Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Happy Birthday & Merry Christmas: The Five Modern Royals Born on 25 December

For whatever reason, it seems relatively rare that people are born on 25 December. When one takes a look at the Gotha, there is an even smaller number of individuals who arrived on Christmas Day. Currently, there are only four princes and one princess who share this unique distinction: the eldest was born in 1934, and the youngest arrived in 1991.
1. Prince Wolfgang von und zu Liechtenstein (*1934)
Prince Wolfgang of Liechtenstein in 2018
H.S.H. Prince Wolfgang Johannes Baptist Johannes Evangelist Ildefons Franz de Paula Josef Maria von und zu Liechtenstein was born on 25 December 1934 at Graz; he was the fourth and last child of Prince Karl Aloys (1878-1955) and Princess Elisabeth (1894-1962; née Princess von Urach), who married in 1921. In July 1970, Prince Wolfgang wed Countess Gabrielle Basselet de la Rosée (b.1949), the daughter of Count Franz Xaver Basselet de La Rosée (1906-1984) and Princess Eleonore von Lobkowicz (1916-2000). Wolfgang and Gabrielle have two children: Princess Stephanie (b.1976) and Prince Leopold (b.1978).
2. Princess Alexandra of Kent, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy (*1936)
Princess Alexandra, The Hon. Lady Ogilvy, in 2010
H.R.H. Princess Alexandra Helen Elizabeth Olga Christabel of Kent was born on 25 December 1936 at London; she was the second child and only daughter of Prince George (1902-1942), Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina (1906-1968; née Princess of Greece and Denmark), who married in 1934. In April 1963, Alexandra wed the Hon. Angus Ogilvy (1928-2004; later made a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, and then a member of the Privy Counsel). Angus was the son of David Ogilvy (1893-1968), 7th Earl of Airlie, and Lady Alexandra Coke (1891-1984). Alexandra and Angus had two children: James (b.1964) and Marina (b.1966). Through her father the Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra is a first cousin of H.M. The Queen (b.1926); though her mother Princess Marina, Alexandra is a first cousin once-removed of H.R.H. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (b.1921). 
3. Fürst Alexander of Schaumburg-Lippe (*1958)
Fürst Alexander zu Schaumburg-Lippe
H.S.H. Prince Ernst August Alexander Christian Viktor Hubert zu Schaumburg-Lippe was born on 25 December 1958 at Düsseldorf. He was the second son and last child of Fürst Philipp-Ernst (1928-2003) and Fürstin Eva-Benita (1927-2013; née Baroness von Tiele-Winckler), who married in 1955. In August 1993, Alexander married Princess Marie-Luise "Lily" zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b.1972); the couple had one son, Hereditary Prince Heinrich-Donatus (b.1994), before divorcing in 2002. In June 2007, Fürst Alexander married Dr Nadja Anna Zsoeks (b.1975); the couple had two daughters, Princess Friederike (b.2008) and Princess Philomena (b.2011), before divorcing in 2018. Alexander is the Head of the Princely House of Schaumburg-Lippe.
4. Prince Bernhard of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven (*1969)
Prince Bernhard of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven, in 2015
H.H. Prince Bernhard Lucas Emmanuel of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven, was born on 25 December 1969 at Nijmegen. Bernhard is the second son of the four sons of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands (b.1943) and Pieter van Vollenhoven Jr. (b.1939), who wed in 1967. In July 2000, Bernhard married Annette Sekrève (b.1972); the couple have three children: Isabella (b.2002), Samuel (b.2004), and Benjamin (b.2008). Prince Bernhard is the first cousin of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands.  
5. Hereditary Prince Carl-Anton zu Waldeck und Pyrmont (*1991)
Fürtin Cecilie, Hereditary Prince Carl-Anton, and Fürst Wittikend of Waldeck and Pyrmont in 2016 Photograph © Elmar Schulten
H.S.H. Hereditary Prince Carl-Anton Christian Gustav Clemens Alexander of Waldeck and Pyrmont was born on 25 December 1991 at Arolsen. Carl-Anton is the eldest of the three sons of Fürst Wittekind (b.1936) and Fürstin Cecilie (b.1956; née Countess von Goëß-Saurau). In 2013, Carl-Anton sustained serious injuries during a swim in the River Main; this incident led to the prince becoming a paraplegic. In 2016, Carl-Anton succeeded his father as Executive Chairman of the Princely Foundation of the House of Waldeck and Pyrmont.
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Therefore on 25 December 2019, five members of the first section of the Gotha will celebrate their birthdays. Prince Wolfgang of Liechtenstein will turn eighty-five. Princess Alexandra of Kent will turn eighty-three. Fürst Alexander of Schamburg-Lippe will turn sixty-one. Prince Bernhard of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven, will turn fifty. The youngest of the group, Hereditary Prince Carl-Anton of Waldeck and Pyrmont will turn twenty-eight. We wish them a Happy Birthday and a Merry Christmas!
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Norwegian Author Ari Behn, Ex-Husband Of Princess Märtha Louise, Dies Aged 47

