The 77th Birthday of Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark

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During the exile of the Greek royal family from their country during World War II, HRH Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark was born at Cape Town, South Africa, on 11 May 1942. Irene was the third child and second daughter of Crown Prince Paul of the Hellenes (1901-1964) and Crown Princess Frederica (1917-1981; née Hannover), who wed in 1938. The princess joined an elder sister, Sophia (b.1938), and an elder brother, Constantine (b.1940). Irene's godfather was Field Marshal Jan Christiaan Smuts (1870-1950), the 2nd Prime Minister of South Africa. In 1946, the Greek royals returned to their country - Irene's uncle was King George II of the Hellenes.

 

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In 1947, following the death of her uncle George II, Irene's father Paul succeeded to the Greek throne as King of the Hellenes. His reign would last until 1964, when he died at the age of sixty-two. At that time, Irene's brother became King Constantine II of the Hellenes. His reign would last until 1973, when the Greek monarchy was abolished.

 

Gina Bachauer

 

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During her formative years, Princess Irene was a pupil of the concert pianist Gina Bachauer. Afterwards, the princess performed as a professional concert pianist herself.

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In the wake of the flight of the Greek royals in 1967, Irene followed her brother Constantine and sister-in-law Anne-Marie into exile in Rome. They were accompanied by their mother, Frederica, who had become a polarising figure in Greece owing to her German birth. The royal family resided in a villa near Rome.

Princess Irene

 

Prince Albert of Belgium, Crown Prince Harald of Norway, Princess Irene of Greece, and Princess Paola of Belgium

 

At some point in the late 1960s, Princess Irene was in a relationship with Prince Michel d'Orléans (b.1941), one of the twin sons of the Count and Countess of Paris. This romance ended when Michel wed Béatrice Marie Pasquier de Franclieu in 1967, much to his father's consternation. There was also some hope that Princess Irene would win the heart of Crown Prince Harald of Norway; yet, Harald was already firmly set on marrying his future bride Sonja. In later years, Irene found as a companion an equerry of her brother, King Constantine; the couple never married nor had issue. 

 

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After her brother Constantine lost his throne in 1973, Irene moved to India with her mother: the two were very much interested in Hindu philosophy. After Queen Frederica's death, Princess Irene has lived in Spain in an apartment at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, the royal residence of her sister and brother-in-law, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía of Spain.

Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark throughout the years

 

Together with her cousin Princess Tatiana Radziwill, Princess Irene is one of the closest confidantes of her sister, Queen Sofía of Spain.

 

The Three Royal Women Recognised as "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem

During the dark period of World War II, as Nazi and Fascist rule spread over Europe, there were thousands of people who sought to protect their fellow citizens of the Jewish faith from the persecutions that were geared at exterminating the Jewish population. Nearly six million European Jews were murdered during the Holocaust (the Shoah). Of the persons who endeavoured to protect their fellow men and women of the Jewish faith, three royal women have been recognised as "Righteous Among the Nations" by the organisation Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.

Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians (1876-1965; née Bavaria)

Recognised as Righteous Among the Nations in 1965

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From Yad Vashem:

