Monday, April 8, 2019

The Fourteenth Wedding Anniversary of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall

Today His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall celebrate their fourteenth wedding anniversary. The forthcoming nuptials of the Prince and Mrs Parker Bowles were announced on 10 February 2005. Under the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, the Queen granted her consent for the marriage to take place on 2 March 2005 in a meeting of the Privy Council. In advance of the union, it was announced that Mrs Parker Bowles would take the style of Her Royal Highness and bear the title Duchess of Cornwall (one of her husband's subsidiary title); however, as the wife of the Prince of Wales, she may be legally titled as Princess of Wales.
The Queen Gives Her Consent to the Marriage in Privy Council (© Parliament of the United Kingdom)
On Saturday, 9 April 2005, the Prince of Wales married Mrs Camilla Parker Bowles (née Shand) in a civil ceremony at the Windsor Guildhall. The witnesses for the couple were sons of the groom and bride, the-then Prince William of Wales and Mr Tom Parker Bowles. From the groom's side, many members of his family were present at the Guildhall. These included both of his sons, Princes William and Harry, the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, Mr Peter Phillips, Miss Zara Phillips, the Duke of York, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, and Princess Alexandra, Lady Ogilvy.
The civil marriage of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall was followed by a Service of Prayer and Dedication at St George's Chapel at Windsor. The service at St George's Chapel was attended by 800 guests, including the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. Foreign royal guests included the King of Bahrain, King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes, Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway, Princess Margarita of Romania, and Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia.

di No comments:

On This Day In History: The Birth of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin



Hereditary Grand Duke Friedrich Franz Michael of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was born at Palermo on 9 April 1882 as the only son of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III and Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia. The young Friedrich Franz joined an elder sister, Duchess Alexandrine (1879-1952; future Queen of Denmark as the wife of King Christian X), and was followed by a younger sister, Duchess Cecile (1886-1954; future German Crown Princess as the wife of Crown Prince Wilhelm). Friedrich Franz III and Anastasia had been married since January 1879.
 
Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1851-1897) and Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia (1860-1922)
In 1897, Friedrich Franz III died rather unexpectedly, and he was succeeded by his fifteen year-old son, Friedrich Franz IV, as Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Friedrich Franz IV was to be the last reigning grand duke of his country. In 1904, Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV took as his bride Princess Alexandra of Hannover (1882-1963). The couple were to have five children during the course of their marriage: Hereditary Grand Duke Friedrich Franz (1910-2001), Duke Christian Ludwig (1912-1996), Duchess Olga (1916-1917), Duchess Thyra (1919-1981), and Duchess Anastasia (1923-1979; future wife of Prince Friedrich Ferdinand of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg). 
 
 
 
In addition to his own duties, Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin became the regent of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in February 1918 after the suicide of his cousin Grand Duke Adolf Friedrich IV (1882-1918). On 14 November 1918, Friedrich Franz IV abdicated his throne in the wake of the Revolution sweeping the German states following World War I. 
 
Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

The grand duke died on 17 November 1945 at Flensburg while in custody of the Royal Air Force. He was sixty-three years-old. Friedrich Franz's grand ducal house became extinct in the male line upon the death of his eldest son in 2001.

Three of the children of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV and Grand Duchess Alexandra married. Of these, only their youngest son and youngest daughter left offspring. In 1954, Duke Christian Ludwig of Mecklenburg-Schwerin married Princess Barbara of Prussia (1920-1994), a daughter of Prince Sigismund of Prussia and Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Altenburg. Christian Ludwig and Barbara had two children: Duchess Donata (b.1956) and Duchess Edwina (b.1960). In 1943, Duchess Anastasia of Mecklenburg-Schwerin married Prince Friedrich Ferdinand of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1913-1989). Anastasia and Friedrich Ferdinand were the parents of four daughters: Princess Elisabeth (b.1945), Princess Irene (b.1946), Princess Margaretha (b.1948), and Princess Sibylla (b.1955).

