The Time Of King Juan Carlos In Spain Is On The Wane

King Emeritus Juan Carlos of Spain has sent a letter to his son King Felipe VI stating that Juan Carlos will be departing the country. The former Spanish monarch had been living at La Zarzuela Palace.

Indeed, it has now been confirmed by Max Foster of CNN that the king emeritus has already left Spain. Recent mounting criticism of extremely questionable financial and personal actions by Juan Carlos are the most understandable catalyst for this drastic step; indeed, the king abdicated in 2014 amidst declining popularity as reports of misconduct became public knowledge. The letter of don Juan Carlos to his son don Felipe reads as follows:

Your Majesty, dear Felipe:  

With the same desire for service to Spain that inspired my reign and in the face of the public repercussions of certain events from my past private life, I wish to express to you my absolute availability to contribute to facilitating the exercise of your functions, from the tranquility and calmness that your high responsibility requires. My legacy, and my own dignity as a person, demand it of me. One year ago, I expressed my will and desire to stop participating in institutional activities. Now, guided by the conviction of providing the best service to the Spanish people, their institutions, and to you as the King, I communicate to you my thoughtful decision to move, at this time, outside of Spain. A decision I make with deep feeling, but with great serenity. I was King of Spain for almost forty years and for all of them I have always wanted the best for Spain and for the Crown. 

With my loyalty forever.  

With my care and affection always, your father.

It is not indicated where don Juan Carlos, who is eighty-two, will be relocating.

Queen doña Sofía will continue to live at La Zarzuela.

¡Adiós, don Juan Carlos!

Per Press Reports, King Emeritus Juan Carlos of Spain Has Relocated to Cascais, Portugal

Numerous outlets in the Portuguese press, which have been picked up by Spanish media, are reporting that King Emeritus Juan Carlos of Spain moved to Estoril, Cascais, Portugal. The reports have not been confirmed. It is possible that the Household of King Felipe VI will not issue a statement regarding the relocation of the former Spanish monarch. Juan Carlos reigned as King of Spain from 1975 until 2014.

The Spanish royal family in 1952 at the Villa Giralda, Estoril. Left to right: Infanta Pilar, Infante Juan Carlos, the Countess of Barcelona, Infante Alfonso (seated), Queen Victoria Eugenia, the Count of Barcelona, and Infanta Margarita.

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Estoril is well-known to Juan Carlos, whose family spent many years in exile there. The Count and Countess of Barcelona lived at the Villa Giralda, which was sold decades ago, from 1946 until 1976. Indeed, the youngest sister of King Juan Carlos, the Infanta Margarita, married her husband Dr. Carlos Zurita y Delgado at Estoril in 1972.

Estoril

The family of Juan Carlos is fondly remembered in the community of Estoril. It has the potential to be the ideal place for the former Spanish monarch to spend his time. He will be close to Spain and able to receive visits from his family and friends there without issues.

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Zarzuela Palace

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Queen Sofía of Spain will not be joining her husband of fifty-eight years in Portugal. The queen will remain at her apartment in Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, where she lives together with her sister Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark. Queen Sofía remains very popular and frequently carries out public engagements on behalf of the royal house.

Princess Marie Gabrielle of Luxembourg, Countess of Holstein-Ledreborg, Turns Ninety-Five

Princess Marie Gabrielle of Luxembourg

Today, Princess Marie Gabrielle of Luxembourg, Countess of Holstein-Ledreborg, celebrates her ninety-fifth birthday! She is the sister of the late Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg and the aunt of Grand Duke Henri.

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Princess Marie Gabrielle Aldegunde Wilhelmine Louise of Luxembourg was born on 2 August 1925 at Berg Castle, Luxembourg. The princess was the third daughter and fourth of the six children of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg and her husband Prince Félix.

Newlyweds: Count Knud of Holstein-Ledreborg and Princess Marie Gabriele of Luxembourg.

Knud and Marie Gabrielle with their seven daughters.

