The 50th Birthday of Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark

The baptism of Prince Nikolaos of Greece (1969)

Today HRH Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark celebrates his fiftieth birthday.

King Constantine and his sister Princess Irene addressing the press after the birth of Nikolaos

Constantine and Anne-Marie with their second son (1969)

The prince was born "in perfect health" on Wednesday, 1 October 1969, at the Villa Claudia clinic in Rome as the third child and second son of King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes. The twenty-nine year-old father Constantine declared that the family had been blessed with "a beautiful baby boy." Queen Anne-Marie, twenty-three at the time of her second son's birth, had suffered a miscarriage in December 1967 shortly after the royal family had fled Greece. Nikolaos joined older sister Princess Alexia (b.July 1965) and older brother Crown Prince Pavlos (b.May 1967). Although the Greek royal family had went into exile in December 1967 following an unsuccessful countercoup to the country's military junta, Greece was still officially a monarchy: thus, the new princeling was second in line to the throne after his elder brother.

The following account of Prince Nikolaos' early life and professional career is provided by his personal website:

In 1975 the family settled in London, where Prince Nikolaos was home-educated for six years. He then attended the Hellenic College of London. 

In 1988 he began his studies in International Relations at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, focusing on Diplomacy and National Security. During his sophomore year, he took a sabbatical to join the British Army on a Short Service Limited Commission, serving as 2nd Lieutenant with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. 

Upon his college graduation (1993), Prince Nikolaos moved into TV production for Fox News in New York. He returned to London in 1995 to work in the foreign exchange options department of NatWest Markets. From 1997 to 2003 he worked in King Constantine’s Family Office. Since then he has been active in business consulting.

Prince Nikolaos and Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark on their wedding day (2010)

On 25 August 2010, Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark married Tatiana Ellinka Blatnik (b.28 August 1980) at the monastery of Ayios Nikolaos in the old harbour of Spetses in Greece. Tatiana is the daughter of Marie Blanche Bierlein (b.1954), daughter of Ernst Bierlein (1920-2009) and Countess Ellinka von Einsiedel (b.1922), and of the late Ladislav Vladimir Blatnik. Through her maternal grandmother, Princess Tatiana of Greece is a descendant of Elector Wilhelm II of Hesse (1777-1847).

Prince Nikolaos and Princess Tatiana attend the wedding of Princess Madeleine of Sweden (2013)

Prince Nikolaos and Princess Tatiana at the wedding of Prince Carl Philip of Sweden (2015)

Prince Nikolaos and Princess Tatiana with the mother of the princess, Marie Blanche Bierlein

Prince Nikolaos and Princess Tatiana make their home in Greece. The prince is a talented photographer, and the princess engages in numerous charitable activities. A down-to-earth and popular couple, they are often seen attending royal events around Europe.

 

For more information on Prince Nikolaos, please visit his website: https://www.princenikolaos.com 

Princess Beatrice of York Engaged to Count Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi

Princess Beatrice of York and Edoardo Mapelli-Mozzi
Photograph (c) Princess Eugenie of York

The Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York, have announced the engagement of their eldest daughter Beatrice (b.8 August 1988) to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (b.19 November 1983), son of Count Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi (b.1951) and Nicola Burrows (b.1956). The engagement took place earlier this month in Italy. The pair have been together since late 2018; their wedding will occur in 2020. Princess Beatrice's sister Eugenie shared photos of the happy couple on her Instagram account.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

Beabea - wow! I'm so happy for you my dearest big sissy and dear Edo. It's been a long time coming and you two are meant to be. 📷 by me!! “We are extremely happy to be able to share the news of our recent engagement. We are both so excited to be embarking on this life adventure together and can’t wait to actually be married. We share so many similar interests and values and we know that this will stand us in great stead for the years ahead, full of love and happiness”

A post shared by Princess Eugenie (@princesseugenie) on Sep 26, 2019 at 3:10am PDT

The following statement was released from Buckingham Palace:

The Duke and Duchess of York are delighted to announce the engagement of Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice of York to Mr. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. 

Her Royal Highness and Mr. Mapelli Mozzi became engaged while away for the weekend in Italy earlier this month. 

