Royal fury over fake German prince who met King Charles after using legal loophole to gain access to high society
A FAKE German prince who has met King Charles has sparked fury among real royals.
His Serene Highness Dr Donatus, Prince of Hohenzollern, has spent the past 20 years using his title to access high society in Britain.
4
4
4
But despite his claims to be descended from a royal dynasty, in reality he is a low-born music teacher called Markus Hänsel.
It's understood Donatus, 64, paid to be adopted by a minor royal in the House of Hohenzollern at the age of 42, taking advantage of a law loophole in Germany.
The real Prince of Hohenzollern, Karl Friedrich, the head of the House of Hohenzollern, blasted the imposter.
He told The Sun: 'It makes me angry and frustrated, it leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth.
'Donatus is not my blood, he is not a member of the German royal family, he is simply a non-royal name bearer.
'He certainly cannot use the moniker of Serene Highness.'
And European nobility expert Bearn Bilker insisted: 'Donatus is indeed the fake prince.'
Donatus is connected to a number of top music organisations and charities alongside King Charles and the Duke of Kent.
He became Chairman of the Friends of the English Chamber Orchestra and is also ambassador of The Purcell School for Young Musicians, in Bushey, Herts,
Charles is a patron of both.
Humiliating moment Harry poses with Z-list German 'fake prince' dubbed King of Trash TV who starred in show Travel Boobs
Donatus is a member of the International Board of Governors of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, of which the Duke of Kent is patron, and also Creative Benefactor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
And he's formerly a Principal Supporter of the Royal College of Music in London and founding patron of the Royal College of Music Prince Consort Orchestra.
In an online video Donatus talks from his Surrey home about his charity work and in the background there's a framed photo of him and Charles together.
He is also seen in a video at the Royal College of Music with the King.
Prince Karl, a direct descendant of German emperor Wilhelm I, said he first found out about Donatus' bogus claims more than a decade ago.
4
He told The Sun: 'I wrote to Donatus and said I know all the members of my family but I hadn't heard of him. He wrote back and said, 'yes I have been adopted by your aunt Katharina'.
'I then spoke to my aunt and she told me, 'yes well, he offered me such an amount of money I couldn't resist'. She was always short of money.
'There's nothing we as a family can do.'
It's understood Donatus was adopted by Katharina Feodora, Princess of Hohenzollern in around 2003.
Three years later he married Dr Viola Hallman, heiress of the Theis steel business, who became Dr Viola Christa, Princess of Hohenzollern.
They lived in a castle in Haelen, the Netherlands. Viola died of cancer in 2012.
Mr Bilker exposed the couple's dodgy royal standing in the Dutch media in 2007. He said: 'Princess Katharina adopted this man. He paid a lot of money. We see such awkward facts only in Germany.
'Donatus claims to be a real prince but that is not the case.'
'Fake prince'
Mr Bilker said the name Prince (Prinz) is a name under German law, not a title. He added: 'Donatus is well aware of these facts.
Donatus, born in Germany in 1961, used to be a music teacher.
After getting a doctorate in Catholic theology in Frankfurt, he later self-published several books under the name Dr Markus von Hänsel-Hohenhausen.
He first appeared in the UK in 2007 when he bought a £975,000 annexed section of a manor house on a private estate in Surrey.
He drives a Bentley convertible with a personalised number plate, takes his blind dog, Alexis, for country walks and helps out with local music groups.
Donatus admits he was adopted by Princess Katharina, but said it was wrong to call him a 'fake prince'.
Speaking in the third person in an email he said: 'Donatus has the same legal rank and rights represented in Germany's family law as Karl Friedrich of Hohenzollern, who does not have the authority to speak on behalf of all the members of the family,'
He also says he 'financially supports' his 'mother'.
Prince Karl said he is seeking legal advice and insisted: 'We don't like somebody bringing the family name into a bad light.
'It's obvious he doesn't know me and the history of the Swabian branch of the Hohenzollerns. He's an uninformed man.