Ari Mikael Behn, the former husband of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, has passed away today, 25 December 2019, at Lommedalen. The cause of death was suicide. An artist and author, Mr Behn was forty-seven years-old.
Ari was born on 30 September 1972 at Århus, Denmark. He was the eldest child of Olav Bjørshol and Marianne Solberg. In 1996, Ari changed his last name from Bjørshol to Behn, his maternal grandmother’s maiden name. His family moved from Denmark to Norway when he was six, and it was in Norway that Behn grew up. He studied history and religion at the University of Oslo, receiving his bachelors degree from this institution. In 1999, Ari published a compilation of short stories titled Trist som faen (Sad as Hell); he went on to author three more books: Bakgård (Backyard) in 2003, Entusiasme og raseri (Enthusiasm and Rage) in 2006, and Talent for lykke (Talent for Happiness) in 2009.
On 24 May 2002, Ari Behn married Princess Märtha-Louise of Norway, the only daughter of King Harald and Queen Sonja, at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim. Ari and Märtha-Louise had three daughters: Maud Angelica (b.2003), Leah Isadora (b.2005), and Emma Tallulah (b.2008). The couple separated in 2016 and their marriage was ended by  divorce in 2017. Ari and Märtha-Louise shared joint custody of their daughters. Märtha-Louise continued to reside in the family's home at Lommedalen, and Ari found a place not far from it to be close to his daughters.
King Harald and Queen Sonja as well as Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit issued statements after the family had learned the news of Mr Behn's passing:
In connection with Ari Behn's passing, His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen announce the following: 
It is with great sadness that the Queen and I have received the news of Ari Behn's passing. Ari has been an important part of our family for many years, and we carry warm, fond memories of him. We are grateful that we got to know him. We grieve that our grandchildren have now lost their beloved father - and we have deep compassion for his parents and siblings, who have now lost their beloved son and brother. We pray that Ari's immediate family will be at peace during this painful time. 
His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon and Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit announce the following: 
For us, Ari was a good friend, a dear family member and a wonderful uncle, with whom we shared many of life's small and big moments. It is with great sadness that we have received the message of his passing away. We were all very fond of Ari. Our thoughts go especially to Maud, Leah, Emma, ​​Princess Märtha Louise and Ari's immediate family.
May Ari Rest in Peace. May his daughters and all who love him find Eternal Comfort.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health issues, for those in the USA, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached by a quick call to 800-273-TALK (8255). For those in the United Kingdom, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. Please call these resources whenever needed. 

