Adalbert VIII of Alessandri

His Majesty King Adalbert VIII of Alessandri

Alessandrian Royalty   House of Otmann-Anhalt Luitpold VII Children    Prince Adalbert    Princess Viktoria, Frau Uyiary    Princess Adelaide, Duchess of Brunswick Grandchildren    Philipp Uyiary, Duke of Altec    Eitel Uyiary, Duke of Dresden    Wolfgang Uyiary, Earl of Lippe    Princess Ermingard of Brunswick    Prince Friedrich, Hereditary Duke of Brunswick Adalbert VIII Philipp II Children    Princess Sophie    Princess Gabriella    Prince Adalbert    Prince Rupprecht    Prince Nikolaus    Prince Theodor Grandchildren    Prince Emmanuel of Iksander    Prince Georg of Iksander    Princess Arabella of Iksander    Princess Marie Elise of Paley    Princess Marie Christine of Paley    Princess Marie Alexandra of Paley    Prince Carl Eugen of Paley

His Majesty Adalbert VIII (Adalbert Luitpold Theodor Kristofor Karol Reinhard Sigismund Alexander) (15 August, 1835 - 7 October, 1910) was the king of Alessandri from 1871 to his death in 1910.

Birth

His Royal Highness the Prince Adalbert of Iksander was born on August 15, 1835 at the Schloss Großartig, the son of Crown Prince Luitpold (Luitpold, the Duke of Iksander; later Luitpold VII) and Princess Marie Melita of Bindesualia. His full name was Adalbert Luitpold Theodor Kristofor Karol Reinhard Sigismund Alexander von Otamann-Anhalt, Prince of Alessandri.

Controversy over Succession

King Adalbert, in his younger years, was a well-known playboy, having fathered at least seven children out of wedlock. However, because he had not married any of the mothers, and the fact that most of them were ineligible to bear a future monarch in the first place, all seven were denied a place in the line of succession. Although Adalbert attempted to create his eldest son, Sigismund, heir, the Parliament members threatened a political coup; they did not accept the fact that an illegitimate child should acceed the throne. Instead, to please the people, Adalbert named his nephew, Philipp Uyiary, as his heir. Philipp, the son of Adalbert's sister, Princess Viktoria, and a lawyer, Wilhelm Uyiary, was given a royal title (having formally been know as simply Philipp Uyiary), and renamed His Royal Highness Prince Philipp von Otamann-Anhalt, Duke of Altec.

Titles

At his birth, Adalbert was simply 'The Prince Adalbert' which lasted until his christening, when his father's title was included. He was styled Prince Iksander due to his father's holding the ducal title of the Iksander duchy. He reverted back to The Prince Adalbert for the customary 10 month mourning period after his grandfather's death, and then became the Duke of Iksander during his father's coronation, and later, on his own accesion to the throne on September 21, 1871, became King Adalbert VIII. Adalbert VIII's titles and styles from his birth to his accension to the throne were as follows:

• His Royal Highness The Prince Adalbert
• His Royal Highness Prince Adalbert of Iksander
• His Royal Highness The Prince Adalbert
• His Royal Highness The Duke of Iksander
• His Royal Majesty The King (Adalbert VIII of Alessandri, By the Grace of God, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Grafton, Hereditary Prince of Iksander, Paley, Altec, of Saalfeld, Parma, Majorica, Brabant, Modena, Earl of Brunswick, Saxe, of Coburg and Gotha, of Meinigen and Strelitz, of Hesse, Darmstadt and Kassel, Viscount of Oldenburg, Mecklenburg, Altenburg, Langenburg, Battenburg, Baron of Reuss and Dessau, Lord of Hohenlohe, Baden and Schwerin.