Frankopan family (United Kingdom)

The Frankopan family are a family from the United Kingdom bearing the name of the medieval Croatian House of Frankopan.

Peter Frankopan, a Senior Fellow of Worcester College at Oxford University and Director of the University's Centre for Byzantine Studies, claims that his family, Doimi de Lupis, split from other branches of the Frankopan family in the 14th century. From Doimo III Frangipani or Frankopan, (+ 1348), Count of Veglia, married Elisabetta Subich, daughter of Jakab Subich, Count of Bribir (+ post 1347); see This claim is publicly disputed in Croatia.

Louis Frankopan and his wife are members of the Croatian and Italian nobility. In 1991 Louis Doimi de Lupis Frankopan and his wife Ingrid were appointed official spokespersons for the Croatian Government. Louis Frankopan was a founding member the Croatian Nobility Association, a private non-governmental organisation founded immediately after the end of the Croatian War of Independence in 1995, but was ejected from membership when others disputed his claim to the Frankopan name, and was later the subject of ridicule by Croatian geneaologists. Croatian archaeologist Ivan Mirnik publicly spoke out against Ingrid Detter on several occasions, and in 2002, Louis Doimi de Lupis was registered by the Croatian Nobility Association only under the name Doimi de Lupis, based on a 17th-century certification of nobility of the 13th-century Trogir family known as Dujmi.

In 2002, the Ribnik Castle in Ribnik, Croatia was bought by members of the present-day Frankopan family after the municipality of Ribnik sold it to them on a public tender for a total sum of 1,650,000 kuna.

In 2006 The Times published an article suggesting that the family had added Frankopan to their surname under British civil law but later published a retraction and a clarification. The Times corrected the article, stating:

"Since 2006 a judgment of the Italian courts has confirmed the genealogical entitlement and the right of all members of the Frankopan family to make use of the titles Princes Frankopan Frangipane Subić and Counts Doimi de Lupis, even if, for political reasons, they did not always use them. The Frankopan family did not change its name under UK law as stated above."

The judgment has executory force in all jurisdictions in Europe and elsewhere and is recognised by the Croatian Government.

Louis Frankopan's wife, Ingrid Detter de Frankopan, is a professor of law. Their daughter Paola, is married to Lord Nicholas Windsor and has written for The Tatler and one article about her wedding in Vogue USA. Their eldest son Peter is a historian and author.

He says that the "title (of the family) is not any claim on anything. It is just a reflection of the age of the family". He maintains that his family split from other branches of the Frankopan family in the 14th century. Together with his wife, he founded Cambridge University's Frankopan Directorship for Gender Studies.

External links

• The family site La Casata dei Lupi, (Italian language), contains photos of Lord and Lady Nicholas, their first son Albert, and members of the Lupis family. Retrieved 26 September 2009. As of 26 September 2009, this was the only source online that had the name of the second son as Leopold Ernest Augustus Guelph Windsor. This name has been confirmed 1 November by an official announcement sent to family members: "Paola and Nicholas announce with joy the birth of their second son Leopold a brother to Albert born on the 8th of September 2009 8lb 2oz".
• Doimi de Lupis genealogy (Italian language) hosted by Società Genealogica Italiana - SGI. Retrieved 26 September 2009. The page calls Lady Nicholas Windsor "S.A.R. Lady Paola Luisa Marica Doimi de Lupis de Frankopan Subich", and her sons "S.A.R. Lord Albert (Bertie) Louis Philip Edward Windsor" and "S.A.R. Lord Leopold Ernest Augustus Guelph Windsor", reflecting Italian protocol and customs according to the "Cerimoniale della Presidenza della Repubblica Italiana", which states that all the members of sovereign and reigning families that visit Italy are addressed as "Le Loro Altezze Reali", (LLAARR) (TRH) or "Sua Altezza Reale" "SAR" (HRH) etc. (see the official site of "Ministero degli affari Esteri - Cerimoniale diplomatico").