Tuesday, August 25, 2020

The 10th Wedding Anniversary of Prince Nikolaos and Princess Tatiana of Greece

Prince Nikolaos and Princess Tatiana on their wedding day.
Today Prince Nikolaos and Princess Tatiana of Greece celebrate ten years of marriage! Nikolaos is the third child and second son of King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes.
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).
Friends and relations flocked to Spetses to share in the celebration of the union of Nikolaos and Tatiana. Among the guests were members of the British, Bulgarian, Danish, Dutch, Greek, Iranian, Norwegian, Spanish, and Swedish royal families. 
Nowadays, 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 For further news and articles about Europe's Gotha families, join Eurohistory! https://eurohistoryjournal.blogspot.com/p/subscribe-to-eurohistory.html

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Prince Paul-Louis de Nassau Joins Luxembourg Army

Prince Paul-Louis de Nassau signs on as an officer in the Luxembourg Army. Photo (c) EMA 
In the presence of his family, HRH Prince Paul-Louis de Nassau was sworn in by Mr. Bausch, Minister of Defense, as an officer of the Luxembourg army. The prince recently completed his training at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst. Paul-Louis was joined at this event by his father Prince Guillaume, his brother Prince Léopold, and his cousin Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume.
Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg with Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume at his graduation from Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Photo (c) CGD 
Born in 1998, Prince Paul-Louis de Nassau is the eldest child of Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg and Princess Sibilla (née Weiller). One of his godparents is his elder cousin, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg, who also attended Sandhurst. Indeed, the grandfather of Paul-Louis and Guillaume, the late Grand Duke Jean, graduated from Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1943. Other Sandhurst graduates include Paul-Louis’ uncle Grand Duke Henri and his cousin Prince Sébastian.

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Saturday, August 22, 2020

The Lost Children of Queen Fabiola and King Baudouin of Belgium

 
 
In April 2008, during a segment of the VTM programme Het Nieuws, Queen Fabiola of Belgium was recorded speaking for the first time about the five miscarriages that she experienced. From 1960 until his death in 1993, Fabiola was the wife and queen consort of King Baudouin of the Belgians. She stated that her losses did not make her bitter: "I lost five children, but I've learned to live with it. On the contrary, you learn from the experience. I had problems with each pregnancy, but in the end I kept thinking that life is beautiful."
 
King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola of Belgian at the Vatican, June 1961.
Newspaper headline from 9 June 1961.
Newspaper headline from 26 June 1961.
On 8 June 1961, King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola visited Pope John XXIII. It was reported by the international press that the couple had informed the Holy Father that the queen was with child. The Vatican itself would not officially confirm or deny the story. However, while giving an interview to Belgian reporters in Rome, Pope John XXIII let the secret slip: "The Queen was very kind because she told us that she is expecting a baby." The king and queen returned to Belgium, and two weeks the queen did not appear in public. On Sunday, 25 June, the grand marshal of the court issued a communiqué: "Contrary to what one had been permitted to hope, a happy event should not be expected at the Royal Palace at Laeken in the near future. The Queen's state of health gives no reason for worry. Her Majesty will have completely recovered within a few days." This was the first child that the queen and her husband lost. Queen Fabiola learned of her second pregnancy in February 1962. A physician in Lausanne was consulted; the reply of Swiss gynaecologist Professor Rochat must have been devastating to the queen: "Owing to a physiological defect you have only a ten percent chance of carrying a baby to full term, and barely a five percent chance of surviving the birth." In May 1962, Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands celebrated their silver wedding anniversary, and Baudouin and Fabiola were among the guests. Amsterdam newspaper Vrije Volk wrote that the Belgian queen was expecting. A palace spokesperson in Brussels, when asked about the veracity of the report, stated: "I would say no. It is true that the queen is avoiding strenuous engagements." In June, the pregnancy ended in miscarriage.
 
