Hearing date confirmed for Málaga man's Prince of Bavaria paternity suit

A LAW firm behind successful paternity suits involving crooner Julio Iglesias and famous bullfighter Manuel Benítez 'El Cordobés' has managed to get a court to accept the case of a Costa del Sol resident whose father may be the late Prince of Bavaria.

Messrs Osuna, in Sevilla, were key in 'El Cordobés' recognising young matador Manuel Díaz as his biological son, and also in helping prove Iglesias was the father of Javier, 46, from Valencia – although in the latter case, the legendary singer, 78, continues to deny paternity.

Now, company owner Fernando Osuna has succeeded in getting a hearing for next month in a Málaga court, where he will attempt to convince the judge to order allow the deceased Prince's sister to give a DNA sample.

As the paternity claim is posthumous, there will be no issue of the aristocrat's admitting or denying the unnamed Málaga man is his son – and, as yet, there are no DNA samples available to prove or negate his claims.

Prince Fernando of Bavaria, a Spanish national but a German Royal, died in 1999 aged just 61 and was cremated, so DNA evidence would need to be extracted from other relatives.

The Málaga man's hypothetical grandfather and uncle are buried at Madrid's La Almudena cemetery – where Prince Fernando's ashes were laid to rest – and, even if little remains but bones, these would still be enough to extract genetic information.

Prince Fernando had a brother and two sisters, and the only one still living – Princess Tessa of Bavaria – will be asked for DNA samples, as will with her own daughter, if the Málaga court upholds the law firm's request.

If both women refuse, Messrs Osuna will make a repeated call for an exhumation.

According to Catalunya-based national daily newspaper La Vanguardia, one surviving close relative of Prince Fernando's – who is, incidentally, cousin to Spain's current King's grandfather – had been asked for DNA, but refused to supply it.

A judge then denied permission for the supposed grandfather and uncle to be exhumed, considering it to be a 'sensitive and delicate operation'.

If Princess Tessa of Bavaria does not agree to give a sample following the hearing on May 10, though, this 'delicate operation' would be the only way of getting genetic evidence of Prince Fernando's paternity.

In the absence of genetic proof to date, among the existing evidence that has led the court to accept the case are numerous written testimonials from witnesses who state the Prince had a relationship with the Málaga man's mother, and the fact that the anonymous client has a 'very characteristic' birthmark which is shared with 'several other members' of the Bavaria dynasty.

The man who believes he is Prince Fernando's son started the long paternity suit process five years ago, some time after finding out his father's identity.

He had been adopted by a Sevilla family from an orphanage, where he ended up as a very small child when his mother died.

His mother had worked as a maid in the court of Prince Fernando, but was sacked when she revealed she was pregnant, according to the case file.

After giving birth, Prince Fernando allegedly convinced the mother to enter a marriage of convenience and give the child away to an orphanage.

According to Osuna, the client does not wish to be named, but is 'around 50 years of age' and 'only seeks confirmation of his origins'.

Said to be middle-class, middle-income and working in Málaga, the supposed son is not seeking financial gain and, as he is not the first-born, would not be eligible to inherit noble titles even if his claims were proven.

As for Prince Fernando himself, he and his brother Luis were racing drivers in the 1960s, and were featured in the motorsport magazine Velocidad, where the above photograph is taken from.