Sunday, May 5, 2019

On This Day In History: Princess Margaret Marries Antony Armstrong-Jones

HRH The Princess Margaret and her husband Mr Antony Armstrong-Jones
On 6 May 1960, HRH The Princess Margaret married Antony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey. The princess was escorted to the altar by her brother-in-law HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. At the link below, one can watch film of the royal wedding between the only sibling of HM The Queen.
Princess Margaret Rose (21 August 1930-9 February 2002) was the second daughter and last child of King George VI (1895-1952) and Queen Elizabeth (1900-2002; née Bowes-Lyon), who wed in 1923. Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones (7 March 1930 – 13 January 2017) was the first son and second child of Major Ronald Armstrong-Jones (1899-1966) and his first wife Anne Messel (1902-1992; later Countess of Rosse through her second marriage), who married in 1925 and divorced in 1934. The engagement between HRH The Princess Margaret and Mr Antony Armstrong-Jones was announced in February 1960. 
The princess' husband was created Earl of Snowdon and Viscount Linley on 6 October 1961. The Earl and Countess of Snowdon had two children during their union: David, Viscount Linley (b.1961; 2nd Earl of Snowdon), and Lady Sarah (b.1964). Princess Margaret and the Earl of Snowdon divorced in 1978. 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex Welcome Their First Son

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Christmas Day 2017
TRH The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have today (Monday, 6 May) welcomed the birth of their first child, a boy: he arrived at 5:26AM BST. Simultaneously, HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh welcomed their eighth great-grandchild. The newest royal baby is seventh in the line of succession to the British throne, and he will be styled Earl of Dumbarton, one of the subsidiary titles of the Duke of Sussex.
The Royal Family announces the arrival of the Earl of Dumbarton
On 27 November 2017, the engagement between HRH Prince Henry [Harry] Charles Albert David of Wales (b.London 15 September 1984) and Ms Rachel Meghan Markle (b.Los Angeles 4 August 1981) was announced by Clarence House and Kensington Palace. Prince Harry is the second son of the Prince of Wales (b.1949) and his first wife the late Lady Diana Spencer (1961-1997). Meghan Markle is the only child of Mr Thomas Markle Sr. (b.1944) and his second wife Doria Ragland (b.1956). The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were married on 19 May 2018 at St George's Chapel, Windsor.
The engagement of Prince Harry of Wales and Ms Meghan Markle
On 15 October 2018, Kensington Palace released the happy news that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were expecting their first child. The due date was estimated to be in late April or early May. The couple and their newborn reside at Frogmore Cottage on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
The Duke and Duchess announce they are expecting their child.
Coat of Arms of the Duke of Sussex
Coat of Arms of the Duchess of Sussex

Napoléon/Arco-Zinneberg Nuptials to Occur in October

Jean Christophe, Prince Napoléon, stated in an interview with Le Figaro that he and Countess Olympia will tie the knot on 19 October. The groom-to-be's father, Prince Charles Napoléon, was born on 19 October 1950. Charles will thus celebrate his sixty-ninth birthday on the occasion of his only son's marriage. On that day, the couple will celebrate their religious wedding at the Cathédrale Saint-Louis des Invalides in Paris. Jean Christophe Napoléon and Olympia Arco-Zinneberg became engaged in January of this year. Link: Jean-Christophe Napoléon Bonaparte, un prince dans son temps

All Three French "Pretenders" Present for the Funeral of Grand Duke Jean

HIH Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon, HRH The Count of Paris, and don Luis Alfonso de Borbón y Martínez-Bordiú attended the funeral of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg yesterday at Notre-Dame in Luxembourg City.
The Prince Napoléon and his fiancée Countess Olympia Arco
The Prince Napoléon was accompanied by his fiancée Countess Olympia of Arco-Zinneberg. Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon (b.1986) is a half fourth cousin once removed of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg. Countess Olympia (b.1988) is a first cousin twice removed of the late grand duke.
The Count of Paris
The Count of Paris attended the ceremony alone, although it had been previously announced that the Countess of Paris would also be there. Prince Jean d'Orléans (b.1965) is a second cousin twice removed of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg.
Don Luis Alfonso de Borbón
Don Luis Alfonso de Borbón y Martínez-Bordiú also attended the ceremony without his wife, doña Maria Margarita. Luis Alfonso (b.1974) is a half fourth cousin twice removed of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg.
The Prince Napoléon, Countess Olympia Arco-Zinneberg, and don Luis Alfonso de Borbón had dinner together the evening before the Grand Ducal funeral. They were joined by Jean-Christophe's uncle and aunt the Duke and Duchess of Castro. Also present were Archduke Carl Christian and Archduchess Estelle of Austria, Prince Henri, Prince Amaury and Princess Charlotte of Bourbon-Parma, Prince Serge and Princess Eleonore of Yugoslavia, and Prince Charles-Henri Lobkowicz.

