Prince Ludwig of Bavaria marries in lavish royal wedding

A member of one of Europe's royal families has married in a lavish wedding ceremony fit for a King.

While Prince Ludwig of Bavaria will never actually take the top job, due to Germany's monarchy being dissolved after World War One, the nuptials were a grand affair with all the trappings of a royal wedding.

The religious ceremony took place on Saturday in Munich at the Theatine Church before the reception inside the Nymphenburg Palace, the family's ancestral home.

Watch the video above.

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Prince Ludwig, 40, married his Dutch-Canadian fiancée, Sophie Evekink, 33, who wore the Bavarian sapphire tiara.

The headpiece has been in the groom's family for decades and has been worn by other women linked to the royal house.

The bridal gown was designed by Reem Acra while the veil was created by Ukrainian label WONÁ Concept, with integrated Bavarian, Canadian, and Dutch elements.

Evekink – now known as Princess Sophie while in Bavaria – later changed into a light blue gown designed WONÁ Concept.

In lieu of gifts the couple asked their guests, which included royals from across Europe, to donate to humanitarian causes instead.

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Hundreds of people lined the streets to see the bride and groom, who announced their engagement in August last year.

Prince Ludwig will one day become the Duke of Bavaria and Head of the House of Wittelsbach.

He is the great-great grandson of the last King of Bavaria. His ancestor, King Ludwig III, ruled from 1913 to 1918 but lost his throne at the end of the first world war as the German Empire was dissolved.

Today, descendants are only 'pretenders' to the defunct throne.

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Prince Ludwig's father, Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, is a first cousin of the ruling Franz, Duke of Bavaria, 89.

But Franz has never fathered children so will be succeeded by his brother, Prince Max of Bavaria, 86.

Prince Max has five daughters but no sons and due to the law of male-preference primogeniture, the title will then pass to Prince Luitpold and his descendants, including Prince Ludwig and any future male heirs.

The groom has founded several non-profit organisations in Kenya and has also been trained in estate management at Nymphenburg Palace, as he will one day inherit it.

As for the bride, Princess Sophie previously worked for the United Nations on health and human rights.

She is currently researching for her doctorate at the Law Faculty at Oxford University.

When the couple announced their engagement last year, Prince Ludwig's father said of the bride to be: "Ludwig made a good choice. My future daughter-in-law is a very intelligent and educated woman".