In September 1963, Queen Fabiola suffered her third miscarriage. The queen and her husband King Baudouin had been on holiday at Zarauz, Spain, since August. Either three or four months pregnant, Fabiola lost the baby that she was carrying on Saturday, 14 September 1963. The queen was reported to be "depressed," though in "good health," and was looked after by doctors at the resort on the Bay of Biscay where the royal couple were vacationing. The miscarriage occurred one day after Baudouin returned from a fishing trip off of the southern coast of Spain. Noting that the king would return to Belgium on 20 September, a royal communiqué from Brussels elaborated: "Queen Fabiola will postpone her return by a few days. The hopes which recent information as to her health condition had provoked are unfortunately not founded anymore." A royal birth had been expected in February 1964. In March 1966, Fabiola and Baudouin discovered that they were expecting a child. The couple visited Pope Paul VI to receive his blessing over their fourth pregnancy. On Friday, 8 July 1966, the royal court announced that the queen was with child. The birth was expected in the winter of that year. In view of the queen's medical history, "appropriate reservations" were cautioned to be made about the outcome. King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola wished to share their hopes with the Belgian people. Acting on the advice of doctors, all of the queen's public engagements were cancelled. Sadly, on Sunday, 10 July 1966, Queen Fabiola was admitted to hospital in Brussels, where she underwent emergency surgery. Two days after the court announced that Fabiola was with child, it was confirmed that the queen had suffered a miscarriage as a result of an extra-uterine pregnancy. The baby had died in her womb. Fabiola was thirty-eight years-old.
 
Newspaper headline from 26 February 1968.
In early 1968, Baudouin and Fabiola discovered that the queen was expecting a child for the fifth time. The queen underwent an operation in Brussels on Sunday, 25 February. According to her doctors, the aim of this medical intervention was "eliminating an obstacle to a new pregnancy." In satisfactory condition, Fabiola was expected to remain at the clinic where she underwent the procedure for two weeks to recover. Alas, the true scenario behind the surgery was to guarantee the queen's health after another much longed for baby had died in the uterus. After this final tragedy, King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola resigned themselves to the fate of never becoming parents.
 
 
The king and queen were strengthened in their sorrows by their strong Roman Catholic faith. Baudouin and Fabiola poured affection and guidance into the lives of their nephews and nieces. The royal couple became resolved to act as parental figures for all of the children of Belgium.
 

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Friday, August 21, 2020

Early reaction from buyers to Eurohistory's The Grand Ducal House of Hesse!

Every time we choose a topic to develop in one of our books, we take a huge risk. Surely, some of our books have been instant hits, others, with more esoteric topics, have taken longer to sell as we introduce these lesser-known royal personages to our avid and knowledgeable readership.

When we first mail out copies, we await with great anticipation the initial reports from those who have pre-ordered the book or bought it immediately after it becomes available on AMAZON. We are aware that some reports may be not frat, some will be amazing. In some instances, initial reaction is simply humbling and amazing!

Well, the first reports are in for The Grand Ducal House of Hesse – and we are simply delighted with them!

"Wow guys...what a treasure...I have all your books and this one really is top three, right up there with Beeche's The Coburgs." – MT, Seattle, WA

"I cannot believe how quickly I got the book. I have not been able to put it down. Where and how do you manage to get the photos?" – CB, Santa Clarita, CA

"well, thanks for disrupting my work today! I ripped the box open, grabbed a coffee and started flipping through the book. By know Ilana and Art must be the world's experts on the Hessians." MS, Irvine, CA

"This must have taken like a long time to put together, well worth the wait, those family trees are so detailed! My one criticism is that I wish it had been even longer book. I lost count of the photos, like 400+. But I still wish you had included more, more, more...hey, maybe a second volume just Hesse-Darmstadt photos? Just saying..." – BZ, Eugene, OR

You can purchase the book on AMAZON:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1944207082?ref=myi_title_dp Or by direct order at:

Eurohistory & Kensington House Books

6300 Kensington Avenue
East Richmond Heights, CA 94805
USA
Email: eurohistory@comcast.net or aebeeche@mac.com
Phone: 510.236.1730

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Thursday, August 20, 2020

Broken Royal Engagements of Yore: Max of Baden and Beatrix of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

"Royal Cousins End Engagement."
The Gazette of Montreal, Quebec (9 Sep. 1961).
Max of Baden and Beatrix of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

On 7 September 1961, Fürst Kraft zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg announced that his sister, Princess Beatrix, and her fiancé, Prince Max of Baden, had broken off their engagement by mutual consent. The cause for the end of the couple was given as personal reasons. It was noted that the prince and princess were the nephew and niece of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.


