The Baptism of Prince Michael of Romania at the Coronation Cathedral!

Alina-Maria with Michael, Karina, and Nicholas with Maria Alexandra.

 

Last Saturday, 18 June, Prince Michael of Romania was baptised at the Coronation Cathedral (Catedrala Încoronării) in Alba Iulia. The cathedral was built between 1921-1922; it was the setting for the coronation of Michael's great-great-great grandparents King Ferdinand and Queen Maria of Romania as monarchs of Greater Romania on 22 October 1922. Michael's father Prince Nicholas noted: "It is a moment of great joy, it is a very important moment in our son's life. It is very important to keep in touch with history and of course with family. The name Mihai is a special name, of course in memory of my grandfather. It is also the name of a great saint, and that was important to us. I'm Mihai too, I have a cousin Mihai, it's a family name, so it's not only the king's name."

 

The happy parents with their little boy.

 

Michael's godparents are Liviu and Simona Popescu. The Popescus were the sponsors for Princess Alina-Maria of Romania during her and Nicholas's religious wedding in 2018. 

 

A united family: Mihai Binder, Rodica Binder holding Princess Maria Alexandra, Princess Alina-Maria holding Prince Michael, Prince Nicholas, Karina de Roumanie, and Heinz Binder.

 

Around 100 guests from Romania and Europe came to Alba Iulia for the baptism. The maternal grandparents of Prince Michael, Heinz and Rodica Binder, were there to celebrate this momentous occasion. Michael's maternal uncle, Mihai Binder, and his paternal aunt, Karina de Roumanie, were also on hand to take part in this special family event. Members of the Cantacuzino and Ghyka noble families were in attendance as well. 

 

The baptism of Nicholas of Romania
(left to right) King Michael, Crown Princess Margarita, Queen Anne, Princess Helen holding her son Prince Nicholas, and Dr. Robin Medforth-Mills

 

When Michael's father Nicholas was baptised on 8 June 1985 in Switzerland, Nicholas received as his godparents the following family and friends: King Michael of Romania; Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester; the Prince of Asturias (now King Felipe VI of Spain); Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark; Princess Sophie of Romania; Countess Charles de Breteuil (née Solange de Ganay); Dick Stern, Sophie Maris, Paul Contomichalos, Flora Deacon, and Mrs Jean Boissevian. The baptism of Michael's great-grandfather King (then Prince) Michael took place on 22 January 1922 at the Royal Palace in Bucharest.

Princess Alina-Maria holding Prince Michael and Prince Nicholas holding Princess Maria Alexandra.

 

May God Bless Michael! La multi ani!

 

Sources:

One hundred years after the baptism of his great-grandfather, the son of Prince Nicolae was baptized in Alba Iulia

Former Prince Nicolae baptized his son at the Coronation Cathedral in Alba Iulia. The child is named after King Michael

Archaeologist and Author: Prince Erkinger von Schwarzenberg (1933-2022)

Prince Erkinger von Schwarzenberg died on 29 April at San Casciano, near Florence. The prince had turned eighty-nine years-old earlier that month.

The prince's father Johann and mother Kathleen.

Born on 8 April 1933 at Vienna, Prince Karl Erkinger Thaddäus von Schwarzenberg was the first child and only son of Prince Johann von Schwarzenberg (1903-1978) and Vicomtesse Kathleen de Spoelberch (1905-1978), who wed in 1931. Erkinger was joined by a younger sister, Princess Colienne (b.1937; married Count Maximilian Joseph von Meran). Erkinger's parents, Prince Johann and Princess Kathleen, were both killed in a motor vehicle accident on 26 May 1978 at Cittá della Pieve.

In 1946, Prince Johann and Princess Kathleen purchased a fifteenth-century villa in the countryside of San Casciano. Their son Erkinger was entranced by the villa and returned to live there permanently in 1978.

Erkinger Schwarzenberg attended Oxford and Princeton. His father was the Austrian ambassador to the United Kingdom. In 1957, while a student at Oxford, Erkinger became unofficially engaged to Alice Jolliffee, the daughter of the 4th Baron Hylton - the romance did not end in marriage. On 26 July 1962 at Athens, Prince Erkinger von Schwarzenberg married Elisabeth Constantinides (b.1943). Erkinger and Elisabeth had three children: Prince Johannes (b.1963), Princess Anna Gabriella (b.1964; married 1st Baron Philipp von Waechter; married 2nd Adam Dixon), and Prince Alexander Konstantin (b.1971; married 1st Annabel Dimitriadi; married 2nd Donna Elena Bonanno dei Principi di Linguaglossa). Erkinger and Elisabeth divorced in 1975. On 13 July 1977 at San Casciano, Prince Erkinger von Schwarzenberg married Countess Claudia zu Brandis (b.1949). Erkinger and Claudia had two daughters: Princess Gaia (b.1978; married Loïc van Cutsem), and Princess Ida (b.1980; married Baudouin de Troostembergh). 

Fluent in six languages, the prince was keenly interested in archeology and the history of art. He was also a passionate farmer. In 1966, Erkinger's book Die Grazien was published. In 1969, the prince contributed an article entitled "From the Alessandro Morente to the Alexandre Richelieu. The Portraiture of Alexander the Great in Seventeenth-Century Italy and France." which was published in the Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes.

Erkinger Schwarzenberg is survived by his wife, his five children, and his twenty grandchildren.

May the Prince Rest in Peace.

Source: San Casciano, addio a Karl Erkinger Schwarzenberg: a 89 anni muore il “principe contadino”

 

The 70th Birthday of Prince Michael of Liechtenstein

Prince Michael in 2013. Photo (c) Getty Images / South China Morning Post.

On 10 October 1951 at Graz, Prince Michael Karl Alfred Maria Felix Moritz of Liechtenstein was born as the second child of Prince Heinrich of Liechtenstein and Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria. Michael's paternal grandparents were Prince Alfred of Liechtenstein and Princess Theresia Maria zu Oettingen-Oettingen und Oettingen-Wallerstein. The prince's maternal grandparents were Emperor Karl of Austria and Empress Zita (née Princess of Bourbon-Parma). Prince Michael has four siblings: Prince Vincenz (1950-2008), Princess Charlotte (b.1953), Prince Christof (b.1956), and Prince Karl (b.1957). 

Prince Michael and Princess Hildegard of Liechtenstein, 1998. Photo (c) Seeger-Presse.

In 1986, Prince Michael of Liechtenstein married Hildegard Berta Peters (b.1948). The prince and princess have two daughters: Princess Theresa (b.1987; married Count Cajetan zu Toerring-Jettenbach) and Princess Gisela (b.1990; married Victor Bergmann). 

Our best wishes to Prince Michael on his seventieth birthday!