Monday, June 29, 2020

A Scion of the Guinness Dynasty Marries Bette Midler's Daughter

 
On 6 June 2020, Harry J. N. Guinness married Sophie von Haselberg at Milbrook, New York. Sophie and Harry decided to have their wedding just ten days before the ceremony; however, they both felt that this was the perfect way for the couple to intimately celebrate their marriage. 
 
Bette Midler, Sophie's mother, provided the flowers, and her father, Martin von Haselberg, did the cooking. After their ceremony, Harry and Sophie planted two trees. For the small reception, the newlyweds were given two lobsters (dressed as the bride and the groom; the lobsters were later made into a salad by Sophie). They enjoyed a chocolate Guinness cake and a lemon-elderflower cake. This lovely union brings together a famous Irish brewing dynasty with a well-known American acting family.
 
Harry J. N. Guinness is the son of Timothy Whitmore Newton Guinness (b.Basingstoke, Hampshire 20 June 1947) and his ex-wife Beverly Anne Mills. Timothy Guinness and Beverly Mills were married on 6 June 1974. Harry has three siblings: Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth. 
 
 
 
 
Sophie Frederica Alohilani von Haselberg was born on 14 November 1986 as the daughter of Martin Rochus Sebastian von Haselberg (b.Argentina 20 January 1949; became a naturalised U.S. citizen in 1991) and the well-known U.S. actress Bette Midler (b.Honolulu, Hawaii 1 December 1945). Martin von Haselberg and Bette Midler were married on 16 December 1984 at Las Vegas, Nevada.

A special thank you to Michael Rhodes of the Peerage News Blog for providing the details of the nuptials!

Sunday, June 28, 2020

OTD: Albanian Royal Family Returns to Country in 2002 after Six Decades in Exile

The Albanian Royal Family returns to their country for the first time since 1939.
Photograph (c) HRH Crown Prince Leka of the Albanians
 


On Friday, 28 June 2002, the Albanian royal family returned to Albania for the first time in sixty-three years. Among the returning members of the House of Zogu were King Leka I of the Albanians, his wife Queen Susan, his mother Queen Mother Geraldine, and his son Crown Prince Leka. The family had been living in Johannesburg, South Africa, since the 1980s. The Albanian royals had been forced to leave their country in 1939 in the face of invading Italian troops. Of the four members who returned in 2002, only two had ever been in Albania before: Geraldine had set foot in Albania in 1938 when she was courted by and married to King Zog I of Albania; her son Leka was born in Tirana on 5 April 1939, and, just two days later, his parents fled the country with their baby boy to escape the forces of Mussolini.

 
 


King Zog, Queen Geraldine, and Crown Prince Leka lived in exile in numerous countries. From August 1939 - June 1940, the family lived in France. However, the outbreak of World War II caused the king and queen to decide that they would be safer in the United Kingdom, which is where they relocated in June 1940. Zog, Geraldine, and Leka were to remain in Great Britain until January 1946. In that month, the royals moved to Egypt, where they lived in Cairo until July 1955. The change of the Egyptian government after the deposition of King Farouk was a key factor in the decision to return to France. From July 1955 until late 1961, the family lived in France. King Zog died in Paris on 9 April 1961. Queen Mother Geraldine and son Leka, the newly acclaimed King of the Albanians, moved to Madrid, Spain, where they resided until 1979. During that time, the royal family grew by one. In 1975, King Leka married Susan Cullen-Ward, an Australian teacher whom he had met at a dinner party in Sydney in 1970. Events forced King Leka and Queen Susan to depart Spain in early 1979. From February 1979 until April 1980, the royal couple lived in Rhodesia, during which time the queen was delivered of a stillborn baby daughter. When Robert Mugabe came to power in the newly formed country of Zimbabwe, Leka and Susan left and settled in Johannesburg, South Africa, where they were granted diplomatic status. It was there that their only surviving child, Crown Prince Leka, was born on 26 March 1982. In the meantime, Queen Mother Geraldine stayed in Madrid until 1995, when she left Spain to join her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson in South Africa. It was from there that the family departed Johannesburg for Tirana on 28 June 2002.

