Duke of Leuchtenberg was a title created twice by the monarchs of Bavaria for their relatives. The first creation was awarded by Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria to his son Maximilian Philipp Hieronymus, upon whose death without children the lands passed back to his nephew Elector Maximilian II. It was re-created by Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria on 14 November 1817 and awarded to his son-in-law, Eugène de Beauharnais, styled Royal Highness by personal grant, and with the style Serene Highness for his agnatic descendants.Kerautret, Michel. Eugène de Beauharnais, Fils et vice-roi de Napoléon, Paris, Tallandier, January 2021, pp. 255, 397. Eugène was the adopted stepson of the deposed Emperor Napoleon I of France, and had previously held the title of French prince (Prince français) with the style Imperial Highness. He also had been the emperor's heir in Frankfurt and briefly in Italy. King Maximilian Joseph compensated his son-in-law after he lost his other titles and named him heir to the kingdom after the male-line descendants of the royal house and next in precedence after the Royal Family.
The subsidiary title, also in the Bavarian peerage, was Prince of Eichstätt, but its attached territory was sold off by the 4th Duke to the King of Bavaria in 1855.Bordonove, Georges. Les rois fous de Bavière, Robert Laffont, 1964, pp. 315, 62. On 14 July 1839, Emperor Nicholas I of Russia granted the Russian and Finnish style Imperial Highness, alongside the subsidiary title Prince Romanovsky, to the 3rd Duke, Maximilian, who had just married his daughter, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna.
Nicholas Maximilianovich, 4th Duke of Leuchtenberg, was created Duke of Leuchtenberg in the Russian Empire in 1890 by Alexander III of Russia, as the ducal family was by then composed of members of the extended Russian Imperial Family. This creation once again confirmed the elevation of the style from Serene to Imperial Highness, and was to be carried by all male line descendants of Nicholas born of marriages of the corresponding rank, of the incumbent Duke from 1852 to 1891. The title was largely ceremonial, with no lands or governance attached; the style and title became "Duke von (or of) Leuchtenberg, de Beauharnais".
Following the death of the 8th Duke in 1974, no remaining heirs of full dynastic status remained; the 8th Duke's parents' marriage was the last equal marriage entered into by a male dynast of the House of Beauharnais. The title is claimed by Nicolas de Leuchtenberg (born 1933),Ettle, Elmar. « Hoher Besuch in Kipfenberg », Donaukurier, 9 July 2016. senior heir of the 4th Duke by a morganatic marriage, whose grandfather Nicolas Nikolaievitch (1868–1928) was titled Duke of Leuchtenberg in 1890 by edict of Tsar Alexander III of Russia, with the style Highness.Belyakova, Zoia. Honour and fidelity: the Russian Dukes of Leuchtenberg, Logos Publisher, 2010, pp. 18-75.
Duke of Leuchtenberg, 1650 to 1705
| Maximilian Philipp Hieronymus1650–1705 || || 30 September 1638Munich, Bavariason of Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria and Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria || Maurita Febronia de la Tour d'Auvergne1668no children || 20 March 1705Turkheim, Bavariaaged 66
Dukes of Leuchtenberg, 1817 to 1974
| Eugène de Beauharnais1817–1824styled Royal Highness by personal grant,French Prince (1804), Viceroy of Italy (1805), Prince of Venice (1807), heir to the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt (1810) || || 3 September 1781Paris, Franceson of Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais and Joséphine Tascher de la Pagerie || Princess Augusta of Bavaria14 January 18067 children || 21 February 1824Munich, Bavariaaged 42 |- | Auguste de Beauharnais1824–1835styled Serene Highness, created Imperial and Royal Highness by his father-in-lawDuke of Santa Cruz (1829), Prince Consort of Portugal (1834) || || 9 December 1810Milan, Lombardy, Italyson of Eugène de Beauharnais