Prince Wauthier de Ligne (1952-2022), First Cousin of Grand Duke of Luxembourg

Prince Wauthier.

On Monday, 15 August, Prince Wauthier de Ligne died in hospital near Beloeil following a long illness. He was seventy years-old. 

Prince Antoine de Ligne and Princess Alix of Luxembourg on their wedding day, 1950.

Born on 10 July 1952 at the familial home, Château de Beloeil, Prince Wauthier Philippe Féliz Marie Lamoral de Ligne was the son of Prince Antoine, 13th Prince de Ligne (1925-2005), and Princess Alix of Luxembourg (1929-2019), who wed in 1950. Coincidentally, Prince Wauthier and his first cousin Archduchess Alexandra of Austria were both born on 10 July 1952 at Beloeil; Alexandra is the daughter of Wauthier's aunt Princess Yolande and her late husband Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria. Wauthier had six siblings: Prince Michel (b.1951; married Princess Eleonora of Orléans-Brangaça), Princess Anne-Marie (b.1954), Princess Christine (b.1955; married Prince Antônio of Orléans-Brangaça), Princess Sophie (b.1957; married Count Philippe de Nicolay), Prince Antoine (b.1959; married Countess Jacqueline de Lannoy), and Princess Yvonne (b.1964; married Hugo Townsend, the son of Group Captain Peter Townsend, who was once very close to Princess Margaret). 

LIFE magazine dubs Wauthier the "Scene-stealing Prince" in 1958. He was almost six years-old and an attendant at an aunt's wedding.

The closest that Wauthier ever came to publicity was in 1958, when he got a little squeamish during the wedding of his aunt Princess Marie Adelaide of Luxembourg to Count Karl Josef Henckel von Donnersmarck.

Prince Félix and Grand Duchess Charlotte. Photo (c) Cour Grand-Ducale.

Prince Wauthier's paternal grandparents were Prince Éugene de Ligne and Philippine de Noailles. His maternal grandparents were Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg and Prince Félix of Bourbon-Parma. Wauthier's paternal aunt is Archduchess Yolande of Austria (b.1923; née Princess de Ligne), who married Archduke Carl Ludwig, a son of Wauthier's maternal great-aunt, Empress Zita of Austria. Wauthier's brother Michel is the head of the princely house; and their sister Christine is the wife of Prince Antonio, who will likely be the eventual head of the imperial house of Brazil. Additionally, Wauthier's first cousin is Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg.

In 1976, Prince Wauthier married Countess Marguerite Régine Marie Françoise Xavière de Renesse (b.1955), the daughter of Count Guy de Renesse and Countess Elisabeth de Limburg-Stirum. The couple had three children: Prince Philippe (b.1977; married Laetitia Rolin), Princess Yolande (b.1979; married Paul Weingarten), and Princess Elisabeth (b.1983; married Baron Baudouin Gillès de Pélichy).

The funeral of Prince Wauthier de Ligne will take place on 22 August at l'église Saint-Pierre de Belœil.

May the Prince Rest in Peace. 

Source: Le château de Belœil perd l’un de ses princes, Wauthier de Ligne 

Princess Gabrielle d'Arenberg (1920-2022)

Princess Charles de Ligne, Madame Bertrand de la Haye Jousselin and Princess Armand d'Arenberg at a Parisian ball, 1950. Photo (c) Robert Doisneau.

On 1 August, Princess Gabrielle d'Arenbeg died at her home in Paris. She was 101 years-old.

Born on 8 September 1920 at Biarritz, Gabrielle Marie de Lambertye-Gerbéviller was the eldest daughter of Charles de Lambertye-Gerbéviller, marquis de Gerbéviller (1883-1940), and Lorena Sancho-Mata y Contreras (1896-1991), who wed in 1919. Gabrielle was joined by two younger sisters: Maria del Rosario (b.1922; married Prince Jean Charles de Ligne de La Trémoïlle), and Leontine (1925-2016; married Prince Albert-Edouard de Ligne). 

In August 1941 at Paris, Gabrielle de Lambertye-Gerbéviller married Prince Armand-Louis Hélie d'Arenberg (1906-1985). The couple had two children, a daughter and a son: Princess Mirabelle (b.1947; married 1st Louis-Jean Loppin, Comte de Montmort; married 2nd Georges Hervet) and Prince Charle (b.1949; married 1st Philomène Toulouse; married 2nd Diane d'Harcourt). 