 
 
 

When they arrived at Tirana International Airport, the Albanian royal family was greeted by crowds of supporters. They took up residence in a home in central Tirana. Several months after the family's return, Queen Mother Geraldine of Albania passed away on 22 October 2002 at the age of eighty-seven. Four days later, Her Majesty was buried in the Mausoleum of the Albanian Royal Family in Tirana. Two years after the death of her mother-in-law, Queen Susan of the Albanians died on 17 July 2004, aged sixty-three. The queen joined the queen mother in the royal mausoleum. Lastly, on 30 November 2011, King Leka I of the Albanians passed away at the Mother Teresa Hospital in Tirana at the age of seventy-two. He was buried with his wife and mother. In 2012, King Zog's remains were repatriated from France and laid to rest beside his wife, his son, and his daughter-in-law.


Crown Prince Leka (II) of the Albanians resides with his wife Crown Princess Elia at the Royal Compound in Tirana.

For more about the Royal Family of Albania, please visit this link: Albanian Royal Court

Saturday, June 27, 2020

Princess Teresa of Orléans and Bragança, Last Surviving Sister-In-Law of the Countess of Paris, Passes Away

D. Teresa, wearing Yves Saint Laurent, appears in Vogue's 1970 "10 Best Dressed Women of the World" List
Photograph (c) Richard Avedon
Princess Teresa of Orléans and Bragança died yesterday (26 June 2020) in Rio de Janeiro. Teresa was ninety-one years-old. The princess was the widow of Prince João of Orléans and Bragança.

Teresa in 1956
Photograph (c) O Semanário
1956: Didu (far left) and Teresa (far right) with Didu's daughter Lilian
Photograph (c) Revista da Semana

Teresa (or Tereza) de Jesus Cesar Leite was born on 11 January 1929 at Uba, Minas Gerais. She was the daughter of José da Silva Leite and Branca Queiroz Cesar dos Santos. In the 1950s, Teresa married Carlos Eduardo "Didu" de Sousa Campos, the son of Vilobaldo Machado de Sousa Campos, a former director of the Banco do Brasil, and his wife Letícia Dias. Teresa was Didu's second wife. The couple had one child, a son, Diduzinho (who predeceased his mother). Teresa and Didu lived a jet-set lifestyle in their four-storey, twenty-room mansion in Copacabana. In the 1970s, the couple separated. On 28 January 1986, Didu de Souza Campos died in Rio de Janeiro after suffering a heart attack; he was seventy-two years-old.
 
Teresa de Sousa Campos
The Imperial Siblings of Brazil: Prince João; Princess Isabelle, Countess of Paris; Prince Pedro Gastão; Princess Teresa
In the background: Princess Maria Elisabeth, wife of Prince Pedro Henrique, and Dom Duarte, Duke of Braganza
On 29 April 1990 at Petrópolis, Teresa married in a civil ceremony Prince João of Orléans and Bragança, son of Prince Pedro de Alcântara of Orléans and Bragança, Prince of Grão Pará, and his wife Princess Elisabeth (née Countess Dobrzensky von Dobrzenicz). Teresa and João celebrated their religious wedding on 11 May 1990 in Rio de Janeiro. Residing in Paraty for much of their marriage, Prince João and Princess Teresa were together for fifteen years before Prince João passed away in 2005 at the age of eighty-eight. 
 
May the Princess Rest In Peace. 
 
Thank you to my dear friend Astrid Bodstein Romêo for notifying me of this news.
 