and Princess Augusta of Bavaria || Maria II, Queen of Portugal1 December 1834no children || 28 March 1835Lisbon, Portugalaged 24 |- | Maximilian de Beauharnais1835–1852styled Serene Highness, granted the style Imperial Highness by his father-in-law || || 2 October 1817Munich, Bavariason of Eugène de Beauharnais and Princess Augusta of Bavaria || Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia2 July 18397 children || 1 November 1852Saint Petersburg, Russiaaged 35 |- | Nicholas Maximilianovich de Beauharnais1852–1891styled Imperial Highness || || 4 August 1843son of Maximilian de Beauharnais and Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia || Nadezhda Sergeevna Annenkova (morganatic)October 18682 sons || 6 January 1891Paris, Franceaged 47 |- | Eugene Maximilianovich de Beauharnais1891–1901styled Imperial Highness || || 8 February 1847Saint Petersburg, Russiason of Maximilian de Beauharnais and Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia || Daria Opotchinina (morganatic)20 January 18691 daughterZinaida Skobeleva (morganatic)14 July 1878no children || 31 August 1901Saint Petersburg, Russiaaged 54 |- | George Maximilianovich de Beauharnais1901–1912styled Imperial Highness || || 29 February 1852Saint Petersburg, Russiason of Maximilian de Beauharnais and Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia || Duchess Therese Petrovna of Oldenburg12 May 1879one sonPrincess Anastasia of Montenegro16 April 18892 children || 16 May 1912Paris, Franceaged 60 (15) |- | Alexander Georgievich de Beauharnais1912–1942styled Imperial Highness; reverted to Serene Highness following abolition of Russian titles in 1918; title held in pretense after abolition of German monarchy in 1919 || || 13 November 1881Saint Petersburg, Russiason of George Maximilianovich and Duchess Therese Petrovna of Oldenburg || Nadezhda Nicolaevna Caralli (morganatic)22 January 1917no children || 26 September 1942Salies-de-Béarn, Franceaged 60 |- | Sergei Georgievich de Beauharnais1942–1974styled Serene Highness || || 4 July 1890Peterhof, Russiason of George Maximilianovich and Princess Anastasia of Montenegro || never married || 7 January 1974Rome, Italyaged 83
Dukes of Leuchtenberg, morganatic branch (1890–present) Note: according to the present-day republican German law, the subsequent list is only an original research. Noble titles are no longer recognised. People of noble descent are able to change their name to append their title to act as part of their surname. Portrait Biographical elements Complete title(s) Marriage(s) Tenure
Nicolas Nikolaevich de Leuchtenberg Born on 17 October 1868 in Geneva, Switzerland. Deceased on 2 March 1928 in Paris, France granted the style Highness by Alexander III (1890–1928);Count of Beauharnais (1878–1928);Duke of Leuchtenberg (1890–1928);Marquis of La Ferté-Beauharnais(1891–1928) Countess Maria Nikolaevna Grabbe (1869–1948) (daughter of Count Nicholas Pavlovich Grabbe) Duke of Leuchtenberg 11 November 1890 – 2 March 1928 ()(cousin of Sergei Georgievich,son of Nicholas Maximilianovich)
Nicolas Nikolaevich de LeuchtenbergBorn on 8 August 1896 in Gory, Russia. Deceased 5 May 1937 in Munich, Germany styled Highness (1896–1937);Duke of Leuchtenberg (1896–1937);Count of Beauharnais (1896–1937);Marquis of La Ferté-Beauharnais(1928–1937) Olga Nikolaevna Fomina (1898–1921)Elisabeth Müller-Himmler (1906–1999) Duke of Leuchtenberg 2 March 1928 – 5 May 1937 ()(son of his predecessor) Nicolas de Leuchtenberg Born on 12 October 1933 in Munich, Germany styled Highness (1933);Duke of Leuchtenberg (1933);Count of Beauharnais (1933);Marquis of La Ferté-Beauharnais(1937) Anne Christine Bügge (1936) Duke of Leuchtenberg5 May 1937 – present()(son of his predecessor)
