A recent interview with Prince Aimone of Savoy-Aosta

Embed from Getty Images On 1 April 2019, Prince Aimone of Savoy-Aosta gave an interview to Corriere della Sera, an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan. Following is a brief excerpt...

Aimone di Savoia: "My life as a Savoy, as a relative of the Tsars in Putin's Russia"

During a private visit to Turin, the first capital of Italy, we catch up with the prince who is the husband of Princess Olga of Greece. Prince Aimone states: "The Italian monarchy? It will not come back. But history must always be read with a sense of perspective."

At the end of the visit, Aimone's daughter Isabella "collapsed." In the rooms of Royal Palace in Turin, the third child of Aimone of Savoy-Aosta, aged six, asks her father for help. And she finds it in the arms of Aimone. "I wanted to take them to Turin, the first capital of Italy under the Savoys: Umberto, who is ten years-old, asked me to draw a family tree of the Savoys, and I promised him that we will do so in the summer, when we are in Apulia," he explains to Corriere.

Aimone, who is fifty-one and the son of Amedeo of Savoy-Aosta, is the most bashful of the Savoys. "I was small and Dad forced me to study our family tree, many times." Married to Olga of Greece, Aimone recalls, "we met at the wedding of the Infanta Elena, daughter of King Juan Carlos, and when King Felipe VI, my cousin, comes to Moscow, we try to see each other."

For the full interview with Prince Aimone of Savoy-Aosta, please visit this link: Aimone di Savoia: «La mia vita di Savoia, parente degli zar nella Russia di Putin»

On This Day In History: The Birth of Princess Louise-Marie d'Orléans, First Queen of the Belgians

Her Serene Highness Mademoiselle Louise-Marie Thérèse Charlotte Isabelle d'Orléans was born on 3 April 1812 at Palmero as the eldest daughter and second child of Louise Philippe, Duke of Orléans, and his wife Princess Maria Amalia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. In 1830, Louise-Marie's parents became the King and Queen of the French when the Orléans branch of the French royal fouse ascended to the throne following the fall of their cousin King Charles X of France, who hailed from the senior Bourbon line. This was a bittersweet development for Queen Marie-Amélie as her aunt was the late Queen Marie Antoinette of France, who fell victim to the guillotine during the French Revolution. When Louis Philippe became king, the title of his eighteen year-old daughter was upgraded to that of Her Royal Highness Princess Louise-Marie d'Orléans. The princess was raised along with her elder brother Ferdinand, Duke of Orléans, as well as with eight younger brothers and sisters: Princess Marie, Louis, Duke of Nemours, Princess Françoise (who died aged two), Princess Clémentine, François, Prince of Joinville, Charles, Duke of Penthièvre (who died aged eight), Henri, Duke of Aumale, and Antoine, Duke of Montpensier. All the surviving children of Louis Philippe and Marie-Amélie of the French contracted glittering marital alliances.

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Princess Louise-Marie was the first of her siblings to marry. On 9 August 1832, the princess was wed to King Léopold I of the Belgians (1790-1865; né Saxe-Coburg and Gotha). Léopold had been elected as king of the Belgians the year prior to his second marriage. His first wife, Princess Charlotte of Great Britain, Ireland and Hannover, was the only child of the eventual King George IV and his wife Duchess Caroline of Braunschweig. Léopold and Charlotte married in 1816 in what was a mutually happy coupling for the pair; however, their joy was short-lived as Charlotte died in 1817 on the same day that she was delivered of a stillborn son. The death of Charlotte triggered a succession crisis in the Hanoverians of Great Britain, and led to the late princess' numerous elderly uncles rushing into unions with eligible (and younger) princesses in order to produce an heir to secure the future of the dynasty.

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By virtue of her marriage, Louise-Marie became the first Queen of the Belgians. She and King Léopold quickly set about establishing a family. Their first child, a son and heir, was born on 24 July 1833. He was named Louis Philippe Léopold Victor Ernest after his maternal grandfather, his father, and his cousin Queen Victoria. At his birth, Louis Philippe automatically became Crown Prince of Belgium. Sadly, the infant boy passed away due to an inflammation of his mucous membranes on 16 May 1834, two months before he would have celebrated his first birthday.

