The Golden Wedding Anniversary of the Duke and Duchess d'Orléans

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On 3 August 1969, Prince Jacques d'Orléans (b.25 June 1941) religiously wed Gersende de Sabran-Pontevès (b.29 July 1942) at Ansouis. The couple's civil marriage had occurred the prior day. Jacques was the eighth child of the late Count and Countess of Paris. Gersende was the only daughter of Foulques de Sabran-Pontevès (1908-1973), 7th Duc de Sabran, and Roselyne Manca-Amat de Vallombrosa (1910-1988). Gersende wore a wedding gown by Yves Saint Laurent.

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Jacques d'Orléans and Gersende de Sabran-Pontevès had first met in the Spring of 1968 at the bride's family home, Château d'Ansouis. A petite blonde and a talented pianist, Gersende seems to have quickly attracted the attentions of the Orléans prince. The Count and Countess of Paris then invited Gersende to vacation with their family at Cintra.

 

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The engagement of Prince Jacques d'Orléans and Mademoiselle Gersende de Sabran-Pontevès was announced on 5 October 1968. The father of the fiancé granted his son the title "Duc d'Orléans."

 

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The Duke and Duchess d'Orléans have three children: Princess Diane (b.1970), Prince Charles-Louis (b.1972), and Prince Foulques (b.1974).

 

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Remembering the Remarkable Queen Anne of Romania

Queen Anne looking after King Michael Picture taken at the Elisabeta Palace in Bucharest

Today marks three years since the death of Queen Anne of Romania. After many years of declining health, the Queen died Monday, 1 August 2016, in hospital at Morges, Switzerland, at the age of ninety-two. Himself suffering from cancer, her ninety-four-year old husband King Michael had been visiting her every day. In 1943, Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma volunteered for military service in the French Army. She served in Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Luxembourg and in liberated Germany, as an ambulance driver. Anne received the French Croix de guerre for her wartime service. In 1944, with the support of several political parties, King Michael of Romania removed (in an event known as King Michael’s Coup) the government of Ion Antonescu, which had aligned Romania with Nazi Germany, after the Axis front in northeastern Romania collapsed in the face of a successful Soviet offensive. The Romanian Army declared a unilateral ceasefire with the Soviet Red Army on the Moldavian front, an event viewed as decisive in the Allied advances against the Axis powers in the European theatre of World War II. It has been suggested that the coup may have shortened World War II by six months, thus saving hundreds of thousands of lives. Michael and Anne met at London in November 1947. Sixteen days after meeting, Michael proposed to Anne while the couple were out on a drive in Lausanne. She initially declined, but later accepted after taking long walks and drives with him. They married at Athens on 10 June 1948: their union would last sixty-eight years. In an interview that Queen Anne gave to Romanian TV in the 2000s, she said: "Je suis comme je suis...You can take me or leave me, as they say in English." The interviewer Eugenia Vodă quickly responded: "Well, then, we take you!"

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Remembering the Remarkable Queen Anne of Romania

Queen Anne looking after King Michael
Picture taken at the Elisabeta Palace in Bucharest

Today marks three years since the death of Queen Anne of Romania. After many years of declining health, the Queen died Monday, 1 August 2016, in hospital at Morges, Switzerland, at the age of ninety-two. Himself suffering from cancer, her ninety-four-year old husband King Michael had been visiting her every day.

In 1943, Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma volunteered for military service in the French Army. She served in Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Luxembourg and in liberated Germany, as an ambulance driver. Anne received the French Croix de guerre for her wartime service. In 1944, with the support of several political parties, King Michael of Romania removed (in an event known as King Michael’s Coup) the government of Ion Antonescu, which had aligned Romania with Nazi Germany, after the Axis front in northeastern Romania collapsed in the face of a successful Soviet offensive. The Romanian Army declared a unilateral ceasefire with the Soviet Red Army on the Moldavian front, an event viewed as decisive in the Allied advances against the Axis powers in the European theatre of World War II. It has been suggested that the coup may have shortened World War II by six months, thus saving hundreds of thousands of lives.

Michael and Anne met at London in November 1947. Sixteen days after meeting, Michael proposed to Anne while the couple were out on a drive in Lausanne. She initially declined, but later accepted after taking long walks and drives with him. They married at Athens on 10 June 1948: their union would last sixty-eight years.