On August 1, 1942, Queen-Mother Elisabeth of Belgium, mother of King Léopold III, welcomed representatives of the Association des Juifs en Belgique (AJB), Eugène Hellendael, Lazare Liebmann (who had taken the initiative to the meeting), and Salomon Van den Berg, into her royal palace in Brussels, which was situated almost next to the German headquarters. They told her about the atrocities that were being committed – about the imprisonment conditions in the Mechelen/Malines transit camp and about the elderly people, the children and babies who were being cut off from their families and sent to Germany. The Queen –Mother promised her visitors that she would do everything in her power to stop the arrests and to protect the Belgian Jews from deportation to Poland. Queen-Mother Elisabeth turned directly to Hitler – via the Italian royal family and the Red Cross - in order to request that Jews not be deported. In a telegram from Berlin, dated July 4, 1942, she was promised that the Jews with Belgian citizenship would not be deported or separated from their families, and that those who were under arrest in Mechelen/Malines, awaiting deportation could receive visitors. This answer was handed on to the representatives of the AJB. Baron De Streel, the Queen-Mother’s secretary, drew to their attention that they were only talking about a promise and that the Queen-Mother would continue to follow the fate of her Jewish subjects. On October 30, 1942, the Germans had arrested the children in the Wezembeek orphanage, but after Queen-Mother Elisabeth pushed the Germans on this issue, this group of children was released. In May 1943, Queen-Mother Elisabeth visited a hospital in Borgerhout (Antwerp), which apparently caused the Germans to give permission to about 80 Jewish elderly and sick to stay there. In June 1943, the Queen-Mother protested once again regarding the Belgian Jews imprisoned in Mechelen/Malines, and about three hundred of them were released at that moment. Queen Elisabeth also intervened in a number of individual cases. However, the Germans did not keep their promises: most of the Jewish with Belgian nationality were rounded up and arrested in one swoop on September 3, 1943, (“Operation Iltis”) and sent to camps. In spite of the meager results, and in spite of the fact that her intervention related to a limited number of Jews, these interventions by a member of a royal family in Europe on behalf of Jews was unparalleled. 

On May 18, 1965, Yad Vashem recognized Queen-Mother Elisabeth of Belgium as Righteous Among the Nations.

Source: http://db.yadvashem.org/righteous/family.html?language=en&itemId=4042684

Princess Alice of Greece and Denmark (1885-1969; née Battenberg)

Recognised as Righteous Among the Nations in 1993

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From Yad Vashem:

Rescue in the Royal Palace 

Princess Alice was born in Windsor Castle in 1885, as Princess Victoria Alice Elizabeth Julia Marie. Her parents were Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse, granddaughter of Queen Victoria. The Princess was related to most European royal families. 

When she was a young child, her deafness was diagnosed and by the age of eight she had become a fluent lip reader. This handicap may have made her especially sensitive to the underprivileged and outcast. 

Princess Alice married Prince Andrew of Greece in 1903. The couple had five children: four daughters and a son – the future Duke of Edinburgh and consort to Queen Elizabeth II of England. 

During World War II, Princess Alice lived in the Athens palace of her brother in law, Prince George of Greece, and worked with the Swedish and Swiss Red Cross. She found herself in the difficult situation of having sons-in-law fighting on the German side and a son (the future Prince Philip) in the British Royal Navy. 

The Rescue of Rachel Cohen and her Children 

The Greek royal family had been well acquainted with the family of Haimaki Cohen, a Jew and former member of Parliament, from Tricala, in northern Greece. In 1941, when Germany invaded Greece, the family fled to Athens – then still under Italian rule, where the anti-Jewish policy was more moderate. However the period of relative saftely lasted only until September 1943, when following Italy's surrender to the Allies, the Germans occupied Athens and the hunt for Jews began. By that time Haimaki Cohen had died. His widow, Rachel, and her five children were looking for a place of refuge. The family's four sons wanted to cross to Egypt, and join with the Greek government in exile that was in Cairo. But the trip proved too hazardous for Rachel and their sister. Princess Alice heard of the family's desparate situation and offered to shelter Rachel and her daughter, Tilde, at her home. They were later joined by another son who was unable to make the journey to Egypt and had to return to Athens. 

The Cohens stayed in Princess Alice's residence until liberation. There were times when the Germans became suspicious, and Princess Alice was even interviewed by the Gestapo. Using her deafness, she pretended not to understand their questions until they left her alone. 

In January 1949, the princess founded a nursing order of Greek Orthodox nuns – the Christian Sisterhood of Martha and Mary. She decided to withdraw from the world and moved to the island of Tinos. Following the colonels’ coup d’etat in Greece in 1967 she went back to England and moved to Buckingham Palace to be close to her son and his family. She died in London in December 1969, aged 84. 

Not long before her death Princess Alice expressed the wish to be buried in Jerusalem, next to her aunt, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna, who, like Princess Alice, had become a nun and had founded a convent. The Grand Duchess Fyodorovna was killed during the Russian revolution and her remains were buried in the Church of Maria Magdalene in the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem. In 1988, nineteen years after her death, Princess Alice’s coffin was transferred to the crypt in Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. 