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The second child of King Léopold and Queen Louise-Marie entered the world on 9 April 1835. Owing to the death of his older brother the previous year, Prince Léopold Louis Philippe Marie Victor was first in the line of succession after his father, who he succeeded upon the death of Léopold I in 1865. King Léopold II married Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria in 1853. As the couple's only son, another Léopold, died at the age of nine in 1869, Léopold II and Marie Henriette do not count the current Royal House of Belgium amongst their descendants. The King and Queen went on to have three daughters, the Princesses Louise (1858-1924), Stéphanie (1864-1945), and Clémentine (1872-1955). Princess Louise married her cousin Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in a union which ended in divorce after the birth of two children. Princess Stéphanie married the ill-fated Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, with whom she had a daughter, before Rudolf committed suicide with his mistress in 1889 at Mayerling. Only the youngest daughter of the king, Clémentine, found a "happy ever after" with her choice of husband. The princess had fallen in love with Prince Victor Napoléon during her father's reign. However, Léopold II forbid the union on the grounds that it would offend the French Republic. Clémentine's devotion to her Victor stood the test of time, and after her father died in 1909, the princess secured the approval of her cousin, King Albert I of the Belgians, for her marital plans. Princess Clémentine of Belgium and Prince Victor Napoléon married in 1910 and became the parents of two children, Marie-Clotilde and Louis.

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Léopold and Louise-Marie's third child and third son, Philippe, was born on 24 March 1837. Titled the Count of Flanders, Prince Philippe married Princess Marie of Hohenzollern in 1867. Philippe and Marie had five children: Prince Baudouin (1869-1891), Princess Henriette (1870-1948), the short-lived Princess Joséphine (1870-1871), the long-lived Princess Joséphine (1872-1958), and Prince Albert (1875-1934). The Count of Flanders died in 1905 before his elder brother. Therefore, when Léopold II left his earthly frame in 1909, he was succeeded by his nephew, Albert. King Albert I of the Belgians had married Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria in 1900. Their descendants include the modern Belgian royal family and Luxembourgish grand ducal family.

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The only daughter and final child of King Léopold I and his wife was born on 7 Jun 1840. Princess Maria Charlotte Amélie Auguste Victoire Clémentine Léopoldine of Belgium was destined for a tragic future. In 1857, Charlotte married Archduke Maximilian of Austria, the younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph: the couple were never able to have children of their own. Maximilian and Charlotte reigned as the last Emperor and Empress of Mexico between 1864 and 1867, the year in which Maximilian was executed by the troops of Benito Juarez. Already suffering from declining mental health, and having been in Europe since 1876 seeking aid for her husband, Empress Charlotte rather lost her mind when she was informed of her husband's brutal end. She lived out her days at Bouchout Castle in Meise, Belgium. After a bout of pneumonia, the Dowager Empress of Mexico died at the great age of eighty-six. Charlotte was the last surviving child of King Léopold I and Queen Louise-Marie of the Belgians.

Queen Louise-Marie of the Belgians (1812-1850)

Queen Louise-Marie of the Belgians never had the opportunity to meet any of her grandchildren. The queen died at the age of thirty-eight on 11 October 1850 at Ostend. She rests beside her husband in Royal Crypt of the Church of Our Lady of Laeken.

