The 20th Birthday of Prince Tirso of Bulgaria

Today, Prince Tirso of Bulgaria celebrates his twentieth birthday!

Born on 3 June 2002 at Hospital de La Paz in Madrid, Prince Tirso of Bulgaria is the third son and youngest child of Prince Kubrat of Bulgaria and Princess Carla (née Royo-Villanova y Urrestarazu). Tirso joined two elder brothers: Prince Mirko (b.1995) and Prince Lucas (b.1997). Prince Tirso is a grandson of King Simeon II and Queen Margarita of Bulgaria.

Our best wishes to the Prince on his birthday!

The 60th Birthday of Duchess Caroline of Oldenburg

Duchess Caroline of Oldenburg in 2013.

Today, Duchess Caroline of Oldenburg celebrates her sixtieth birthday.

Born on 10 April 1962 at Kiel, Countess Caroline zu Rantzau was the youngest child and second daughter of Count Christian zu Rantzau (1924-2002) and Héloise von Lettow-Vorbeck (1923-2018), who wed in 1954. Caroline's paternal uncle Count Kuno zu Rantzau and maternal aunt Ursula von Lettow-Vorbeck had married in 1953.

In 1987, Caroline married Duke Christian of Oldenburg (b.1955), the eldest son of Duke Anton Günther of Oldenburg (1923-2014) and Princess Ameli zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg (1923-2016). Duke Christian and Duchess Caroline of Oldenburg have four children: Duke Alexander (b.1990), Duke Philipp (b.1991), Duke Anton (b.1993), and Duchess Katharina (b.1997). 

Many happy returns to the Duchess of Oldenburg on her birthday!

The 60th Birthday of Prince Carl Christian of Hohenzollern

Prince Carl Christian in the arms of his great-grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden while his mother Princess Birgitta looks on, 1962.

Today, Prince Carl Christian of Hohenzollern celebrates his sixtieth birthday!

Prince Johann Georg and Princess Birgitta with their three children: Prince Carl Christian, Princess Désirée, and baby Prince Hubertus, 1966.
Photo (c) Getty Images / Keystone-France.

Born on 5 April 1962 at Munich, Prince Carl Christian Friedrich Johannes Meinrad Maria Hubertus Edmund of Hohenzollern was the first child of Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern (1932-2016) and Princess Birgitta of Sweden (b.1937), who wed in 1961. Carl Christian was followed by a younger sister and a brother: Princess Désirée (b.1963) and Prince Hubertus (b.1966).

 

Prince Carl Christian and Princess Nicole on their wedding day, 1999.
Photo (c) Seeger-Presse.

Princess Nicole with Prince Nicolas, and Prince Carl Christian at the wedding of Prince Hubertus in 2000.

 

In July 1999, Prince Carl Christian married Nicole Neschitsch (b.1968). Later that year, the couple welcomed the birth of their son and only child, Prince Nicolas.

 

Our best wishes to Carl Christian on his birthday!

the 85th birthday of prince karl of Hesse

Prince Karl of Hesse (1937-2022), Nephew of the Duke of Edinburgh

On 23 March 2022, Prince Karl of Hesse died in Munich. He was eighty-four years-old. The prince was a nephew of the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

 

Princess Sophie of Greece and Prince Christoph of Hesse.

Born on 26 March 1937 at Berlin, Prince Karl Adolf Andreas of Hesse was the first son and third child of Prince Christoph of Hesse (1901-1943) and Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark (1914-2001), who wed in 1930. Christoph and Sophie were second cousins once removed twice over; their common ancestor in the first case was Landgrave Wilhelm of Hesse-Kassel and their common ancestor in the second case was Queen Victoria. Prince Karl had four full siblings: Princess Christina (1933-2011; married 1st to Prince Andrej of Yugoslavia; married 2nd to Robert van Eyck), Princess Dorothea (b.1934; married Prince Friedrich Karl zu Windisch-Grätz), Prince Rainer (b.1939), and Princess Clarissa (b.1944; married Claude Jean Derrien). 

 

The family of Princess Sophie.
Front row: Princess Christina of Hesse, Prince Welf of Hanover, Princess Sophie with Princess Friederike, Prince Georg of Hanover, and Princess Clarissa of Hesse.
Back row: Prince Rainer of Hesse, Princess Dorothea of Hesse, Prince Georg Wilhelm, and Prince Karl of Hesse.

In 1946, three years after being widowed, Karl's mother Sophie married Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hannover (1915-2006). Both descendants of Queen Victoria through another line, Sophie and Georg Wilhelm were second cousins; their common ancestor was King Christian IX of Denmark. From this marriage, Karl gained three half-siblings: Prince Welf (1947-1981; married Wibke van Gunsteren), Prince Georg (b.1949; married Victoria Bee), and Princess Friederike (b.1954; married Jerry William Cyr).

