Prince Boris of Bulgaria (b.1997) has recently received his degree from the Wimbledon College of Arts. The prince previously attended the Lycée Français Molière in Villanueva de la Cañada near Madrid. Like most in his family, Boris is a polyglot: he speaks Spanish, French, English, and some Bulgarian. Boris is an avid sculptor and creator of a number of recent artistic installations.
Wedding of Crown Prince Kardam of Bulgaria and doña Miriam de Ungría y López in 1996
The Crown Princely couple with their first son Boris
Crown Prince Kardam and Crown Princess Miriam with their sons
Prince Boris of Bulgaria with King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía of Spain
Prince Boris is the eldest son of Crown Princess Miriam of Bulgaria (b.1963; née de Ungría y López) and the late Crown Prince Kardam (1962-2015), who married in 1996. Boris was joined by a younger brother, Prince Beltran, in 1999. Prince Boris of Bulgaria is the heir to his grandfather King Simeon II of the Bulgarians (b.1937).
For further news and articles about Europe's Gotha families, join Eurohistory!
Today, Countess Marianne Bernadotte marks her ninety-fifth birthday. Marianne is the widow of the late Prince Sigvard of Sweden (1907-2002; later Prince Bernadotte and Count of Wisborg), who she married in 1961. She was born Gullan Marianne Lindberg on 15 July 1924 at Helsingborg; her parents were Helge Lindberg and Thyra Dahlman. Marianne's brother Rune suffered from dyslexia, which led to Marianne becoming interested in the treatment of those with the reading disorder. Her marriage into to a member of the Swedish royal family led to a further advocacy in this area when she realised that her nephew King Carl XVI Gustaf and his children Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Carl Philip also deal with dyslexia.
Toto Tchang
Marianne Lindberg began her career as an actress in the theatre. She studied at the Royal Dramatic Theatre's acting school Dramatens elevskola, from which she graduated in 1948. In 1947, she married Gabriel "Toto" Anthoine Gustav Tchang (1919–1980), the son of a Chinese Ambassador in Stockholm. The couple had three children: Robert (1948-2012), Richard (1950-1952), and Marielle (b.1953). Marianne and Toto divorced in 1957. Marianne has become a champion for children having sufficient access to vision healthcare as a result of her second son, Richard, going blind before he died before reaching his second birthday. In this vein, Countess Marianne Bernadotte founded The Sigvard & Marianne Bernadotte Research Foundation For Children’s Eyecare in Sweden in 1990. The foundation now has an office in the United States as well.
d
On 30 July 1961, Marianne married Prince Sigvard Bernadotte (former Prince of Sweden) in a ceremony at Stockholm. Sigvard was the second son of the eventual King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and his wife Princess Margaret (née Connaught/Great Britain). For Marianne, it was her third marriage; for Sigvard, it was his third. The couple remained together until Sigvard's death in 2002 at the age of ninety-four.
Sigvard and Marianne Bernadotte
Countess Marianne Bernadotte and her husband Prince Sigvard met designer Pierre Balmain in 1962; this let to a lasting friendship between the countess and the French haute couturier, who often created outfits for Marianne. In 2017, the Stockholm art museum Millesgården held a four-month exhibition on the fashion of Countess Marianne Bernadotte: the exhibit was opened by her grandniece Crown Princess Victoria.
Prince Carl Philip of Sweden with his great-aunt Countess Marianne Bernadotte
Countess Marianne Bernadotte with her grandniece Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
Countess Marianne Bernadotte and Queen Silvia of Sweden
Although her husband Sigvard had a strained relationship with his family, his widow maintains close ties to King Carl Gustaf, Queen Silvia, and their children. Marianne attended the 2010 wedding of Crown Princess Victoria, the 2013 wedding of Princess Madeleine, and the 2015 wedding of Prince Carl Philip. Since the death of Countess Gunilla Bernadotte (widow of Count Carl Johan Bernadotte) in 2016, Marianne is the only surviving daughter-in-law of King Gustaf VI Adolf and the only surviving aunt of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.