In 1993 Yad Vashem bestowed the title of Righteous Among the Nations on Princess Alice. A year later, her children, Prince Philip – the Duke of Edinburgh – and Princess George of Hanover traveled to Yad Vashem and planted the tree in her honor. During the ceremony, Prince Philip said: "I suspect that it never occurred to her that her action was in any way special. She was a person with deep religious faith and she would have considered it to be a totally human action to fellow human beings in distress."

Source: https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/stories/princess-alice.html

Queen Mother Helen of Romania (1896-1982; née Greece and Denmark)

Recognised as Righteous Among the Nations in 1993

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From Yad Vashem:

Princess Elena of Greece and Denmark was born in Athens. She was the daughter of the future King Constantine I of Greece. In 1921 Elena married Romania's crown prince, who later became King Carol II. The couple had a child, Mihai (Michael), and divorced in 1928, before Carol's accession to the throne. On September 6, 1940, King Carol II was forced to resign because of his political failures. General Ion Antonescu took control of the country in an alliance with the Iron Guard. Mihai, Carol II’s 20-year-old son, was crowned, and his mother, Elena, who had been away from Romania, returned to Bucharest as the Queen Mother. Antonescu's opponents – the heads of the historical parties, the Liberal Party and the Peasant Party – maintained contacts with the royal court, as did other political and social organizations. In the summer of 1941, when the Jews of Besserabia, Bukovina and Dorohoi were de[prted to Transnistria, Rabbi Dr. Alexander Safran, the chief rabbi of Romanian Jewry, appealed to the head of the Orthodox Church, the Patriarch Nicodem. Unable to persuade Antonescu, Nicodem went to the Queen Mother, who was very moved upon hearing about the plight of the deported Jews. After turning to various influential people, the Queen Mother and the Patriarch appealed directly to Antonescu. The deportations continued, but due to the intervention of the Queen Mother, the deportation of the philologist Barbu Lazareanu was prevented. 

At the end of 1941, when news arrived of the desperate state of the Jews expelled to Transnistria, Rabbi Safran again appealed to the Queen Mother for help. She consulted with Monsignor Andrea Cassulo, the Pope’s emissary, and taking his advice, she turned to the acting prime minister, Mihai Antonescu. She persuaded him to allow the Jewish organizations to send medical aid, clothing and food to the Jews in Transnistria, who were living in ghettos and camps. The plight of the Jews was of such concern to the Queen Mother that she sent her aide, after midnight on a stormy night, to inform the chief rabbi that she had obtained approval to send them help. The help sent in 1942 saved the lives of thousands of Jews who had been deported to Transnistria. The Queen Mother continued with her efforts to prevent the deportation of Jews from the Regat (the Old Kingdom). On 30 October 1942, Gustav Richter, of Eichmann's staff, who served as expert for Jewish Affairs in Bucharest, wrote that "The Queen Mother told the King that what was happening to the people in this country was awful, that she can no longer stand this, all the more so that her name and the King's will be connected with the murders of the Jews and so she can expect to remain hin history as the mohter of "Michael the Terrible". She threatened the king in earnest that unless deportations stop immediately, she would leave the country...." 

In 1943 and early 1944, the Queen Mother contributed to the decision to allow the return from Transnistria of thousands of deported Jews, including thousands of Jewish orphans. Despite a six-month delay, caused by Adolph Eichmann’s intervention, the orphans were returned thanks to Queen Elena’s determined efforts. 

On March 11, 1993, Yad Vashem recognized Queen Mother Elena as Righteous Among the Nations.

Source: http://db.yadvashem.org/righteous/family.html?language=en&itemId=4044237

To learn more about Yad Vashem, please visit its website: Yad Vashem - The World Holocaust Remembrance Center

Royal Couples That Were Not To Be: Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy & Marie Antoinette of Württemberg & Isabella of Savoy-Genoa

The Württemberg Duchess and Savoy Princess  Who Were Linked To The Prince of Naples

A report on the Prince of Naples' purported engagement Article (c) La Stampa

On 12 June 1967, the Italian newspaper La Stampa carried the following report: "The promised wife of Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy finally has a face: the girl who, according to what is claimed in the circles of the international aristocracy, would be chosen by King Umberto as the future wife of his son is Marie-Antoinette of Württemberg, the seventh child of Duke Albrecht of Württemberg. Vittorio Emanuele, in view of this impending marital alliance, has definitively dissolved any sentimental relationship with Marina Dorina, agrees with his father's predilections or adheres to the arrangement for 'raisons d'État'?"