On This Day In History: The Birth of Princess Louise-Marie d'Orléans, First Queen of the Belgians

Her Serene Highness Mademoiselle Louise-Marie Thérèse Charlotte Isabelle d'Orléans was born on 3 April 1812 at Palmero as the eldest daughter and second child of Louise Philippe, Duke of Orléans, and his wife Princess Maria Amalia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. In 1830, Louise-Marie's parents became the King and Queen of the French when the Orléans branch of the French royal fouse ascended to the throne following the fall of their cousin King Charles X of France, who hailed from the senior Bourbon line. This was a bittersweet development for Queen Marie-Amélie as her aunt was the late Queen Marie Antoinette of France, who fell victim to the guillotine during the French Revolution. When Louis Philippe became king, the title of his eighteen year-old daughter was upgraded to that of Her Royal Highness Princess Louise-Marie d'Orléans. The princess was raised along with her elder brother Ferdinand, Duke of Orléans, as well as with eight younger brothers and sisters: Princess Marie, Louis, Duke of Nemours, Princess Françoise (who died aged two), Princess Clémentine, François, Prince of Joinville, Charles, Duke of Penthièvre (who died aged eight), Henri, Duke of Aumale, and Antoine, Duke of Montpensier. All the surviving children of Louis Philippe and Marie-Amélie of the French contracted glittering marital alliances.

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Princess Louise-Marie was the first of her siblings to marry. On 9 August 1832, the princess was wed to King Léopold I of the Belgians (1790-1865; né Saxe-Coburg and Gotha). Léopold had been elected as king of the Belgians the year prior to his second marriage. His first wife, Princess Charlotte of Great Britain, Ireland and Hannover, was the only child of the eventual King George IV and his wife Duchess Caroline of Braunschweig. Léopold and Charlotte married in 1816 in what was a mutually happy coupling for the pair; however, their joy was short-lived as Charlotte died in 1817 on the same day that she was delivered of a stillborn son. The death of Charlotte triggered a succession crisis in the Hanoverians of Great Britain, and led to the late princess' numerous elderly uncles rushing into unions with eligible (and younger) princesses in order to produce an heir to secure the future of the dynasty.

Embed from Getty Images

By virtue of her marriage, Louise-Marie became the first Queen of the Belgians. She and King Léopold quickly set about establishing a family. Their first child, a son and heir, was born on 24 July 1833. He was named Louis Philippe Léopold Victor Ernest after his maternal grandfather, his father, and his cousin Queen Victoria. At his birth, Louis Philippe automatically became Crown Prince of Belgium. Sadly, the infant boy passed away due to an inflammation of his mucous membranes on 16 May 1834, two months before he would have celebrated his first birthday.

Embed from Getty Images

The second child of King Léopold and Queen Louise-Marie entered the world on 9 April 1835. Owing to the death of his older brother the previous year, Prince Léopold Louis Philippe Marie Victor was first in the line of succession after his father, who he succeeded upon the death of Léopold I in 1865. King Léopold II married Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria in 1853. As the couple's only son, another Léopold, died at the age of nine in 1869, Léopold II and Marie Henriette do not count the current Royal House of Belgium amongst their descendants. The King and Queen went on to have three daughters, the Princesses Louise (1858-1924), Stéphanie (1864-1945), and Clémentine (1872-1955). Princess Louise married her cousin Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in a union which ended in divorce after the birth of two children. Princess Stéphanie married the ill-fated Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, with whom she had a daughter, before Rudolf committed suicide with his mistress in 1889 at Mayerling. Only the youngest daughter of the king, Clémentine, found a "happy ever after" with her choice of husband. The princess had fallen in love with Prince Victor Napoléon during her father's reign. However, Léopold II forbid the union on the grounds that it would offend the French Republic. Clémentine's devotion to her Victor stood the test of time, and after her father died in 1909, the princess secured the approval of her cousin, King Albert I of the Belgians, for her marital plans. Princess Clémentine of Belgium and Prince Victor Napoléon married in 1910 and became the parents of two children, Marie-Clotilde and Louis.

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Léopold and Louise-Marie's third child and third son, Philippe, was born on 24 March 1837. Titled the Count of Flanders, Prince Philippe married Princess Marie of Hohenzollern in 1867. Philippe and Marie had five children: Prince Baudouin (1869-1891), Princess Henriette (1870-1948), the short-lived Princess Joséphine (1870-1871), the long-lived Princess Joséphine (1872-1958), and Prince Albert (1875-1934). The Count of Flanders died in 1905 before his elder brother. Therefore, when Léopold II left his earthly frame in 1909, he was succeeded by his nephew, Albert. King Albert I of the Belgians had married Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria in 1900. Their descendants include the modern Belgian royal family and Luxembourgish grand ducal family.