In an interview that Queen Anne gave to Romanian TV in the 2000s, she said: "Je suis comme je suis...You can take me or leave me, as they say in English." The interviewer Eugenia Vodă quickly responded: "Well, then, we take you!"

 

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On This Day In History: Prince Hans Adam of Liechtenstein Marries Countess Marie Kinsky

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Today, Prince Hans Adam II and Princess Marie Agläe of Liechtenstein celebrate fifty-two years of marriage.

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The then Hereditary Prince Hans Adam of Liechtenstein (b.1945) and Countess Marie Agläe Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (b.1940) were wed at St Florin's in Vaduz on 30 July 1967. Hans Adam is the eldest son of Prince Franz Joseph II of Liechtenstein (1906–1989) and his wife Princess Georgina (née von Wilczek ;1921–1989). Marie Agläe is the daughter of Count Ferdinand Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (1908–1969) and his wife Countess Henriette Caroline (née Ledebur-Wicheln; 1910–2001). Hans Adam and Marie Agläe are second cousins once removed through their descent from Fürst Ferdinand Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (1834-1904) and his wife Princess Maria Josepha of Liechtenstein (1835-1905).

Fürst Ferdinand Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau

Among the guests were a plethora of the European Gotha. Attendees included Archduke Otto of Austria, the Duke of Bragança, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece and her sisters-in-law Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark and Princess Sofía of Spain, Prince Michael and Princess Marina of Greece, the Count and Countess of Paris, Prince Jacques d'Orléans and siblings Princess Chantal and Prince Thibault, Duke Philipp and Duchess Rosa of Württemberg as well as Duke Carl and Duchess Diane of Württemberg. Members of the Bourbon-Parma, Hannover, Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Mecklenburg, Schwarzenberg, Thurn and Taxis, and Orsini families were also present.

Countess Marie Agläe is escorted by her father Count Ferdinand

(left to right) Princess Sofía of Spain and Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark 

The Count and Countess of Paris followed by Prince Michael and Princess Marina of Greece
as well as Duchess Diane of Württemberg 

Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes arrives on the arm of Prince Heinrich of Liechtenstein

Inside St Florin's

Hans Adam and Marie Agläe

Archduke Franz Ferdinand's Grandson, Georg Friedrich of Hohenberg, Has Passed Away

Duke Georg Friedrich of Hohenberg

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Duke Georg Friedrich of Hohenberg has passed away at the age of ninety. He was a grandson of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (1863-1914) and Duchess Sophie of Hohenberg (1868-1914; née Chotek von Chotkowa). Georg Friedrich's death was announced on 26 July 2019 by his youngest son Maximilian.

Duke Maximilian and Duchess Elisabeth of Hohenberg

Georg Friedrich Maximilian Jaroslav Petrus Canisius Markus Hubertus, Duke of Hohenberg, was born on 25 April 1929 at Artstetten as the second child and second son of Duke Maximilian of Hohenberg (1902-1962) and Countess Elisabeth von Waldburg zu Wolfegg und Waldsee (1904-1993). Duke Maximilian of Hohenberg, Georg Friedrich's father, was the second child and first son of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. Georg Friedrich had one older brother, Franz Ferdinand (1927-1977; married to Princess Elisabeth of Luxembourg), and four younger siblings: Albrecht (b.1931), Johannes (1933-2003), Peter (1936-2017), and Gerhard (1941-2019).

 

Duke Georg Friedrich of Hohenberg

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In 1960, Duke Georg Friedrich of Hohenberg married Princess Eleonore of Auersperg-Breunner (b.1928). The couple have three children: Duke Nikolaus (b.1961), Princess Henriette (b.1962), and Prince Maximilian (b.1970). The eldest son of the deceased, Nikolaus, who is married to Countess Marie Elisabeth von Westphalen zu Fürstenberg (b.1963), will now become the head of the Ducal Family of Hohenberg.

