Divorce for Archduke Karl and Archduchess Francesca of Austria

Karl and Francesca.

HI&RH Archduke Karl of Austria, Head of the Imperial House of Habsburg, recently confirmed that he and Archduchess Francesca have divorced. The couple married in 1993 and separated in 2003. A divorce was rumoured to be on the cards in 2008, but it did not occur. The archduke and archduchess maintained an amiable separation: Karl lived in Salzburg, and Francesca lived in Vienna. Karl's father Archduke Otto was reported to have said at the time: "My son is Catholic enough to know what he has to do." The divorce occurred sometime after their youngest child reached her majority, so it is possible that Karl and Francesca’s union ended as early as 2017. Interviews with Francesca in late 2019 related that she and Karl had recently terminated their marriage; however, the date of this imperial divorce is not certain.

 

The newlyweds in 1993.

“Of course it is a very unfortunate affair for me. Because you can see that two people living together does not necessarily always work. We tried to save the relationship, but it did not work,” Karl stated, continuing, "all too often the children are the ones who suffer. That is why the wellbeing of our children was always the most important thing for me and Francesca.”

 

 

Karl and Francesca with their three children.

 

Archduke Karl of Austria (b.1961) and Archduchess Francesca (b.1958; née Baroness Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva) have three children: Archduchess Eleonore (b.1994), Archduke Ferdinand (b.1997), and Archduchess Gloria (b.1999).

 

Karl’s partner since 2017 is Christian Nicolau de Almeida Reid, a woman of British and Portuguese descent. Of Mrs. Reid, the archduke said, "Christian is a cultured and sensitive woman with elegant decency. She is a loving counselor, sometimes a valuable critic and always available to me, a partner in the best sense of the word. In short, she is an incredible asset to my life and I am happy to have her by my side." Christian Reid is the daughter of the late Robin Reid, OBE, and his wife Elsa Andresen Nicolau de Almeida. 

 

Sources:

Karl Habsburg: Geheime Scheidung und neue Liebe

The New York Times - We Are Not A Muse

Daily Mail - Thyssen's girl faces a sad split

Financial Times - Collector Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza on artists being advocates for change

Archduke Eduard of Austria Is Author of Children's Book

Dubbie: The Double Headed Eagle

Archduke Eduard of Austria, the Hungarian Ambassador to the Vatican, has authored a children's book. Dubbie: the Double-Headed Eagle is scheduled to be published by Full Quiver Publishing on 15 December. The book's illustrator is James Hrkach.

Archduke Eduard of Austria and Baroness Maria Theresa von Gudenus on their wedding day.

Eduard is the son of Archduke Michael of Austria and Archduchess Christiana (born Princess zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg). Archduke Eduard of Austria has been married since 1995 to Baroness Maria Theresia von Gudenus. The couple have six children and live in Rome. 

The Radziwill Tiara, Formerly Worn by Princess Eugenie of Greece, To Be Sold in the United States

The Radziwill Tiara Photograph (c) Hindman

The tiara worn by Princess Eugenie of Greece and Denmark at her wedding to Prince Dominick Radziwiłł will be sold on 7 December 2020 in Chicago by the auction house Hindman. Bidding is currently at $4,400, although it is likely that the tiara will fetch much more due to its historical value. The auction house notes the following about the tiara's condition and composition: "Containing numerous old mine, rose and mixed cut diamonds weighing approximately 18.00-20.00 carats total and seven diamond simulants. Mounted in silver-topped gold. Formerly from the Collection of the House of Habsburg by descent through the the Radziwill family. Worn by Princess Eugenia (daughter of Princess Marie Bonaparte and Prince George of Greece and Denmark) for her 1938 wedding to Prince Dominik Radziwill. The tiara's seven main diamonds have been removed and replaced with paste by a previous owner." The tiara was part of a dispute in 1949 between Princess Eugenie and Prince Dominick after the failure of their marriage, when the prince took a number of jewels (including the Radziwill Tiara and a necklace of Habsburg provenance) from a safety deposit box. 