 

Princess Alice of Greece and the Duke of Edinburgh arriving at the wedding of Prince Karl.

Karl and Yvonne of Hesse on their wedding day.

The prince and princess on their wedding day.

On 26 March 1966 at The Hague, Prince Karl of Hesse civilly married Countess Yvonne Szapáry von Muraszombath, Széchysziget und Szapár on the prince's twenty-ninth birthday. The couple were religiously wed on 18 April at St. Jacobs Kerk. Among others, their nuptials were attended by King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, Princess Alice of Greece, the Duke of Edinburgh, Fürstin Margarita zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Margravine Theodora of Baden, Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, Prince Juan Carlos and Princess Sofía of Spain, and Princess Irene of Greece.

 

Baroness Ursula von Richthofen with bridesmaids on her wedding day in 1933 to her first husband.
Photo (c) Getty Images.

Princess Yvonne (b.1944) was the only child of Count Béla von Muraszombath, Széchysziget und Szapár (1901-1993) and Baroness Ursula von Richthofen (1907-2002; married 1stly to Godert Willem, Baron de Vos van Steenwijk). Princess Yvonne of Hesse is a fourth cousin of Princess Michael of Kent (née Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz); their common ancestors are Count József von Muraszombath, Széchysziget und Szapár (1754-1822) and Countess Johanna von Gatterburg (1779-1812).

Prince Karl of Hesse with his daughter Princess Irina at her wedding, 1999.
Photograph (c) Seeger-Presse

Prince Karl and Princess Yvonne had two children: Prince Christoph (b.1969) and Princess Irina (b.1971). In 1999, Princess Irina married Count Alexander von Schönburg-Glauchau (b.1969), the brother of Fürstin Gloria von Thurn und Taxis.

 

May the Prince Rest in Peace.

The Ruby Wedding Anniversary of Archduke Carl Christian and Archduchess Marie Astrid of Austria

The newlyweds.

Today, Archduke Carl Christian and Archduchess Marie Astrid of Austria celebrate forty years of marriage!

Princess Marie-Astrid and Archduke Carl Christian.

The engagement of Archduke Carl Christian of Austria and Princess Marie Astrid of Luxembourg was announced on 9 November 1981 by the Grand Ducal Court. Born on 26 August 1954 at Beloeil, Archduke Carl Christian of Austria was the third child and second son of Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria (1918-2007) and his wife Archduchess Yolande (b.1923; née Princess de Ligne). The archduke studied political science and worked as a banker in Brussels. Born on 17 February 1954 at Schloß Betzdorf, Princess Marie Astrid of Luxembourg was the first child of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg (1921-2019) and his wife Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte (1927-2005; née Princess of Belgium). The princess had trained as a nurse. Carl Christian and Marie Astrid were second cousins; their shared great-grandparents were Duke Roberto I of Parma and his second wife Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal.

A view of the wedding in Notre Dame.

Left to right: Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg, Hereditary Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and Hereditary Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, Queen Fabiola and King Baudouin of Belgium, and Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte of Luxembourg.

Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, Empress Zita of Austria, and Princess Philippine de Ligne.

Left to right: Prince Guillaume, Prince Jean, Princess Margaretha, Hereditary Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and Hereditary Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg.

Princess Benedikte of Denmark and her husband Fürst Richard zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg.

Infanta Elena of Spain and Prince Andrew of the United Kingdom.

On 6 February 1982, Archduke Carl Christian of Austria and Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg were religiously married at Cathédrale Notre-Dame in Luxembourg City. The couple were joined in holy matrimony by Apostolic Nuncio Eugenio Cardinale, Bishop Jean Hengen of Luxembourg, and Bishop Bruno Wechner of Feldkirch. Among the guests were the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, Prince Andrew of Great Britain, Fürst Franz Joseph and Fürstin Georgina of Liechtenstein, Prince Louis and Princess Alix Napoléon, Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus of the Netherlands, Crown Prince Harald and Crown Princess Sonja of Norway, Queen Sofía of Spain, and Prince Bertil and Princess Lilian of Sweden.

Archduke Carl Christian and Archduchess Marie Astrid with their children, 1998.
Photo (c) Seeger-Presse.

Archduke Carl Christian and Archduchess Marie Astrid have five children: Archduchess Marie Christine (b.1983; married Count Rodolphe de Limburg-Stirum), Archduke Imre (b.1985; married Kathleen Walker), Archduke Christophe (b.1988; married Adelaide Drapé-Frisch), Archduke Alexander (b.1990), and Archduchess Gabriella (b.1994; married Prince Henri of Bourbon-Parma). Carl Christian and Marie Astrid have twelve grandchildren.

The archducal couple at the wedding of their son Christoph in 2012.
Photo (c) Getty Images / AFP.

Our congratulations to Archduke Carl Christian and Archduchess Marie Astrid on their Ruby Anniversary!