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Sunday, December 22, 2019

The Birthday of the Head of the Imperial House of Romanov: Grand Duchess Maria of Russia

Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia Photograph (c) Getty Images / Alexei Pavlishak
Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna with her daughter Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna at the baby's baptism
The charm bracelet created by Grand Duke Vladimir and Grand Duchess Leonida to celebrate their daughter Maria's birth
The Little Heiress
On 23 December 1953, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia was born at the Nuestra Señora de Loreto Clinic in Madrid. She was the only child of Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia, Head of the Imperial House of Romanov, and his wife Leonida (née Princess Bagration-Mukhranskaya). Maria Vladimirovna was the granddaughter of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich (1876-1938) and Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna (1876-1936; née Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), the great-granddaughter of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich (1847-1909) and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (1854-1920; née Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin), and the great-great-granddaughter of Emperor Alexander II Nikolaevich of Russia (1818-1881) and Empress Maria Alexandrovna (1824-1880; née Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine). Nearly forty-years-old, Leonida Georgievna had started to worry that she would be unable to give her husband a much desired heir. Seeking all possible remedies, early in 1953 Leonida made a pilgrimage to the relic of St Nicholas the Wonderworker in Bari, and, several weeks after returning to Spain, she was thrilled when her doctor informed her that she was expecting. Grand Duchess Maria’s parents always rather regarded their daughter as something of a miracle (“a child from God”), and the three formed an exceptionally close familial bond. Upon being baptised into the Russian Orthodox faith on 3 February 1954, the infant was given the name Maria; the chosen godparents were her great-uncle Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, who due to ill health was represented at the event by Prince Nicholas of Romania (a son of Maria Vladimirovna's great-aunt Queen Marie of Romania), and Queen Mother Giovanna of Bulgaria.
Grand Duchess Maria of Russia
The Imperial Family at a zoo in Rome 
The young grand duchess
The Romanov trio spent the year moving about their various homes. In Spain, they resided in a comfortable apartment on the rue Velasquez that was just around the corner from the home of Maria’s maternal grandparents. At some point, the family exchanged the apartment for a more spacious villa in the posh Madrid suburb of Puerto de Hierro. Their French residences included Ker Argonid in St Briac (named after Maria's grandmother Victoria Melita) and an apartment in Paris. The Romanovs were particularly quite close to the Albanian, Bulgarian, and Spanish royal families.
Grand Duchess Maria, Grand Duke Vladimir, and Grand Duchess Leonida at their Puerto de Hierro residence in Madrid Photograph (c) Getty Images / Gianni Ferrari
Grand Duchess Maria of Russia in Madrid, 1966 Photograph (c) Getty Images / Gianni Ferrari
Grand Duchess Leonida, Grand Duke Vladimir, and Grand Duchess Maria of Russia in 1966. Photograph (c) Getty Images / Gianni Ferrari
The Romanovs in Madrid, 1968 Photograph (c) Getty Images / Gianni Ferrari
Grand Duchess Maria recalled her early years: “I had a very happy childhood. There was such a harmony between my parents. They very much loved each other. They never quarrelled or were separated. I was thus raised in an atmosphere of mutual love and respect.” When she was a toddler, Maria was often taken by her parents to visit her great-uncle Andrei and his wife Mathilde at their “enchanting” Villa Molitor in Paris, with its “big windows and conservatories.” There Maria enjoyed playing with the Grand Duke’s pet turtle Rosalie, who was kept in one of the gardens and was one of Maria’s earliest guests at her childhood tea parties. The grand duchess had a multitude of Prussian, Leiningen, and Bagration first cousins from her paternal and maternal aunts and uncles; however, Maria was the youngest of the group. From her aunt Grand Duchess Maria Kirillovna (1907-1951), who married Fürst Karl of Leiningen, Maria Vladimirovna had seven first cousins: Fürst Emich of Leiningen (1926-1991; husband of Duchess Eilika of Oldenburg), Prince Karl (1928-1990; husband of Princess Marie Louise of Bulgaria), Princess Kira (1930-2005; wife of Prince Andrej of Yugoslavia), Princess Margarita (1932-1996; wife of Fürst Friedrich Wilhelm of Hohenzollern), Princess Mechthilde (b.1936), Prince Friedrich (1938-1998), and Prince Peter (1942-1943). From her aunt Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna, who married Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, Maria Vladimirovna also had seven first cousins: Prince Friedrich Wilhelm (1939-2015), Prince Michael (1940-2014), Princess Marie Cécile (b.1942; wife of Duke Friedrich August of Oldenburg), Princess Kira (1943-2004), Prince Louis Ferdinand (1944-1977; husband of Countess Donata of Castell-Rüdenhausen), Prince Christian-Sigismund (b.1946; husband of Countess Nina of Reventlow), and Princess Xenia (1949-1992). A twenty-seven year age gap thus separated Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia from her eldest first cousin, Fürst Emich of Leiningen.