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The only daughter and final child of King Léopold I and his wife was born on 7 Jun 1840. Princess Maria Charlotte Amélie Auguste Victoire Clémentine Léopoldine of Belgium was destined for a tragic future. In 1857, Charlotte married Archduke Maximilian of Austria, the younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph: the couple were never able to have children of their own. Maximilian and Charlotte reigned as the last Emperor and Empress of Mexico between 1864 and 1867, the year in which Maximilian was executed by the troops of Benito Juarez. Already suffering from declining mental health, and having been in Europe since 1876 seeking aid for her husband, Empress Charlotte rather lost her mind when she was informed of her husband's brutal end. She lived out her days at Bouchout Castle in Meise, Belgium. After a bout of pneumonia, the Dowager Empress of Mexico died at the great age of eighty-six. Charlotte was the last surviving child of King Léopold I and Queen Louise-Marie of the Belgians.

Queen Louise-Marie of the Belgians (1812-1850)

Queen Louise-Marie of the Belgians never had the opportunity to meet any of her grandchildren. The queen died at the age of thirty-eight on 11 October 1850 at Ostend. She rests beside her husband in Royal Crypt of the Church of Our Lady of Laeken.

On This Day In History: The Birth of Princess Louise-Marie d'Orléans, First Queen of the Belgians

Her Serene Highness Mademoiselle Louise-Marie Thérèse Charlotte Isabelle d'Orléans was born on 3 April 1812 at Palmero as the eldest daughter and second child of Louise Philippe, Duke of Orléans, and his wife Princess Maria Amalia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. In 1830, Louise-Marie's parents became the King and Queen of the French when the Orléans branch of the French royal fouse ascended to the throne following the fall of their cousin King Charles X of France, who hailed from the senior Bourbon line. This was a bittersweet development for Queen Marie-Amélie as her aunt was the late Queen Marie Antoinette of France, who fell victim to the guillotine during the French Revolution. When Louis Philippe became king, the title of his eighteen year-old daughter was upgraded to that of Her Royal Highness Princess Louise-Marie d'Orléans. The princess was raised along with her elder brother Ferdinand, Duke of Orléans, as well as with eight younger brothers and sisters: Princess Marie, Louis, Duke of Nemours, Princess Françoise (who died aged two), Princess Clémentine, François, Prince of Joinville, Charles, Duke of Penthièvre (who died aged eight), Henri, Duke of Aumale, and Antoine, Duke of Montpensier. All the surviving children of Louis Philippe and Marie-Amélie of the French contracted glittering marital alliances.

Embed from Getty Images

Princess Louise-Marie was the first of her siblings to marry. On 9 August 1832, the princess was wed to King Léopold I of the Belgians (1790-1865; né Saxe-Coburg and Gotha). Léopold had been elected as king of the Belgians the year prior to his second marriage. His first wife, Princess Charlotte of Great Britain, Ireland and Hannover, was the only child of the eventual King George IV and his wife Duchess Caroline of Braunschweig. Léopold and Charlotte married in 1816 in what was a mutually happy coupling for the pair; however, their joy was short-lived as Charlotte died in 1817 on the same day that she was delivered of a stillborn son. The death of Charlotte triggered a succession crisis in the Hanoverians of Great Britain, and led to the late princess' numerous elderly uncles rushing into unions with eligible (and younger) princesses in order to produce an heir to secure the future of the dynasty.

Embed from Getty Images

By virtue of her marriage, Louise-Marie became the first Queen of the Belgians. She and King Léopold quickly set about establishing a family. Their first child, a son and heir, was born on 24 July 1833. He was named Louis Philippe Léopold Victor Ernest after his maternal grandfather, his father, and his cousin Queen Victoria. At his birth, Louis Philippe automatically became Crown Prince of Belgium. Sadly, the infant boy passed away due to an inflammation of his mucous membranes on 16 May 1834, two months before he would have celebrated his first birthday.