The funeral of Princess Gabrielle will take place on 8 August at the parish church in Gerbeviller; she will be buried in the family vault.

Source: Disparition de la princesse Gabrielle d’Arenberg

May the Princess Rest in Peace.

The Marquise de Ganay (1925-2022)

Philippine de Ganay in Venice, 2006.
Photo (c) Getty Images / Bertrand Rindoff Petroff.

 

Earlier this month, Philippine, Marquise de Ganay, died at the age of ninety-seven.

 

Born on 4 September 1925 at Paris, Philippine Louise Charlotte Marie de Noailles was the second child and first daughter of Henry de Noailles, Duc de Mouchy, Prince-Duc de Poix (1890-1947) and Marie de La Rochefoucauld (1901-1983), who wed in 1920. Philippine had an older brother and a younger sister: Philippe, Duc de Mouchy (1922-2011; married 1st Diane de Castellane; married 2nd Joan Dillon Douglas, widow of Prince Charles of Luxembourg) and Sabine de Noailles (1931-2010; married Nicolas Wyrubov)

 

Jean-Louis and Philippine in front of the Château de Courances.

Photo (c) Courances.

 

On 17 July 1946 at Paris, Philippine married Jean-Louis, Marquis de Ganay (1922-2013). The couple had four daughters: Anne-Marie de Ganay (b.1947; married Jean Claude Meyer), Martine de Ganay (1948-1984; married James Filmer-Wilson), Lauraine de Ganay (b.1951; married Serge de Ganay), and Valentine de Ganay (b.1962; married Markus Hansen). Along with her husband, Philippine was heavily involved in the restoration of the Château de Courances; her particular focus was on the castle's Japanese garden. Jean-Louis and Philippine de Ganay, along with their family, were one of the subjects of Robert Lacy's book Aristocrats.

 

The Marquise de Ganay and Duke Philipp of Württemberg, 2010.
Photo (c) Getty Images / Bertrand Rindoff Petroff.

 

May the Marquise Rest in Peace.

Death of Prince Luiz (1938-2022), Head of Brazilian Imperial Family

Images of Prince Luiz throughout his life. Photo (c) Pró Monarquia.

Today, on 15 July 2022 at São Paulo, Prince Luiz of Orleans-Bragança died after a month-long stay in hospital.  He was eighty-four years-old. The prince was the Head of the Imperial House of Brazil for forty-one years.

The wedding of Prince Pedro Henrique of Brazil and Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria

A baby Prince Luiz.

Four generations: The Countess of Caserta holding her great-grandson Prince Luiz, her daughter Princess Maria Pia, and her grandson Prince Pedro Henrique.

Pedro Henrique and Maria Elisabeth with their three eldest children: Luiz (1938-2022), Eudes (1939-2020), and Bertrand (b.1941).

Prince Luíz Gastão Maria José Pio of Orleans-Bragança was born on 6 June 1938 at Mandelieu, France. Luiz was the first son and eldest child of Prince Pedro Henrique of Brazil (1909-1981) and Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria (1914-2011), who married in 1937. Born during the exile of the Imperial Family, Prince Luiz was registered at the Consulate General of Brazil in Paris as a Brazilian citizen, fulfilling the mandate of the Imperial Constitution, thus guaranteeing his rights to the Throne and the Crown of Brazil. The godparents of Prince Luiz were his uncle, Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (1913-2008), and his paternal grandmother, the Dowager Princess Imperial Maria Pia of Brazil (born Princess of the Two Sicilies; 1878-1973).

Princess Maria and Prince Pedro Henrique with their children, 1962. Photograph (c) Casa Imperial do Brasil.

With the end of the World War II in May 1945, the Brazilian Imperial Family was able to return to their homeland. They lived in Rio de Janeiro and Petrópolis until, in 1951, they moved to the Northern of the State of Paraná, then the great agricultural frontier of Brazil, where they lived at the Fazenda São José, in Jacarezinho, and, from 1957 onwards, at the Fazenda Santa Maria, in Jundiaí do Sul.

Prince Luiz and his father Prince Pedro Henrique in the 1960s.

Prince Luiz studied at the Colégio Coração Eucarístico and Santo Inácio, in Rio de Janeiro, and at Colégio Cristo Rei, in Jacarezinho. The prince then went to Europe, where he studied Political and Social Sciences at the University of Paris and Chemistry and Physics at the University of Munich. Luiz graduated with a degree in chemical engineering. He returned to Brazil in 1967, settling in São Paulo and taking over the direction of his father's Secretariat, which at that time was located at Sítio Santa Maria, in Vassouras. 