'He is not a member of the royal house of Hohenzollern.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
44 minutes ago
- BBC News
South Arcade: Y2K core is about nostalgia and escapism
Ask pop-punk band South Arcade about the inspiration for their breakout hit, Supermodels, and get ready to go on a starts at Shut Up and Drive by Rihanna, swerves into nu-metal band Korn's cover of Word Up and detours towards Genesis, by French dance act final destination is Just Dance - the popular video game series where players rack up points by mimicking routines from chart-topping hits."You know when you go to a gaming arcade and there's those dance mat machines?" asks singer Harmony."I was like: 'I want to write a song that could be on that'." South Arcade are riding the wave of Y2K core - a growing interest in the 90s and early 2000s four-piece's sound - upbeat, rocky guitar music - would have been right at home on MTV, or the soundtrack of a 90s slasher movie."It has that weird, nostalgic feel to it," says she and guitarist Harry were born at the start of the millennium, so admit their fondness for that time comes from older siblings and friends introducing them to the their lack of first-hand experience, the band have been described as "figureheads of a growing Y2K revival" by website MusicRadar."We can't accept that we missed it," says Harry, laughing. "So we have to bring it back single-handedly." South Arcade aren't exactly alone, though. Some of the bands that inspired their sound have also had a surge in the recent Download festival, nu-metal veterans Korn headlined, and further down the bill fellow noughties heroes Alien Ant Farm pulled in Park recently released their first new music since the death of original frontman Chester Bennington, and Limp Bizkit sold out arenas on a tour of the UK this says rap and dance music have dominated the mainstream landscape for the past 10 years, and believes more people his age are discovering what came before."Pre-2010 it was like a golden era of band music and guitar music," says Harry."It was just full of great bands and then it just shifted, the pendulum swung." Parts of South Arcade's rise have been far more 2025 than started to gain traction via TikTok.A spokesperson told Newsbeat that the Y2K hashtag has been used in four million posts on the app, with some of the most popular linked to noughties artists including Pitbull and Avril says South Arcade's videos began drawing an audience when they started uploading footage from their rehearsal something they've previously said was partly in response to accusations they were "industry plants" or "not a real band".They're also not immune from the modern-day pressures facing musicians, with the cost-of-living crisis still biting.A recent tour of America was "really expensive", they admit, and keeping stage shows fresh involves getting creative with ideas "in the cheapest way possible".But the band say it's been worth it and they've been seeing a mix of fans engaging with their music."It's really great because we see a bunch of comments on YouTube from people that were in that era," says Harmony, "and they can almost notice the references or pick it apart, but then there's these much younger kids hearing that sort of stuff for the first time. "It's really cool to sort of bring everyone together on it." The appeal to fans who spent their teens listening to the likes of Korn is probably obvious. But what is the attraction of Y2K for people who were in nappies during the heyday?"Everything's going towards like, minimalism of phones," says Harry. "But in that era, your room was full of stuff, like not just a neat room, it was full of posters and action figures."Now people would just say they scroll on TikTok, but back in the day you'd have had gaming consoles and games and stuff like that, CD players and loads of things that are off your Harmony, it's a feeling of escapism."I get loads of nostalgia videos coming up for things from my childhood, you'll see it and it'll make you feel a certain sort of weird, twinkly way," she says."And I think if we can capture that sort of feeling in music, when everyone's bedrooms were their personality, it wasn't just their Instagram feed."It was what the posters on their wall were, what characters they collected, things like that." Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
GB News launches probe after Eamonn Holmes' wheelchair 'hits female producer as he was returning to set'
