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| Prince Félix of Luxembourg in 2006 at the wedding of his brother Louis |
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| Cathédrale Saint-Louis des Invalides |
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Jean-Christophe and Olympia Grant Interview to Point de Vue
Monday, May 13, 2019
On This Day In History: The Death of Lady Mary Victoria Douglas-Hamilton, British Aristocrat Turned European Princess
On 14 May 1922, the Princess of Festetics von Tolna died at Budapest, aged seventy-one. The princess was a first cousin of Queen Carola of Saxony, Queen Stephanie of Portugal, King Carol I of Romania, and Princess Marie, Countess of Flanders. Her Serene Highness was also a third cousin of Emperor Napoléon III of the French.
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| William, 11th Duke of Hamilton |
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| Princess Marie Amélie of Baden |
The Hungarian princess had begun life as Lady Mary Victoria Douglas-Hamilton: she was born at the family home, Hamilton Palace, in Lanarkshire, Scotland, on 11 December 1850 as the daughter of William Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton (1811-1863), and Princess Marie Amélie of Baden (1817-1888), who had wed in 1843. Mary Victoria followed two brothers: William Douglas-Hamilton, eventual 12th Duke of Hamilton (1845-1895), and Charles Douglas-Hamilton, 7th Earl of Selkirk (1847-1886). Mary's paternal grandparents were Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton (1767-1852), and Susan Euphemia Beckford (1786-1859); her maternal grandparents were Grand Duke Karl of Baden (1786-1818) and Stéphanie de Beauharnais (1789-1860), a second cousin to Eugène de Beauharnais and Hortense de Beauharnais, the stepchildren of Emperor Napoléon I of the French.
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| The report of the marriage of Prince Albert of Monaco and Lady Mary Douglas-Hamilton Photograph (c) The Standard |
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| The Hereditary Prince and Princess of Monaco shortly after their wedding |
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| Hereditary Princess Mary and her son Prince Louis of Monaco |
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| Prince Tasziló Festetics von Tolna |
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| Prince György Festetics von Tolna (1882-1941) |
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| Princess Alexandra "Alex" Festetics von Tolna (1884-1963) |
On 26 June 1922, Prince Albert I of Monaco, the ex-husband of the late Princess of Festetics von Tolna, died one month after his first wife. Albert was succeeded by the couple's only child as Prince Louis II of Monaco. Louis II reigned until 1949, when he passed away at Monte Carlo at the age of seventy-eight on 9 May 1949. Prince Louis was succeeded by his only grandson, Prince Rainier III (1923-2005), who was the child of Louis' legitimised daughter Princess Charlotte (1898-1977) and her former husband Count Pierre de Polignac (1895-1964).
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| Prince Albert I of Monaco in the 1910s |
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| Prince Louis II of Monaco |
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| Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois |
Through her first marriage, Lady Mary Hamilton-Douglas is the great-great-grandmother of Prince Albert II of Monaco (b.1958). Through her second marriage, Mary is the great-grandmother of fashion designer Prince Egon of Fürstenberg, socialite and actress Princess Ira of Fürstenberg and the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Karel Schwarzenberg. Mary's second marriage was a happy one and lasted over forty years. Mary is buried beside her second husband Tasziló at the mausoleum of Festetics Palace.
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| Festetics Palace |
_future_Hereditary_Princess_of_Monaco.jpg) |
| Lady Mary Victoria Douglas-Hamilton |
Sunday, May 12, 2019
The Twenty-Fourth Wedding Anniversary of the Duke and Duchess of Bragança
On 13 May 1995, Dom Duarte Pio João Miguel Gabriel Rafael de Bragança (b.1945), the Head of the Royal House of Portugal, married Dona Isabel Inês Castro Curvello de Herédia (b.1966). Duarte was the son of Dom Duarte Nuño (1907-1976), Duke of Bragança, and Princess Maria Francisca of Orléans-Bragança (1914-1968); Isabel was the daughter of Dom Jorge de Herédia and Dona Raquel Leonor Pinheiro de Castro Curvello. The Duke and Duchess of Bragança were wed at Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, Lisbon. Theirs was the first Portuguese royal marriage to be held in the country since that of the eventual King Carlos I of Portugal (1863-1908) and Queen Amélie (1865-1952; née Orléans) in 1886.
