Saturday, April 27, 2019
Royals RSVP to the Funeral of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg
Friday, April 26, 2019
On This Day In History: The Wedding of King Zog and Queen Geraldine of the Albanians
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| The Albanian Royal Wedding of 1938 |
On the morning of the wedding Princess Geraldine woke at six o'clock despite the fact that she had not gone to bed until late and been given a sedative to make her sleep. Soon everyone was awake at the villa and emotions ran high as - typically Hungarian - first the grandmother, and then her mother and aunts, began to cry.
Geraldine was astonishingly calm as she put on the pearl and diamanté embroidered wedding dress from Worth that had been selected for her. Again she had not been consulted, but the King's taste was so sensitive that its elegant lines flowed over her willowy figure.
It was Madame Girault's romantic wish that she place the wedding veil on her daughter's head and then from a hidden box she disclosed the white gold chain with diamond cross that Geraldine had admired with the King. It was another touch of finesse that made this man so different. At the time it was reported that the bride was taller than the King, but this was merely the height of her coronet of orange blossom, an insignificant fact that still piques her to this day.
As the wedding was to be a civil one only, it was held in the flower-decked hall of the palace. Followed by her six bridesmaids, all in white, Princess Geraldine entered the room to join the King who looked most impressive in his white uniform, his rows of decorations and his sabre. As Princess Geraldine took his arm the King placed on the fourth finger of her right hand a huge blue fourteen carat solitaire diamond ring to match the blue white one he had given her as an engagement ring.
The King's witnesses were Count Ciano and Zog's Turkish brother-in-law, Prince Abid, the Albanian Minister to France. Representing the Queen was Count Charles Apponyi, her guardian and uncle, and Baron Frederick Vilany, Hungarian Minister to Italy. Her train was carried by the King's nephew, Tati. Helqmet Delvina, the white-bearded president of the two Houses of Parliament united the couple by reading from the civil code...
The service lasted three minutes. The king then placed her trembling hand on his arm and led his bride to the balcony to greet the thousands milling in Skanderbeg Square. Again and again they returned to wave to the people who were overjoyed to see their monarch so relaxed and fulfilled. It seemed that a while new era of prosperity was dawning for this nation which had known only turbulence in the past. After this the King led her into the wedding reception, followed by her line of fluttering bridesmaids, the close family and the Court behind. They moved from salon to salon shaking hands and greeting guests. All the Queen remembers today of this part of her wedding was a sea of faces, so many loving faces, and the strange dream-like feeling of receiving reverences from her family...
Queen Geraldine cut the three metre wide wedding cake with the King's sabre and her beloved brother Gyula, just fourteen years of age, made a speech. With the permission of the King, the Apponyi family had arranged to bring to Tirana one of the most famous gypsy orchestras from Budapest to play at the reception. They played Geraldine's favourite tunes until, to the horror of the King, his bride began to cry.
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| King Zog and Queen Geraldine on their wedding day |
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| The King and Queen of the Albanians |
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| Statue of King Zog in Tirana |
Aged sixty-five, King Zog died at Paris on 9 April 1961. Zog and Geraldine had been married for twenty-three years. After the royal family was able to return to Albania, Queen Geraldine died at Tirana at the great age of eighty-seven, having lived through an unspeakable amount of unfortunate events. The king and queen rest in repose at the Royal Mausoleum in Tirana.
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| Geraldine of Albania at the 1975 marriage of her son King Leka I to Queen Susan (née Cullen-Ward) |
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| The wedding of Crown Prince Leka and Crown Princess Elia of the Albanians Photograph (c) Seth B. Leonard |
Prince Bertrand of Brazil Hospitalised, Now Recuperating At Home
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| Prince Bertrand, Prince Imperial of Brazil |
On This Day In History: The Wedding of King Zog and Queen Geraldine of the Albanians
|
| The Albanian Royal Wedding of 1938 |
On the morning of the wedding Princess Geraldine woke at six o'clock despite the fact that she had not gone to bed until late and been given a sedative to make her sleep. Soon everyone was awake at the villa and emotions ran high as - typically Hungarian - first the grandmother, and then her mother and aunts, began to cry.
Geraldine was astonishingly calm as she put on the pearl and diamanté embroidered wedding dress from Worth that had been selected for her. Again she had not been consulted, but the King's taste was so sensitive that its elegant lines flowed over her willowy figure.