The wedding will take place in 2020. Further details will be announced in due course.
Princess Beatrice and Mr. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi said, “We are extremely happy to be able to share the news of our recent engagement. We are both so excited to be embarking on this life adventure together and can’t wait to be married. We share so many similar interests and values and we know this will stand us in great stead for the years ahead, full of love and happiness.” 

The Duke and Duchess of York said, “We are thrilled that Beatrice and Edoardo have got engaged, having watched their relationship develop with pride. We are the lucky parents of a wonderful daughter who has found her love and companion in a completely devoted friend and loyal young man. We send them every good wish for a wonderful family future.” 

Mrs. Nikki Williams-Ellis and Mr. Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi said, “We are truly delighted about Edoardo and Beatrice’s engagement. Our family has known Beatrice for most of her life. Edo and Beatrice are made for each other, and their happiness and love for each other is there for all to see. They share an incredibly strong and united bond, their marriage will only strengthen what is already a wonderful relationship.”

 

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The Sussexes with Son Archie Visit Archbishop Desmond Tutu

 

 

 

 

 

Today the Duke and Duchess of Sussex met with Archbishop Desmond Tutu at Capetown. The royals brought along their son, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. The trio are currently on a tour of South Africa.

 

 

 

Luis Alfonso de Borbon and His Father-in-Law Embroiled in Financial Scandal

Luis Alfonso de Borbón Martínez Bordiú and his father-in-law Victor Vargas Irausquin have in the past several weeks been caught up in an increasingly damaging scandal relating to the Vargas family's financial dealings. Specifically, the Venezuelan Banco Occidental de Descuento, of which Victor Vargas is the president, has seen its Panamanian branch, the AllBank Corp, have all its operations in Panama shut down by the government of the country. 

 

Victor Vargas

AllBank Corp was closed on 10 September by the Superintendency of Banks of Panama (SBP) to protect and safeguard the interests of customers. According to the Panam Post: "The Panamanian financial authorities explained that the shareholder group did not meet the corrective action requirements demanded by SBP to 'diversify the high degree of exposure of its liquid assets and custody services of its investments in securities in related parties.'"

Further, the Panam Post reports: 

 

Banker Victor Vargas, who has a holiday home in Cadiz, Spain, is a polo player with almost 50 horses. He currently lives in the Dominican Republic, a tax haven that two years ago served as the location for an unsuccessful dialogue between Chavismo and the opposition. 

According to Razon, the Venezuelan banker has a mansion in Palm Beach, United States called “Lechuza Caracas” just like his polo team. When Vargas bought it, he broke the price record in the area where the house is located. 

In an interview for The Wall Street Journal, the banker pointed out: “People write stories about me saying I have a Ferrari, a plane, and a yacht, but it’s not true. I have three planes, two yachts, and six houses. I’ve been rich all my life.” 

Although Vargas’ statement is true, the fact is that his wealth multiplied when Hugo Chavez took power in Venezuela. In an interview, he defined himself as “a socialist in the real sense of the term.” 

According to the Spanish daily ABC, his friendship with the Chavez regime began when he opposed the general strike of workers and businessmen in 2002. Consequently, Chavismo awarded him most of the oil contracts (he controls 90 percent of the contractors in this industry), and he is now one of the wealthiest men in Venezuela.

This development is sure to have significant consequences on the Vargas family fortune, of which Luis Alfonso de Borbón benefits through his marriage to María Margarita Vargas Santaella, one of the two children of Victor Vargas from his first wife.

Sources: 

Chavez’s Favorite Banker, Victor Vargas’ banks closed down

Great grandson of Spanish dictator Franco linked to suspended bank

Count and Countess of Paris to Attend Wedding of Prince Napoléon and Countess Olympia Arco-Zinneberg

Per French journalist Frédéric de Natal, Prince Jean and Princess Philomena d'Orléans, Count and Countess of Paris, will be among the guests at the October wedding of Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon and Countess Olympia Arco-Zinneberg.

Other attendees will include members of the imperial family of Austria, royal family of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, ducal family of Parma, and princely family of Murat.

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A Biographical Sketch of the Last Princess of Russia: Catherine Ivanovna Romanova

A Biographical Sketch of the Last Princess of Russia: Catherine Ivanovna Romanova

Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mavrikievna with her grandchildren Catherine and Vsevolod

King Nikola I of Montenegro with his great-grandchildren Catherine and Vsevolod

On 25 July 1915 at Pavlovsk Palace in St. Petersburg, Her Serene Highness Princess Ekaterina (Catherine) Ivanovna of Russia entered the twilight world of the Russian Imperial Family.

