Royal fury over fake German prince who met King Charles after using legal loophole to gain access to high society

The Sun

25-05-2025

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.
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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.
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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.
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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.'