First cousins through their mutual descent from Prince Andreas of Greece and his wife Princess Alice of Battenberg, Max of Baden was twenty-eight at the time while Beatrix zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg was twenty-five. Beatrix was the daughter of Andreas and Alice's eldest daughter Princess Margarita and her husband Fürst Gottfried zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg. Max was the son of the couple's next daughter Princess Theodora and her husband Margrave Berthold of Baden.

 
 


Prince Maximilian "Max" Andreas Friedrich Gustav Ernst August Bernhard of Badenwas born at Salem on 3 July 1933. He was the second child and eldest son of Margrave Berthold of Baden and Margravine Theodora (née Greece), who married in 1931. In September 1966, Max of Baden married Archduchess Valerie of Austria-Tuscany (b.1941), the daughter of Archduke Hubert Salvator  of Austria-Tuscany and Princess Rosemary zu Salm-Salm. Margrave Max and Margravine Valerie of Baden have four children: Princess Marie Louise (b.1969), Hereditary Prince Bernhard (b.1970), Prince Leopold (b.1971), and Prince Michael (b.1976).

 
 

Princess Beatrix Alice Marie Melita Margarete zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg was born at Schwäbisch-Hall on 10 July 1936. She was the second child and only daughter of Fürst Gottfried zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Fürstin Margarita (née Greece), who married in 1931. Beatrix never married. For many years, she functioned as a secretary and companion to Princess Margaret "Peg" of Hesse at Wolfsgarten. Aged sixty-one, Princess Beatrix died on 15 November 1997 at Schwäbisch-Hall.

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The Legacy of Antoine XIV, 14th Duke of Gramont: An Aristocrat Gone Before His Time