It was Madame Girault's romantic wish that she place the wedding veil on her daughter's head and then from a hidden box she disclosed the white gold chain with diamond cross that Geraldine had admired with the King. It was another touch of finesse that made this man so different. At the time it was reported that the bride was taller than the King, but this was merely the height of her coronet of orange blossom, an insignificant fact that still piques her to this day.
As the wedding was to be a civil one only, it was held in the flower-decked hall of the palace. Followed by her six bridesmaids, all in white, Princess Geraldine entered the room to join the King who looked most impressive in his white uniform, his rows of decorations and his sabre. As Princess Geraldine took his arm the King placed on the fourth finger of her right hand a huge blue fourteen carat solitaire diamond ring to match the blue white one he had given her as an engagement ring.
The King's witnesses were Count Ciano and Zog's Turkish brother-in-law, Prince Abid, the Albanian Minister to France. Representing the Queen was Count Charles Apponyi, her guardian and uncle, and Baron Frederick Vilany, Hungarian Minister to Italy. Her train was carried by the King's nephew, Tati. Helqmet Delvina, the white-bearded president of the two Houses of Parliament united the couple by reading from the civil code...
The service lasted three minutes. The king then placed her trembling hand on his arm and led his bride to the balcony to greet the thousands milling in Skanderbeg Square. Again and again they returned to wave to the people who were overjoyed to see their monarch so relaxed and fulfilled. It seemed that a while new era of prosperity was dawning for this nation which had known only turbulence in the past. After this the King led her into the wedding reception, followed by her line of fluttering bridesmaids, the close family and the Court behind. They moved from salon to salon shaking hands and greeting guests. All the Queen remembers today of this part of her wedding was a sea of faces, so many loving faces, and the strange dream-like feeling of receiving reverences from her family...
Queen Geraldine cut the three metre wide wedding cake with the King's sabre and her beloved brother Gyula, just fourteen years of age, made a speech. With the permission of the King, the Apponyi family had arranged to bring to Tirana one of the most famous gypsy orchestras from Budapest to play at the reception. They played Geraldine's favourite tunes until, to the horror of the King, his bride began to cry.
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| King Zog and Queen Geraldine on their wedding day |
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| The King and Queen of the Albanians |
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| Statue of King Zog in Tirana |
Aged sixty-five, King Zog died at Paris on 9 April 1961. Zog and Geraldine had been married for twenty-three years. After the royal family was able to return to Albania, Queen Geraldine died at Tirana at the great age of eighty-seven, having lived through an unspeakable amount of unfortunate events. The king and queen rest in repose at the Royal Mausoleum in Tirana.
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| Geraldine of Albania at the 1975 marriage of her son King Leka I to Queen Susan (née Cullen-Ward) |
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| The wedding of Crown Prince Leka and Crown Princess Elia of the Albanians Photograph (c) Seth B. Leonard |
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark is Thirty-Three
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| Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark |
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| Photograph taken on the occasion of the baptism of Prince Philippos |
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| King Juan Carlos of Spain holds his nephew and godson Prince Philippos |
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| The Princess of Wales with her godson Philippos |
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| The King and Queen of the Hellenes with their children |
Philippos of Greece was raised in London; he visited Greece for the first time in 1993. As part of his primary education, the prince attended the Hellenic School at London, which was founded by his parents. Philippos went on to study Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, DC; he graduated from Georgetown in 2008 with his bachelors.
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| Philippos with his family after his graduation from Georgetown University |
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| The Royal Greek Brothers (l to r): Nikolaos, Pavlos, and Philippos |
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| Prince Philippos and his partner Nina Flohr |
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| Philippos and Nina at the wedding of Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank |
Documentary: Grand Charlotte of Luxembourg - A Royal At War
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| Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg on the day in April 1945 when she returned to her people |
"Charlotte: A Royal At War is the remarkable story of Grand Duchess Charlotte, daughter of Guillaume IV, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. As the constitutional monarch of the small European country from 1919 to 1964, she faced daunting challenges during the chaotic and frightening years of World War II. Charlotte, however, found the courage to inspire her devastated nation through the power of radio, reaching her people in their darkest hour."
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| The release poster for the documentary on Grand Duchess Charlotte |
Obituary: Princess Gabriele of Bavaria, Dowager Duchess of Croÿ (1927-2019)
+ Princess Gabriele of Bavaria, Dowager Duchess of Croÿ
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| Princess Gabriele, Dowager Duchess of Croÿ, and her sister Princess Sophie, Dowager Duchess of Arenberg |
HRH Princess Gabriele of Bavaria, Dowager Duchess of Croÿ, passed away on Friday, 19 April, at the age of ninety-one. She was the widow of Carl, Duke of Croÿ (1914-2011). The Dowager Duchess is survived by her three children and ten grandchildren.
