Jorge Bagration of Mukhrani

"Giorgi Bagrationi" redirects here. For the Georgian prince, see Giorgi Bagrationi (born 2011).

Jorge de Bagration
Prince of Georgia Prince of Mukhrani
Head of the Royal House of Georgia (disputed)
Tenure	30 October 1977 – 16 January 2008
Predecessor	Irakli Bagration of Mukhrani
Successor	David Bagration of Mukhrani
Born	(1944-02-22)22 February 1944 Rome, Italy
Died	Tbilisi, Georgia
Burial	Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
Spouse	María de las Mercedes de Zornoza y Ponce de León Nuria Llopis y Oliart
Issue	María Antonieta Bagrationi-Mukhraneli Irakli Bagrationi-Mukhraneli David Bagration of Mukhrani Ugo Bagration
House	Bagrationi
Father	Irakli Bagration of Mukhrani
Mother	Maria Antonietta Pasquini dei conti di Costafiorita
Religion	Georgian Orthodox Church

Jorge de Bagration y de Mukhrani or Giorgi Bagration-Mukhraneli or George Bagration of Mukhrani (Georgian: გიორგი (ხორხე) ბაგრატიონ-მუხრანელი) (22 February 1944 – 16 January 2008) was a Spanish racing car driver of Georgian descent and a claimant to the headship of the Bagrationi dynasty and to the historical throne of Georgia.

Early life

Jorge was born in Rome, Italy, in 1944, the eldest son of émigré Prince Irakli Bagration-Mukhrani, a descendant of the Mukhraneli branch of the Bagration royal family of Georgia. His father, Prince Irakli Bagration-Mukhrani, had gone into exile in Italy following the Bolshevik Revolution, but retained his claim to the throne of Georgia.

His Italian mother, Maria Antonietta Pasquini (1911–1944), daughter of Ugo, Count di Costafiorita, died giving birth to him. In 1946, the widowed Prince Irakli married Princess Maria de las Mercedes de Baviera y Borbón (1911–1953), daughter of Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria (who had been naturalised as a Spanish infante) and granddaughter of King Alfonso XII of Spain, thus bringing the Bagrationis into the marital and social orbit of the dynasties of Western Europe. Giorgi's cousin, Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia is, like him, a royal pretender.

Racing career

He started his motor sport career in 1959, firstly with motorcycles and from 1963 in cars, racing in various series. He made two attempts at Formula One, firstly at the 1968 Spanish Grand Prix with a Lola, but his entry was refused.

His second attempt to enter a Grand Prix was again in Spain, at the 1974 Spanish Grand Prix, but his efforts fell victim to a very unusual set of circumstances. He had bought a Surtees TS16 for this race, and he was included on the entry list. Unfortunately this entry list was mislaid as the outgoing president of the Spanish Motor Sport Federation cleared his office. When a new entry list was drawn up, in the light of some sponsorship problems that de Bagration was experiencing, he was omitted from it. Whether or not he would have been able to race with his reduced backing, he should still have been included on the list of entrants. Thus ended his hopes of competing at motor sport's highest level.

He turned later to rallying, and his best result was winning the Spanish Rally Championship in 1979 and 1981 with a Lancia Stratos HF. He retired from motor sport in 1982.

Head of the Royal House of Georgia

Known as "Giorgi" in Georgia, the prince became a claimant to the Headship of the Georgian royal family in exile upon the death of his father on 30 October 1977, and as such used the style of Royal Highness. The House of Bagrationi is one of the oldest Christian dynasties in Europe, and reigned over the kingdom of Kartli and Kakheti until 1801, when Giorgi's ancestral realm was annexed to the Russian Empire by Tsar Alexander I of Russia in violation of the Treaty of Georgievsk. Many of the Bagrationi were then deported to Russia, and many fled both Georgia and Russia following the Russian Revolution of 1917. Today there is a small but politically active monarchist movement in Georgia.

