An Imperial and Royal Wedding Next Month: Prince Henri of Bourbon-Parma to Marry Archduchess Gabriella of Austria in September

Prince Henri of Bourbon-Parma, Archduchess Gabriella of Austria, and their daughter Victoria.
Photograph (c) Swiss Press.

According to reports, HRH Prince Henri of Bourbon-Parma and HI&RH Archduchess Gabriella of Austria will marry next month. The couple became engaged on 22 October 2017 in Switzerland when Henri popped the question to Gabriella. It is not yet known where their September 2020 nuptials will take place. The pair are second cousins: both are great-grandchildren of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg and her husband Prince Félix (1893-1970; né Bourbon-Parma). Henri and Gabriella have a daughter, Victoria Antonia Marie-Astrid Lydia, who was born on 30 October 2017.

Prince Henri of Bourbon-Parma, Archduchess Gabriella of Austria, and their daughter Victoria.
Photograph (c) Swiss Press.

Prince Henri Luitpold Antoine Victor Marie Joseph of Bourbon-Parma was born at Roskilde, Denmark, on 14 October 1991. Henri is the youngest child and second son of Prince Erik of Bourbon-Parma (b.1953) and Countess Lydia Holstein-Ledreborg (b.1955), who married in 1980 and divorced in 1999. Henri's paternal grandparents are Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma (1924-2018) and Princess Yolande of Broglie-Revel (1928-2014). Henri's maternal grandparents are Count Knud Holstein-Ledreborg (1919-2001) and Princess Marie Gabrielle of Luxembourg (b.1925).

Archduchess Gabriella of Austria, Prince Henri of Bourbon-Parma, and their daughter in the stroller.
Photograph (c) Swiss Press.

Archduchess Gabriella Maria Pilar Yolande Joséphine-Charlotte of Austria was born at Geneva on 26 March 1994. Gabriella is the youngest child and second daughter of Archduke Carl Christian of Austria (b.1954) and Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg (b.1954), who married in 1982. Gabriella's paternal grandparents are Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria (1918-2007) and Princess Yolande de Ligne (b.1923). Gabriella's maternal grandparents are Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg (1921-2019) and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium (1927-2005).

Broken Royal Engagements of Yore: Max of Baden and Beatrix of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

"Royal Cousins End Engagement."
The Gazette of Montreal, Quebec (9 Sep. 1961).

Max of Baden and Beatrix of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

On 7 September 1961, Fürst Kraft zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg announced that his sister, Princess Beatrix, and her fiancé, Prince Max of Baden, had broken off their engagement by mutual consent. The cause for the end of the couple was given as personal reasons. It was noted that the prince and princess were the nephew and niece of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

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First cousins through their mutual descent from Prince Andreas of Greece and his wife Princess Alice of Battenberg, Max of Baden was twenty-eight at the time while Beatrix zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg was twenty-five. Beatrix was the daughter of Andreas and Alice's eldest daughter Princess Margarita and her husband Fürst Gottfried zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg. Max was the son of the couple's next daughter Princess Theodora and her husband Margrave Berthold of Baden.

 

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Prince Maximilian "Max" Andreas Friedrich Gustav Ernst August Bernhard of Badenwas born at Salem on 3 July 1933. He was the second child and eldest son of Margrave Berthold of Baden and Margravine Theodora (née Greece), who married in 1931. In September 1966, Max of Baden married Archduchess Valerie of Austria-Tuscany (b.1941), the daughter of Archduke Hubert Salvator  of Austria-Tuscany and Princess Rosemary zu Salm-Salm. Margrave Max and Margravine Valerie of Baden have four children: Princess Marie Louise (b.1969), Hereditary Prince Bernhard (b.1970), Prince Leopold (b.1971), and Prince Michael (b.1976).

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Princess Beatrix Alice Marie Melita Margarete zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg was born at Schwäbisch-Hall on 10 July 1936. She was the second child and only daughter of Fürst Gottfried zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Fürstin Margarita (née Greece), who married in 1931. Beatrix never married. For many years, she functioned as a secretary and companion to Princess Margaret "Peg" of Hesse at Wolfsgarten. Aged sixty-one, Princess Beatrix died on 15 November 1997 at Schwäbisch-Hall.

A Noble British Beau for a Royal Greek Princess: Peregrine Pearson and Olympia of Greece

Olympia of Greece and Perry Pearson

 

In a happy piece of royal news, Princess Olympia of Greece and the Hon. Perry Pearson are in a relationship, according to information gleaned from media reports and the princess' own social media. The couple visited Olympia's grandparents King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes in Greece earlier this week.

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Her Royal Highness Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark was born on 25 July 1996 at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City, NY. The princess is the eldest child of Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece and his wife Crown Princess Marie-Chantal (née Miller). Olympia is the paternal granddaughter of King Constantine II of the Hellenes (b.1940) and his wife Queen Anne-Marie (b.1946; née Denmark). Olympia is the maternal granddaughter of Robert Warren Miller (b.1933) and María Clara "Chantal" Pesantes Becerra (b.1940). In May 2019, Olympia of Greece graduated from New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study.

The Hon. Peregrine Pearson

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The Honourable Peregrine "Perry" John Dickinson Pearson was born on 27 October 1994. He is the eldest son and fourth child of Michael Pearson (b.17 June 1944), 4th Viscount Cowdray, and his second wife Marina Rose Cordle (b.6 May 1960). Perry is the paternal grandson of John Pearson (1910-1995), 3rd Viscount Cowdray, and Lady Anne Bridgeman (1913-2009). Perry is the maternal grandson of Conservative MP John Howard Cordle (1912-2004) and Venetia Caroline Maynard (b.1936). Perry Pearson is the director of a property development company in London.

 

Princess Sofia zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn Marries with Her 100 Year-Old Grandma Mamarazza in Attendance

The newlyweds.
Photograph courtesy of Schloß Sayn. 

Photograph courtesy of Schloß Sayn.

Photograph courtesy of Schloß Sayn.

On 8 August 2020, Princess Sofia zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (b.1986) and Archia Akhavan-Kharazian (b.1990) were married at the Filialkirche Sankt Lorenz near Mondsee in the Salzkammergut, Austria. The Dean of Frankfurt, Johannes zu Eltz, a first cousin once removed of the bride, officiated over the religious ceremony. The bride wore the Sayn family bridal veil and tiara.

 

Sofia and Archia with their parents and Sophie's grandmother.
Photograph courtesy of Schloß Sayn. 

Fürstin Marianne and her granddaughter Princess Sofia.
Photograph courtesy of Schloß Sayn.

Sofia is the sixth child and third daughter of Fürst Alexander zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn and Countess Gabriela von Schönborn-Wiesentheid. Sophie's 100 year-old grandmother Fürstin Marianne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (b.1919; née Baroness Mayr von Melnhof) was one of the guests at the wedding. Archia is the son of Asghar Akhavan-Kharazian and Eva Jimenez Ontanaya. Sofia and Archia's engagement was announced in March 2020.

 

Archia and Sofia at their civil wedding.
Photograph courtesy of Schloß Sayn.

Before their religious wedding, Archia and Sofia contracted their civil marriage at the Rathaus St. Gilgen. The couple will take their honeymoon whenever conditions permit. The groom is an entrepreneur in London.

The Death and Funeral of Johannes Count von Mirbach-Geldern-Egmont, Prince zu Hohenlohe-Jagstberg

On 6 July 2020, Count Johannes von Mirbach-Geldern-Egmont, Prince zu Hohenlohe-Jagstberg, died as a result of contracting COVID-19. Johannes was eighty-one years-old.

Fürst Johannes zu Hohenlohe-Bartenstein and Archduchess Anna of Austria.

The Hohenlohe-Jagstberg siblings (right to left): Maria Rosa, Karl, Albrecht, Elizabeth, Margarethe, and Friedrich August.

Prince Johannes Maria Carl Alfons Friedrich Leopold zu Hohenlohe-Jagstberg was born at Haltenbergstetten on 2 December 1939. Johannes was the second child and son of Fürst Albrecht zu Hohenlohe-Jagstberg (1906-1996) and Countess Therese von Geldern-Egmont (1911-2000), who married in 1936. The paternal grandparents of Johannes were Fürst Johannes zu Hohenlohe-Bartenstein (1863-1921) and Archduchess Anna of Austria (1879-1961).

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The prince had two siblings: Fürst Alexander zu Hohenlohe-Jagstberg (b.1937; married (div.) Princess Michaela von Schönburg-Waldenburg) and Princess Eleonore (b.1940; married Baron Peter von Kap-herr). Johannes was adopted by his maternal uncle Count Ladislaus von Mirbach-Geldern-Egmont (1905-1982).

Prince Johannes zu Hohenlohe-Jagstberg, Count von Marbach-Geldern-Egmont at the wedding of Duchess Fleur of Württemberg in 2003.
Photograph (c) Seeger-Presse.

(Left to right): Count Benedikt von Dürckheim, Princess Andrea, Prince Johannes, and Princess Isabella in 2003 at the wedding of Duchess Fleur of Württemberg.
Photograph (c) Seeger-Presse.

Prince Lamoral and Princess Ruve zu Hohenlohe-Jagstberg.
Photograph (c) Seeger-Presse.

On 22 December 1969 at Haltenbergstetten, Johannes married Andrea Vogel (b.18 October 1944). Andrea is the daughter of Karl Vogel and Ingeborg Schreiber. Johannes and Andrea had two children: Princess Isabella (b.1972) and Prince Lamoral (b.1973). In 2018, Princess Isabella married Burkhard Keese, the CFO of Lloyd's of London. In 2000, Prince Lamoral married Ruve Nevillia Watts (b.1968); the couple have four children: Princess Feodora (b.2002), Princess Franziska (b.2004), Princess Mercedes (b.2007), and Princess Henrietta (b.2009). Prince Lamoral and Princess Ruve live in New South Wales, Australia, with their children. Lamoral is the founder of Mirbach Financial Modelling.

 

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The funeral for Count Johannes von Mirbach-Geldern-Egmont, Prince zu Hohenlohe-Jagstberg was held privately in July. A memorial service will take place in 2021. Following are photos from the funeral.

 

 

 

May Johannes Rest in Peace.