Embed from Getty Images

The second child of King Léopold and Queen Louise-Marie entered the world on 9 April 1835. Owing to the death of his older brother the previous year, Prince Léopold Louis Philippe Marie Victor was first in the line of succession after his father, who he succeeded upon the death of Léopold I in 1865. King Léopold II married Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria in 1853. As the couple's only son, another Léopold, died at the age of nine in 1869, Léopold II and Marie Henriette do not count the current Royal House of Belgium amongst their descendants. The King and Queen went on to have three daughters, the Princesses Louise (1858-1924), Stéphanie (1864-1945), and Clémentine (1872-1955). Princess Louise married her cousin Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in a union which ended in divorce after the birth of two children. Princess Stéphanie married the ill-fated Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, with whom she had a daughter, before Rudolf committed suicide with his mistress in 1889 at Mayerling. Only the youngest daughter of the king, Clémentine, found a "happy ever after" with her choice of husband. The princess had fallen in love with Prince Victor Napoléon during her father's reign. However, Léopold II forbid the union on the grounds that it would offend the French Republic. Clémentine's devotion to her Victor stood the test of time, and after her father died in 1909, the princess secured the approval of her cousin, King Albert I of the Belgians, for her marital plans. Princess Clémentine of Belgium and Prince Victor Napoléon married in 1910 and became the parents of two children, Marie-Clotilde and Louis.

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Léopold and Louise-Marie's third child and third son, Philippe, was born on 24 March 1837. Titled the Count of Flanders, Prince Philippe married Princess Marie of Hohenzollern in 1867. Philippe and Marie had five children: Prince Baudouin (1869-1891), Princess Henriette (1870-1948), the short-lived Princess Joséphine (1870-1871), the long-lived Princess Joséphine (1872-1958), and Prince Albert (1875-1934). The Count of Flanders died in 1905 before his elder brother. Therefore, when Léopold II left his earthly frame in 1909, he was succeeded by his nephew, Albert. King Albert I of the Belgians had married Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria in 1900. Their descendants include the modern Belgian royal family and Luxembourgish grand ducal family.

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The only daughter and final child of King Léopold I and his wife was born on 7 Jun 1840. Princess Maria Charlotte Amélie Auguste Victoire Clémentine Léopoldine of Belgium was destined for a tragic future. In 1857, Charlotte married Archduke Maximilian of Austria, the younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph: the couple were never able to have children of their own. Maximilian and Charlotte reigned as the last Emperor and Empress of Mexico between 1864 and 1867, the year in which Maximilian was executed by the troops of Benito Juarez. Already suffering from declining mental health, and having been in Europe since 1876 seeking aid for her husband, Empress Charlotte rather lost her mind when she was informed of her husband's brutal end. She lived out her days at Bouchout Castle in Meise, Belgium. After a bout of pneumonia, the Dowager Empress of Mexico died at the great age of eighty-six. Charlotte was the last surviving child of King Léopold I and Queen Louise-Marie of the Belgians.

Queen Louise-Marie of the Belgians (1812-1850)

Queen Louise-Marie of the Belgians never had the opportunity to meet any of her grandchildren. The queen died at the age of thirty-eight on 11 October 1850 at Ostend. She rests beside her husband in Royal Crypt of the Church of Our Lady of Laeken.

EUROHISTORY: Issue CXX, Volume 21.4 – Winter 2018 Printing!

 

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38. How Times have Changed, by Joe Spiteri
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The Other Prince William: Prince William of Gloucester

Prince William of Gloucester (1941-1972) was a grandson of King George V and a paternal first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. William's father was Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of George V and Queen Mary. His mother was Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, the third daughter of the 7th Duke of Buccleuch and Lady Margaret Bridgeman. At the time of William's birth, he was fourth in line of succession to the British throne. 