Prince Ivan Konstantinovich and Princess Elena Petrovna of Russia

Catherine was the only daughter and second child of Prince Ivan Konstantinovich of Russia (1886-1918), the eldest son of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich (1858-1915) and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mavrikievna (née Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg; 1865-1927), and of Princess Elena Petrovna of Serbia (1884-1962), the eldest daughter of King Peter I of Serbia (1844-1921) and Princess Zorka of Montenegro (1864-1890). Prince Ivan of Russia and Princess Elena of Serbia had married in 1911. Their daughter Catherine joined an elder brother Prince Vsevolod (1914-1973).

Prince Vsevolod and Princess Catherine of Russia

During the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, Catherine's father Ivan was assassinated by the Bolsheviks in July 1918, together with Ivan's brother's Konstantin (1891-1918) and Igor (1894-1918) - Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorvna and Prince Vladimir Paley were also thrown down the same mine shaft. A few months after her father's murder, Catherine and her brother Vsevolod along with their grandmother Elisabeth Mavrikievna, uncle Prince George Konstantinovich, and aunt Princess Vera Konstantinova, were given refuge in Stockholm, at the invitation of Queen Victoria of Sweden (née Baden; 1862-1930). Catherine's mother Elena had followed Catherine's father Ivan to his imprisonment in the Urals; rather amazingly, Princess Elena Petrovna was able to escape from the slaughter of the Romanovs and was reunited with her children.

 

In exile, Princess Catherine and her family first went to Serbia and then to the United Kingdom. Catherine's eldest daughter Nicoletta recently stated in an interview with Sputnik that "my mother recalled that she often changed schools under different names, for fear of reprisals." In England, Catherine attended Heathfield. Catherine's maternal uncle King Alexander I of Yugoslavia eventually purchased a villa on the French Riviera for his sister Elena so that she and her children might have a proper home.

 

Between 1937 and 1945, Princess Catherine of Russia resided in Italy. There she met her future husband. On 15 September 1937, Catherine Ivanovna Romanova married Marchese Ruggero Farace di Villaforesta (1909-1970), at the Church of Saint Andrea al Quirinale in Rome. Among the guests were Crown Prince Umberto of Italy (later King Umberto II) and Count Ciano, son-in-law of Benito Mussolini. A month before her wedding, on 4 August 1937, Princess Catherine signed a formal renunciation of her rights to the succession to the Russian throne.

Princess Catherine Ivanovna of Russia with her two eldest children

Catherine and Ruggero had three children during the course of their marriage: Nobile Nicoletta Farace (b.1938), Nobile Fiammetta Farace (b.1942), and Marchese Giovanni Farace di Villaforesta (b.1943). Princess Catherine and her husband separated in 1945, but they never divorced, and they appear to have maintained an amicable relationship. In 1963, Ruggero was appointed as the Italian ambassador to Uruguay, the nation in which his wife Catherine eventually settled.

In 1982 Princess Catherine Ivanovna permanently relocated to Uruguay. She made her residence in the country's capital, Montevideo. It was there that she died on 13 March 2007 at the age of ninety-one. The princess was buried at the Cementerio Los Fresnos de Carrasco. On 21 April 2007, a Russian Orthodox memorial service was held at Moscow. She was survived by her three children: Nicoletta, Fiammetta, and Giovanni. The Head of the Russian Imperial House, Grand Duchess Maria, sent a letter to her Farace cousins following the death of their mother. The contents of the letter were as follows:

Dear Marchese Giovanni di Villaforesta! 

I want to express to you, to your sisters, and to all your family my deepest sympathy on the death of your August Mother, Our beloved aunt, Her Serene Highness, Princess of the Imperial Blood Ekaterina Ivanovna. 

I am filled with grief and pray for the repose of the soul of the newly-departed princess, believing fervently that the Lord will give rest to her soul in the heavenly abodes of the righteous. 

With deepest love and condolences,
Maria
Madrid, 15 March 2007

Nobile Nicoletta Farace and her daughter Alexandra Grundland

Princess Catherine's first daughter Nobile Nicoletta Farace (b.1938) worked for the United Nations in Montevideo, Uruguay, for several years. In 1966, Nicoletta married Alberto Grundland (1931-1984). The couple had a son and a daughter: Eduardo (b.1967) and Alexandra (b.1971).