Source:
 

Friday, June 26, 2020

Princess Teresa of Orléans and Bragança, Last Surviving Sister-In-Law of the Countess of Paris, Passes Away

D. Teresa, wearing Yves Saint Laurent, appears in Vogue's 1970 "10 Best Dressed Women of the World" List Photograph (c) Richard Avedon
Princess Teresa of Orléans and Bragança died yesterday (26 June 2020) in Rio de Janeiro. Teresa was ninety-one years-old. The princess was the widow of Prince João of Orléans and Bragança.
Teresa in 1956 Photograph (c) O Semanário
1956: Didu (far left) and Teresa (far right) with Didu's daughter Lilian Photograph (c) Revista da Semana
Teresa (or Tereza) de Jesus Cesar Leite was born on 11 January 1929 at Uba, Minas Gerais. She was the daughter of José da Silva Leite and Branca Queiroz Cesar dos Santos. In the 1950s, Teresa married Carlos Eduardo "Didu" de Sousa Campos, the son of Vilobaldo Machado de Sousa Campos, a former director of the Banco do Brasil, and his wife Letícia Dias. Teresa was Didu's second wife. The couple had one child, a son, Diduzinho (who predeceased his mother). Teresa and Didu lived a jet-set lifestyle in their four-storey, twenty-room mansion in Copacabana. In the 1970s, the couple separated. On 28 January 1986, Didu de Souza Campos died in Rio de Janeiro after suffering a heart attack; he was seventy-two years-old.
Teresa de Sousa Campos
The Imperial Siblings of Brazil: Prince João; Princess Isabelle, Countess of Paris; Prince Pedro Gastão; Princess Teresa In the background: Princess Maria Elisabeth, wife of Prince Pedro Henrique, and Dom Duarte, Duke of Braganza
On 29 April 1990 at Petrópolis, Teresa married in a civil ceremony Prince João of Orléans and Bragança, son of Prince Pedro de Alcântara of Orléans and Bragança, Prince of Grão Pará, and his wife Princess Elisabeth (née Countess Dobrzensky von Dobrzenicz). Teresa and João celebrated their religious wedding on 11 May 1990 in Rio de Janeiro. Residing in Paraty for much of their marriage, Prince João and Princess Teresa were together for fifteen years before Prince João passed away in 2005 at the age of eighty-eight. 
May the Princess Rest In Peace. 
Thank you to my dear friend Astrid Bodstein Romêo for notifying me of this news.
Source:

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Congratulations, Sir: The 70th Birthday of Prince D. Antônio of Orléans and Braganza

A young Prince Antonio of Orléans and Bragança
Photograph (c) Casa Imperial do Brasil

Today, Prince Antônio of Orléans and Bragança celebrates his seventieth birthday! Earlier this year, the prince was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, from which he has thankfully recovered. Surely,  after all that, this birthday will be especially celebrated (both near and far) by his family and friends.

Prince Antônio
Photograph (c) Casa Imperial do Brasil

Prince Antônio João Maria José Rasso Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga of Orléans and Bragança was born on 24 June 1950 at Rio de Janeiro.

 
Princess Maria Elisabeth with her ten eldest children.
Photograph (c) Casa Imperial do Brasil
Prince Pedro Henrique and Princess Maria Elisabeth with their twelve surviving children.
Photograph (c) Casa Imperial do Brasil
Prince Pedro Henrique and Princess Maria Elisabeth with their children.
Photograph (c) Casa Imperial do Brasil
Antônio is the the sixth son of Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans and Bragança (1908-1981) and Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria (1914-2011). Antônio has seven older siblings: Prince Luíz (b.1938), Prince Eudes (b.1939), Prince Bertrand (b.1941), Princess Isabel (1944-2017), Prince Pedro (b.1945), Princess Maria (1946-1946), and Prince Fernando (b.1948). Antônio has six younger siblings: Princess Leonor (b.1953), Prince Francisco (b.1955), Prince Alberto (b.1957), and the twins, Princess Maria Teresa and Princess Maria Gabriela (b.1959).