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William remains the most recent descendant of George III to be diagnosed with porphyria, likely hereditary, which is widely believed to be the illness that most likely caused George III's mental breakdown. The prince died in 1972, aged thirty, in an air crash while piloting his plane in a competition.

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Between 1968 and 1970, Prince William of Gloucester was in a relationship with Zsuzsi Starkloff. In 2015, Channel 4 TV released a documentary on the topic of Prince William and Zsuzsi. One may view the film at the link below.

Engagement of Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon and Countess Olympia of Arco-Zinneberg

In March 2019, it became publicly known that Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon, son of Prince Charles Napoléon and Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, had become engaged to Countess Olympia of Arco-Zinneberg, daughter of Count Riprand of Arco-Zinneberg and Archduchess Maria Beatrix of Autria. Jean-Christophe and Olympia have been in a relationship for some years. The prince had proposed to the countess in January 2019 in Switzerland. Jean-Christophe's grandmother, the Dowager Princess Napoléon, resides in Switzerland at Prangins.

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Prince Jean-Christophe succeeded his grandfather as Prince Napoleon, Head of the Imperial House France. Countess Olympia is a great-granddaughter Emperor Karl and Empress Zita.

Jean-Christophe was born at Saint-Raphaël, Var, on 11 July 1986 as the second child and only son of Prince Charles Napoléon (b.1950) and Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (b.1950). Jean-Christophe joined an older sister, Princess Caroline (b.1980). Charles and Béatrice ruffled the feathers of their respective parents, the Prince and Princess Napoléon as well as the Duke and Duchess of Castro, by contracting a civil marriage in 1978 and declining to hold a Roman Catholic ceremony.

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The marriage of Jean-Christophe’s parents ended in 1989. When his father Charles married a divorced commoner in 1996, his father Louis (1914-1997) changed his will to make his grandson heir to the Imperial House of France. Princess Béatrice was received as the mother of the Head of the Imperial House by her former mother-in-law Princess Alix (b.1926) at the funeral of Prince Louis in 1997. Jean-Christophe is fluent in French, English, and Spanish. In 2017, he completed a MBA at the Harvard Business School. Since that time, the prince has lived in London, where he also works.

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Countess Olympia of Arco-Zinneberg, the fiancée of Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon, was born in 1988 at Munich as the third daughter of Count Riprand of Arco-Zinneberg (b.1955) and Archduchess Maria Beatrix of Austria (b.1954). Riprand and Maria Beatrix were married in 1980 and became the parents of six daughters: Anna Theresa (b.1981), Margherita (b.1983), Olympia (b.1988), Maximiliana (b.1990), Marie-Gabrielle (b.1992), and Giorgiana (b.1997). The family has lived between Germany and the United States, where Riprand has business interests.

 

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Olympia graduated from Yale University in 2011 with a B.A. in Political Science. The countess went on to Columbia University in the City of New York, where she emerged in 2015 with a M.A. in Art History. Olympia played on the hockey teams of both Yale and Columbia. While at Yale, she was featured in a university publication wherein she elaborated on her educational experiences: "I am from Austria. I’ve also lived in Germany and Connecticut. I went to boarding school in the United Kingdom and took my gap year in Shanghai, China. Since coming to Yale, I did the Yale-Peking University program during my spring semester sophomore year. Next fall I will spend the semester in Paris." It was during this Paris sejourn that the countess and the prince made one another's acquaintance.

In an alliance reminiscent of Gotha marriages of a bygone era, Jean-Christophe and Olympia are also distantly related.

On Jean Christophe's paternal side, he is a descendant of many illustrious dynasties, other than the House of Napoléon. His father's paternal grandparents were: Prince Victor Napoléon, son of Prince Napoléon (also known as Plon-Plon) and of his wife Princess Clothilde of Savoy (both her mother and paternal grandmother were Habsburgs); and Clémentine of Belgium, youngest daughter of King Leopold II and of his Austrian wife, the former Archduchess Marie Henriette. Prince Napoléon's parents were Prince Jerôme, youngest brother of Emperor Napoléon, and Princess Catherine of Württemberg. As a descendant of King Leopold II, Jean-Christophe has ties to the Coburg dynasty.

