Maximilian Maria, 7th Prince of Thurn and Taxis

Maximilian Maria was the eldest of the two sons of Maximilian Anton Lamoral, Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis and Duchess Helene in Bavaria. After the death of his father on 26 June 1867, he became heir apparent to the headship of the House of Thurn and Taxis. With the death of his grandfather Maximilian Karl, 6th Prince of Thurn and Taxis on 10 November 1871, he succeeded as Prince of Thurn and Taxis at the age of nine.

To prepare for his future office, Maximilian Maria received his education from Baron Carl von Geyr-Schleppenburg. Maximilian Maria attended no public school, but was given private lessons. Beginning in the Autumn of 1880, he studied philosophy, law, and economics at the Universities of Bonn, Strasbourg, and Göttingen. Since his youth, he was fascinated not only with riding and hunting, but also with the promotion of arts and sciences. He urged his archivist to establish and write a scientifically based history of the House of Thurn and Taxis.[1]

To celebrate his achievements and the official takeover of the government business of the House of Thurn and Taxis, Maximilian Maria created generous foundations for the poor of the city of Regensburg and the surrounding countryside, and also for the restoration of the St. Emmeram's Abbey.[1]

He died very young. His heart had been weakened by scarlet fever in childhood, and he suffered from severe heart spasms. In 1885, he died of a pulmonary embolism.

• Wolfgang Behringer: Thurn und Taxis, Die Geschichte ihrer Post und ihrer Unternehmen. München, Zürich 1990, ISBN 3-492-03336-9.
• Martin Dallmeier, Martha Schad: Das Fürstliche Haus Thurn und Taxis, 300 Jahre Geschichte in Bildern. Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 1996, ISBN 3-7917-1492-9.