Marina Doria in 1960 Photograph (c) Alamy

Vittorio Emanuele and Marie Antoinette were fourth cousins, both being descendants of King Louis Philippe of the French (1773-1850) and his wife Princess Marie Amélie of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1782-1866). Needless to say, the supposed engagement between the Prince of Naples and Duchess of Württemberg never materialised. Duchess Marie Antoinette of Württemberg was the youngest child of Duke Philipp of Württemberg (1893-1975) and his second wife Archduchess Rosa of Austria-Tuscany (1906-1983). Duchess Marie Antoinette of Württemberg (b.1937) never married, nor left issue, and died in 2004. She was the youngest sister of Duke Carl (b.1933), Head of House Württemberg.

Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples

Duchess Marie Antoinette of Württemberg

Marie Antoinette of Württemberg with her dog

On 23 June 1967, La Stampa carried yet another story announcing a supposed royal partner for the Prince of Naples. This time the young woman in question was Princess Isabella of Savoy-Genoa (b.1943). Isabella is the only child of Prince Eugenio, Duke of Genoa (1906-1996), and Princess Lucia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1908-2001): she is the last living member of the Savoy-Genoa branch of the Italian royal family. Vittorio Emanuele and Isabella are second cousins once removed, both being descendants of Prince Ferdinando, Duke of Genoa (1822-1855), and Princess Elisabeth of Saxony (1830-1912).

A subsequent report on another of the Prince of Naples' alleged fiancées Photograph (c) La Stampa

Needless to say, this particular pairing, which would have been spectacular from a dynastic point of view, did not materialise. The prince had been with his partner Marina Doria for many years, and he would never consent to give her up, not even under threat of disinheritance from his father King Umberto. Interestingly, Queen Marie José, Vittorio Emanuele's mother, seems to have not taken a stance in regards to her son contracting a marriage befitting a Head of House Savoy. King Umberto and Queen Marie José had lived largely separate lives in exile: the king settled in Portugal and the queen took up residence in Switzerland.

King Umberto II and Queen Marie José of Italy at daughter Maria Pia's 1955 nuptials

Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy (b.1937) eventually married Marina Doria (b.1935). Their civil marriage took place at Las Vegas on 11 January 1970. Their religious union occurred at Tehran on 7 October 1971. A few days after their Roman Catholic ceremony, the couple attended the magnificent 2500th anniversary celebration of the Persian Empire that was held at Persepolis: the Prince of Naples was a close friend of the Shah of Iran. Vittorio Emanuele and Marina's wedding was not attended by a single member of his family. The couple has one son, Emanuele Filiberto (b.1972).

The 1971 religious wedding in Iran of the Prince of Naples and Marina Doria

Princess Isabella of Savoy-Genoa married in the same year as her cousin (and formerly rumoured fiancé). On 29 April 1971, the princess married Count Alberto Frioli (b.1943) at Lausanne. In addition to her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Genoa, the wedding was attended by King Umberto, Queen Marie José, and their eldest daughter Princess Maria Pia. Princess Isabella and Alberto Frioli have four children: Vittorio Frioli (b.1972), Maria Cristina Frioli (born and died in 1973), Carlo Albert Frioli (b.1974), and Luce Frioli (b.1978). Isabella of Savoy-Genoa resides in Brazil.

The 1971 nuptials of Princess Isabella of Savoy-Genoa and Count Alberto Frioli

The King and Queen of Italy arriving at the marriage of Princess Isabella

One Year Since The Death of Duke Friedrich of Württemberg

Friedrich of Württemberg with his Porsche 356

On 9 May 2018, aged fifty-six, Duke Friedrich of Württemberg was killed as the result of a motor vehicle accident at Ebenweiler. He was trying to pass a tractor trailer in his lane, and in this attempt he hit head-on a car in the opposite lane of traffic. Friedrich, who was driving an antique Porsche, died instantly; three persons were injured in the other vehicle.