Saturday, May 4, 2019

On This Day In History: The Death of Count Carl Johan Bernadotte of Wisborg

Prince Carl Johan of Sweden, Duke of Dalarna
Photograph (c) Swedish Royal Family


Prince Carl Johan Arthur of Sweden was born on 31 October 1916 at Stockholm Palace. The prince was the fourth son and fifth (and youngest) child of Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf (1882-1973; later King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden) and his wife Crown Princess Margaret (1882-1920; née Princess Margaret of Connaught). Carl Johan joined four elder siblings: Prince Gustaf Adolf (1906-1947), Prince Sigvard (1907-2002; later Count of Wisborg), Princess Ingrid (1910-2000; later Queen Consort of Denmark), and Prince Bertil (1912-1997).

Crown Princess Margaret with her daughter Ingrid and son Carl Johan

 

Prince Carl Johan of Sweden, Duke of Dalarna


Carl Johan attended the Lundsberg School. Thereafter, he carried out his military training in the Swedish forces. The prince also pursued legal studies, and hoped to begin a career with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Carl Johan Bernadotte and his first wife Kerstin Wijkmark

 

Count Sigvard, Queen Ingrid, Count Carl Johan and Prince Bertil in 1953
Photograph (c) Swedish Royal Family

 

The Swedish prince lost his dynastic rights and royal title when he married journalist Elin Kerstin Margaretha Wijkmark (1910-1987) at New York City on 19 February 1946. Carl Johan and Kerstin did not have biological children; however, they adopted a daughter and a son early in their marriage: Monica (b.1948; adopted in 1951) and Christian (b.1949; adopted in 1950). The Bernadotte couple lived for some time in New York City, where Carl Johan worked as the representative of the Anglo-Nordic Trading Company. In 1951, Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg granted Carl Johan and his legitimate descendants the title of Count(ess) of Wisborg; in addition, Carl Johan was given the personal title of Prince Bernadotte. 
 
Carl Johan and Kerstin Bernadotte

 

Carl Johan became a widower when his wife Kerstin passed away on 11 September 1987. Both of their adopted children married and have issue. Monica wed Count Johan Peder Bonde af Björnö (b.1950) in 1976; the couple divorced in 1997 after having three children. Christian married Marianne Jenny (b.1958) in 1980; the couple also have three children. 
 
Carl Johan and Gunnila on their wedding day


On 29 September 1988 at Copenhagen, Count Carl Johan Bernadotte remarried Swedish aristocrat Gunnila Wachtmeister af Johannishus (1923-2016). Gunnila was the widow of Carl-Herman Bussler (1918-1981), who she had married in 1942 and with whom she had four children. Carl Johan and Gunnila were popular members of the extended Swedish royal family. The couple attended the wedding of Carl Johan's great-grandnephew Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark to Mary Donaldson in 2004. 

 
Count Carl Johan and Countess Gunnila at the Danish crown princely wedding in 2004

 

Countess Gunnila Bernadotte at the wedding of Princess Madeleine of Sweden in 2013
 

Aged eighty-five, Count Carl Johan Bernadotte died on 5 May 2012 in the Ängelholm Hospital in Ängelholm, Sweden. The count was the last surviving great-grandchild of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (1819-1901). Carl Johan was the paternal uncle of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and maternal uncle of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes. His wife Gunnilla followed him on 12 September 2016, when she died at Båstad, Sweden, at the age of ninety-three.

 
Footage from the funeral of Count Carl Johan Bernadotte: 

Friday, May 3, 2019

The Birthday of Prince Alexander of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Prince Alexander of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Photograph (c) Prince Andreas of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha


Today, Prince Alexander of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha celebrates his forty-second birthday.

Prince Andreas and Princess Carin with their children Stephanie, Hubertus, and Alexander


HH Prince Alexander Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was born at Coburg on 4 May 1977 as the second son and third child of Prince Andreas (b.1943), Head of House Saxe-Coburg and Gotha since 1998, and his wife Princess Carin (b.1946; née Dabelstein), who wed in 1971. Alexander joined two older siblings, Princess Stephanie (b.1972) and Hereditary Prince Hubertus (b.1975).

A 2004 portrait of Prince Alexander by artist Hans Christian Ribbe
Photograph (c) Hans Christian Ribbe


Alexander studied forestry and was involved in the work of the family's property at Callenberg. His father, Prince Andreas, then suggested that Alexander should look after Greinburg Castle, at Grein, Austria, and its surroundings. For some years now, the prince has been committed to overseeing the administration of this property and its resources.

Eurohistory wishes Prince Alexander a very Happy Birthday. Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!

Watch the Funeral of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg


The full film of the funeral of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg may be viewed at the link below.

 
Aged ninety-eight, the grand duke died on 23 April surrounded by his family. The celebration of his live was in the same vein: the children, grandchildren, and at least one great-grandchild of Grand Duke Jean were present at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg today to bid adieu to their "Papa" and "Apapa." 
 
A full guest list was released by the Grand Ducal Court. Members of royal houses around the world gathered with his family and members of the Luxembourgish public to mourn and commemorate the life of the well-loved grand duke. For the comprehensive guest list, please visit this link at Luxarazzi: Who Will Attend: The Official Guest List for the Funeral of Grand Duke Jean

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