The wedding of Prince Antônio of Orléans and Bragança with Princess Christine de Ligne.
Photograph (c) Casa Imperial do Brasil
On 25 September 1981, Prince Antônio of Orléans and Bragança and Princess Christine de Ligne (b.Beloeil 11 Aug 1955) were joined in a civil ceremony. The couple celebrated their religious wedding the following day (26 September) at Beloeil. Christine is the daughter of Prince Antoine de Ligne (1925-2005) and Princess Alix of Luxembourg (b.1929).
Prince Antônio and Princess Christine with their four young children.
Photograph (c) Casa Imperial do Brasil
Prince Antônio and Princess Christine of Orléans and Bragança have four children: Prince Pedro Luíz (1983-2009), Princess Amélia (b.1984), Prince Rafael (b.1986), and Princess Maria Gabriela (b.1989). The couple's eldest child, Pedro Luíz, died on 1 June 2009 aboard Air France Flight 447.

Prince Antônio and Princess Christine, their three children and son-in-law, and their grandsons.
Photograph (c) Casa Imperial do Brasil
On 16 August 2014, Princess Amélia of Orléans and Bragança married Alexander James Spearman (b.1984) at Rio de Janeiro. From this marriage, Prince Antônio has two grandsons: Joaquim (b.2016) and Nicholas (b.2018).  

The Painting Prince.
Photograph (c) Casa Imperial do Brasil
Prince Antônio earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of Barra do Piraí. Furthermore, Antônio is a talented artist. He usually paints watercolour landscapes depicting buildings, ranches, and farms typical of imperial Brazil.

Prince Antônio and Princess Christine of Orléans and Bragança
Photograph (c) Casa Imperial do Brasil
 We wish His Royal Highness many happy returns of the day!


Prince Antônio and his only surviving son Prince Rafael
Photograph (c) Casa Imperial do Brasil

Thursday, June 18, 2020

Eurohistory Resumes Publication...New Issues Coming!

Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!

Our printer has reopened for business and they are currently getting ready Issues CXXXI, CXXII, CXXIII, CXXIV (Volumes 22.1 – 22.4) of EUROHISTORY.

We should be ready to resume shipping the EUROHISTORY to subscribers and selling points next week.

Today, we received advance review copies from the printer and we have given the final authorization!

Inside their envelope, subscribers will receive a renewal for 2020...Our Spring 2020 Issue, CXXV – Volume 23. 1 is also finished and ready to print.

 
 
 
We continue to appreciate your support and enthusiastic support for EUROHISTORY!

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

The 70th Birthday of Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Mother of Prince Napoléon

Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies


Today, Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies celebrates her seventieth birthday.

The wedding of Prince Ferdinando of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and Chantal de Chevron-Villette
 


On 16 June 1950, Princess Béatrice Marie Caroline Louise Françoise of Bourbon-Two Sicilies was born at Saint-Raphaël, Var, France. The princess was the first child of Prince Ferdinando of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro (1926-2008), and Princess Chantal of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1925-2004; née de Chevron-Villette), who wed in 1949. Béatrice was joined by two younger siblings: Princess Anne (b.1957) and Prince Carlo (b.1963).

Princess Béatrice photographed in 1977 at the wedding of her sister Anne


During the mid-1970s, Béatrice met the heir of the Bonaparte legacy, Prince Charles Napoléon (b.19 October 1950). The Bourbon princess and the Bonaparte prince fell in love and decided to marry. Charles and Béatrice ruffled the feathers of their respective parents, the Prince and Princess Napoléon as well as the Duke and Duchess of Castro, by contracting a civil marriage on 18 December 1978 in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. The only guests at the wedding were the couple's parents and their witnesses. The couple declined to hold a Roman Catholic ceremony; however, a benediction was held in the strictest intimacy. A reception celebrating the Bonaparte/Bourbon nuptials was hosted by the bride's sister, Princess Anne, then Madame Jacques Chochin. Charles worked for an international bank. Béatrice quit her position in a political secretariat and began a career with an airline company. Aside from their reported mutual passion for politics, the couple also were firm in desiring privacy for themselves and their children. No photographs of Béatrice and Charles together were ever released to the media.