Giorgi was recognised in 1991 by the Georgian government and parliament as head of the former royal family despite rival claims by other branches of the Bagrationi Dynasty. He inherited from his father the titles Duke of the Lasos, Prince of Kakhetia, Kartalia and Mukhraneli. He was also Grand Master of the Order of the Eagle of Georgia and the Tunic of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Protector Egregio of Divisa of the Old Cavalry and Devotion of San Miguel the Milagroso.

Prince Giorgi made his first visit to his ancestral homeland to bury his father's ashes in 1995. He lived in Marbella, Spain most of his life, but moved to Georgia, where his sons David and Irakli lived. He died in Tbilisi on 16 January 2008 from complications of hepatitis. He was interred among his ancestors, the kings of Georgia, in the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta on 20 January 2008.

Family

Jorge married, firstly, Doña María de las Mercedes de Zornoza y Ponce de León (born Madrid, 14 August 1942). Their children were:

• Princess María Antonieta Bagrationi-Mukhraneli (born 21 June 1969), wed in 1994 to Jaime Gaixas Marcet, had a son, Jaime Gaixas Bagration (born 15 September 1995).
• Prince Irakli Bagrationi-Mukhraneli (born 26 August 1972), unmarried and without issue, who renounced the succession in favour of his brother.
• David Bagration of Mukhrani (born 24 June 1976), who wed Ana Bagration-Gruzinsky (born 1976), daughter of the head of the Kakhetian branch of the Bagrationi dynasty, Nugzar Bagration-Gruzinsky, in Tbilisi on 8 February 2009 at the Tbilisi Sameba Cathedral. Prince David and Princess Anna's son, Giorgi Bagration Bagrationi was born in 2011.

Jorge married, secondly, fellow race car driver Doña Nuria Llopis y Oliart (born 14 November 1953 in Barcelona). They had one child:

• Prince Ugo Bagration (born 14 February 1985).

Ancestors

Ancestors of Jorge de Bagration

16. Prince Irakli Konstantinovich Bagrationi-Mukhraneli               8. Alexander, Prince Bagrationi-Mukhraneli                       17. Princess Katharina Ivanovna Argutinsky-Dolgorukov               4. George, Prince Bagrationi-Mukhraneli                             18. Dmitri Zakharovitch Golovachev               9. Maria Dmitrievna Golovatcheva                       19. Leonida Igorevna von Hessen               2. Irakli, Prince Bagrationi-Mukhraneli                                   20. Dmitri Nowina Złotnicki               10. Sigismund Nowina Złotnicki                       21. Celestina Trzeciak               5. Helena Nowina Złotnicka                             22. Prince Elisabar Eristavi of Ksani               11. Princess Maria Elisabarowna Eristavi-Ksani                       23. Princess Kethevan Eristavi of Ksani               1. Prince Jorge Bagration-Mukhrani                                         12. Carisio Pasquini                       6. Ugo Pasquini, Count di Costafiorita                             13. Caterina Mancini                       3. Maria Antonietta Pasquini dei conti di Costafiorita                                   14. Francesco Antonio Gastaldi                       7. Enrichetta Gastaldi                             15. Augusta Petrini

See also

• Monarchism in Georgia

External links

• Prince George Bagration of Mukhrani, Claimant to the throne of Georgia who became well known in Spain as a fearless motor racing and rally driver, obituary in The Times
• Royal House of Bagration of Georgia
• J. de Bagration's biography
• The Romanoffs and the Bagrations, by Daniel Sargis.
• Heraldry of the Royal House of Bagration-Mouchraneli

Jorge Bagration of Mukhrani Bagrationi Dynasty Born: 22 February 1944 Died: 16 January 2008
Titles in pretence
Preceded by Irakli Bagration-Mukhraneli	— TITULAR — Pretender of the throne of Georgia 1977–2008	Succeeded by David Bagrationi of Moukrani