The Dukes and Princesses of Leuchtenberg are almost forgotten today, although they were the second most important noble family in the Kingdom of Bavaria after the House of Wittelsbach. Without the marriage of the ancestors, the Italian viceroy Eugene de Beauharnais, an adopted son of Emperor Napoleon I, and the Wittelsbach princess Auguste Amalie, the transition of Bavaria to a kingdom by Emperor Napoleon I would not have happened. The fate of the Leuchtenbergers is linked to a deeply moving yet dramatic story that goes well beyond Bavaria and beyond Europe's borders. Numerous source texts and mostly unpublished illustrations in this beautiful book illustrate their rise, their artistic talent and their splendor in the European monarchies of the 19th century, as well as their demise from disease, the Russian Revolution and the global economic crisis. A wonderful reference book on Bavarian and European history. Hardback edition, German language, 268 pages, fully illustrated, size 25x30cm.