Nobile Fiammetta Farace

Princess Catherine's second daughter Nobile Fiammetta "Fiamma" Farace (b.1942) is a photographer who resides in the United States. In 1969, Fiammetta married Victor Carlos Arcelus (b.1937); the couple had two sons, Victor John Arcelus (b.1973) and Sebastian Carlos Arcelus (b.1976), before divorcing in 1980. In 1981, Fiammetta Farace married Nelson Zanelli (b.1947); the couple have one son, Alessandro Ideal Zanelli (b.1984).

Princess Catherine's only son Marchese Ivan Farace di Villaforesta (b.1943) lives in France. In 1968, Giovanni married Marie-Claude Tillier-Debesse (b.1944). Giovanni and Marie-Claude have two sons, Nobile Alessandro Farace (b.1971) and Nobile Yann Farace (b.1973).

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In Profile: The Swiss-Born American Heiress (And Romanov Step-Daughter) Who Forged Her Own Path

Sumner Moore Kirby

On 6 November 1934, one of the heirs to the F. W. Woolworth and Co. fortune, Sumner Moore Kirby (1895-1945), married for the third time. The bride was Princess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Moukhranskaya (1914-2010), the daughter of Prince Giorgi Bagration-Moukhransky and Elena Sigismundovna Zlotnitzkaya. 

 

Report of Helen's birth by the American Consular Service.

 

Sumner and Leonida's only child, Hélène Louise Kirby, variously known as Helen/Helena/Elena, was born at Geneva on 26 January 1935.

 

Wedding announcement of Sumner M. Kirby and Princess Leonida Bagration (1934)

Sumner and Leonida divorced on 18 November 1937. Hélène's father died on 7 April 1945 in hospital at Leau, near the Buchenwald Concentration Camp, where he had been deported from France after being arrested along with other U.S. and British civilians by the Vichy regime in 1944. Sumner Moore Kirby was the son of Fred Morgan Kirby (1861-1940) and Jessie Amelia Owen (1861-1933).

 

Wedding announcement of Sumner M. Kirby and Doris L. Wayland (1925)

Sumner M. Kirby had been firstly married from April 1925 to October 1931 with Doris Landy Wayland (1901-1969). Doris Wayland was the daughter of Samuel Ewing Wayland (1858-1928) and his wife Blandina (b.1866; née Landy). Sumner and Doris had one daughter: Gloria Price Kirby (1928-2017; married to Robert St Clair Conahay III). In January 1932, Sumner took as his second wife Valentine Wagner; the pair divorced in July 1934; they did not have issue. Several months later Kirby married Leonida, who was to be his final wife. Leonida received custody of their daughter Hélène following the Kirby/Bagration divorce.

 

Princess Leonida and her daughter Hélène

In 1960, Hélène Louise Kirby became engaged to a Spanish lawyer, don Antonio Bermúdez de Castro y de Collantes. Antonio was a son of don Arturo Bermúdez de Castro y Blanco (killed at Madrid on 22 August 1936 during Spanish Civil War) and doña Dolores de Collantes y Menéndez de Luarca (died at Madrid on 15 December 1980). Antonio had three sisters (Maria de los Dolores, Cristina, and Maria Josefa [d.2014]) and one brother (Luis). The eldest sister, Maria de los Dolores, was married in 1949 to Juan Bautista de Castillejo y Carvajal, XI Conde de Villa Amena de Cozbíjar - she is currently the Dowager Duquesa de Montealegre.

 

Death announcement for don Antonio Bermúdez de Castro y de Collantes (1960)

Sadly, Antonio died on 10 October 1960. Among others, his obituary mentioned that he is survived by "su prometida [his fiancée], señorita Helene Kirby Bagration."

 

(left to right) señora del Arenal, condesa de Albercón, duquesa de Franco, señora Mariam Martín-Barbadillo, duquesa de Montealegre, and Hélène Kirby (2014)

Three years later in 1963, Hélène became the godmother of her late fiancé's newborn niece, Elena Bermúdez de Castro (third daughter of Luis Bermúdez de Castro y de Collantes [d.2015] and María de la Consolación "Cocolo" Fernández-Santa Eulalia y Palicio [d.2015]). Hélène remained close with the family of her late fiancée, particularly with Antonio's sister Maria de los Dolores (duquesa de Montealegre) and the parents of Antonio's niece/Hélène's goddaughter Elena, Luis and Cocolo.