Prince Charles Napoléon in 1985
Left to right: Princess Alix Napoléon, the Baron Gourgaud, and Princess Béatrice Napoléon in 1986


Béatrice and Charles had two children: Princess Caroline Marie Constance Napoléon (b.Paris 24 October 1980) and Prince Jean-Christophe Louis Ferdinand Albéric Napoléon (b.Saint-Raphaël, Var 11 July 1986). After ten years of marriage, Princess Béatrice and her husband were divorced on 2 May 1989. Béatrice never remarried.

Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies with Prince Rémy and Prince Charles-Emmanuel of Bourbon-Parma in 1996
Left to right: Cristina Crociani, Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon, Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, and Princess Caroline Napoléon at the 1998 wedding of Prince Carlo of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and Camilla Crociani
Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and her daughter Princess Caroline Napoléon in 2000
Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma and Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies in 2000
Princess Béatrice and her daughter Princess Caroline in 2001
Princess Béatrice in 2001
Princess Vin-Thuÿ (Empress Tây Phuong of Vietnam; née Monique Baudot) and Princess Béatrice in 2002
Princess Béatrice on her birthday in 2002
Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orléans and Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies in 2002
Left to right: Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Parma (née Savoy), Princess Anne of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Princess Constance of Bourbon-Parma, Princess Marina of Bourbon-Parma, and Princess Barbara of Yugoslavia (née Liechtenstein) in 2004
Left to right: Princess Caroline, Prince Jean-Christophe, and their mother Princess Beatrice

Princess Béatrice remained very close to her former parents-in-law, the Prince and Princess Napoléon. Béatrice devoted her activities to being a mother to her two children and engaging in various historical and charitable causes. After the death of the Countess of Paris in 2003, Princess Béatrice succeeded Madame as the President of the Prix Hugues-Capet. The prize was created in 1994 by Jacques-Henri Auclair, the President of Unité Capétienne Association. In 2006, Béatrice co-wrote Votre Mariage Royale with Cyrille Boulay.

Caroline and Eric

On 27 June 2009 at Neuilly-sur-Seine, Princess Caroline Napoléon civilly married Eric Querenet-Onfroy de Breville (b.28 June 1971), son of François Querenet-Onfroy de Breville and Christiane de Vaugelas. The couple celebrated their religious wedding on 19 September 2009 at the Basilica Pontificia Santa Maria dell'Assunta in Castellabate nel Cilento, Salerno. Caroline and Eric have two children: Elvire (b.8 August 2010) and Augustin (b.12 February 2013).

 
 

On 17 October  2019 at Neuilly-sur-Seine, Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon civilly married Countess Olympia von und zu Arco-Zinneberg (b.1988), daughter of Count Riprand von und zu Arco-Zinneberg and Archduchess Maria Beatrix of Austria-Este. The couple celebrated their religious wedding on 19 October 2019 at the Cathedral of Saint-Louis des Invalides in Paris.

Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies lives in France.


We wish the Princess many happy returns of the day!

Friday, June 12, 2020

The Death of Elisabeth de Massy, First Cousin and Confidante of Prince Albert II of Monaco

 
 



Yesterday, 11 June, the Prince's Palace of Monaco announced the death of Elisabeth-Anne de Massy, who passed away on Wednesday, 10 June, at the Princess Grace Hospital Centre in Monte Carlo. She was seventy-two years-old.


Elisabeth was the first cousin of Princess Caroline of Hannover, Prince Albert II of Monaco, and Princess Stéphanie of Monaco (Elisabeth's goddaughter). Prior to the death of her uncle Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 2005, Elisabeth de Massy was fifteenth in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne.

Aleco Noghès with his son Christian and daughter Elisabeth 
The De Massy children with their uncle Rainier
Prince Rainier and Princess Grace with Princess Antoinette and her three children: Elisabeth, Christian, and Christine.
 

Elizabeth-Ann Charlotte Mary Kathleen Dévote Grimaldi was born on 3 July 1947 in Monte Carlo to Princess Antoinette "Tiny" of Monaco (28 December 1920 – 18 March 2011) and Alexandre-Athenase "Aleco" Noghès (15 June 1916 – 16 February 1999), an attorney and international tennis champion. Elisabeth's parents were not married when she was born. Elisabeth was joined by a younger brother and sister: Christian (b.1949) and Christine (1951 – 1989). Princess Antoinette of Monaco and Alexandre-Athenase Noghès married in Genoa, Italy, on 4 December 1951; the month before, on 15 November 1951, Princess Antoinette was created Baroness of Massy by her brother Prince Rainier III. Her children's surnames were then changed from "Grimaldi" to "de Massy." The Noghès/Monaco union was of short duration, and the couple divorced in 1954. Antoinette retained custody of her children and limited their contact with their father Aleco.


In her early years, Elisabeth lived with her family at the Villa les Glycines (built in 1910 by Walter Williams, the first winner of the Monaco Grand Prix) and then at the Villa Mereze. Given the rather turbulent nature of the household of Princess Antoinette, the one calming fixture in her children's youth was their nanny, Kathleen Wanstall, who had also been the nanny of Princess Antoinette and Prince Rainier.

Antony Noghès
Count Pierre de Polignac
Princess Charlotte of Monaco


Elisabeth de Massy was the paternal granddaughter of Antony Noghès (1890 – 1978), the founder of the Grand Prix de Monaco, and Marie Markellos-Petsalis. Elisabeth's maternal great-grandparents were Count Pierre de Polignac (1895 – 1964) and Princess Charlotte of Monaco (1898 – 1977 ).

Wedding of Elisabeth de Massy and Baron Bernard Taubert-Natta
Nicolai de Lusignan


On 19 January 1974 in Geneva, Elisabeth de Massy married Baron Bernard Alexandre Taubert-Natta (Geneva 2 July 1941 – Geneva 13 April 1989). The couple had one son, Baron Jean-Léonard Taubert Natta (b.Geneva 3 June 1974). Elisabeth and Bernard divorced on 30 October 1980. In September 1982, Elisabeth de Massy suffered an intestinal haemorrhage. On 18 October 1984 in London, Elisabeth married choreographer Nicolai Vladimir Costello (b.24 December 1943; uses the surname "de Lusignan"). Elisabeth and Nicolai had one daughter, Mélanie-Antoinette Costello de Lusignan (b.Monaco 18 January 1985); they divorced on 28 March 1985.

 
 


Elisabeth was the only one of Princess Antoinette's two surviving children to successfully navigate the complicated dynamic that existed between Antoinette and her brother Rainier. She was a support to her mother as well as to her uncle and her paternal first cousins. In 1963, one of Princess Stéphanie's godparents was her first cousin Elisabeth. When Stéphanie married Daniel Ducruet in 1995, Elisabeth was one of the forty guests at her goddaughter/cousin's wedding.

 
 


On 17 November 1995, Elisabeth de Massy was made Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saint-Charles. Elisabeth served as the President of the Monegasque Tennis Federation and the Monte Carlo Country Club. In 1984, she was appointed vice-president of the Society for the Protection of Animals – Abri de Monaco and, the following year, she became vice-president of the Canine Society of Monaco. In 2009, Elisabeth was appointed Commander of the Order of Grimaldi. For many years, the discreet baroness accompanied her cousin Prince Albert II as a stand-in "First Lady of Monaco."

 
 


Elisabeth de Massy is survived by her son Jean-Léonard, her daughter-in-law Suzanne, her grandson Melchior, and her daughter Mélanie-Antoinette.

May She Rest In Peace.

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