The Belgian Royal House today released an image of King Albert and Queen Paola of Belgium with their three children, eleven grandchildren, and one great-grandchild (with another on the way). Only Prince Joachim of Belgium, the second son and third child of Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz, was missing. The photograph was taken last week in the South of France.
King Albert and Queen Paola celebrated sixty years of marriage on 2 July.
For further news and articles about Europe's Gotha families, join Eurohistory!
Hereditary Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Elvire Pasté de Rochefort
Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Fürst Richard of S-W-B, Elvire Pasté de Rochefort, Prince Gustav of S-W-B
On 16 August 2000, the Danish royal house announced the betrothal between Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b.12 January 1969; eldest of three children and only son of Fürst Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Princess Benedikte of Denmark) and Elvire Pasté de Rochefort (b.Paris 13 March 1968). Elvire is one of two children of Hervé Pasté de Rochefort and his wife Hélène Rodocanachi.
The wedding between the pair was to take place in Paris in Spring of 2001.
During a press conference in late August 2000 at Schloss Berleburg, Gustav and Elvire recalled that they first met at a wedding two years prior. Elvire was his dinner partner. The engaged couple revealed that it was not love at first sight. Elvire said that Gustav proposed to her on 23 July 2000. After their wedding, the couple planned to live in London for several years before moving to Schloss Berleburg.
On 25 November 2000, it was announced that the religious wedding of Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and his fiancée, Elvire Pasté de Rochefort, would take place at the Église de Saint Louis, Hôtel des Invalides, in Paris on 12 May 2001. A few months later, in March 2001, the news broke that the marriage of Gustav and Elvire had been postponed because of practical problems (logistics, accomodation, security). The union was expected to still occur in Paris at a later date.
Finally, in July 2001, Elvire and Gustav confirmed that their engagement had been called off.
On 30 April 2005, Elvire Pasté de Rochefort married Christophe Clamageran.
For many years, Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Carina Axelsson have been in a relationship.
For further news and articles about Europe's Gotha families, join Eurohistory!
In today's post arrived a lovely photo card from Kensington Palace. The image on the front was taken by Chris Allerton on 8 May when TRH The Duke and Duchess of Sussex presented their son, Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, to the world for the first time. Born on 6 May 2019 at Portland Hospital in London, the newest great-grandchild of HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh was only two days old when his parents allowed the world to share in their happiness by seeing the infant with his parents at Windsor. We wish all the best to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as they join the ranks of many sleep-deprived parents of newborns!
For further news and articles about Europe's Gotha families, join Eurohistory!
The prince was born on 11 July 1986 at Saint-Raphaël, Var, as the second child and only son of Prince Charles Napoléon (b.1950) and Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (b.1950). The couple were married in a civil ceremony only in 1978, much to the consternation of both sets of parents. Charles and Béatrice divorced in 1989. Jean-Christophe has an older sister, Princess Caroline (b.1980), as well as two younger sisters, Sophie (b.1992) and Anh (b.1998; adopted).
The engagement between Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon and Countess Olympia of Arco-Zinneberg was announced earlier this year. The couple are to be married in Paris on 19 October 2019. Jean Christophe works for The Blackstone Group, a private equity firm, in London; Olympia is an art historian.
For further news and articles about Europe's Gotha families, join Eurohistory!
Owing to the advent of around-the-clock media, members of the British royal family have sometimes given interviews to the press when their engagements were announced. Here one can find a compilation of clips of statements given by British royals after they became affianced.
In 1973, The Princess Anne (The Princess Royal) and Captain Mark Phillips:
In 1981, The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer (The Prince of Wales and the late Diana, Princess of Wales):
In 2011, Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton (the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge):
In 2017, Prince Harry of Wales and Ms Meghan Markle (the Duke and Duchess of Sussex):
In 1986, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York:
In 2018, Princess Eugenie of York and Mr Jack Brooksbank:
In 1999, The Prince Edward and Miss Sophie Rhys-Jones (the Earl and Countess of Wessex):
For further news and articles about Europe's Gotha families, join Eurohistory!