(Left to right) Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, Hélène Kirby, Mr and Mrs William Rahn, Grand Duchess Leonida and Grand Duke Vladimir of Russia (1965)

In 1965, Hélène Kirby and Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, the nephew of Helene's stepfather Grand Duke Vladimir, began a relationship. The couple apparently met in Paris. On 25 August 1965 the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner carried a photo of Friedrich Wilhelm, Hélène, Grand Duke Wladimir, Grand Duchess Leonida, and Mr and Mrs William Rahn (an American couple from Madrid) during a brief visit to Alaska. The relationship between the Hélène Kirby and Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia had already ended by 1966.

 

Engagement of Hélène Kirby and Juan Pérez de Guzmán y Castillejo, II conde de Hoochstrate (1966)

On 30 October 1966, the Imperial Chancellery of the Russian Imperial House announced the engagement of Hélène Kirby and Juan Pérez de Guzmán y Castillejo, II conde de Hoochstrate. Juan was the son of José María Pérez de Guzmán y Sanjuan (1895-1943), I conde de Hoochstrate, and María de la Concepción Castillejo y Wall (1899-1986), V condesa de Torreblanca. Juan's maternal aunt doña Dolores Castillejo y Wall (d.1983), Dowager Duquesa de Almenera Alta y de Escolano, was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain. The wedding between Hélène Kirby and the Conde de Hoochstrate was scheduled to take place on 19 January 1967 at Madrid. 

 

Hélène's second fiancé: Juan Pérez de Guzmán y Castillejo, conde de Hoochstrate (1976)

For whatever reason, the union never materialised. Juan Pérez de Guzmán y Castillejo (d.2015), conde de Hoochstrate, later married María Cristina de Armiñán Jordán. Hélène Kirby has never married.

 

Hélène Kirby, Countess Dvinskaya, at the wedding of her half-sister Grand Duchess Maria (1976)

Hélène Kirby was granted the title Countess Dvinskaya with the style of Illustrious Highness in 1976 by her stepfather, Grand Duke Vladimir of Russia. This was the same year that Hélène's younger half-sister Grand Duchess Maria of Russia married Prince Franz-Wilhelm of Prussia. Hélène became the godmother of her nephew, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich, in May 1981. 

 

Pictured: Hélène Kirby holding her godson, one of the Princes of Bulgaria, and King Simeon II of the Bulgarians. Shown behind Hélène is Queen Mother Geraldine of the Albanians. In the background are several Bagration relatives.

 

Hélène Kirby photographed behind the Countess of Barcelona (1960s)

 

Embed from Getty Images

 

 

Hélène Kirby has remained close to the Bulgarian, Georgian, and Spanish royal families over the decades. She served as godmother to one of King Simeon and Queen Margarita's sons. In 2002, Hélène attended the wedding of the king's only daughter Princess Kalina, together with her friend the Duchess of Franco. Hélène is a friend of Infanta Pilar of Spain, with whom she has collaborated in promoting the fundraising events for the charity Rastrillo Nuevo Futuro for many years. In 2009, Hélène was present at the wedding of her first cousin once removed, Prince David Bagration-Moukhransky, and Princess Anna Bagration-Gruzinskaya - the wedding of the century in Georgia which united two branches of the Bagrationi family.  

 

Hélène Kirby, Countess Dvinskaya, attends the memorial service for her mother Grand Duchess Leonida (2010)

Gloria Price Kirby on the occasion of her marriage to Robert St Clair Conahay III (1948)

In May 2010, Hélène's mother Grand Duchess Leonida died at Madrid, aged ninety-five. Hélène had long supported her mother, stepfather Grand Duke Vladimir, and younger maternal half-sister Grand Duchess Maria. In 2017, Hélène's older paternal half-sister Gloria Price Kirby passed away at Tangiers. Hélène maintained strong ties with Gloria and with Gloria's children, Hélène's niece and nephews. 

 

Hélène Kirby and Alfonso, Duke of Cádiz

An agent of discretion and dignity, Hélène Kirby continues to make her home in the Spanish capital.

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