Duke Christian Ludwig of Mecklenburg (1912-1996)

Princess Anastasia of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1923-1979; née Mecklenburg-Schwerin)
 
 
 

di No comments:

Royal Fashion: Karl Lagerfeld and His Blue-Blooded Friends

For a great deal of his life, fashion powerhouse Karl Lagerfeld (1933-2019) counted numerous European royals and nobles amongst his friends and clientele. The recently deceased creative director of Chanel was especially close to the Princely Family of Monaco. Princess Caroline of Hannover was one of Lagerfeld's dearest supporters, having known Herr Lagerfeld since the 1970s. Caroline's daughter Charlotte Casiraghi was also a keen admirer of Lagerfeld and his work. Another Grimaldi princess who enjoyed the company of Lagerfeld was Princess Charlene of Monaco. Karl Lagerfeld was a guest at Charlene Wittstock's 2011 nuptials to Prince Albert II of Monaco, an event at which he was seated just behind Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeline of Sweden, and right next to Margrave Maximilian and Margravine Valerie of Baden. Karl Lagerfeld also mixed with various other royal women during his long career: Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, Princess Mafalda of Hesse, Princess Clotilde of Savoy, Princess Lilly of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (first wife of Prince Alexander of Schaumburg-Lippe), Princess Ingeborg of Schleswig-Holstein, and Infanta Elena of Spain. Princess Caroline of Hannover paid a heartfelt tribute to the late designer, and recalled how the two met, in an interview with Point de Vue some months after Lagerfeld's death:
It has been more than forty-five years of friendship! It was a photo shoot for American Vogue organised by Mary Russell who my mother knew well, and it was done in Karl’s apartment, place Saint-Sulpice, in Paris. We ended up there with Chris von Wangenheim, a wonderful fashion photographer. I wore Chloé clothes that Karl drew. It was a really happy atmosphere, I was very shy at that age.
Forty-five years is more than we know a lot of our own family members. Only my nanny, who passed away last year, knew me as well. We all felt Karl’s death as a family loss. At the death of my father, he supported me, and today it is like I am losing a close family member again. My children also felt this very painfully. They have known Karl since their birth. He was home the day before the day I gave birth to Andrea, he took a picture of me on the stairs. He was there when they were born.

di No comments:

Sunday, April 7, 2019

Archduchess Sophie of Austria: An Imperial Designer

Archduchess Sophie Franziska Maria Germaine of Austria was born on 19 January 1959 at Boulogne-sur-Seine in Paris. The archduchess was the second child and second daughter of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria (1918-2004) and Archduchess Helen (b.1937; née Törring-Jettenbach), who were wed in 1956. Sophie joined an older sister, Archduchess Elisabeth (1957-1983), and was followed by a younger brother, Archduke Maximilian (b.1961). Sophie's paternal grandparents were Archduke Maximilian of Austria (1895-1952) and Princess Franziska of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst (1897-1989); her maternal grandparents were Count Carl Theodor of Törring-Jettenbach (1900-1967) and Princess Elisabeth of Greece and Denmark (1904-1955).
In early 1990, Archduchess Sophie of Austria married Prince Mariano Hugo of Windisch-Grätz (b.1955). The couple have three children: Hereditary Prince Maximilian (b.1990), Prince Alexis (1991-2010), and Princess Larissa. Before she became a wife and mother, Sophie had worked as a fashion journalist and as a muse to Valentino.
For the past ten years, Sophie of Austria has channeled her creative energies into creating a line of elegant and timeless handbags.
Although Sophie's website is currently being updated, do visit it in the future: Sophie Habsburg
To read more about the work of Sophie of Austria, check out these articles: So THAT’S what’s in her handbag! The Queen clutches a purse emblazoned with her friend Archduchess Helen of Austria as she leaves her 80th birthday party at The Ivy An interview with princess Sophie Habsburg, style icon and talented handbag designer

di No comments:

EUROHISTORY: Issues CXIX & CXX shipping this week!

6300 Kensington Avenue
East Richmond Heights, CA 94805
USA
Email: aebeeche@mac.com or eurohistory@comcast.net
Phone: 510.236.1730
Today, much tour delight, our printer called to inform us that they have Issues CXIX and CXX ready for pickup! We will start ailing the magazines on Wednesday. Inside, all subscribers will receive the renewal form for 2019 – We hope that our monumental effort to get all of 2018 out in one month, will help you choose to remain for the 22nd year of Eurohistory!
Inside  Issue CXX you will find the following articles: 1. From Empire to Nation-States – The Last Days of the Habsburg Monarchy, by Justin Vovk
9. Fortitude and Resignation – The Kaiser’s fall and Exile in The Netherlands, by Arturo E. Beéche
24. Ferdinand of Bulgaria – The Machiavelli of there Balkans, by Coryne Hall
30. Princess Margarethe of Hesse’s Letters to Lady Corkran, by John van der Kiste
38. How Times have Changed, by Joe Spiteri
46. Book Reviews
48. Royal News
Inside Issue CXIX you will find the following articles: 1. The Romanovs Adrift: The Imperial Family in 1913-1919, by Greg King and Penny Wilson 2. Obituary: Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma – Last of the Royal Swashbucklers, by Charles B. Stewart jr. 3. Kadriorg – A Russian Summer Palace in Tallinn, by Katrina Warne 4. A Royal Wedding in Gotha – The Civil Wedding of Princess Stephanie of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha and Herr Jan Stahl, by Arturo E. Beéche & Marianne van Dam 5. Princess Helen of Serbia, by Coryne Hall 6. Centennial of the Romanov Martyrdom, by Arturo E. Beéche 7. The Wedding of there Duke of Sussex, by Edwina Tash 8. Queen Isabel's Iberian Forge, by Justin Vovk 9. A True Royal Wedding – The Hereditary Prince Ferdinand of Leiningen Marries Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, by Arturo E. Beéche 10. Royal News