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| A "royal mob" observes the bullfight on 11 May at the Campo Pequeno arena. |
The celebrations surrounding the wedding of D. Duarte and D. Isabel's marriage were truly of magnificent proportions. Royal guests began arriving on Thursday, 11 May, in Lisbon - that evening, a bullfight was held that had the Duke of Bragança and dona Isabel surrounded by the Hereditary Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg on their left and the Countess of Paris ("Tante Bebelle" to the duke, whose late mother Maria Francisca was the sister of Isabelle, Countess of Paris). Bourbons, Habsburgs and Savoys were also in the crowd to watch the bullfight at the arena of Campo Pequeno.
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| Dom Duarte and Dona Isabel at the welcome dinner on 12 May at Queluz Palace. |
On Friday, 12 May, guests attended a welcome dinner hosted at Queluz Palace. The evening began with a tea served at the Palace Hotel, followed by an exhibition held by the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art and afterwards a group of Timorese people interpreted diverse typical dances with motifs related to marriage and maternity. There was also a concert performed by several student musical groups, at the end of which the dinner was served, in the Rooms of Glasses and Music of the Palace.
The royal wedding occurred on the following day, 13 May; it was broadcast live on Portuguese television. Dom Duarte had stated that "I would feel more comfortable with a quiet wedding, but I realize that a lot of people want to celebrate with us." Dona Isabel noted: "I want my wedding to be above all a religious ceremony. These are not suitable times for great parties, with so many needy people." However, owing to the 3,000 person guest-list, it was inevitable that the Bragança nuptials would be on a grand scale. The bride's wedding gown was designed by Portuguese couturier Laurinda Farmhouse and her hair was done by Alexandre of Paris.
The Duke of Bragança arrived at Jerónimos Monastery at 3:55pm with his brother Dom Miguel. Shortly thereafter, Dona Isabel arrived on the arm of her father, Dom Jorge de Herédia. The religious ceremony was conducted by His Beatitude the Patriarch Cardinal of Lisbon, D. António Ribeiro. There was a sense that the wedding of the Head of the Royal House of Portugal and his Consort was a semi-state occasion, owing to the attendance of the Portuguese President Mário Soares with his wife as well as of Prime Minister Aníbal Cavaco Silva with his wife. Of course, the Gotha was also out in full force to witness the wedding of one of their most amiable cousins to the splendid young woman who had accepted his hand in marriage.
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| Here pictured in profile: Princess Teresa of Orléans-Bragança, Queen Mother Giovanna of Bulgaria, Queen Margarita of Bulgaria, Archduke Otto of Austria, Hereditary Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and Hereditary Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, Prince Philippe of Belgium, and Infanta Margarita of Spain. |
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| Dom Duarte arrives with his brother Dom Miguel |
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| Dona Isabel arrives on the arm of her father |
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| A view of the Roman Catholic wedding at Jerónimos Monastery |
After the religious ceremony, the newly married Duke and Duchess of Bragança exited the Monastery and greeted their fellow countryman and other spectators who had gathered outside to join in the celebrations of the special day.
Eurohistory wishes TRH the Duke and Duchess of Bragança a very Happy Anniversary!
Saturday, May 11, 2019
The 77th Birthday of Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark
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.
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.
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| Gina Bachauer |
.jpg) |
| Princess Irene |
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| 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.
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.
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| Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark throughout the years |
Friday, May 10, 2019
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
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.
Princess Alice of Greece and Denmark (1885-1969; née Battenberg)
Recognised as Righteous Among the Nations in 1993
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."
Queen Mother Helen of Romania (1896-1982; née Greece and Denmark)
Recognised as Righteous Among the Nations in 1993
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.
To learn more about Yad Vashem, please visit its website: Yad Vashem - The World Holocaust Remembrance Center
Thursday, May 9, 2019
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
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| A report on the Prince of Naples' purported engagement Article (c) La Stampa |
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| Marina Doria in 1960 Photograph (c) Alamy |
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| Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples |
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| Duchess Marie Antoinette of Württemberg |
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| Marie Antoinette of Württemberg with her dog |
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| A subsequent report on another of the Prince of Naples' alleged fiancées Photograph (c) La Stampa |
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| King Umberto II and Queen Marie José of Italy at daughter Maria Pia's 1955 nuptials |
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| The 1971 religious wedding in Iran of the Prince of Naples and Marina Doria |
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| The 1971 nuptials of Princess Isabella of Savoy-Genoa and Count Alberto Frioli |
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| The King and Queen of Italy arriving at the marriage of Princess Isabella |
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
One Year Since The Death of Duke Friedrich of Württemberg
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| 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.
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| Duke Carl of Württemberg and Princess Diane d'Orléans |
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| 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:
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