Jorge de Bagration
Encyclopedia
Jorge de Bagration y de Mukhrani or Giorgi Bagration-Mukhraneli or George Bagration of Mukhrani (February 22, 1944 – January 16, 2008) was a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 racing car driver of Georgian
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

 descent and a claimant to the headship of the Royal House of Georgia and to the historical throne of Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

.

Early life

Jorge was born in Rome, Italy, in 1944 to the family of a Georgian
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....

 émigré
Émigré
Émigré is a French term that literally refers to a person who has "migrated out", but often carries a connotation of politico-social self-exile....

Prince Irakli Bagration-Mukhraneli
Irakli Bagration of Mukhrani
Irakli Bagration-Mukhraneli was a Georgian prince of the Mukhrani branch of the former royal dynasty of Bagrationi....

, a descendant of the Mukhraneli
House of Mukhrani
The house of Mukhrani is a Georgian princely family, a collateral branch of the former royal dynasty of Bagrationi of which it sprung early in the 16th century, and received in appanage the domain of Mukhrani located in Kartli, central Georgia...

 branch of the Bagrationi royal family of Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

. His father, Prince Irakli Bagration-Mukhraneli
Irakli Bagration of Mukhrani
Irakli Bagration-Mukhraneli was a Georgian prince of the Mukhrani branch of the former royal dynasty of Bagrationi....

, had gone into exile in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 following the Bolshevik Revolution, but retained his claim to the throne of Georgia.

His Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 mother Maria Antonietta Pasquini, daughter of Ugo, Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...

 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 the German Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria
Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria
Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria was the eldest son and child of Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Bavaria and his wife Infanta María de la Paz of Spain...

 who had been naturalised as a Spanish infante, and granddaughter of King Alfonso XII of Spain
Alfonso XII of Spain
Alfonso XII was king of Spain, reigning from 1874 to 1885, after a coup d'état restored the monarchy and ended the ephemeral First Spanish Republic.-Early life and paternity:Alfonso was the son of Queen Isabella II of Spain, and...

, thus bringing the Bagrationis into the marital and social orbit of the dynasties
Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...

 of Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...

. Giorgi's cousin, Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia is, like him, a royal pretender
Pretender
A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished....

.

Racing career

He started his motor sport career in 1959, firstly with motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

s and from 1963 in cars, racing in various series. He made two attempts at Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

, firstly at the 1968 Spanish Grand Prix
1968 Spanish Grand Prix
The 1968 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Jarama Circuit on May 12, 1968. It was the second round of the 1968 Formula One season. It was the first race after the death of former double World Champion Jim Clark, who had died in a non-championship Formula Two event in...

 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
1974 Spanish Grand Prix
The 1974 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Jarama on April 28, 1974.- Race summary :With James Hunt's Hesketh having won the International Trophy, the season was one of the most open ever, with four different drivers from different teams having won the first four races and a...

, but his efforts fell victim to a very unusual set of circumstances. He had bought a Surtees
Surtees
The Surtees Racing Organisation was a race team that spent nine seasons as a constructor in Formula One, Formula 2, and Formula 5000.-History:...

 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
Rallying
Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...

, and his best result was winning the Spanish Rally Championship
Spanish Rally Championship
The Spanish Rally Championship is the most important rally championship in Spain.- Champions :Driver Championship...

 in 1979 and 1981 with a Lancia Stratos HF
Lancia Stratos HF
The Lancia Stratos HF, widely and more simply known as Lancia Stratos, is a car made by Italian car manufacturer Lancia. The HF stands for High Fidelity...

. He retired from motor sport in 1982.

Head of the Royal House of Georgia

Known as "Giorgi" in Georgia, the prince became a claimant
Pretender
A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished....

 to the Headship of the Georgian royal family in exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...

 upon the death of his father on October 30, 1977, and as such uses the style
Style (manner of address)
A style of office, or honorific, is a legal, official, or recognized title. A style, by tradition or law, precedes a reference to a person who holds a post or political office, and is sometimes used to refer to the office itself. An honorific can also be awarded to an individual in a personal...

 of Royal Highness
Royal Highness
Royal Highness is a style ; plural Royal Highnesses...

. The House of Bagrationi is one of the oldest Christian dynasties
Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...

 in Europe, and reigned over the kingdom of Kartli and Kakheti until 1801, when Giorgi's ancestral realm
Realm
A realm is a dominion of a monarch or other sovereign ruler.The Old French word reaume, modern French royaume, was the word first adopted in English; the fixed modern spelling does not appear until the beginning of the 17th century...

 was annexed to the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

 by Tsar Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....

 in violation of the Treaty of Georgievsk
Treaty of Georgievsk
The Treaty of Georgievsk was a bilateral treaty concluded between the Russian Empire and the east Georgian kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti on July 24, 1783. The treaty established Georgia as a protectorate of Russia, which guaranteed Georgia's territorial integrity and the continuation of its reigning...

. 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
Bagrationi Dynasty
The Bagrationi dynasty was the ruling family of Georgia. Their ascendency lasted from the early Middle Ages until the early 19th century. In modern usage, this royal line is frequently referred to as the Georgian Bagratids, a Hellenized form of their dynastic name.The origin of the Bagrationi...

. He inherited from his father the titles Duke of the Lasos, Prince of Kakhetia, Kartalia
Kartli
Kartli is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari , on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial role in ethnic and political consolidation of the Georgians in the Middle Ages...

 and Mukhraneli
Mukhrani
Mukhrani is a historical lowland district in eastern Georgia, currently within the borders of Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, north of the town of Mtskheta...

. He was also Sovereign Head and Grand Master
Grand Master (order)
Grand Master is the typical title of the supreme head of various orders of knighthood, including various military orders, religious orders and civil orders such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Orange Order...

 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
Marbella
Marbella is a town in Andalusia, Spain. It is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, in the province of Málaga, beneath the La Concha mountain. In 2000 the city had 98,823 inhabitants, in 2004, 116,234, in 2010 approximately 135,000....

, Spain most of his life, but moved to Georgia, where his sons David and Irakli live. He died in Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...

 on January 16, 2008 from complications of hepatitis
Hepatitis
Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...

. He was interred among his ancestors the kings of Georgia in the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral is a Georgian Orthodox cathedral located in the historical town of Mtskheta, Georgia, northwest of the nation's capital of Tbilisi....

 in Mtskheta
Mtskheta
Mtskheta , one of the oldest cities of the country of Georgia , is located approximately 20 kilometers north of Tbilisi at the confluence of the Aragvi and Kura rivers. The city is now the administrative centre of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region...

 on January 20, 2008.

Family

Jorge married 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, 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 to his brother.
  • Prince Davit Bagrationi-Mukhraneli
    David Bagration of Mukhrani
    David Bagrationi of Moukhrani, David Bagration de Moukhrani y de Zornoza, or Davit' Bagration-Mukhraneli is a claimant to the headship of the Royal House of Georgia and to the historical thrones of Georgia, succeeding on the death of his father Jorge de Bagration on January 16, 2008.-Early...

     (born 24 June 1976), who had wed Princess Anna Gruzinski (born 1976), daughter of the head of the Kakheti
    Kakheti
    Kakheti is a historical province in Eastern Georgia inhabited by Kakhetians who speak a local dialect of Georgian. It is bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north, Russian Federation to the Northeast, Azerbaijan to the Southeast, and...

    an branch of the Bagrationi dynasty, Prince Nugzar Bagrationi-Gruzinsky
    Nugzar Bagration-Gruzinsky
    Prince Nugzar Bagration-Gruzinsky is the head of the deposed House of Gruzinsky and represents its claim to the former crown of Georgia.-Biography:...

    , in Tbilisi on 8 February 2009 at the Tbilisi Sameba Cathedral
    Tbilisi Sameba Cathedral
    The Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi commonly known as Sameba is the main Cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church located in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Constructed between 1995 and 2004, it is the third-tallest Eastern Orthodox Cathedral in the World...

    .


Jorge married, secondly, fellow race car driver Doña Nuria Llopis y Oliart (born 14 November 1953 in Barcelona). They had one child:
  • Prince Gurami Ugo Bagrationi-Mukhraneli (born 14 February 1985)

External links

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