| Karl August | |
| Full Name: | de|Karl August Joseph Maria Maximilian Lamoral Antonius Ignatius Benediktus Valentin |
| Prince of Thurn and Taxis | |
| Reign: | 13 July 1971 – 26 April 1982 |
| Reign-Type: | Period |
| Predecessor: | Franz Joseph |
| Successor: | Johannes |
| Succession: | Head of the House of Thurn and Taxis |
| Spouse: | Princess Maria Anna of Braganza |
| Issue: | Princess Clotilde Princess Mafalda Johannes, 11th Prince of Thurn and Taxis Prince Albert |
| House: | Thurn and Taxis |
| Father: | Albert, 8th Prince of Thurn and Taxis |
| Mother: | Archduchess Margarethe Klementine of Austria |
| Birth Date: | 23 July 1898 |
| Birth Place: | Schloss Garatshausen, Feldafing, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire |
| Death Place: | Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany |
| Burial Place: | Gruftkapelle, Saint Emmeram's Abbey, Regensburg |
| Religion: | Roman Catholic |
Karl August Joseph Maria Maximilian Lamoral Antonius Ignatius Benediktus Valentin, 10th Prince of Thurn and Taxis (full German name: Karl August Joseph Maria Maximilian Lamoral Antonius Ignatius Benediktus Valentin Fürst von Thurn und Taxis; 23 July 1898 - 26 April 1982) was the tenth Prince of Thurn and Taxis and Head of the Princely House of Thurn and Taxis from 13 July 1971 until his death on 26 April 1982.
Karl August was the third son and child of Albert, 8th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, and his wife, Archduchess Margarethe Klementine of Austria. After graduating from a local high school, Karl August studied science at the University of Würzburg.
Karl August married Infanta Maria Ana of Portugal, daughter of Dom Miguel, Duke of Braganza, and his wife Princess Maria Theresa of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, on 18 August 1921 at Schloss Taxis in Dischingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Karl August and Maria Ana had four children:
After his marriage, Karl August and his wife resided at Schloss Höfling in Regensburg where he managed the family's agricultural interests in nearby Burgweinting.[1] As a committed opponent to Nazism, Karl August forbade his children, after the Machtergreifung, to join the Hitler Youth.[2]
Because of his anti-Nazi attitude, Karl August was imprisoned in a Gestapo prison in Landshut from 1944 to 1945.
| Royal Name: | Karl August, Prince of Thurn and Taxis |
| Dipstyle: | His Serene Highness |
| Offstyle: | Your Serene Highness |
After the death of his elder brother Franz Josef in 1971, Karl August was aged 73 when he succeeded as Head of the House of Thurn and Taxis. During this time, he was responsible for the modernization of the agricultural and forestry possessions of the House of Thurn and Taxis, and he built homes for his workers and employees.
In addition, he supported the continued preservation of the cultural-historical heritage of the House of Thurn and Taxis. Karl August restored interior parts of Saint Emmeram's Abbey, as well as tapestries from the 17th and 18th centuries.[3]
After his death on 26 April 1982, Karl August was entombed in the chapel of Saint Emmeram's Abbey.