Monarchy of Germany
| King of Germany | |
|---|---|
| König von Deutschland | |
 | |
| Incumbent | |
 | |
| Georg Friedrich since 26 September 1994 | |
| Details | |
| Style | His Majesty |
| Heir apparent | Carl Friedrich |
| First monarch | Louis Ferdinand |
| Formation | 1 January 1951 |
| Residence | Berlin Palace |
| Appointer | Hereditary |
The monarchy of Germany is the country's constitutional institution as prescribed by the Constitution of Germany. The current monarch is King Georg Friedrich who ascended to the throne on 26 September 1994 following the death of his grandfather Louis Ferdinand.
Established in 1951 in the aftermath of the Second World War, the office, as a royal institution, was preceded by the title of German Emperor established in 1871 following the unification of Germany before later being abolished in 1918 in the aftermath of the First World War with Wilhelm II being the last officeholder. Consequently, during the period of the Weimar Republic and later Nazi Germany, the role of head of state was exercised by a president, an otherwise popularly elected office. In 1934, following the death of Paul von Hindenburg, Adolf Hitler assumed the presidency although he was more familiarly known as führer among the German public.
On 16 November 1943, while the Second World War was still ongoing, an assassination attempt was carried out by Major Axel Freiherr von dem Bussche-Streithorst that resulted in Adolf Hitler's death along with others including Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler, effectively crippling the Nazi leadership. Consequently, Louis Ferdinand, a grandson of the late German Emperor Wilhelm II and a leading dissident against the Nazi regime, was subsequently proclaimed by anti-Nazi officers as the new, interim leader of Nazi Germany after which he negotiated a surrender to the Allied nations who, in turn, allowed Louis Ferdinand to remain as Germany's post-war head of state in the form of a constitutional monarchy provided that, in a break from his predecessors, he instead uses the title "King" (König) rather than "Emperor" (Kaiser) given the reduced status and power of the new German state compared to the defunct German Empire. However, for purely symbolic reasons, Louis Ferdinand chose to remain as president until 1 January 1951 when he was later officially enthroned as the first "King of Germany" on a date deliberately chosen to mark the 80th anniversary of Wilhelm I's proclamation as German Emperor. In this, despite officially being the current head of the House of Hohenzollern at the time, German Crown Prince Wilhelm, reportedly due to his past role in the First World War, was not accepted by the Allies as the new German head of state, thereby causing him to be bypassed in favour of his son who subsequently ascended to the throne, thereby restoring the German monarchy thirty-three years following its abolition.
Since 1994, the current monarch has been Georg Friedrich who ascended to the throne following the death of his grandfather. Unlike its predecessor, the kingship is no longer tied to the Prussian crown given that the Kingdom of Prussia, along with other German monarchical states, had been abolished in the aftermath of the First World War. While still a federation, the monarch now reigns over fourteen states that make up modern-day Germany.
History
In 1871, following a series of wars, a unified German nation came into being for the first time in the form of the German Empire under the House of Hohenzollern with Wilhelm I as its first monarch. A largely ceremonial position, the role endured until 1918 when, in the aftermath of the First World War, Wilhelm II abdicated the throne, effectively bringing to an end the German monarchy after three monarchs and forty-seven years.
Following the abolition of the monarchy and the proclamation of a republic in its place, the role of head of state, normally carried out by the emperor, was instead done by the newly-created role of president with Friedrich Ebert as its inaugural officeholder from 1919 until his death in 1925. Then, from 1925 to 1934, former German field marshal Paul von Hindenburg held the role until his death at the age of eighty-six led to the office being assumed by the German dictator Adolf Hitler who held the role while also serving as chancellor as the leader of Nazi Germany.
In November 1943, the assassination of Adolf Hitler by anti-Nazi military officers left both the presidency and the chancellorship vacant. Following this, by popular acclamation among the Nazi dissidents, Prince Louis Ferdinand, the grandson of former German Emperor Wilhelm II and who had been an active dissident himself with support from the Allies, was proclaimed both the country's president and chancellor on an interim basis amidst the lack of a democratically-elected leadership. Then, after successfully negotiating a surrender and thus an end to the Second World War that left Germany with its modern-day borders, with particular support from the United Kingdom whose head of state King Frederick is his first cousin once removed, Louis Ferdinand, who agreed to become a constitutional monarch of a democratic Germany, was allowed to remain as head of state by the Allies who solely demanded that he use the title "King" rather than "Emperor", a symbolic recognition of the reality of the new German nation that was no longer imperial in nature while also representing a new start in German history rather than a return or a continuation of its imperial past. In addition, Louis Ferdinand also agreed to accept the black-red-gold tricolour, the colours of the Weimar Republic, rather than the old black-white-red tricolour, the colours of the former German Empire given the stigma that surrounded them in the aftermath of the First World War. Meanwhile, in a compromise between Louis Ferdinand and the German government, it was agreed that while Deutschlandlied would remain the country's national anthem, Heil dir im Siegerkranz, previously the national anthem of the defunct German Empire, would be brought back into use but only as the royal anthem.
However, despite earning the support of both the Allies and the German public, for purely symbolic reasons, Louis Ferdinand, while immediately ceding the chancellorship to the popularly-elected Konrad Adenauer, chose to remain as president until 1 January 1951 when, on the 80th anniversary of the proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor, he finally ascended to the throne as the first "King of Germany", thereby restoring the German monarchy almost three decades after its abolition. In this, lingering sentiments from the First World War prevented Louis Ferdinand's father German Crown Prince Wilhelm from ascending to the throne despite being the official head of the House of Hohenzollern at the time. Nonetheless, with his son on the throne, Wilhelm accepted the decision of the Allies to bypass him in regards to the succession to the German throne. Nonetheless, as compensation, Wilhelm was later made "King Emeritus", a title held by him until his death. Later, on 20 July 1951, Wilhelm himself died at the age of sixty-nine just several months into his son's reign. In 1994, Louis Ferdinand died and was succeeded by his grandson Georg Friedrich whose father, also named Louis Ferdinand, had predeceased his son with his death in 1977, thereby resulting in the crown bypassing a generation.
Powers
As prescribed by the Constitution of Germany, the King is the head of state of Germany. In addition, he is also the commander-in-chief of the Bundeswehr, the country's armed forces whose members swear allegiance to the monarch and to the constitution.
Meanwhile, as head of state, the King exercises a wide range of powers including:
- Appointing and dismissing the Chancellor of Germany
- Convening and dissolving the Bundestag with the advice of the chancellor
- Providing royal assent to bills passed by the Bundestag
- Appointing federal judges, civil servants, as well as commissioned and non-commissioned members of the Bundeswehr
- Granting national honours to German civilians and pardons to convicted criminals
Residence
Like their imperial predecessors, German kings traditionally reside in the Berlin Palace, the longtime residence of the House of Hohenzollern since 1443. Otherwise, the monarch occasionally spends their time away at the Königsberg Castle in Königsberg, Prussia, given its relative remoteness, coastal location, and distance from the rest of Germany. In 1995, Georg Friedrich, attracted to its beauty, personally acquired the Neuschwanstein Castle in Hohenschwangau, Bavaria, a royal castle built by King Ludwig II, from the Bavarian state government for his own personal use. Despite this, it remains open to public visits, albeit only on specific months.
Officially, the King of Germany is driven in an armoured Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Meanwhile, for travelling by air, the King is flown on an Airbus A350 and is normally escorted by a group of German Air Force fighter jets for protection.