After-note: The tiara (and accompanying Habsburg pin) sold for $68,750.

Sources: 

Hindman

Diamond Pear-shaped Tiara | Wedding Diadem Princess Radziwill

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The Engagement of India Hicks, Daughter of Lady Pamela Mountbatten, to Her Partner David Flint Wood

David Flint Wood and India Hicks.

 

The engagement between India Amanda Caroline Hicks and David Flint Wood, both of Harbour Island, Bahamas, has been announced in The Telegraph. 

 

The wedding of Lady Pamela Mountbatten and Mr David Hicks, 1960.

India Hicks is the daughter of Lady Pamela Carmen Louise Mountbatten (b.1929; daughter of Earl Mountbatten of Burma) and her late husband Mr David Nightingale Hicks (1929-1998). India was born on 5 September 1967 at London. She was the youngest of the three children of David and Pamela: sister Edwina and brother Ashley preceded her. In 1981, India Hicks was a bridesmaid to Lady Diana Spencer at her wedding to the Prince of Wales, who is India's godfather. Through her mother, India is a descendant of Queen Victoria.

David Charles Flint Wood was born on 3 March 1961 at London as the son of Derek Flint Wood and Alice Wendy Jackson. 

David and India with their children.

India and David have four children together: Felix (b.1997), Amory (b.1999), Conrad (b.2003), and Domino (b.2007; goddaughter of Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece). They are also the parents of Wesley. 

Congratulations to India and David upon their engagement!

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110 Years Since the Marriage of Prince Victor Napoléon and Princess Clémentine of Belgium

The Newlyweds: Prince Victor Napoléon and Princess Clémentine of Belgium

On Monday, 14 November 1910, Prince Victor Napoléon and Princess Clémentine of Belgium were married at Moncalieri, a picturesque village a few miles from Turin. Before the religious rites, the pair were wed in a civil ceremony by the Mayor of Moncalieri at the French Consulate. The religious ceremony uniting the couple took place in the chapel of Moncalieri Castle, built in the fifteenth century, which had been the home of the groom's mother Princess Clotilde of Savoy ever since she returned to Italy following the collapse of the Second French Empire. The Bishop of Biella presided over the Roman Catholic service. The witnesses for Prince Victor were his brother Prince Louis Napoléon and his cousin the Duke of Aosta; the witnesses for Princess Clémentine were Prince Ernest de Ligne, who represented King Albert I of the Belgians, and Archduke Friedrich of Austria. The imperial wedding was attended by the following esteemed personages: Archduke Friedrich of Austria; Princess Marie of Belgium, Countess of Flanders; Princess Stephanie of Belgium, Countess Lonyay; Prince Louis Napoléon; Princess Clotilde of Savoy, Dowager Princess Napoléon; Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Duke of Aosta; Princess Laetitia of Savoy, Dowager Duchess of Aosta; Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy, Count of Turin; Prince Luigi of Savoy, Duke of the Abruzzi; Prince Umberto of Savoy, Count of Salemi; Prince Tommaso and Princess Isabella of Savoy, Duke and Duchess of Genoa; and Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Princess Marie-Clotilde Napoléon

Prince Louis Napoléon

Princess Clémentine Napoléon with her children. Photograph (c) National Portrait Gallery

At the time of their union, Prince Victor Napoléon was forty-eight years-old, and Princess Clémentine of Belgium was thirty-eight years-old. In 1912, the prince and princess welcomed their first child, a daughter: Princess Marie-Clotilde Napoléon, who was named after her paternal grandmother. In 1914, the couple were delighted with the arrival of their second child, a son: Prince Louis Napoléon. The imperial family lived in Brussels.

The Prince and Princess Napoléon

Princess Marie-Clotilde Napoléon and Prince Louis Napoléon

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Pre-orders for RECOLLECTIONS: The Memoirs of Victoria Marchioness of Milford Haven

Pre-orders now available!