Duke Carl of Württemberg and Princess Diane d'Orléans

 

Duke Friedrich of Württemberg and Princess Marie of Wied

Duke Friedrich Philipp Carl Franz Maria of Württemberg was born at Friedrichshafen on 1 June 1961 as the first child of Duke Carl of Württemberg (b.1936) and Duchess Diane (b.1940; née Orléans). Friedrich's godparents were his paternal grandfather Duke Philipp of Württemberg (1893-1975) and his maternal grandmother Princess Isabelle, Countess of Paris (1911-2003). In November 1993 at Altshausen, Duke Friedrich married his sixth cousin Princess Marie of Wied (b.1973), both parties being descendants of Fürst Friedrich Wilhelm of Nassau-Weilburg (1786-1816) and
Burggräfin Luise Isabelle of Kirchberg (1772-1827). 

 

 

During the course of their marriage, Friedrich and Marie of Württemberg had three children, one son and two daughters. The first to arrive was the son and eventual heir of House Württemberg, Duke Wilhelm (b.1994). Wilhelm was followed by two sisters, Duchess Marie-Amélie (b.1996) and Duchess Sophie-Dorothée (b.1997). 

 

 

The funeral of Duke Friedrich of Württemberg was held at Altshausen on 25 May 2018. It was attended by Duke Karl and Duchess Diane, Friedrich's siblings, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians, Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg, Prince Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein with his son Hereditary Prince Alois and daughter-in-law Hereditary Princess Sophie, Margrave Max of Baden, Prince Ludwig and Princess Marianne of Baden, Prince Berthold and Princess Stephanie of Baden, Duke Franz of Bavaria, Landgrave Donatus of Hesse, and Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia - there were, of course, many other royal and noble persons present. Duke Friedrich of Württemberg was laid to rest in a private burial.

 

For more on the passing of Duke Friedrich of Württemberg, please visit these links:

Guestlist: Funeral Of Duke Friedrich Von Württemberg

Duke Friedrich of Württemberg (1961-2018)

Duke Friedrich of Württemberg killed in car crash

Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor Meets The Queen!

As announced earlier today, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have named their firstborn son Archie Harrison. He will be known as Master Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. With his parents and grandmother Doria Ragland, little Archie has already met his great grandparents The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh.

More on the Newest Royal Arrival: Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor Makes His Debut

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex presented their first child to the world today at St George's Hall in Windsor Castle. Held by his father, the couple's son was wrapped in a white shawl and remained calm throughout his parents' interaction with the reporters present. The Duke and Duchess confirmed that they were going to introduce their son to his great grandparents shortly thereafter - although, the Duchess noted that they had already seen the Duke of Edinburgh on their way to this press event. 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with their newborn son Archie

Shortly after his presentation at Windsor Castle, it was announced by the Royal Family that the new baby would had been given the names Archie Harrison; his surname is Mountbatten-Windsor and he will not bear the courtesy title Earl of Dumbarton. Archie Mountbatten-Windsor was born on Monday, 6 May, at Portland Hospital. He is seventh in line to the British throne and is the eighth great-grandchild of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, who delightedly appeared with the newest addition to their family alongside his parents and maternal grandmother Doria. 

Although Archie has generally been a nickname for Archibald, the name has attained some popularity with relatives of the Duke of Sussex. On the Duke's maternal side, the Hon Edmund Roche, first cousin of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, named his firstborn son Archie (b.2007). Archie Roche will eventually become Baron Fermoy, as his uncle the 6th Baron Fermoy only has two daughters. On the Duke's paternal side, Rory Penn, a descendant of the Bowes-Lyon family, named his firstborn son Archie (b.2018) as well. 

Little Archie Mountbatten-Windsor already has his own profile on the official website of the British Royal Family: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor

As reported by royal expert Marlene Eilers Koenig, another descendant of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom was born on 6 May 2019. This QVD is a sixth cousin of Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. For more on this development, please visit this link: Another descendant of Queen Victoria born today

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.