Grand Duchess Maria of Russia with her dog while in the UK, November 1971 Photograph (c) Getty Images
Maria of Russia, circa 1976
Maria was partially raised by a nurse: a Swiss-German woman by the name of Hanny Vögelin. Hanny, described as “firm but fair,” taught the little girl how to read and write, and stayed on with the family until Maria went to primary school at the age of seven. After this, Maria went on to the British Institute in Madrid. Passionate about languages, she then made the choice to enter Oxford University, where she began her studies in 1972 at Lady Margaret Hall. Grand Duchess Maria left Oxford in early 1975 an accomplished polyglot, fluent in English, French, Russian and Spanish as well as possessing a thorough knowledge of Russian literature.
Grand Duchess Maria and Prince Franz Wilhelm Photograph (c) Seeger-Presse
Grand Duke Vladimir, Grand Duchess Leonida, Prince Franz Wilhelm, and Grand Duchess Maria Photograph (c) Seeger-Presse
Grand Duchess Maria and Grand Duke Michael on their wedding day Photograph (c) Getty Images / Gianni Ferrari
In July 1976, Grand Duke Vladimir and Grand Duchess Leonida announced the engagement of their daughter Maria to Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia, the son of the late Prince Karl Franz Joseph of Prussia and his first wife Princess Henriette of Schönaich-Carolath. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna and Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich (as Franz Wilhelm became known after converting to Russian Orthodoxy and being granted the style and title of Grand Duke of Russia by his soon-to-be father-in-law) were married in great style on 22 September 1976 at the small Orthodox Church in Madrid. Their wedding was attended by four kings (King Leka I of the Albanians, King Simeon II of Bulgaria, King Umberto II of Italy, and King Juan Carlos of Spain) and six queens (Queen Mother Geraldine of Albania, Queen Susan of the Albanians, Queen Mother Giovanna of Bulgaria, Queen Margarita of Bulgaria, Queen Farida of Egypt, and Queen Sofía of Spain) as well as a deluge of other royals.
Grand Duke George with his grandfather Grand Duke Vladimir and aunt Hélène Kirby at his baptism, May 1981 Photograph (c) Getty Images / Gianni Ferrari
The Modern Romanovs: Vladimir, Leonida, Maria, and George
Maria and Michael's only child was born almost five years into their union. Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia arrived on 13 March 1981 at Madrid. On 6 May 1981, the feast day of St. George, the little grand duke was baptised into the Russian Orthodox Church. Grand Duke George’s godparents are King Constantine II of Greece, for whom the baby’s grandfather Grand Duke Vladimir stood proxy, and Hélène Kirby, Countess Dvinskaya, George’s maternal aunt.
Grand Duchess Maria Vladmirovna and Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich separated in 1982. Their divorce became final in 1985. The grand duchess has never remarried. As a single mother, Grand Duchess Maria raised her son with the assistance of her parents. Once again, the four Romanovs formed a tight family unit. Grand Duke George also had regular visitation with his father Prince Franz Wilhelm (who reverted to his Prussian title after the divorce).
In 1992, Grand Duchess Maria succeeded as the Head of the Imperial House of Romanov following the sudden death of her father. Aged seventy-four, Grand Duke Vladimir suffered a fatal heart attack in Miami on 21 April. His widow Grand Duchess Leonida survived him by over twenty years; she passed away in Madrid on 23 May 2010, aged ninety-five. Both Vladimir Kirillovich and Leonida Georgievna are buried at the Saints Peter and Paul Fortress in St Petersburg.
Grand Duchess Maria and Grand Duke George of Russia with Pope Benedict XVI in 2011
Grand Duke George and Grand Duchess Maria arrive at the wedding of Prince Albert II of Monaco, 2011 Photograph (c) Getty Images / Gareth Fuller / PA Images
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands with Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, 2011
Grand Duchess Maria and Prince Mohammed Ali of Egypt arrive at the wedding of Crown Prince Leka of Albania and Crown Princess Elia (née Zaharia) in Tirana, 2016 Photograph (c) Seth B. Leonard
Princess Nadia (née Nour) of Prussia, Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia, and Grand Duchess Maria of Russia at the wedding of Hereditary Prince Ferdinand of Leiningen and Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia in 2017
Embed from Getty Images
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and Grand Duchess Maria in 2018
Grand Duchess Maria, Grand Duke George, and Rebecca Bettarini at the wedding of Prince Joachim of Prussia and Countess Angelina zu Solms-Laubach at Mallorca in June 2019 Photograph (c) Seeger-Presse / Albert Nieboer
Since her accession to the Headship of the Imperial Family, the Grand Duchess has fulfilled her role with inscrutable dedication and duty. Grand Duchess Maria is frequently present at Gotha events: from weddings to funerals. She resides in Madrid, and her Chancellery is in Moscow.
H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, Head of the Russian Imperial House Photograph (c) Russian Imperial House
We wish Her Imperial Highness many happy returns of the day!
To learn more about the Russian Imperial Family, please visit this link: Imperial House
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Märtha Louise's Shaman Beau Tried to Have His Ex-Boyfriend Sign NDA