Pre-orders for our next book, RECOLLECTIONS by Victoria Marchioness of Milford Haven are now available!

Clients who pre-order the book through our website at http://eurohistory.com will get a copy ahead of the book being listed on AMAZON. Our printer has informed us that the book will begin shipping 14-10 days b before Christmas!

Expanded and annotated by Ilana D. Miller and Arturo E. Beéche the book contains the memoirs of one of the most intriguing and exceptional granddaughters of Queen Victoria: Victoria, Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven. 

Born Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine in 1863, she became one of her English grandmother's most frequent correspondents, as well as a surrogate mother to her younger siblings after the untimely death in 1878 of their mother, Grand Duchess Alice of Hesse. Married in 1884 to her father's first cousin, Prince Louis of Battenberg, Victoria soon became a witness to some of the most momentous historical episodes of her lifetime. Her thoughts (open, frank, no-nonsense, clear) are to be found inside the 280-page book containing her memoirs, her "recollections." The book has been handsomely illustrated with nearly 400 exquisite images sourced from various archives, family collections, as well as the incomparably vast EUROHISTORY Royal Photographic Archive.

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All The Queen's Women: The Death of Lady Moyra Campbell, Maid of Honour at Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation

Lady Moyra Hamilton in 1953.

Photograph (c) National Portrait Gallery. 

Lady Moyra Kathleen Hamilton was born at London on 22 July 1930 as the first child and only daughter of James, Marquess of Hamilton (1904-1979; later 4th Duke of Abercorn), and his wife Lady Mary Crichton (1905-1990), who married in 1928. Moyra's paternal grandparents were James, 3rd Duke of Abercorn (1869-1953), and Lady Rosalind Bingham (1869-1958). Moyra's maternal grandparents were Henry Crichton, Viscount Crichton (1872–1914), and Lady Mary Cavendish Grosvenor (1883-1959).

HM The Queen with her six Maids of Honour for the Coronation. Photograph (c) National Portrait Gallery

On 2 June 1953, Lady Moyra was one of six maids of honour who were chosen to assist the new British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, at her coronation. In an interview with the BBC on the occasion of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012, Lady Moyra remembered this momentous event. "I was terribly lucky to be invited to be one of the maids of honour to carry the Queen's train. There were so many highlights. The amazing feeling in the abbey; the incredible prayerfulness throughout and the sight of all those crowds who had been waiting in appalling weather all night; some of them had been there overnight, others had been there from early the day before. The rain was teeming down and yet there was this joyful feeling and the abbey was full of people from all over the globe." The five other maids of honour from the 1953 Coronation still survive: Lady Jane Vane-Tempest-Stewart (b.1932; former wife of Max Rayne, Baron Rayne, and later wife of Robert Lacey), Lady Anne Coke (b.1932; wife of 3rd Glenconnor), Lady Mary Baillie-Hamilton (b.1932; former wife of John Bailey and later wife of David Russell), Lady Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby (b.1934), and Lady Rosemary Spencer-Churchill (b.1929; wife of Charles Muir).

Lady Moyra Campbell in the 1960s. Photograph (c) National Portrait Gallery.

Commander Peter Campbell. Photograph (c) National Portrait Gallery.

On 12 November 1966, Lady Moyra Hamilton married Commander Peter Colin Drummond Campbell (b.1927), the son of Major-General Sir Douglas Campbell. Moyra and Peter had two sons: Rory (b.1967), and Michael (b.1970). From 1954 until the late 1960s, Lady Moyra served as a Lady-in-Waiting to Princess Alexandra.

Lady Moyra in later life.

Lady Moyra Campbell died at Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Sunday, 8 November 2020. She was ninety years-old. Lady Moyra's funeral will occur in the strictest family environment due to the pandemic. 

Sources: 

Queen's Coronation day recalled by Lady Moyra Campbell

The Lady Moyra Kathleen Campbell, CVO 1930-2020

Lady Moyra CAMPBELL

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