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| Death notice of Princess Gabriele of Bavaria, Dowager Duchess of Croÿ Photograph (c) Frankfurter Allgemeine Lebenswege |
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| Crown Prince Rupprecht and Crown Princess Antonia with their five eldest children |
As is well-known, the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany mean that the Bavarian Royal Family eventually had to leave their country, owing to the Wittelsbachs' noted opposition to the policies of the National Socialists. This lead to Crown Prince Rupprecht, his wife Antonia, and his offspring from both marriages being scattered around Europe for the duration of the Nazi's time in power, especially during World War II. Gabriele and her sisters Hilda and Sophie first found themselves in Florence, where they began their education. As a result of her time there, Princess Gabriele became fluent in Italian. Thereafter, she moved to the South Tyrol with her mother Crown Princess Antonia. Now living at Brixen in South Tyrol, Gabriele continued her studies at the School of the Loreto Sisters. After two years in Brixen, Gabriele and her younger sister Sophie returned to Italy where they continued their education at Assisi under the supervision of Countess Paula Bellegarde, a friend of the family. At some point, Countess Paula and the Bavarian princess were discovered by the Gestapo and sent to Weimar: from there, they would endure a series of tribulations.
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| Princesses Editha, Sophie, Gabriele, and Hilda at Florence in early 1944 Photograph (c) Noel McFerran |
By late 1944, Gabriele and many members of her immediate family found themselves in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. As the Russians advanced into Germany, the Bavarian royals were moved to the Flossenbürg concentration camp. Gabriele and her sisters were allowed to go for walks at Flossenbürg, where they witnessed the executions of prisoners who were forced to work in the labour camp but had collapsed along the way to fulfil their "duties." Gabriele later recalled the murders at the camp: "These pictures haunted us for years." After Flossenbürg, Gabriele and her family were transported to Dachau. It was from this concentration camp that the princess and the Bavarian royal family were liberated on 29 April 1945 by American forces.
After the end of the war, Princess Gabriele was able to finish her education. She attended the Ecole des Arts et Métiers at Lausanne, where she studied photography. Again, she was under the watchful eye of Countess Paula Bellegarde. Gabriele graduated in 1949, after which time she traveled to Egypt and Peru to pursue her photographic passion.
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| Crown Prince Rupprecht with his children (l to r): Heinrich, Editha, Sophie, Hilda, Gabriele, and Irmingard. The family is pictured in the 1950s. |
In 1950, Gabriele met her future husband Carl of Croÿ at the wedding of her sister Irmingard to their first cousin Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (1913-2008). Gabriele and Carl became engaged in early 1953. They celebrated their religious marriage on 18 June 1953 at Nymphenburg; Cardinal Wendel, Archbishop of Munich, presided over the ceremony. Hereditary Prince Carl of Croÿ was the eldest child and first son of Duke Carl Rudolf of Croÿ (1889-1974) and his first wife Nancy Louise Leishman (1894-1983), the daughter of John George Alexander Leishman (1857-1924), onetime US ambassador to Turkey, Switzerland, and Germany, and his wife Julia Crawford (1862-1918).
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| Duke Carl Rudolf and Duchess Helen of Croÿ |
Carl succeeded as the Duke of Croÿ after his father's death in 1974. In the meantime, Carl and Gabriele became the parents of three children: Princess Marie-Thérèse (b.1954), Prince Rudolf (b.1955; the current Duke of Croÿ), and Prince Stefan (b.1959). In due time, all children married: Rudolf to Countess Alexandra Miloradovich (1960-2015) in 1987, Stefan to Countess Béatrice du Chastel de la Howarderie (b.1964) in 1990, and Marie-Thérèse to Count Stephan von Walderdorff (1963-2011) in 2002.
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| Carl and Gabriele with their son Rudolf, daughter-in-law Alexandra, and grandchildren Carl Philipp and Xenia. Photograph (c) Alamy |
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| Duke Carl and Duchess Gabriele of Croÿ in 1981 Photograph (c) Alamy |
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| Carl and Gabriele, Duke and Duchess of Croÿ, in 1985 Photograph (c) Alamy |
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| The Duke and Duchess of Croÿ in 1989. Photograph (c) Alamy |
May Her Royal Highness Rest in Peace.
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