The Norwegian press is reporting that self-proclaimed Shaman Durek Verrett, the partner of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, attempted to have his former boyfriend, Hank Greenberg, sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). The NDA request came from Verrett just days after his relationship with the princess became public in May 2019. Greenberg refused to sign the agreement.
Durek Verrett and Hank Greenberg Photograph (c) Verdens Gang
Durek Verrett and Hank Greenberg's relationship began in 2007 in Los Angeles, and it lasted until about 2015. Seven years ago, Mr Greenberg, a massage therapist, started a fundraiser which brought in over $20,000 to help Mr Verrett receive a kidney transplant. In interviews, Mr Greenberg has stated that though he wishes Mr Verrett well, he does not have anything "nice" to say about Mr Verrett based on personal experiences. Mr Greenberg also threw cold water on the notion of the "shaman's" healing powers.
Princess Märtha Louise is the only daughter of King Harald V of Norway and Queen Sonja. The princess and her husband Ari Behn divorced in 2017 after fifteen years of marriage. Source: Her er Dureks hysj-krav til eksen
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Friday, December 20, 2019

The American Lady Who Almost Became An Infanta of Spain: Mrs Mabelle Gilman Corey

Luís Fernando de Orleans y Borbón, Infante of Spain
Mrs William Ellis Corey (née Mabelle Gilman); almost an Infanta of Spain
In April 1929, Mrs Mabelle Gilman Corey converted to the Roman Catholic faith ahead of an upcoming marriage to Infante Luís Fernando of Spain. Luís Fernando (1888-1945) was the younger son of Infante Antonio of Spain (1866-1930), Duke of Galliera, and his wife Infanta Eulalia (1864-1958), a daughter of Queen Isabella II of Spain.
A native of San Francisco, Mrs Corey was born Mabelle Lavona Gilman on 4 December 1874 as the daughter of Charles Henry Gilman (1845-1909) and his wife Jeannette Curtis (1854-1946). Mabelle Gilman attended Mills College in Oakland, California. Mabelle went on to become a stage actress, specially in musical comedy. She appeared in many performances in the United States and Europe.
Mr William Ellis Corey
In 1905, Mabelle Gilman first met William Ellis Corey (1866-1934) in Pittsburgh. William Corey was the President of the Carnegie Steel Company. He had married Laura Cook (1866-1960) in 1883; the couple had one son, Alan Lyle Corey (1889-1970). William Corey and Mabelle Gilman began a relationship, which led to the termination of Corey's union with Laura. In their 1906 divorce at Reno, Nevada, Laura Corey was awarded custody of the couple's son Alan as well as a settlement of $3 million (roughly $84 million in today's terms). On 14 May 1907, William Corey and Mabelle Gilman were wed at the Hotel Gotham in New York City. Corey bought his new wife a chateau in France, bestowed upon her valuable jewels, and gifted her one million dollars as a wedding present. Corey's Reno divorce from his first wife Laura and subsequent marriage to Mabelle helped put Reno on the map as a destination for quickie divorces.
Mrs Mabelle Gilman Corey