In August 1951, the engagement was announced between Princess Marie Gabrielle of Luxembourg and Count Knud of Holstein-Ledreborg. On 5 November 1951 at Colmar-Berg, Princess Marie Gabrielle civilly married Count Knud of Holstein-Ledreborg (b.2 October 1919). Knud was the son of Count Josef of Holstein-Ledreborg (1874-1951) and Countess Christina Hamilton. Count Knud and Princess Marie Gabrielle celebrated their religious wedding the following day on 6 November 1951. The couple had seven daughters: Countess Monica (b.1952; married Henrik de Dompierre de Jonquières), Countess Lydia (b.1955; married Prince Eric of Bourbon-Parma), Countess Veronica (b.1956; married François de Pottere), Countess Sylvia (b.1958; married John Munro of Foulis), Countess Camilla (1959-2010; married Baron Eric Bertouch-Lehn), Countess Tatiana (b.1961; married Mark von Riedemann), and Countess Antonia (b.1962; took religious orders and became a nun in 1992).

Count Knud of Holstein-Ledreborg passed away on 25 June 2001 at the age of eighty-one. Knud had suffered from cancer. His funeral took place on 30 June 2001 at Ledreborg.

Princess Marie Gabrielle of Luxembourg, Countess of Holstein-Ledreborg, lives at Ledreborg in Denmark.

The Oldest Living Male Member of a Mediatized Family? The Count von Neipperg Has Turned 102.

Count Josef Hubert von Neipperg

Last week, on 22 July 2020, Count Josef Hubertus von Neippurg celebrated his 102nd birthday.

Countess Anna von Neipperg, born Countess von Silva-Tarouca

Count Maria Josef Hubertus Ernst Amadeus Vincenz Benediktus Antonius Konrad Apolinarius von Neipperg was born in 22 July 1918 at Schwaigern in the soon-to-be-gone Kingdom of Württemberg. His parents were Count Anton Ernst von Neipperg (1883-1947) and Countess Anna von Silva-Tarouca (1888-1971). Anton Ernst served in the Prussian Army during First World War. He was chairman of the Association of Catholic Noblemen in Southwest Germany. A member of the German Central Party, Anton Ernst von Neipperg was a deputy in the last state parliament of the Free People's State of Württemberg.

Countess Marie von Ledebur-Wicheln with her older brother Franz (1919-1944)

Countess Karoline von Ledebur-Wicheln, eventual Princess of Liechtenstein

Countess Eleonore von Ledebur-Wicheln, born Countess Larisch von Moennich

In the 1950s, Count Josef Hubertus von Neipperg married Countess Marie Franziska Rudolfine Eleonore von Ledebur-Wicheln (1920-1984), a daughter of Count Eugen von Ledebur-Wicheln (1873-1945) and Countess Eleonore Larisch von Moennich (1888-1975). Marie's eldest sister Countess Henriette von Ledebur-Wicheln married Count Ferdinand Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau; the couple had seven children, and one of their daughters, Countess Marie Agläe, married Prince Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein. Marie's next eldest sister Countess Karoline von Ledebur-Wicheln married Prince Johannes of Liechtenstein; the couple had four children: Princess Maya, Prince Eugen (married Countess Maria Theresia von Goëss), Prince Albrecht (married Tamara Nyman), and Princess Barbara (married Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia).

Count Karl von Neipperg marries Archduchess Andrea of Austria in 1977

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Josef Hubertus von Neipperg and Marie von Ledebur-Wicheln had eight children: Count Karl (b.1951; married Archduchess Andrea of Austria), Count Reinhard (b.1953), Countess Maria Anna (b.1955), Countess Franziska (b.1956), Count Stephan (b.1957), Count Christoph (b.1958), Countess Barbara (b.1960), and Count Johannes Alfred (b.1964).

Count Josef Hubertus and Countess Therese von Neippurg at the count's 80th birthday in 1998.
Photo (c) Seeger-Presse

Wilhelm I, Duke of Urach

Wilhelm II, Duke of Urach, with his wife Duchess Amelie and their eldest eight children.

In 1986, Count Josef Hubertus von Neipperg married Princess Therese Maria Gabriele Carola Hilda zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst (b.1938), a daughter of Fürst Friedrich Karl IV zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst (1908-1982) and Fürstin Mechtilde von Urach, Gräfin von Württemberg (1912-2001). Therese's maternal grandparents are Duke Wilhelm II von Urach, Graf von Württemberg (1864-1928) and Duchess Amalia in Bavaria (1865-1912). Her maternal great-grandparents are Duke Wilhelm I von Urach, Graf von Württemberg (1810-1869) and Princess Florentine of Monaco (1833-1897). 

