Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Sophie welcome their first child (2024)

Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and his wife Sophie-Alexandra Evekink have welcomed their first child.

The royal couple announced they'd welcomed a baby boy on Tuesday in an Instagram post and also revealed his sweet name.

Ludwig, 42, and Sophie, 33, married in Munich in May 2023, where she made headlines for fainting while exchanging their vows.

An official announcement on the Bavarian royal family's Instagram @hausbayern showed a meaningful illustration of a stork carrying a blue handkerchief by Alexandra Eltz.

In the caption, Ludwig and Sophie revealed they have named their firstborn Prince Rupprecht, thought to be after his great-great grandfather Crown Prince Rupprecht, the eldest child of Ludwig III and last King of Bavaria who died in 1955.

The post read: 'Princess Sophie and Prince Ludwig of Bavaria are delighted to announce the birth of their first child.

'Prince Rupprecht Theodor Maria was born on August 6, 2024 in Munich.

'Mother and child are in excellent health, the young family are now enjoying their first days together.'

The name Rupprecht translates from the German as 'bright' and 'fame'.

Royal fans rushed to express their congratulations at the happy news, writing: 'Congratulations to Prince Ludwig and Princess Sophie, Welcome to the world Prince Rupprecht';

'Warmest congratulations and all the very best to the little one and his parents';

'Congratulations to the parents and the Wittelsbach house.'

Sophie's pregnancy was first announced back in March when she gave a lecture at the United Nations.

The royal revealed the news by saying she wouldn't be able to take part in the annual Löwenmarsh (Lion's March) fundraising run, as it was too close to her due date.

A spokesperson for the House of Bavaria then confirmed the news to German paper Augsburger Allgemeine.

The Kingdom of Bavaria was abolished in the German Revolution of 1918 following World War I, but the royal family has ceremoniously continued.

The new baby is fourth in line to the throne behind his father, as the crown is only passed down to male descendants of the House of Wittelsbach.

The current head of the House is Franz, Duke of Bavaria, and his heir presumptive is his brother, Prince Max. Third in line is Ludwig's father Prince Luitpold.

Ludwig is the eldest son of Prince Luitpold and the great-great grandson of Bavaria's last King Ludwig III, while Sophie was born in Singaporeto a Dutch-Canadian family.

The couple married at St Kajetan in Munich last year, where hundreds of people lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the bride.

Sophie looked beautiful in a classic white dress, with floral detailing on the princess-cut skirt and sheer long sleeves.

She completed her elegant bridal ensemble with a long veil, which was also decorated with a scattering of lace delicate flowers - matching her gown.

But the ceremony did not go down without a hitch, as the blushing bride was said to have fainted as vows were being exchanged, necessitating rescue by her new husband.

One guest told German publicationBild: 'The bride fell backwards, the groom caught her.

'The groomsmen rushed over. We are glad that she felt well again straight away!'

A spokesperson for the royal confirmed that Sophie had passed out for a moment during the ceremony and that Ludwig had swooped in to catch her.

They added: 'The maid of honours rushed over, paramedics brought her water.

'She felt well again straight away. Prince Leopold of Bavaria gave her a piece of glucose.'

Rumours had started mounting that the pair were set to marry after she was spotted wearing a large emerald ring on her engagement finger at a wedding the couple attended in August 2022.

Speaking to Germany's Bild newspaper, Prince Luitpold said he hoped the couple would 'start a family soon', adding: 'Ludwig made a good choice. My future daughter-in-law is a very intelligent and educated woman.'

News of their engagement was shared by Office of the Bavarian Royal House a week later, alongside pictures of the couple in which they can be seen posing in traditional outfits.

Prince Ludwig, whose parents are Prince Luitpold and Princess Beatrix, is the eldest of five siblings.

He spent much of his childhood at Schloss Kaltenberg, and attended the Rhabanus-Maurus-Gymnasium St. Ottilien in Eresing.

As an 18-year-old, he founded his own IT company before he went on to study law inGöttingen, where he focused on human rights.

Since 2011, he has also shown a great interest in East Africa and specifically Kenya.

In 2015, he foundedStartup Lions, which is described online as a 'digital empowerment program, providing opportunities to learn, earn and innovate for young adults in rural Kenya.'

He now serves as CEO of the company, and spendsten months of the year in East Africa and two months in Bavaria.

While in the country, the royal is also already very involved in his family and regularly accompanies his father to public events.

It is not known how or when Prince Ludwig met his future wife Sophie, who also has a high powered career of her own.

She is the daughter of Dorus Evekink, who works asa lecturer at Maastricht School of Business.

The student, who has dual Dutch/Canadian citizen, has a Bachelor's degree in Politics and East European Studies from University College London (UCL) and a Masters in Science from the University of Oxford.

She is currently working towards a PhD at University of Oxford which focuses onjustice for victims of conflict-related sexual violence.

She previously worked for seven years in New York at the United Nations in various roles.

According to an online biography of the future royal, Sophie 'has a keen interest in violence prevention and women's human rights, themes on which she has conducted research in the Middle East and Caucasus, as well as a passion for efforts which help build global consensus and bridge voices of the Global North and South.

'She has previously also written on terrorism and radicalisation, and human trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe.'