The marriage of William and Mabelle Corey ended in divorce at Paris in November 1923. In 1924, newspapers spread rumours that Mabelle was engaged to Luís Fernando of Spain, but these reports were denied. Five years later, the reality had changed. In April of 1929, it became public knowledge that Mabelle Gilman Corey was affianced to Infante Luís Fernando of Spain (1888-1945). Mabelle took the step on 20 April 1929 by converting to the Roman Catholic Church, to which her future husband and his dynasty belonged. Infanta Eulalia, Luís Fernando's mother, was present for Mabelle's first communion. Mabelle hoped that she and the infante would be wed within a few months at her French residence, the Château de Vilgenis.
Mabelle Gilman Corey and Infante Luís Fernando of Spain in 1929
The marriage plans came to naught. Luís Fernando and his lawyer kept trying to extract a higher and higher annual allowance from the wealthy Mabelle, who refused to budge beyond a certain point. By June 1929, Mabelle had decided that her engagement with Luís Fernando had run its course. She gave a rare interview in which she discussed the situation:
Everything is finished. I met Don Luis on my honeymoon. We have loved each other for twenty years or more. It's hard to be broken off, but it is impossible to turn the sacrament of marriage into a bargain counter. I don't know if I'll ever love another man. For the present, I don't care. I have always said that American men make the ideal husbands, although they lack the polish that many Europeans possess.
It was noted that her closest companion was her Great Dane. "There is an advantage in dogs over men," Mabelle quipped. "They at least are faithful."
Infanta Eulalia of Spain, Duchess of Galliera
Infanta Eulalia, the mother of Luís, was also rather disappointed at the breakdown of her son's engagement to the eligible (and rich) Mabelle. "I deeply regret the marriage will not occur because Mrs Corey took such a deep interest in my son, who needs a wife who is devoted but severe."
Vittel Interment Camp
Mabelle continued to reside in France after her terminated royal engagement. In October 1942, she was briefly interred at the Vittell Internment Camp in Vichy France. However, she was released from Vittel soon after her arrest, as the Nazis determined she posed no threat to their schemes.
Mabelle Gilman Corey's 1921 application for a US passport: she chopped 12 years off of her age.
Mrs Mabelle Lavona Gilman Corey died on 14 November 1960 at the Blessed Trinity Missionary Cenacle in Brooklyn, New York. Per her wishes, she was cremated, and her ashes were spread in the garden of Blessed Trinity. She was eighty-five years-old. Mabelle had never remarried after her engagement to Infante Luís Fernando of Spain, who she survived by fifteen years.
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Thursday, December 19, 2019

Duke and Duchess of Sussex to Spend the Christmas Season in Canada

Embed from Getty Images
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, together with their son Archie, will be spending Christmas in Canada. The following statement was given by a spokesperson for the royal couple:

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The Story of Two Grandes Dames: Helen of Romania & Margrethe of Bourbon-Parma

Queen Mother Helen of Romania and Princess Margrethe of Bourbon-Parma in later life.

Queen Mother Helen of Romania and Princess Margrethe of Bourbon-Parma were first cousins once removed. Both Helen and Margrethe were descendants of King Christian IX of Denmark (1818-1906) and his wife Queen Luise (1817-1898; née Hesse-Kassel). Helen and Margrethe's children would later form a fantastic dynastic alliance and love match.

Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark

Queen Mother Helen of Romania (1896-1982) was the eldest daughter of King Constantine I of the Hellenes (1868-1923) and his wife Queen Sophie (1870-1932; née Prussia), the daughter of Kaiser Friedrich III and Empress Victoria (née Great Britain). In 1921, Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark married Crown Prince Carol of Romania (1893-1953; later King), eldest son of King Ferdinand of Romania and Queen Marie (née Great Britain / Saxe-Coburg and Gotha).

Princess Margrethe of Denmark

Margrethe of Denmark marries René of Bourbon-Parma
Photograph (c) Chicago Tribune, 10 June 1921

Princess Margrethe of Bourbon-Parma (1895-1992) was the only daughter of Prince Valdemar of Denmark (1858-1939) and his wife Princess Marie (1865-1909; née Orléans), the daughter of Prince Robert, Duke of Chartres (1840-1910), and Princess Françoise d'Orléans (1844-1925). In 1921, Princess Margrethe of Denmark married Prince René of Bourbon-Parma (1894-1962), one of the sons of Duke Roberto of Parma and Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal.

Queen Mother Helen of Romania and Princess Margrethe of Bourbon-Parma at the Vatican

In addition, these royal ladies were the mothers of King Michael of Romania (1921-2017) and his wife Queen Anne (1923-2016; née Bourbon-Parma). Michael and Anne fell for one another in 1947. Their mothers were both extremely supportive of the young couple: indeed, Helen and Margrethe teamed up to try and solve a particular issue raised by union of their son and daughter - religion. King Michael of Romania was a member of the Romanian Orthodox Church, and Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma was a member of the Roman Catholic Church. The Romanian Queen Mother and Bourbon-Parma Princess decided to go to the Vatican to petition the Pope in person to grant a dispensation for the union of their children.

Report on Helen and Margrethe's visit to the Vatican on 23 February 1948
Photograph (c) The Guardian, 6 March 1948

Queen Anne of Romania recalls the mission of her mother and mother-in-law to the Holy Father in her memoirs:
Our two mothers continued to be of invaluable help to us. They went together to the Vatican to seek the agreement of Pope Pius XII to our marriage. Indeed there was a very big impediment, because I was Catholic and he was Orthodox. The Pope refused to recognise our union unless we undertook to have our children baptised in the Catholic faith, and this was something the King could not accept. The discussion between the two mothers and the Pope was a tense one. My mother even thumped the table with her fist in anger, but the Pope's response to this outburst was simply: 'Eh?!

Alas, Helen and Margrethe were unsuccessful in securing the pontiff's agreement. However, they were unwavering in their support of their children. Michael and Anne married in a Greek Orthodox ceremony at Athens in 1948. Helen was able to attend; however, Margrethe was not able to be present, as the head of her husband's dynasty, Duke Elias of Parma, forbade all members of the Bourbon-Parma family to celebrate this happy occasion. Happily, in 1966, King Michael and Queen Anne of Romania were married in a Roman Catholic ceremony at Monte Carlo; the couple were aided in this by their dear friend, Princess Grace of Monaco.

 
King Michael and Queen Anne were married for sixty-eight years; they had five daughters: Princess Margarita (b.1949), Princess Helen (b.1950), Princess Irina (b.1953), Princess Sophie (b.1957), and Princess Marie (b.1964). In 1980, Michael and Anne's mothers both had to relocate to Switzerland, thus being closer to their children. Queen Mother Helen was forced by financial constraints to sell her villa in Florence, and she moved into an apartment near her son and daughter-in-law in Lausanne: Helen died there two years later in 1982. Princess Margrethe moved into Michael and Anne's home, and lived with them for eleven years, before returning to Denmark: Margrethe died there in 1992.

A Royal Matriarchy: Margrethe of Bourbon-Parma, Helen of Romania (standing), Margarita of Romania (seated), Irina of Romania, Anne of Romania, Sophie of Romania, Marie of Romania, and Helen of Romania.
Brief obituary of Queen Mother Helen of Romania
Photograph (c) The Guardian, 30 November 1982

Queen Anne of Romania, Princess Margrethe of Bourbon-Parma, Princess Helen of Romania and her son Prince Nicholas

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