Noble
Guelph Prince wants to sue Marienburg from his own son
Marienburg Castle in the midst of autumn-colored trees. Ernst August Prince of Hanover wants to reverse the donation of the object to his son – because of “gross ingratitude”. Photo: Julian Stratenschulte / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Now the family dispute over Marienburg Castle is being carried out in court. Ernst August Prince of Hanover wants to reverse the donation to his son – because of “gross ingratitude”.
A family reunification can be imagined in a somewhat more intimate setting than in court, of all places. But this is exactly where Ernst August Prince of Hanover soon meets his son, Ernst August Hereditary Prince of Hanover. The Hanover Regional Court ordered the personal appearance.
The head of the Guelphs, the husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, accuses his son of “gross ingratitude” – and demands that Marienburg Castle be returned. The Hereditary Prince counters that the father’s complaint is “insubstantial”. That doesn’t sound like harmony and quick agreement, the hearing at the regional court is on November 25th.
And it is more than a simple family dispute, it is also about the future of the castle: Both father and son belong to the royal family of the Guelphs, which are considered to be one of the oldest noble families in Europe. The former summer residence of the Guelphs is the Marienburg south of Hanover. In 2019 the family hit the headlines because Ernst August junior wanted to sell the ailing castle to the public sector for one euro – against his father’s will.
Ernst August junior had drawn attention to the high debts that the operating company of the castle had accumulated under the direction of the Guelphs. But after his father’s objection, the deal negotiated with the Lower Saxony state government failed. A foundation solution was then found for the lock and inventory. In May, Lower Saxony’s Minister of Culture Björn Thümler said the castle should become the “Neuschwanstein of the North” – after the renovation.
It would be a truism to say that the father of the Hereditary Prince disagrees with this. The 67-year-old’s lawyer keeps a low profile, according to the Hanover Regional Court, Ernst August Prince of Hanover bases his claim, among other things, on the revocation of a donation as a result of “gross ingratitude”, unjust enrichment and the loss of the basis of the business.
In addition to the Marienburg, it is also about the return of the property Calenberg in the municipality of Pattensen-Schulenburg and the Princely House of Herrenhausen in Hanover. According to earlier information, the 67-year-old had given his son the property in 2004 and 2007 in anticipated succession.
Ernst August junior, on the other hand, describes the allegations made in the lawsuit as false. “All arguments in the lawsuit have already been invalidated out of court in the past. Against this background, I look forward to the legal dispute calmly, “said the 38-year-old. Apart from that, he does not want to comment on the procedure and the individual procedural steps “with consideration for my family”.
But the Hereditary Prince emphasizes one thing: “There is no reason to worry about the future of Marienburg Castle.” The legal situation in this regard has always been clear – and continues to be. «The foundation solution found with the State of Lower Saxony is legally secure; Nothing stands in the way of the long-term preservation of Marienburg as the central cultural monument of Lower Saxony, which remains publicly accessible to everyone, ”he emphasized. His father shouldn’t like to hear that.
Or does the senior have his thoughts elsewhere? The 67-year-old was sentenced in March to a ten-month suspended sentence by the Wels regional court, and he was also instructed, among other things, not to be allowed to live on his property in Upper Austria. On November 24th, one day before the hearing in Hanover, the Linz Higher Regional Court will decide on an appeal. Then it will be discussed whether the judgment of the regional court will become final.
In March, the district court of Wels considered it proven that the great-grandson of the last German emperor attacked police officers and massively threatened an administrator couple who were working on his property. The Guelph Prince read out an apology in the process. “I take responsibility, I regret what happened and I am ready to pay for the damage,” said Ernst August senior, who was only addressed as “Mr. Hanover”. The aristocrat’s defense emphasized that her client was in an exceptional situation after a cancer operation and because of a conflict with his son. “He felt abandoned,” said one of his defense lawyers.