Adam Karol Czartoryski
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Adam Karol Czartoryski | |
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 Coat of arms of Prince Adam Karol | |
| Coat of arms | Czartoryski |
| Full name | Adam Karol Jezus Maria Józef Franciszek Salezy and all the Saints Czartoryski |
| Born | 2 January 1940 Seville, Spain |
| Family | Czartoryski |
| Spouse(s) | Josette Naime Calil |
| Father | Prince Augustyn Józef Czartoryski |
| Mother | Princess Maria de los Dolores of Borbon y Orleans |
Ancestry
Prince Adam Karol Czartoryski Duke of Klewan Zukow and Mojuw and Grand Duke of Lithuania is a Polish and Spanish aristocrat head of the Polish House of Czartoryski and descendant of Prince Giedymin, Lord of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and ancestor of the Polish Kings of the Jagiellon dynasty and the 14th direct descendant of this line. He is also related to both the Royal House of Borbon of Spain and to France's Royal House of Orleans.
In 2016 the Minister of Culture in Warsaw contacted Adam Karol in order to secure the long term future of the Czartoryski Museum. Having no direct male descendant (as required by the statutes of The Princes Czartoryski Foundation) and eager to pursue his ancestor's cultural mission, Adam Karol decided to entrust all of his inestimable inheritance to the Polish Nation, including the entire Czartoryski collections as well as the famous Czartoryski Library containing Poland's most important historical documents, together with the buildings which housed them. This bequest included his remaining estates of Sieniawa, the seat of the Main Line Czartoryski Family.
At the Royal Palace in Warsaw on the 29th of December 2016, Prince Adam Karol concluded and signed the spectacular and historic Donation of the Czartoryski Collections founded by his ancestor Princess Izabela Czartoryska in 1796 to the Polish Nation.The collections will remain whole and on display for generations of Poles and visitors to marvel at and enjoy.
Adam Karol (Adan Carlos Jesus Maria Jose Francisco de Sales y Todos los Santos Czartoryski-Borbon Krasinski y Orleans) was born in Seville Spain on the 2nd of January 1940, after his parents Prince Augustyn Joseph Czartoryski and his mother Princess Maria de los Dolores de Borbon were forced to flee Poland in October 1939 by the invading German forces. After an epic journey across Europe, his parents settled in Spain but his father's poor health did not allow him to survive the stress and changes and he died in 1946 unable to return to his beloved Poland.
Following the invasion of Poland in 1939, the German army confiscated all the objects on display at the Czartoryski Museum. The Governor, Hans Frank, took possession of Raphael's Portrait of a Young Man and Leonardo's Lady with an Ermine, which he had hung in his bedroom, along with other important objects. Eventually most of the stolen items were recovered by the Allies, most notably by the Monument Men, and handed over to the Polish government after the war.
Meanwhile, Adam Karol remained in Spain with his mother and his grandparents, El Infante Don Carlos de Borbon and La Infanta Maria Luisa de Orleans, which he loved dearly. He was educated in Spain and later went to England where he finished his studies. Adan Karol returned to Spain in 1969, a few years before his first cousin King Juan Carlos I ascended to the Spanish throne.
The Red Army’s occupation of Poland and 45 years of unbroken Communist rule meant that legal title to the Czartoryski Collections and all of their estates was not returned to the family until 1991. President Lech Walesa recognized Adam Karol as the sole and rightful heir of his father's estate, a decision which was affirmed by Poland’s High Court. Adam Karol instituted The Princes Czartoryski Foundation to run and administer effectively the Czartoryski Museum and the Collections.
In 1992 the Polish Government invited Adam Karol to host the Polish Pavilion at the Universal Exposition in Seville, recognizing for the first time his Polish identity. In the quarter century that followed, Adam Karol presided over a global resurgence of awareness of the importance of the Czartoryski Collection and the contribution of generations of his family that had kept Princess Izabela’s dream alive to put Poland at the heart of Western and European culture. Adam Karol began to modernize the institution his predecessors had bequeathed him, including the renovation of the 19th Century Neo Gothic Palace which houses the Czartoryski Museum in Krakow.
