| Christoph | |
| Birth Date: | 22 August 1949 |
| Birth Place: | Schloss Louisenlund, Güby, near Eckernförde, Schleswig-Holstein, West Germany |
| Prince of Schleswig-Holstein | |
| Reign: | 30 September 1980 – 27 September 2023 |
| Reign-Type: | Tenure |
| Predecessor: | Peter, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein |
| Successor: | Friedrich Ferdinand Prinz zu Schleswig-Holstein |
| Succession: | Head of the House of Schleswig-Holstein |
| House: | Glücksburg |
| Father: | Peter, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein |
| Mother: | Princess Marie Alix of Schaumburg-Lippe |
| Spouse: | Princess Elisabeth of Lippe-Weissenfeld |
Christoph Prinz zu Schleswig-Holstein (22 August 1949 – 27 September 2023) was the head of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (commonly known as the House of Glücksburg) and, by agnatic primogeniture, of the entire House of Oldenburg between 1980 and 2023.[1] [2] Traditionally he would have been the eighth Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and Duke of Glücksburg, styled as His Highness.[2] He was a male-line descendant of Christian I of Denmark, and was also descended cognatically from numerous more recent monarchs, including Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Emperor Alexander II of Russia and several more recent Danish kings. His paternal grandmother was Princess Marie Melita of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
The House of Oldenburg — in one of its cadet branches — is patrilineally the royal house of Norway (1450–1818 and since 1905) and the United Kingdom (since 2022), and has been the reigning dynasty of several other countries including Denmark, Greece, Sweden and Russia.[2] As such, Christoph was the agnatic head of the family that today includes Harald V of Norway and, patrilineally,[3] Charles III of the United Kingdom. His great-great-grandfather, Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was the older brother of Christian IX of Denmark, and through him Christoph is heir by male primogeniture to the Danish title Duke of [Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-]Glücksburg (heir of the last extant ducal branch of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg) conferred by the Danish crown in 1825.[2] Christoph was also, cognatically, a descendant of Queen Victoria and Alexander II of Russia.[4]
Christoph was born in Louisenlund Castle in Güby, near Eckernförde, Schleswig-Holstein, West Germany, the eldest son of Peter, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (1922–1980), and his wife, Princess Marie Alix of Schaumburg-Lippe (1923-2021). He had a diploma in Agricultural Engineering.[2] Christoph served as a Reservist in the German Army for two years holding the rank of lieutenant.[5]
Christoph succeeded to the headship of the ducal house on 30 September 1980 following the death of his father. While possession of the united duchies of Schleswig and Holstein had been allocated by a series of wars and treaties since the First Schleswig War of 1848 and the London Protocol of 1852, the ducal title was borne by Christoph's father and paternal grandfather (as inherited from his great-grandfather, Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg in 1934). However Christoph is known also by the title which is shared by male cadets of the dynasty, "Prinz zu (Prince of) Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg".[2]
From 1980, Christoph chaired the board of the family foundation that owns the ancestral castle, Glücksburg Castle. He was a founding member of the GLC Glücksburg Consulting Group and served as chairman of its advisory board. He resided in Grünholz near Schwansen where he had business interests in agriculture, forestry and real estate.[6] He was the owner of the Grünholz and Bienebek estates and was one of the largest landowners of Schleswig-Holstein. His sister, Princess Ingeborg, chairs the board of a further family foundation, the Stiftung Louisenlund.
Christoph died on 27 September 2023, at the age of 74, after a long term illness.[7] He was succeeded as head of the family by his eldest son, Prince Friedrich Ferdinand.
Christoph married Princess Elisabeth of Lippe-Weissenfeld (b. 28 July 1957 in Munich), younger daughter of Prince Alfred Karl Friedrich Georg Franz of Lippe-Weissenfeld (b. 1922) and his wife, Baroness Irmgard Julinka Wagner von Wehrborn (b. 1928), at Glücksburg civilly on 23 September 1981 and religiously on 3 October.
Christoph and Elisabeth have four children: