Duke Eugen Eberhard of Württemberg (1930-2022)

Duke Alexander, Duchess Sophie, and Duke Eugen attend the wedding of Duchess Fleur, 2003.
Photograph (c) Seeger-Presse / Sandra Zellner.

Ivaylo Schalafoff, the Executive Director of the King Boris and Queen Giovanna Royal Heritage Fund, has announced that Duke Eugen of Württemberg died this afternoon (26 July), aged ninety-one. Eugen was a first cousin of the late Duke Carl of Württemberg, the Head of the Royal House, as well as first cousin of King Simeon II of Bulgaria.

Eugen's mother Princess Nadejda of Bulgaria, 1916.

The engagement of Albrecht Eugen of Württemberg and Nadejda of Bulgaria is announced in January 1924.

Newlyweds: Duke Albrecht Eugen of Württemberg and Princess Nadejda of Bulgaria.

On 2 November 1930, Duke Eugen Eberhard Albrecht Maria Joseph Ivan Rilsky Robert Ulrich Philipp Odo Carl Hubert of Württemberg was born at Karlsruhe. Eugen was the third child and second son of Duke Albrecht Eugen of Württemberg (1895-1954) and Princess Nadejda of Bulgaria (1899-1958), who married in 1924. Eugen joined two older siblings, and was followed by two younger siblings: Duke Ferdinand (1927-2020), Duchess Margarethe (1928-2017; married to François Luce de Chevigny), Duke Alexander (b.1933), and Duchess Sophie (b.1937; married and divorced Antonio Manuel Rôxo de Ramos-Bandeira). The family became known as the "Black Württembergs" as the children of Albrecht Eugen and Nadejda all had dark hair, which put them in contrast with their first cousins, the children of Albrecht Eugen's brother Philipp.

Duke Albrecht of Württemberg and Archduchess Margarete Sophie of Austria
Image (c) ALAMY

Eugen's paternal grandparents were Duke Albrecht of Württemberg (1865-1939) and Archduchess Margarete Sophie of Austria (1870-1902). The duke's maternal grandparents were King Ferdinand of Bulgaria (1861-1948) and Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma (1870-1899). 

Duke Alexander, Duchess Sophie, and Duke Eugen in Coburg, 2001.

Duke Eugen and his brother Duke Alexander at the wedding of Prince Karl Emich zu Leiningen, 2008.

 

Duke Eugen worked as a banker and he lived in Frankfurt. 

 

Duchess Sophie, Antonio Manuel Rôxo de Ramos-Bandeira, Duke Ferdinand, Duchess Margarethe, Princess Eudoxia of Bulgaria, Duchess Alexandra and Duke Eugen Eberhard, 1969. 

On 31 August 1962 at Mondsee, Duke Eugen of Württemberg civilly married Archduchess Alexandra of Austria (b.1935), a daughter of Archduke Anton of Austria and Princess Ileana of Romania. The couple's religious wedding followed on 3 September 1962. Eugen and Alexandra did not have children, and the pair's union was dissolved by divorce on 6 April 1972 at Frankfurt. The Holy See annulled their marriage on 7 November 1973.

 

 

May the Duke Rest In Peace.

Princess Elmira of Saxony (1930-2022)

The late Princess Elmira and Prince Albert of Saxony.

On 14 June, Princess Elmira of Saxony died in Munich. She was ninety-one years-old.

Born on 25 December 1930 at Lodz, Poland, Elmira Carlen Henke was the daughter of textile merchant Emil Henke (1886-1957) and Lydia Müller. 

On 12 April 1980 at the Theatinerkirche in Munich, Elmira wed Prince Albert of Saxony (1934-2012), the second son of Prince Friedrich Christian of Saxony, Margrave of Meißen, and his wife Princess Elisabeth Therese of Thurn and Taxis. Their marriage was morganatic; Albert and Elmira did not have any children. Elmira was a stalwart supporter of her husband Prince Albert, an accomplish historian who wrote several books on the history of the Kingdom of Saxony and its royal house. Elmira will be buried beside her husband at the Alten Katholischen Friedhof in Dresden. 

May She Rest in Peace.

Archduchess Maria Immaculata of Austria-Tuscany (1933-2022)

Count Reinhart and Archduchess Immaculata at the wedding of their youngest son in 2000.  Photo (c) Seeger-Press.

Archduchess Maria Immaculata of Austria-Tuscany, Countess von und zu Hoensbroech died on 2 April 2022 at Engelskirchen, Germany. She was eighty-eight years-old. Maria Immaculata was buried at Schloß Kellenberg on 9 April.

The wedding of Archduke Theodor Salvator and Countess Maria Theresa, 1926.

Born on 7 December 1933 at Schloß Wallsee, Archduchess Maria Immakulata (Immaculata) Mathilde Elisabeth Gabriele Walburga Huberta of Austria-Tuscany was the third child and second daughter of Archduke Theodor Salvator (1899-1978) and Countess Maria Theresa von Waldburg zu Zeil und Trauchburg (1901-1967), who wed in 1926. Schloß Wallsee had been inherited by Archduke Theodor Salvator from his mother Archduchess Marie Valerie, the daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria. 

Archduke Franz Salvator of Austria-Tuscany, Princess Theresa of Bavaria, Countess Maria Immaculata von und zu Hoensbroech, and Archduke Karl Salvator.

Maria Immaculata had three siblings: Archduke Franz Salvator (1927-2012; married twice), Archduchess Theresa (b.1931; married Prince Rasso of Bavaria), and Archduke Karl Salvator (b.1936; married Edith Wenzl Baroness von Sternbach).

Maria Immaculata and Reinhart with their seven children.

On 14 May 1959 at Koslar, Archduchess Maria Immaculata of Austria-Tuscany civilly married Count Reinhart von und zu Hoensbroech (1926-2005), the fourth child and second son of Count Lothar von und zu Hoensbroech (1889-1951) and Baroness Helene de Loë (1896-1933). Maria Immaculata and Reinhart celebrated their religious marriage on 9 June 1959 at Schloß Wallsee. The couple went on to have seven children: Countess Alexandra (b.1960), Count Branco (b.1961; married Baroness Assunta von Lüninck), Countess Consuelo (b.1962; married Count Alexandre d'Hemricourt de Grünne), Countess Donata (b.1963; married Count Friedrich-August von Plettenberg), Countess Elena (b.1965; married Baron Georg von Holzhausen, one of the sons of Archduchess Maria Magdalena of Austria-Tuscany, a second cousin of Archduchess Maria Immaculata), Count Florian (b.1969; married Princess Desiree of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach), and Countess Gloria (b.1974). 

Kellenberg.

The couple raised their family at Schloß Kellenberg, the ancestral home of Count Reinhart. For many decades, Reinhart oversaw the castle and its estate; he was an accomplished forester. In April 1992, a fire almost completely destroyed the main part of the castle. Schloß Kellenberg was sold by the family in 2009. Together, Reinhart and Maria Immaculata enjoyed vacationing to locales which were not overwhelmed by tourists. In 2004, Archduchess Maria Immaculata attended the wedding of the Prince of Asturias (now King Felipe VI of Spain).

Archduchess Maria Immaculata and Count Reinhart at the wedding of Hereditary Prince Carl Christian von Wrede and Countess Katalin Bethlen de Bethlen, 2003. Photo (c) Seeger-Press / Minka Reddig.

Maria Immaculata was widowed on 8 June 2005 when her husband Reinhart died at the age of seventy-eight. The couple had been married forty-five years, and would have celebrated their forty-sixth anniversary the day after Count Reinhart passed away following a short illness. Now, Maria Immaculata has rejoined her husband.

Maria Immaculata with Pastor Stefan Bäuerle at Schloß Kellenberg, 2009. Photo (c) Jagodzinska.

May Maria Immaculata Rest in Peace.

Princess Maryam Begum of Afghanistan (1936-2021)

Princess Maryam with an Afghan nurse, 1960s.

Over the weekend, it was announced that Princess Maryam Begum of Afghanistan had passed away on 25 December. She was eighty-five years-old. Born on 2 November 1936, Princess Maryam was the fourth child and second daughter of King Mohammed Zahir Shah of Afghanistan (1914-2007) and Queen Humaira Begum (1918-2002), who wed in 1931. The princess was educated at the Malali School in Kabul. In 1960, Princess Maryam married Professor Muhammad Aziz Khan Naim (1935-1978). The couple had one son, Nadir Khan Naim (b.1965). The princess is survived by her son and her death is mourned by the Afghan royal family.

May Princess Maryam Rest in Peace. 

Sources:

https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/1586406/دختر-آخرین-پادشاه-افغانستان-درگذشت-عکس

https://www.royalark.net/Afghanistan/telai2.htm

Countess Marianne "Bunny" Esterházy (1938-2021)

Countess Marianne Esterhazy in 1998.

Photo (c) Desmond O'Neill Features Ltd. 

Announcements in The Times and The Telegraph have noted that Countess Marianne "Bunny" Esterházy died on 27 November 2021 at the age of eighty-two. 

 

The death announcement in The Telegraph.

The countess was a private person, with many fascinating connections, and she will surely be deeply missed by her surviving son, her grandchildren, her family, and her friends.

 

Bunny's mother Etti.
Photo (c) Getty Images / Central Press.

Born on 12 December 1938 at Budapest, Countess Mária Anna "Bunny" Berta Felicie Johanna Ghislaine Theodora Huberta Georgina Helene Genoveva Esterházy was the first and only child of Count Mária Tamás "Tommy" Pál Esterházy (1901-1964) and Countess Maria "Etti" von Wurmbrand-Stuppach (1914-2003), who married in 1938 and divorced in 1944. Bunny's mother Etti was married six times. Etti's memoirs, Horses and Husbands, are a fascinating read; they were published after her death with the great assistance of royal and noble biographer Hugo Vickers. 

Countess Bunny Esterhazy in 1956.

In her memoirs, Bunny's mother recalls with a touching dose of self-reflection: "We had one daughter... Of course, I did not look after Bunny myself when she was little. We had lovely English nurses. One of them had been nurse to the Queen and Princess Margaret and she loved dogs. So there were always dogs in the nursery. We were not very happy about that, but she assured us that in England babies and dogs were always together. It was so funny. I know that I was neither a good nor attentive mother. Both Tommy and I adored Bunny, but we either left her with the nannies or despatched her to stay with friends." Despite the divorce of Bunny's parents, it is clear from her mother's memoirs (which are really a must have!) that they both fiercely loved their daughter, in their own way. In April 1956, Bunny's mother Etti and her stepfather Arpad Plesch hosted a ball for the young countess at Claridges in London. The then seventeen year-old Bunny had been presented to society the previous month. In 1957 and 1958, it was reported that Bunny Esterhazy was a good friend of the Aga Khan, who was only a few years older than her. 

Dominic Elliot and Bunny Esterhazy upon their engagement.

Photo (c) Keystone Press / Alamy Stock Photo.

On 4 May 1962 at London, Countess Bunny Esterházy married London 4 May 1969 the Honourable George Esmond Dominic Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound (1931-2018), the youngest son of the 5th Earl of Minto. The wedding of the Countess and the son of the Earl of Minto was attended by The Queen as well as her sister The Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon in addition to the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. Dominic Elliot had been a youthful beau of Princess Margaret. The reception following the wedding was held at Lord Astor's Carlton House Terrace alongside the Mall. 

Dominic Elliot and Bunny Esterhazy on their wedding day.

Photo (c) mauritius images / TopFoto.

The Elliots went on to have two children: sons Alexander (1963-1985) and Esmond (b.1965). Dominic and Bunny divorced in 1972, having separated some years before. In 1970, Bunny Esterhazy was romantically linked to the Earl of Carnarvon, a connection which her mother Etti strongly denied when asked for comment. In 1974, Bunny Esterhazy and Keith Mason, 4th Baron Blackford, were reported to be in a relationship; however, this did not result in a marriage.

Countess Bunny Esterhazy with the then Marchioness of Tavistock (later Duchess of Bedford), 1980.
Photo (c) ANL/Shutterstock.

May the Countess Rest in Peace.

Princess Christine zu Schaumburg-Lippe (1936-2021)

Death notice from Augsburger Allgemeine.

Princess Christine zu Schaumburg-Lippe, Freifrau von Süsskind-Schwendi, died on 3 December 2021. She was eighty-five. 

Christine's father Prince Friedrich Christian.

Born on 16 October 1936 at Berlin, Princess Christine Marie-Luise Auguste Friederike zu Schaumburg-Lippe was the third child and second daughter of Prince Friedrich Christian zu Schaumburg-Lippe (1906-1983) and his first wife Princess Alexandra (1904-1961; née Countess zu Castell-Rüdenhausen), who wed in 1927. Christine had two older siblings: Princess Marie Elisabeth (1928-1945) and Prince Albrecht (b.1935).

The coat of arms of the Süsskind-Schwendi family.

In 1958, Princess Christine married Baron Albrecht von Süsskind-Schwendi (b.1937), the son of Baron Theodor von Süsskind-Schwendi (1902-1972) and Baroness Dorothee von Woellwarth-Lauterburg (1907-1963). Christine and Albrecht had two children: Baroness Gabriele (b.1959) and Baron Konstantin (b.1962). 

May the Princess Rest in Peace.