 

The family of Josef Hubertus von Neipperg celebrates his 80th birthday in 1998.
Photograph (c) Seeger-Presse

From his eight children, Count Josef Hubertus von Neipperg currently has twenty-four grandchildren, who were born between 1978 and 2017. The count currently has eighteen great-grandchildren.

The Son of the Marchioness of Milford Haven Weds the Granddaughter of Earl Howe

Harry Wentworth-Stanley and Cressida Bonas

At the weekend, Harry Wentworth-Stanley and Cressida Bonas celebrated their marriage. The couple's engagement took place in August 2019.

 

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Harry David Wentworth-Stanley (b.1989) is the son of Nicholas Philip Wentworth-Stanley (b.1954) and Clare Husted Steel (b.1960). Nicholas and Clare married in 1985 and divorced in 1997. Harry has two siblings: James Wentworth-Stanley (1985-2006) and Louisa Wentworth-Stanley (b.1993). In 1997, Harry's mother Clare married George Mountbatten, 4th Marquess of Milford Haven (b.1961). Harry's stepfather is a descendant of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven (born Prince Louis of Battenberg) and Princess Victoria of Hesse. From his mother's second marriage, Harry gained two step-siblings: Lady Tatiana Mountbatten (b.1990) and Harry Mountbatten, Earl of Medina (b.1991).

 

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Cressida Curzon Bonas (b.18 February 1989) is the only child of Jeffery Bonas and Lady Mary-Gaye Curzon (b.1947). Cressida's maternal grandparents are Edward Curzon, 6th Earl Howe, and Grace Wakeling. Jeffrey and Mary-Gaye were married in 1988 and divorced in 1994. Cressida has four half-siblings. From her mother's first marriage to Kevin Cooper-Key, Cressida has a sister, Pandora Cooper-Key (b.1973; married Matthew Mervyn-Jones). From her mother's second marriage to John Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe, Cressida has two sisters and a brother: Georgiana Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe (b.1978; married Robert Butler), Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe (b.1980; married Sam Branson, son of Sir Richard Branson), and Jacobi Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe (b.1983).

 

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From 2012 until 2014, Cressida was the girlfriend of Prince Harry of Wales, now the Duke of Sussex.

An Engagement in the British Branch of the Prussian Royal Family

 

In The Telegraph of Monday, 27 July 2020, the engagement was announced between Frederick "Fritzi" von Preussen and Mathilda "Tilly" Johnson. The couple have been dating for several years. Fritzi von Preussen is a second cousin of Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia, Head of the Royal House.

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Prince Frederick Nicholas Stormont von Preussen was born at London on 11 June 1990. He is the son of Prince Frederick Nicholas von Preussen (b.1946) and his wife Victoria (b.1952; née Mancroft). Fritzi's paternal grandparents are Prince Friedrich of Prussia (1911-1966) and Lady Brigid Guinness (1920-1995). Fritzi's maternal grandparents are Stormont Mancroft, 2nd Baron Mancroft (1914-1987), and Diana Lloyd.

Mathilda Noel Johnson was born in 1989. She is the daughter of Mr Rupert Johnson and his wife Simonetta (née Barber).

Prince Frederick is a great-great grandson of German Emperor Wilhelm II (1859-1941). He is a great-great-great-great grandson of Queen Victoria.

A special thank you to Michael Rhodes of the Peerage News Blog for providing the details of the engagement!

Prince Joachim of Denmark Hospitalised in France

Following his hospitalisation yesterday, the Danish royal court has issued a statement regarding thee health of Prince Joachim of Denmark:

His Royal Highness Prince Joachim was late last night admitted to Toulouse University Hospital in France. Immediately thereafter, the Prince underwent surgery for a blood clot in the brain. The operation was successful, and His Royal Highness’ condition is stable. 

The Royal House has no further information at this point in time, but it is the wish of Her Majesty The Queen that the public respects the privacy of the family during the hospitalization. Her Royal Highness Princess Marie is with her husband.

Joachim is fifty-one years-old. He is the second son of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and her late husband Prince Henrik. From his first marriage to Alexandra Manley, Joachim has two sons: Prince Nikolai (b.1999) and Prince Felix (b.2002). The prince and his second wife Princess Marie have two children: Prince Henrik (b.2009) and Princess Athena (b.2012). Earlier this week, Prince Joachim and his family celebrated the eighteenth birthday of Prince Felix.