 

Duke Nikolaus of Hohenberg, the eldest son of Georg Friedrich

Duke Nikolaus and Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Hohenberg with their children Karl, Johanna, Teresa, and Sophie

Prince Maximilian of Hohenberg, the youngest son of Georg Friedrich

Prince Maximilian and Princess Emilia of Hohenberg with their children Nikolaus, Luisa, and Leopold

Duke Georg Friedrich of Hohenberg found his calling as a diplomat. He was appointed as the Austrian Ambassador to several countries during his tenure. The duke's last post was as Ambassador of the Austrian Republic to the Vatican.

Death of the Head of the Princely House of Bismarck

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Aged eighty-eight, Fürst Ferdinand von Bismarck has passed away following complications experienced during a surgery. Ferdinand was the great-grandson of Otto von Bismarck, former German Chancellor. The late fürst is survived by his wife, Fürstin Elisabeth (b.1939; née Lippens), and by three children: the new Fürst Carl-Eduard (b.1961), Count Gregor (b.1964), and Countess Vanessa (b.1971). Ferdinand was predeceased by one son, Count Gottfried (1962-2007).

Born on 22 November 1930 at London, Ferdinand was the eldest son of Fürst Otto von Bismarck (1897-1975) and Fürstin Ann-Mari (1907-1999; née Tengbom). Ferdinand had one older sister, Countess Mari Ann (1929-1981), as well as four younger siblings: Count Carl Alexander (1935-1992), Count Maximilian (b.1947), Countess Gunilla (b.1949), and Count Eduard (b.1951).

Fürst Ferdinand von Bismarck spent his early years in Sweden, his mother's homeland. He then attended Schloß Salem and went on to study economics and law. Ferdinand was the Deputy Chairman of the Von Bismarck Family Association.

Source: Bunte

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The Family Ties Between The Queen and Her Prime Ministers

Since her reign began in 1952, HM The Queen has seen fourteen Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom come and go. However distantly, a number of this politicians are somehow or another related to the queen. Below we will see the familial connections between Queen Elizabeth II and a number of these leaders in British politics.

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Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill (1874-1965) served as the British Prime Minister from 1940-1945 and again from 1951-1955. Churchill was the first of the queen's prime ministers. HM and Winston Churchill are seventh cousins once removed through their common descent from William Russell, Lord Russell (1639-1683) and Rachel Wriothesley (1637-1723. See link.

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Sir Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon (1897-1977), served as the second of the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom under HM The Queen. Eden was in office from 1955-1957. Sir Anthony Eden and Queen Elizabeth are ninth cousins by virtue of their both being descendants of Edward Villiers (d.1626) and Barbara St John (1592-1672). See link.

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Sir Alexander "Alec" Frederick Douglas-Home (1903-1995) was the fourth Prime Minister of the United Kingdom under HM The Queen. Douglas-Home held the post from 1963-1964. Sir Alec Douglas-Home and Queen Elizabeth II are sixth cousins through their common descent from Thomas Lyon, Earl of Strathmore (1704-1753), and Jean Nicholson (1713-1778). See link.

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Anthony "Tony" Charles Lynton Blair (b.1953) was the tenth British Prime Minister to serve Queen Elizabeth II; Mr Blair was also the first prime minister to be born during the current monarch's reign. Blair was prime minister from 1997-2007. Tony Blair and HM The Queen are twelfth cousins owing to their mutual descent from George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes (d.1558) and Agnes Somerville. See link.

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David William Donald Cameron (b.1966) served as the twelfth Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010-2016 during Queen Elizabeth's reign. Cameron was also the second prime minister to be born during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. David Cameron and The Queen are fifth cousins three times removed through their common descent from King George III (1738-1820) and Queen Charlotte (1744-1818; née Mecklenburg-Strelitz). See link.

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Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (b.1964) became the fourteenth and most recent Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 23 July 2019. Mr Johnson and HM The Queen share a common descent from Duke Friedrich II Eugen of Württemberg (1732-1797) and Margravine Sophie Dorothea of Brandenburg-Schwedt (1736-1798). Through this line, Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Johnson are fifth cousins twice removed. See link.


HM The Queen is related to Prime Ministers Churchill, Eden, Douglas-Home, and Blair through her maternal ancestors via HM Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother (1900-2002; née Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon). Queen Elizabeth is related to Prime Ministers Cameron and Johnson through her paternal ancestors via HM King George VI (1895-1952). Six - nearly half - of the fourteen prime ministers to serve as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 1952 are related to their Sovereign.