 |
| Photo (c) David Nivière |
 |
| Photo (c) David Nivière |
 |
| Photo (c) David Nivière |
Along with Christmas wishes to all, Crown Prince Leka and Crown Princess Elia of the Albanians have released three new pictures of the couple together with their daughter Princess Geraldine of Albania.
The images were taken by David Nivière.
 |
| HIH Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia. |
 |
| Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna with 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 Grand Duchess 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. |
 |
| 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. |
 |
| 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. |
 |
| 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. |
 |
| H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, Head of the Russian Imperial House. Photograph (c) Russian Imperial House. |
 |
| Princess Anastasia Louise, Margravine of Meißen. |
On 22 December 1940, Princess Anastasia-Luise Alexandra Elisabeth Jutta Sibylle Marie-Auguste Henriette of Anhalt was born at Regensburg.
 |
| Prince Eugen and Princess Anastasia of Anhalt on their wedding day. |
The princess was the only child of Prince Eugen of Anhalt (1903-1980) and his wife Princess Anastasia (1901-1970; née Jungmeier). Eugen was the son of Duke Eduard of Anhalt (1861-1918) and Princess Luise of Saxe-Altenburg (1873-1953). Anastasia was the daughter of industrialist Max Jungmeier and Anastasia Steiner. Prince Eugen of Anhalt and Anastasia Jungmeier were married in 1935
 |
| Princess Anastasia-Luise of Anhalt and Prince Maria Emanuel of Saxony after their civil wedding. |
 |
| Anastasia-Luise and Maria Emanuel after their religious marriage. |
 |
| Princess Anastasia Louise of Saxony, Princess of Anhalt. |
Princess Anastasia-Luise of Anhalt civilly married Prince Maria Emanuel of Saxony (1926-2012) on 22 June 1962 at La Tour de Peilz, Switzerland. The couple's religious wedding took place the following day. Maria Emanuel worked as a banker in Switzerland. He was also a painter of talent, and several exhibitions were held that displayed his work. In this vein, he shared a bond with his mother-in-law, Anastasia, who was also a noted painter. The princess signed her works as "Anastasia Jung."
 |
| Prince Maria Emanuel and Princess Anastasia Louise at the funeral of Friedrich Christian. |
 |
| Prince Maria Emanuel and Princess Anastasia Luise, Margrave and Margravine of Meißen. |
 |
| Maria Emanuel and Anastasia Luise of Saxony with King Simeon and Queen Margarita of Bulgaria. Photograph (c) Presse-Foto-Seeger. |
 |
| Princess Anastasia-Louise, Margravine of Meißen, with Prince Alexander and Princess Gisela, Margrave and Margravine of Meißen, and their four children. |
 |
| Princess Anastasia Louise and Princess Gisela with Pope Francis. |
Our next book, RECOLLECTIONS by Victoria Marchioness of Milford Haven is selling now!
Clients can purchase their copy at our website at http://eurohistory.com or they can purchase the book on AMAZON !
To purchase at EUROHISTORY:
Purchase RECOLLECTIONS at Eurohistory.com
To Purchase on AMAZON:
Purchase RECOLLECTIONS on AMAZON
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.
You can also print the order form below and send to us:
 |
| Alexander and Hande. Picture courtesy of the Grand Ducal House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. |
Today Their Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Mecklenburg announced the engagement of their eldest son His Highness Hereditary Prince Alexander of Mecklenburg to Hande Macit.
 |
| The hereditary prince and his fiancée at the Hermitage Amsterdam, August 2020. Picture courtesy of the Grand Ducal House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. |
Hereditary Prince Georg Alexander of Mecklenburg was born on 17 July 1991 to Duke Georg Borwin of Mecklenburg (b.1956) and Duchess Alice (b.1959; née Wagner). Alexander has two siblings: Duchess Olga (b.1988) and Duke Michael (b.1994). Hande Macit was born on 16 September 1992 to of Mr Suphi Macit and his wife Cemile (née Uçar). Hande has one brother: Kerem (b.1987). Alexander and Hande live in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The future hereditary princess is learning German and preparing to convert to Roman Catholicism, the religion of the Mecklenburg branch into which she is marrying.
Our congratulations to the couple!
Thanks to the research of royal genealogist (and our dear friend) Hein Bruins, it has become known that Don Rodrigo Moreno y Borbón-Dos Sicilias and Doña Casilda Ghisla Guerrero-Burgos y Fernández de Córdoba, XXI Duquesa de Cardona, were married in 2020.
 |
| Infanta Alicia of Spain, Dowager Duchess of Calabria, and her grandson Don Rodrigo Moreno y de Borbón attend the wedding of the Prince of Asturias in 2004. Photograph (c) Julián de Domingo. |
 |
| Rodrigo's maternal grandfather: HRH Infante Alfonso of Spain, Duke of Calabria. |
Born in 1962, Rodrigo Moreno y Borbón-Dos Sicilias is the eldest of the seven children of Don Iñigo Moreno y Arteaga (b.1934), Marqués de Laserna, and his wife Princess Teresa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (b.1937). Rodrigo's paternal grandparents are Don Francisco de Asís Moreno y de Herrera (1909-1979), Conde de Los Andes, and his wife Doña Maria Teresa de Jesús de Arteaga y Falguera (d.1962), Marquesa de La Eliseda. Rodrigo's maternal grandparents are Infante Alfonso of Spain (1901-1964), Duke of Calabria, and his wife Princess Alice of Bourbon-Parma (1917-2017). Rodrigo's first cousin is Prince Pedro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria. Rodrigo Moreno y de Borbón is a great-great grandson of King Alfonso XII of Spain (1857-1885) and his wife Queen Maria Cristina (1858-1929; née Archduchess of Austria).
 |
| The Duchess of Cardona stands next to Princess Cristina of the Two Sicilies while the duchess is named by the Duke of Calabria as the the Patroness of the Royal Delegation in the Principality of Catalonia of the Sacred and Military Constantinian Order of St. George (2019). Photograph courtesy of the Sacra y Militar Orden Constantiniana de San Jorge. |
 |
| Casilda Ghisla's maternal grandfather: HE Don Luis Jesús Fernández de Córdoba y Salabert, XVII Duque de Medinaceli. |
Born in 1981, Casilda Ghisla Guerrero-Burgos y Fernández de Córdoba is the only child of the late Doña Casilda Fernández de Córdoba y Rey (1941-1998), Duquesa de Cardona, and her second husband Don Antonio Guerrero Burgos (1924-1984). At her baptism in October 1981, Casilda Ghisla had Doña Angela Téllez-Girón y Duque de Estrada, XVI Duquesa de Osuna, and Don Francesco Guerrero Burgos stand as her godparents. Casilda Ghisla's maternal grandparents are Don Luis Jesús Fernández de Córdoba y Salabert (1880-1956), XVII Duque de Medinaceli, and his second wife Doña María de la Concepción Rey de Pablo Blanco (d.1971). The Duchess of Cardona was previously married to Emilio Prieto y Reina; from this marriage she has one daughter, Doña Casilda Prieto y Guerrero-Burgos. The Duchess of Cardona's maternal aunt was the well-known Doña Victoria Eugenia Fernández de Córdoba y Fernández de Henestrosa (1917-2013), XVIII Duquesa de Medinaceli, who counted among her children-in-law a Prince zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg and a Princess of Orléans-Bragança.