Genealogy Eugène, married Princess Augusta of Bavaria, 7 children including: Auguste, 2nd Duke, Duke of Santa Cruz, married Queen Maria II of Portugal, no issue Maximilian, 3rd Duke, married Maria Nikolaevna of Russia, 7 children, including: Maria, Princess Romanowskaya (1841–1941) married Prince William of Baden (1829–1897) Prince Max of Baden Nicholas Maximilianovich, 4th Duke of Leuchtenberg, prince Romanowsky (4 August 1843 in the dacha of Sergueïvskoïe – 6 January 1891, Paris), buried in a monastery near St Petersburg. On 5 July 1868, he married (morganatically) Nadezhda Sergeevna Annenkova (1840–1891), thereupon known as Countess of Beauharnais. They had two children: Nicholas Nikolaevich de Leuchtenberg (17 October 1868, Geneva – 2 March 1928, Vaucluse, France), member of the White Army. He married Countess Maria Nikolaevna Grabbe (1869–1948) on 6 September 1894, and had 7 children, including: Alexandra Nikolaevna de Leuchtenberg (1895–1960), princess Romanowskaya, in 1916 married Prince Levan Melikov (1893–1928) (divorced), in 1922 married Nicholas Tereshchenko (1894–1926). Nicholas Nikolaevich de Leuchtenberg (1896, Gori, near Novgorod – 1937), married Olga Fomina (1898–1921), on 8 September 1919 at Novocherkassk and then (after her death) remarried on 3 November 1928 at Munich, to Elisabeth Müller-Himmler (1906–1999). He had two children by his second marriage: Eugénie Élisabeth de Leuchtenberg (1929–2006), in 1958, she married Martin von Bruch (1911–) Nicolas de Leuchtenberg, current claimant of the title, on 24 August 1962, he married Anne Bügge (1933–), and had two children: Nicolas Maximilien de Leuchtenberg (1963–2002), died unmarried and without issue. Constantin de Leuchtenberg (1965–), heir apparent to his father, unmarried and without issue. Nadejda Nikolaevna de Leuchtenberg, (1898, Gori, near Novgorod – 1962, San Francisco), in 1929, she married Alexandre Yakovlevich Mogilevsky (1885, Odessa – 1953, Tokyo), and had one son: Michael Alexandrovich de Beauharnais-Mogilevsky (1929–), married to Joan Russell (1931–), and had 3 children: Michelle de Beauharnais Mogilevsky (1956–), first married to Douglas Mock (1955-) in 1977, then to Jeffre Harrison in 1980. Anton de Beauharnais Mogilevsky (1960–) married Susan Katherine Westra in 1983 (divorced 1988). In 1995, he married Holly Jill Smith (1969–2014). In 2017 he married Victoria Mewborn Kerner (1961-). André Jon de Beauharnais Mogilevsky (1962–) married to Kimberly Potter. Maximilien Nikolaevich de Leuchtenberg (1900–1905). Sergei Nikolaevich de Leuchtenberg (1903–1966), founder of the National Alliance of Russian Solidarists. In 1925, he married Anne Naumova (1900–?), (divorced in 1938, and had 4 daughters), in 1939 married Kira Wolkova (1915–), (divorced in 1942), and finally married Olga Wickberg (1926–), and had a son and a daughter. Altogether, he had six children by all his marriages: Maria Magdalena de Leuchtenberg (1926–), married to Joseph de Pasquale (1919–2015), and had four children. Anna de Leuchtenberg (1928–), married to Robert Stout (1931–) and had one son: Eugene de Beauharnais Stout (1957–), married to Patricia Lynn Thompson (1959–), and had two children. Olga de Leuchtenberg (1931–2007), married to Ronald Newburg (1926–), and had two children: George Alexander de Beauharnais Newburg (1958–) Stephanie Anne de Beauharnais Newburg (1960–) Natalia de Leuchtenberg (1934–), married to Malcolm Baker Bowers (1933–), and had two children. Sergei Sergeevich de Leuchtenberg (1955–) Elizabeth Sergeevna de Leuchtenberg (1957–), married to John Craft (1954–), and had four children. Michael Nikolaevich de Leuchtenberg (1905–1928), unmarried and without issue. Maria Nikolaevna de Leuchtenberg (1907–1992), married to Nikolai Dmitrievich, Count von Mengden, Baron von Altenwoga (1899–1977). George Nikolaevich de Leuchtenberg, (1872–1929), styled Duke of Leuchtenberg, prince Romanowsky; he is famous for having hosted Anna Anderson in 1927, at Castle Seeon. In 1895 he married Princess Olga Nikolaevna Repnina (1872–1953), and had 6 children: Elena Georgievna de Leuchtenberg (1896–1977), married to Arkadii Konstantinovich Ugrichist-Trebinsky (1897–1982), and had one daughter. Dmitri Georgievich de Leuchtenberg (1898–1972), married to Catherine Alexeievna Arapova (1900–1991) in 1921, and had 2 children: