The coffin of Carl Herzog was decorated with the yellow coat of arms of the House of Württemberg.
The black deer sticks on it could be seen from afar.
On Saturday, almost 1,000 mourners said goodbye to Carl Duke of Württemberg at a requiem in the Castle Church of St. George in Altshausen in Upper Swabia.
Among the guests were the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Prince Ferdinand von Hohenzollern, the Duke of Bavaria, the Duke of Bragança from Portugal and Prince Albert von Thurn und Taxis.
Rudiger Soldt
Political correspondent in Baden-Württemberg.
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On Friday, the coffin was brought to the market square by four horses from the Marbach stud through the Altshauser Ried.
Baden-Württemberg Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens), Interior Minister Thomas Strobl, former Prime Minister Erwin Teufel (both CDU) and State Health Minister Manfred Lucha (Greens) also took part in the requiem.
Carl Duke of Württemberg died on June 7th at the age of 85 after a long illness in the Oberschwaben Clinic in Ravensburg.
Gebhard Fürst, bishop of the Rottenburg-Stuttgart diocese, paid tribute to the lifetime achievements of the former head of the House of Württemberg: the basic attitude of the nobleman was to help people.
"Fearless and loyal is in the coat of arms of the House of Württemberg." Last but not least, said Fürst, this guiding principle shaped the Duke's willpower.
With great warmth, his sense of art and aesthetics, he was a man who helped all people who needed help "as far as it was possible".
The duke was considered to be close to the people and socially committed: he celebrated his 70th birthday on the market square in Altshausen;
when the tsunami destroyed the coasts of Indonesia in 2004, Duke Carl spontaneously collected one million euros in donations, which is why the "Schwäbische Zeitung" newspaper called him the "most charming beggar" in the country.
Bishop Fürst said that in the last years of his life the duke was "almost broken by the grief for his son Duke Friedrich";
he died in a traffic accident in 2018.
Friedrich was actually intended as his successor: now it will be Carl's 27-year-old grandson Wilhelm.
After the funeral service, the duke was buried in the family crypt of the palace church.