birth of a son, whose biological father was Prince Ernst August. Ernest Augustus however did not marry Maria Anna because his parents would not have approved, since she was considered of inadequate birth and was also a divorcée, and the marriage would have made his younger brother Prince George William heir to the headship of the House of Hanover. Thus the child, christened Christian Ernst August Hubertus, Freiherr von Humboldt-Dachroeden, was born in 1943 and currently is a bank consultant. On 5 September 1951, Ernest Augustus married Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1925–1980). The wedding was attended by many important royal figures, including his sister Queen Frederica and her husband King Paul of Greece, and the heads of the houses of Saxony, Hesse, Mecklenburg, Oldenburg, and Baden. The wedding was followed with a reception in the Gallery Building at Herrenhausen Gardens, the only part of the House of Hanover's former summer palace still intact, as the palace itself had been burned down during World War II. His children by his first wife are: Princess Marie of Hanover (born 1952), married Count Michael Georg von Hochberg-Fürstenstein (b. 1943) and had issue. Prince Ernst August of Hanover (born 1954), married firstly Chantal Hochuli (b. 1955) and had issue, married secondly Princess Caroline of Monaco and had issue. Prince Ludwig Rudolph of Hanover (1955–1988), married Countess Isabelle von Thurn und Valsassina-Como-Vercelli (1962–1988), with whom he had one son. Ludwig committed suicide shortly after discovering the body of his wife, who had died of a drug overdose. Princess Olga Sophie Charlotte Anna of Hanover (born 1958) Princess Alexandra of Hanover (born 1959), married Andreas, 8th Prince of Leiningen (b. 1955) and had issue. Prince Heinrich of Hanover (born 1961), married Thyra Donata Sixtina von Westernhagen and had issue (including a son, Albert). Princess Ortrud died in 1980. Ernest Augustus married again in 1981, Countess Monika zu Solms-Laubach (1929–2015), daughter of Georg, 9th Count of Solms-Laubach (1899-1969) and his wife, Princess Johanna of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (1905-1982). He died at Schulenburg, Pattensen, Lower Saxony, Germany, aged 73, and was buried next to his first wife on a round bastion of Marienburg Castle (Hanover). In popular culture He was portrayed by Daniel Betts in the first season of the Netflix series The Crown. Ancestry Patrilineal descent, descent from father to son, is the principle behind membership in royal houses, as it can be traced back through the generations –