Subscription Rates

Yearly rates cover 4 issues...Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter
USA                          $50.00
Canada                      $55.00
Europe                      $75.00
UK                            £50.00
Latin America           $75.00
Australia                   $75.00
New Zealand            $75.00
Rest of the World     $75.00
Payment must be mailed by check or postal money order to:
Eurohistory
Kensington House Books
6300 Kensington Avenue
East Richmond Heights, CA 94805-1618
USA
To pay by credit card, please call: 510.236.1730. You may also mail your credit card information to our address above or use our secure system by sending us an email at: aebeeche@mac.com
We also accept Paypal at our address: eurohistory@comcast.net
We accept VISA, MasterCard and Venmo (aebeeche@mac.com)

di No comments:

EUROHISTORY: Royal Collections III: The Royal House of Bavaria, Volume I

The Wittelsbachs ruled over Bavaria and the Rhineland Palatinate for nearly 750 years, this fact made their dynasty one of Europe's longes-ruling families. Theirs is a history of not only sublime exaltation, but also deep and sorrowful loss. They were patrons of the arts and letters, incredible builders, scientists, politicians, visionaries, and maddening personalities. This first volume covers the history of the family from its beginning in the XI century to the life of Crown Prince Rupprecht, who died in 1955. In fact, the book is dedicated to him, "the best king Bavaria never had." Authored by Arturo E. Beéche and Coryne Hall, The Royal House of Bavaria, Volume I includes over 330 images documenting the Wittelsbach dynasty from its beginning in the XI century to today.  The book is currently printing and we expect to bring it to you promptly. The Royal House of Bavaria, Volume I will go on sale on June 1, 2019! The books sections include:  Introduction (by Greg King) Prologue: The Bavarian Succession Crisis 1777 Chapter I: Electors and Counts Palatine Chapter II: King Maximilian I Joseph Chapter III: King Ludwig I Chapter IV: King Maximilian II Chapter V: King Ludwig II Chapter VI: King Otto and Prince Regent Luitpold Chapter VII: King Ludwig III Chapter VIII: Crown Prince Rupprecht Epilogue: The Jacobite Succession The book also includes nine family trees displayed across 16 pages! The cost is $48.95 plus shipping ($8.00 USA – $35.00 international) We accept the following forms of payment:
To pay by credit card, please call: 510.236.1730. You may also mail your credit card information to our address above or use our secure system by sending us an email at: aebeeche@mac.com
We also accept Paypal at our address: eurohistory@comcast.net
We accept VISA, MasterCard and Venmo (aebeeche@mac.com)
To order autographed copies directly from us, send payment, email, or call:
6300 Kensington Avenue
East Richmond Heights, CA 94805
USA
Email: aebeeche@mac.com or eurohistory@comcast.net
Phone: 510.236.1730

di No comments:

Saturday, April 6, 2019

Royal Wedding in Oplenac, Serbia

Last year Prince Dushan of Yugoslavia married civilly Miss Valerie De Muzio in New York City. The couple, who reside in NYC, are marrying religiously on May 25, 2019 @ 200pm. The Orthodox ceremony is taking place at the Church of St George in Oplenac, Topola, Serbia. This religious compound is of special meaning to the Karageorgevich dynasty, as it also serves as their last resting place. Prince Alexander (1924-2016), Prince Dushan's father, was buried in the grounds of Oplenac in 2016. A formal dinner reception, to be held at the White Palace, Beli Dvor, Belgrade, will follow in the evening. Much appreciation to Princess Barbara and Prince Dushan for the invitation, information, and photos.

di No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Featured Post

The Plantagenet Family Tree: The Intriguing History of England's Plantagenet Dynasty Kings

The Plantagenet Family Tree: A Royal History The Plantagenet family was one of the most powerful royal dynasties in European history, rul...

Popular Posts