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The Coburgs also provide a genealogical link sweeten Jean-Christophe and Olympia. Emperor Karl, her great-grandfather, was the son of Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony, whose parents were King Georg of Saxony and his wife, Infanta Maria Anna of Portugal. She, in turn, was the daughter of Queen Maria II and of her second husband King Consort Ferdinand, born a Prince of of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Kohary line). Ferdinand of Coburg was a first cousin of King Leopold II of the Belgians.

Olympia is also related to the Habsburg and Wittelsbach dynasties through her father, Count Riprand. His maternal grandmother was Princess Gundelinde of Bavaria, youngest child of King Ludwig III and his wife Maria Theresa, née Austria-Este. Her mother was Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria, an older sister of Archduchess Marie Henriette, consort of King Leopold II.

Furthermore, the Counts of Arco-Zinneberg are descendants of Archduchess Leopoldina (1776-1768), who in 1795 married the aged Karl Theodor, Elector of Bavaria, Count Palatine of the Rhine (1724-1799). Upon his death, Leopoldina remained living in Munich, where in November 1804 she married a Bavarian aristocrat, Count Ludwig von Arco (1773-1856). They had several children, among them Count Maximilian (1811-1885), who married Countess Leopoldina von Waldburg zu Zeil u. Trauchburg (1811-1886). They in turn were the parents of Countess Christiane von Arco-Zinneberg (1852-1923), who in 1878 married Count Konrad von Preysing-Lichtenegg-Moos (1843-1903). Their third son was Count Johann-Georg (1887-1924), who in 1919 married as his second wife (his first wife Countess Anna von Lerchfeld died in 1916) Princess Gundelinde of Bavaria. Their youngest child, Countess Maria-Theresia's second husband was Count Ulrich-Philipp von Arco-Zinneberg. Their son Riprand is the father of Countess Olympia.

Count Riprand also descends from Archduchess Leopoldina through his father, Count Ulrich-Philipp (1917-1980). He was the son of Count Joseph von Arco-Zinneberg (1881-1924) and of his wife Princess Wilhelmina of Auersperg (1884-1919), who died in childbirth. Count Joseph was the son of Count Ludwig von Arco-Zinneberg (1840-1882) and of his second wife Princess Josephine of Lobkowicz (1853-1898).  Count Ludwig, an older brother of Countess Christiane, who we mentioned in the previous paragraph, was therefore a grandchild of Archduchess Leopoldina.

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Her mother, Archduchess Maria Beatrix, is the daughter of Archduke Robert of Austria-Este, second son of Emperor Karl and Empress Zita, and of the former Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta, eldest daughter of the 3rd Duke of Aosta and of his wife, Princess Anne of Orléans, a sister of the Count of Paris (1908-1999).

The Savoy connection also provides a common link between Jean-Christophe and Olympia, as her grandfather, the 3rd Duke of Aosta was a grandson of Amadeo, 1st Duke of Aosta (and former King of Spain), a brother of Princess Clothilde of Savoy, mother of Prince Victor Napoléon.

One of Olympia's cousins is Archduke Amadeo, eldest son of Archduke Lorenz and of Princess Astrid of Belgium, only daughter of King Albert II and Queen Paola. This line also connects Jean-Christophe and Olympia as Albert II was the youngest son of of Prince Philippe of Belgium, brother of King Leopold II. Another brother of Maria Beatrix is Archduke Martin, who is married to Princess Katharina of Isenburg, sister of the Dowager Fürstin of Wied, the Fürst of Isenburg, and Princess Sophie of Prussia, wife of Prince Georg Friedrich, Head of the House of Hohenzollern.

There are countless other connections between Jean-Christophe and Olympia. At least the ones we have listed ought to make the reader realise that this is simply a sublime, and lovely, alliance between two modern young people who carry with them ancient legacies. All those who follow the events of the imperial and royal families of Europe will doubtless be looking forward to seeing images of the day on which this handsome couple is joined in matrimony.