The son of the late Prince Harald von Hohenzollern has been born. Princess Josefa von Hohenzollern shared the news on July 31, calling her baby boy the "biggest light" in her life. Alongside a photo of her newborn's feet, Josefa wrote (translated to English): "Today at 0:47 o’clock our son Leopold saw the light of the world. We are overjoyed, grateful - and just overwhelmed by this little ray of sunshine. ☀️ Such a small person - and yet already the biggest light in my life. We're doing fine. Welcome baby leopold ❤️."
Days later, on Aug. 3, the Princess shared a snapshot of herself cradling her son at Krankenhaus Leonberg, a hospital in Leonberg, Germany. "Looking back. Amaze. Thank you.The last few days have been intense, emotional - and full of closeness. I got to experience what it means to be cared for as an expectant mother at Leonberg Hospital: with the highest professionalism, with deep respect, with heart," she captioned the picture (translated to English). "My deepest gratitude to the entire team - the doctors, the midwives, the care - for their expertise, their calmness and this incredible humanity. This experience has not only touched me as a mother, but also strengthened me as a local politician: health must not be an accident. You need reliable structures, good working conditions and a clear attitude to ensure presence - right on site."
She continued, "The next few days, I will be concentrating on Leopold. But life, the city, the responsibility don’t pause – and that’s why we’ve been planning deliberately: In the coming week, my team will publish articles on healthcare in and around Leonberg that we’ve prepared together.I am present - with the look of a mother, the heart of a citizen and the responsibility of a candidate."
Leopold's birth came less than two months after Josefa announced the death of her husband Harald. On June 25, she revealed that her "beloved husband" died "completely unexpectedly of a sudden cardiac death." She wrote on Instagram, "This loss hits me very deep. I need time to grieve, say goodbye and be there for our unborn child."
Five days before revealing her husband's passing, Josefa announced that she was running for mayor of Leonberg. After his death, Josefa told Stuttgarter Nachrichten that she intended to continue her run for mayor. She said, "That would also be in my husband's best interest."
According to Paris Match, Josefa and Harald tied the knot in September of 2024. They are said to have met two years earlier at a trade fair. The late Prince was a member of the House of Hohenzollern. Per Harald Prinz von Hohenzollern's website, "The House of Hohenzollern is a German royal dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania."