal military riding academy in [[Munich]]. His horsemanship won him many prizes in German riding competitions.<ref>{{cite news | title =Franz Joseph of Bavaria is After Grizzlies | pages =26 | publisher =Ottawa Citizen | date =1910-08-19 }}</ref>


==1910 Visit to America==
Duke Franz Joseph in Bavaria visited the United States in 1910, travelling with a small party across from New York to San Francisco, before returning to the East Coast for his eventual departure home. Franz Joseph accompanied the party hunting grizzly bears though the US, meanwhile the press speculated on a possible American match for the young Duke (not uncommon for the time). The speculation was furthered when Franz Joseph himself commented on the American bride of his cousin (Prince Miguel), the lovely Anita Stewart. He also told the press that nothing would "stand in the way" of his American match, though that wasn't the purpose of the visit. 

Duke Franz Josef spent time in New York City in 1910, where he lodged at the Plaza, quickly becoming the "most-talked-about nobleman" to visit the US since [[Prince Henry of Prussia]] in 1902. Franz was young and did not stand on ceremony. He liked to stroll about the city without his "suite of servants." His interests ranged from attending boxing matches, to catching "a look behind the scenes in the leading Broadway comic operas." He also commented as to being "highly pleased" with American chorus girls. Before heading out west, he was widely feted in East Coast society. The local press hailed the Duke as "the most democratic nobleman that had ever landed in New York." Franz Josef was introduced to numerous American debutantes, but left the country without his own 'tale of romance.' He explained that he could not marry an American "unless he chose to lose his standing in the ducal family at home."

==Personal Life==
The young Duke Franz Josef had remained unmarried until his death in 1912, at the age of just 24 years old. 

However, through his relationship with Caroline "Lilly" Stockhammer, he became the progenitor of the von Plottnitz-Stockhammer family, with descendants now prominent in politics, education, and the arts. He is the grandfather of the German politician [[Rupert von Plottnitz]] (Franz-Joseph Rupert Ottomar von Plottnitz-Stockhammer), born in Danzig on 4 July 1940.

==Death==
Franz Joseph died of polio on 23 September 1912 in Munich, the very same year as two of his sisters, Marie Gabrielle and Amélie. With the loss of three children, 1912 was remembered as an "annus horribilis" ["a terrible year"] for the Wittelsbach family. Duke Franz Joseph in Bavaria was just 24.5 years old at the time of his death.

==Ancestry==
{{Ancestors of Duke Franz Joseph in Bavaria|state=expanded}}

==Titles and styles==
*'''23 March 1888 &ndash; 23 September 1912''' ''[[His Royal Highness]]'' Duke Franz Joseph in Bavaria. 

{{Dukes in Bavaria}}


[[Category:House of Wittelsbach]]
[[Category:1888 births]]
[[Category:1912 deaths]]
[[Category:Grand Cordons of the Order of Leopold (Belgium)]]
[[Category:Dukes in Bavaria]]
[[Category:People from Miesbach (district)]]