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On 26 April 1951, Antoine de Gramont was born at Boulogne-sur-Seine as the only child of Henri de Gramont (1907-1995), eventual 13th Duke de Gramont, and Odile Sublet d'Heudincourt de Lénoncourt (1914- 1994), who had married in 1949.
Armand, Duc de Gramont
Élaine, Duchesse de Gramont
The young Antoine's paternal grandparents were Armand de Gramont (1879-1962), 12th Duke de Gramont, and Countess Elaine Greffulhe (1882-1958). His maternal grandparents were Gérard Sublet d'Heudicourt (1884-?), Marquis d'Heudicourt de Lenoncourt, and Thérèse Gautier-Vignal (1886-1941).
Death notice for Lydwine's father Alfred, Duc de La Roche-Guyon
During the 1970s, Antoine, then Duke de Guiche, became engaged to Lydwine de La Rochefoucauld (b.3 November 1953), daughter Alfred de La Rochefoucauld (1928-2013), Duke de La Roche-Guyon, and Lydie de Jacobé de Haut-de-Sigy (b.1932), who had married in 1952. On the evening of Friday, 5 September 1975, Antoine and Lydwine were at the beach on Mustang Island, Texas, with the couple they were visiting, Mr and Mrs Paul Davis. At 9:30pm, the group were standing next to their car when they were hit by a vehicle going between 50 and 60 miles per hour and commandeered by fifteen-year old Richard Oakes, who did not have a driver's license and had been drinking. Lydwine died at a local hospital at 10:15pm, both of Antoine's legs were broken and the Davises also sustained injuries. Lydwine had been in Texas as a foreign exchange student; the French consulate in Houston assisted her family with funeral arrangements. The following week, a lawsuit for $628,000 was filed in a Texas district court against Oakes and Mr and Mrs Roger Wear, who owned the vehicle, on behalf of Alfred and Lydie de La Rouchefoucauld (who sought $128,000 in damages), Antoine de Gramont ($200,000) and Mr and Mr Davis ($150,000 each). In November 1975, Richard Oakes pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of twenty-one year-old Lydwine. According to the school friend, Antoine remained immensely affected, both physically and psychologically, by the tragic passing of his fiancée.
Antoine and Catherine, Duke and Duchess de Gramont
On 20 September 2003 at Saint-Hélier, Jersey, Antoine de Gramont civilly married Catherine Françoise Elisabeth Forget (b.17 March 1956). The couple celebrated their religious union at Paris on 11 October 2003. Catherine is the daughter of Jacques Forget and Madeleine Coulon (1925-2011).
The Duchess de Gramont, 2011.
On 22 March 2008, the Duke and Duchess of Gramont welcomed the birth of their first child. Antoine de Gramont, Duke of Guiche, was born in the United States. The Duke of Guiche was christened at Saint Germain-l'Auxerrois on 6 September 2008. The godparents of little Antoine were Jacques de Crussol (b.1957), 17th Duc d'Uzès, and Countess Yolaine de La Rochefoucauld (b.1961; née Leclerc de Hauteclocque), the wife of Count Guy-Antoine de La Rochefoucauld (b.1958; now Duke de La Roche-Guyon), who was the brother of little Antoine's father's late fiancée Lydwine.
On the evening of Monday, 17 February 2014, Houston police were called to the Inwood Manor high-rise complex after neighbours heard loud arguing between the Duke and Duchess de Gramont. Catherine de Gramont told authorities that she had left the couple's twelfth-floor apartment during the argument, but heard a gunshot as she walked out the front door. She returned to the apartment and found that her husband was dead from the self-inflicted wound. The shooting/suicide occurred at about 9:00pm. The five year-old son of the couple was sleeping in the apartment while the episode took place. The Duke de Gramont was sixty-two years-old when he passed away.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
The funeral of Antoine, 14th Duke of Gramont, took place at the Église de la Madeleine at Paris on 6 March 2014. In addition to the duke's widow and young son, the funeral was attended by Prince Jean d'Orléans, then Duke of Vendôme.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
In 2018, the Duchess of Gramont was chosen as a godmother for Princess Jacinthe d'Orléans (b.9 October 2018). Princess Jacinthe is the youngest child of Prince Jean and Princess Philomena d'Orléans, the Count and Countess of Paris. 

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A Noble British Beau for a Royal Greek Princess: Peregrine Pearson and Olympia of Greece

Olympia of Greece and Perry Pearson
 
In a happy piece of royal news, Princess Olympia of Greece and the Hon. Perry Pearson are in a relationship, according to information gleaned from media reports and the princess' own social media. The couple visited Olympia's grandparents King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes in Greece earlier this week.

 
 

Her Royal Highness Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark was born on 25 July 1996 at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City, NY. The princess is the eldest child of Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece and his wife Crown Princess Marie-Chantal (née Miller). Olympia is the paternal granddaughter of King Constantine II of the Hellenes (b.1940) and his wife Queen Anne-Marie (b.1946; née Denmark). Olympia is the maternal granddaughter of Robert Warren Miller (b.1933) and María Clara "Chantal" Pesantes Becerra (b.1940). In May 2019, Olympia of Greece graduated from New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study.

The Hon. Peregrine Pearson
 
 
The Honourable Peregrine "Perry" John Dickinson Pearson was born on 27 October 1994. He is the eldest son and fourth child of Michael Pearson (b.17 June 1944), 4th Viscount Cowdray, and his second wife Marina Rose Cordle (b.6 May 1960). Perry is the paternal grandson of John Pearson (1910-1995), 3rd Viscount Cowdray, and Lady Anne Bridgeman (1913-2009). Perry is the maternal grandson of Conservative MP John Howard Cordle (1912-2004) and Venetia Caroline Maynard (b.1936). Perry Pearson is the director of a property development company in London.
 
 

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