Among the prized possession of the Czartoryskis was the Hotel Lambert in Paris, a splendid mansion built by Louis le Vaux, which was bought by Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski in 1843 on the suggestion of the painter, Eugene Delacroix. The Hôtel Lambert became the rallying point of all Polish émigrés and was synonymous with the government in exile headed by Adam Jerzy. Every year, Prince Czartoryski hosted members of the political and cultural resistance movement at the famous Polish Ball for which Frédéric Chopin composed his first Polonaise. In 1975, the Hotel Lambert was sold to the Rothschild family and the contents distributed to all the family members. Adam Karol as head of the family kept most of the ancestral portraits and miniatures.
With the Donation Act, valued at around 3 Billion Euros, Adam Karol guaranteed that his Family’s legacy would be preserved in perpetuity and that it would continue to remind all the generations of the greatness of Poland in accordance with Princess Izabela's motto “The Past for the Future”. This generous endowment also made him the biggest benefactor in modern Polish History and thus entered the Pantheon of great characters of the Czartoryski Family.
Adam Karol is married to Mrs. Josette Calil who became Princess Czartoryski in 2000. Her passion for art and for the Czartoryski family history has been a constant support and has helped him to move forward in his major projects.
He has a daughter from a former marriage.
Personal Life
During the sixties while in Dublin, Adam Karol began racing cars from sport cars to Formula III and was involved both in Circuit Racing and Hill Climbs in Ireland, as well as in Britain and some European Circuits.
Adam Karol was also interested in martial arts and started training in Kempo Karate with John McSweeney, a direct pupil of the famous Hawaiian Master Ed Parker. Returning to his native Spain at the end of the sixties, Adam Karol continued his Karate training this time under the guidance of a Japanese Master Sensei Yasunari Ishimi and became a 5 Dan Black Belt in Karate.
Adam Karol also contributed to the organization and creation of the Spanish Karate Federation. He was vice President of the World Union of Karate Do Organizations, the World Karate Federation and also the European Karate Union for over two decades.
As well as the positions above mentioned he was a member of the Spanish Wrestling Federation (FEL) and also of the International Amateur Wrestling Federation (FILA) for ten years. During the above periods in Official International Sports positions, he was also a member of the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE)
Selected Awards and Honours
- Knight of Ronda (Real Maestranza de Caballeria de Ronda)
- Knight of Madrid (Hijos Dalgo de la Nobleza de Madrid)
- Member of Mozarabes of Toledo (Mozarabes de Toledo)
- Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, Naples, Italy (Sacro Militare Ordine Costantiniano di San Giorgio Napoli, Italia)
- Knight of Malta
- Commander's Cross with Star of the Polish Order of Polonia Restituta.
Selected Sports Medals
- Silver Medal Spanish Judo Federation.(FEJ)
- Gold Medal Spanish Wrestling Federation. (FEL)
- Gold Medal International Wrestling Federation. (FILA)
- Gold Medal Ministry of Sports of Taiwan.
Other Selected Activities
- Prince Adam Karol is since 1974 the Head Trustee of the Polish Dzialynska Trust in London
- Holy Order of the True Cross, Dos Hermanas, Seville, Spain (Hermandad de la Vera Cruz, Dos Hermanas, Sevilla, España) Since 1946.
- Holy Order of Saint John of the Palm, Seville, Spain (Hermandad de San Juan de la Palma "La Amargura" Sevilla, España) Since 1948.
- Holy Order of Jesus Captive, Dos Hermanas, Seville, Spain (Hermandad de Jesus Cautivo, Parroquia de Santa Magdalena, Dos Hermanas, Sevilla) Since 1954.
- Holy Order of Saint John of the Palm, Dos Hermanas, Seville, Spain (Hermandad de San Juan de la Palma "La Borriquita" Parroquia de Santa Magdalena, Dos Hermanas, Sevilla, España) Co Founder and Member Since 1956.
- Holy Order of Our Father of the Passion, Seville, Spain (Hermandad de Nuestro Padre Jesus de Pasion, Sevilla, España) Since 1962.