Prince Pedro Luiz, Princess Amelia, Prince Antonio, the Duchess of Braganza, Prince Luiz, Princess Cristina, the Duke of Braganza, and Prince Bertrand, 2000.

Prince Luiz with Archduchess Christiana of Austria and Prince Alexander of Saxony, Margrave of Meißen, who is married to Luiz's first cousin Princess Gisela of Bavaria.

Prince Luiz was a first cousin of Archduke Leopold Franz of Austria, Head of the Grand Ducal House of Tuscany, and of Princess Gisela of Bavaria, Margravine of Meißen and wife of Prince Alexander, Head of the Royal House of Saxony.

Prince Pedro Henrique and Princess Maria Elisabeth.

Prince Luiz and Princess Maria Elisabeth.

Aged seventy-one, Prince Pedro Henrique of Orleans-Bragança died on 5 July 1981. Prince Luiz, his eldest son and dynastic heir, then became Head of the Imperial House. On 13 May 2011, Princess Maria Elisabeth, aged ninety-six, died. Prince Luiz, who never married, was always strongly attached to the memory of his parents.

Prince Luiz and his nephew Prince Rafael.

One of the prince's hobbies was reading, especially on historical and sociological subjects, in addition to staying up-to-date on everything relevant happening in Brazil and around the world. In his youth, Luiz practiced riding and hunting. In later years, he resumed his passion for photography, revealing himself to be heir to the artistic vein of both sides of his family. Prince Luiz was particularly fond of classical music, with a special predilection for the works of Brazilian composers of the Baroque school.

May the Prince Rest in Peace.

Donata Coleman (1932-2022; née Princess Reuß)

Princess Donata Reuss and Bishop Peter Coleman after their engagement. Photo (c) ANL/Shutterstock. 

On 24 April 2022, Donata Coleman died at the age of eighty-nine years-old. She was survived by her four children and six grandchildren.

Donata's parents: Prince Heinrich XXXIX and Countess Antonia.

Photo (c) Sueddeutsche Zeitung Photo/Alamy.

Born on 8 June 1932 at Vienna, Princess Elisabeth Donata Regina Emma Clementine Reuss was the third daughter and sixth and youngest child of Prince Heinrich XXXIX Reuss (1891-1946) and Countess Antonia zu Castell-Castell (1896-1971), who wed in 1918. Donata had five older siblings: Fürst Heinrich XIV (1919-2012; married Princess Marie Luise zu Salm-Horstmar), Prince Heinrich VI (1922-1942), Princess Amadea (1923-2015; married Reinhold Sachs), Princess Gertrud (1924-2011; married Henri Grand d'Esnon), and Prince Heinrich VII (1927-2002; married Baroness Brigitte van Tuyll van Serooskerken).

Peter and Donata.

Photo (c) Trinity Mirror / Mirrorpix / Alamy Stock Photo.

On 14 May 1960 at the Anglican Church in Vienna, Princess Donata Reuss married the Rev. Peter Everard Coleman (1928-2001). The bride, who wore "a heavy silk dress and robe of purest white with a white hat and veil," walked down the aisle on the arm of her eldest brother. Peter and Donata were wed by Dr. Eric S. Abbott, the Dean of Westminster. The couple's January engagement was a charming news item in many papers; Reverend Coleman was not aware of his wife's ancestry at the time he proposed. It was only days later that a friend informed him that Donata was a princess. Donata remarked: "I always said I'd marry for love and not for position. By marrying Peter I lose my title. But what do titles matter these days?" Peter Coleman was educated at the Haileybury and Imperial Service College and King's College London; he served as a chaplain at the latter until 1966. Coleman was the vicar of St Paul's Clifton; he then went on to become the Director of Ordinands in the Diocese of Bristol and finally Archdeacon of Worcester. In retirement, Coleman was the Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. The couple had two daughters and two sons: Antonia (b.1961; married 1st Warren Nash; married 2nd Matthew Tregenza), Basil (b.1963; married Stephanie Pleister), Benedict (b.1965; married Jane Fielding), and Elena (b.1969; married Nathan Chubb).

Donata's obituary in The Times.

May the Princess Rest in Peace.