GB News bosses have launched an investigation after a young female producer was left bruised when she was hit by Eamonn Holmes 's wheelchair. The Mail on Sunday can reveal the woman has made a complaint following the alleged incident ten days ago. It happened as she attempted to explain to the employee pushing Mr Holmes, 65, that the star could not return to the set to continue hosting his breakfast show following a toilet break, because the cameras were rolling. Sources at GB News have told this newspaper that tensions ran high as the woman said it wasn't the best time for Mr Holmes to return to his seat, although there is no suggestion that he did anything wrong. One said: 'Eamonn gets wheeled on and off the set because his mobility is so bad. He is really struggling to move around these days so, as part of the care that GB News are giving him, he will be wheeled to the loo if he needs to go during the programme. 'Only this time there was some confusion over whether or not he could go back to his seat as the cameras were going and the show was being aired live. The poor young woman was doing her job and saying that it wasn't possible for him to go back on. 'There were frustrations over it from some involved and the next thing the woman gets hit and she got a bruise on her leg. It has been the talk of the studio ever since.' GB News's HR department is now said to be looking into the incident. It isn't the first time there has been drama surrounding Mr Holmes's breakfast show. Last month he fell off his chair while interviewing commentator Charlie Rowley live on air at 6.15am. While viewers couldn't see him fall, a crash could be heard off-screen and co-host Ellie Costello said: 'Oh my gosh'. It came after he was taken to hospital in April following a fall at home. Bosses at the channel are becoming increasingly worried about Mr Holmes's health and about how long he is going to be able to host his breakfast show, which runs from 6am to 9.30am three days a week. He is currently chauffeured from his Surrey home to the west London set and back again. He struggles so much with his mobility – which has deteriorated following a double hip replacement and spinal surgery on three slipped discs in 2016 and 2022 respectively – that he is wheeled on and off the set. Mr Holmes has been battling health issues since surgery in 2022, and it is said that he now has very little feeling in his lower back. In 2023, he said that he 'could no longer walk or look after himself'. He is being supported by his new girlfriend Katie Alexander, 43, following his split from wife Ruth Langsford, 65, last year.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Olivia Attwood hits out at the Kardashians in candid discussion about plastic surgery as she reveals the one procedure she wouldn't have
Olivia Attwood hit out at the Kardashians in candid discussion about plastic surgery on Saturday revealed the one procedure she wouldn't have. The TV personality, 34, who has always been open, claimed Kylie Jenner 's recent secret boob job admission was 'too little, too late' and said the famous family's 'bodies are not created in the gym.' Olivia has undergone a dramatic change throughout the years, swapping surgical enhancements for reductions, and the Love Island villa for hard-hitting documentaries on subjects as diverse as the online sex industry and cosmetic surgery. Aged 20, she paid £3,000 for a boob job that gave her 32E 'watermelons' then paid around £10,000 to have her old implants removed and new ones fitted. In 2023, Kylie, 27, finally admitted that she had a secret boob job when she was just 19, despite being economical with the truth for years over breast enhancement. This week, she shared the details about her procedure, including the size, profile and surgeon after a fan on TikTok asked. Sharing her thoughts Olivia told The Sun: 'Kylie came out and said about her boobs, and I was like: "I've been talking about my breasts for the past 10 years." I like the Kardashians, this is not me bashing them, but it's too little, too late for me.' She explained how the family should be more open about other procedures, which might be less obvious. The presenter continued: 'We know Kylie's breasts are fake. We knew she had lip fillers when she was selling those lip kits. What about talking about lipo and BBLs? Their bodies are not created in the gym.' Olivia explained how she thinks it's 'disingenuous' for celebrities to monetise off products such as weight loss plans having actually undergone surgery. She also admitted how her TV show had 'sobered her up to the reality of surgery' after seeing all the 'gruesome' details. Although claiming that she as a 'pancake bum', Olivia said: 'BBL is the only one I wouldn't do, because the risk is too much. It's one of the surgeries that has the highest revision rate.' The cosmetic procedure is used to enhance the appearance of the patient's buttocks by making them bigger, more rounded, or lifted. A standard BBL involves removing fat from the hips, abdomen, or back with liposuction before injecting it back into the buttocks. In an update this week about her breast surgery, Kylie shared: '445 cc, moderate profile, half under the muscle!!!!! silicone!!! Garth Fisher!!! hope this helps lol.' Kylie shared the exact details of her boob job to a thrilled fan, two years after finally confessing to the procedure Kylie's plastic surgeon Dr. Garth Fisher is famed for being the man behind many of the Kardashian and Jenner family procedures. He's largely known for performing Kris Jenner's pinnacle facelift on an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. The board-certified surgeon also did Kourtney Kardashian's breast augmentation and removed a tumor from Khloe's face. He even gave a pre-transition Caitlyn Jenner a revision facelift, which was also featured on an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
