The 85th Birthday of Fürst Wittekind zu Waldeck und Pyrmont

Fürst Wittekind of Waldeck and Pyrmont.

Today, Fürst Wittekind zu Waldeck und Pyrmont celebrates his eighty-fifth birthday.

Hereditary Prince Josias zu Waldeck und Pyrmont and Duchess Altburg of Oldenburg.

Prince Wittekind Adolf Heinrich Georg-Wilhelm zu Waldeck und Pyrmont was born on 9 March 1936 at Arolsen. The prince was the only son and fourth of five children of Prince Josias zu Waldeck und Pyrmont (1896-1967) and his wife Duchess Altburg of Oldenburg (1903-2001), who married in 1922. Wittekind has four sisters: Princess Margarethe (1923-2003; married Count Franz August zu Erbach-Erbach), Princess Alexandra (1924-2009; married Fürst Botho zu Bentheim und Steinfurt), Princess Ingrid (b.1931), and Princess Guda (b.1939; married 1st Fürst Friedrich Wilhelm zu Wied, married 2nd Horst Dierkes). 

 

The wedding of Countess Cecilie von Goëß-Saurau and Fürst Wittekind zu Waldeck und Pyrmont.

On 1 April 1988 at Frohnleiten, Styria, Fürst Wittekind zu Waldeck und Pyrmont civilly married Countess Cecilie von Goëß-Saurau (b.Frohnleiten 23 August 1956). Wittekind and Cecilie's religious wedding took place on 19 May 1988 at Arolsen. Fürstin Cecilie zu Waldeck und Pyrmont is a daughter of Count Carl-Anton von Goëß-Saurau (1921-2015) and his wife Baroness Maria Mayr von Melnhof (1921-1996), who wed in 1948. Cecilie of Waldeck and Pyrmont is a cousin of Count Moritz von Goëß, the husband of Duchess Fleur of Württemberg. 

 

The three princes Waldeck-Pyrmont.

 

Wittekind and Cecilie have three sons. Hereditary Prince Carl Anton of Waldeck-Pyrmont was born at Arolsen on 25 December 1991. The hereditary prince was followed by twin sons: Prince Josias and Prince Johannes were born at Arolsen on 7 July 1993. 

 

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Fürstin Cecilie, and Fürst Wittekind of Waldeck-Pyrmont.

 

Fürst Wittekind of Waldeck-Pyrmont is the second cousin of Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands (b.1938; former Queen). Wittekind and Beatrix are both great-grandchildren of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Princess Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.

 

 

 

Many happy returns of the day to Fürst Wittekind!

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are Expecting a Daughter!

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

It has been announced that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expecting a baby girl. The second child and first daughter of the Sussexes will be eighth in the line of succession to the British throne. Prince Harry of Wales, later Duke of Sussex, is the second son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and his late first wife Lady Diana Spencer. In May 2018, Prince Harry married Rachel Meghan Markle. In May 2019, the Duke and Duchess welcomed the arrival of their first child, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. The Duchess of Sussex suffered a miscarriage in Summer 2020. Baby Girl Sussex is expected in Summer 2021.

Our congratulations to the Duke and Duchess as well as their son on this happy news!

Russian Imperial Wedding in October 2021 at St Petersburg

From the Chancellery of the Head of the Imperial House of Russia

The Chancellery of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. The Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, has the honour and pleasure to announce that the wedding of Her son and heir, H.I.H. Grand Duke George of Russia, and His fiancée, Miss Victoria Romanovna (Rebecca Virginia) Bettarini, will take place on October 1, 2021, in St. Petersburg.

Alexander N. Zakatov
Director
Chancellery of Her Imperial Highness
Moscow, March 5, 2021

Photograph (c) Lodovico Colli di Felizzano

The announcement from the Imperial Chancellery.

Photograph (c) Vlada Krassilnikova for Paris Match.

Our congratulations to the happy couple on this wonderful news!

The 60th Birthday of the Duke of Fife, Cousin of the Queen

David Carnegie, 4th Duke of Fife.

 Today, His Grace The Duke of Fife celebrates his sixtieth birthday.

 

Charles Carnegie, Duke of Fife, in 1985.
Photograph by Allan Warren.

Born on 3 March 1961 at London, David Charles Carnegie was the only son of Charles Carnegie (1929-2015), 3rd Duke of Fife, and his former wife the Hon. Caroline Dewar (b.1934), who married in 1956. David has one elder sister: Lady Alexandra Carnegie (b.1959; married Mark Etherington). David's parents Charles and Caroline divorced in 1966. 

On 16 June 1987 at London, David Carnegie, then Earl of Macduff, married Caroline Anne Bunting (b.13 November 1961), daughter of Martin Brian Bunting and Veronica Mary Cope. David and Caroline have three sons: Lord Charles Duff Carnegie (b.1989; now Earl of Southesk; married Camille Ascoli), Lord George William Carnegie (b.1991), and Lord Hugh Alexander Carnegie (b.1993).

Princess Eugenie of York and the Duke of Fife.
Photograph (c) Alamy.

After the death of his father in 2015, David succeeded as the 4th Duke of Fife. The Duke and Duchess of Fife live at Elsick House, which is the family home of the ducal family.

The Duke of Fife with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.
Photograph (c) Getty Images.

The Duke of Fife is the paternal grandson of Charles Carnegie (1893-1992), 11th Earl of Southesk, and Princess Maud of Fife (1893-1945). The duke is also the paternal great-grandson of Alexander Duff (1849-1912), 1st Duke of Fife, and Princess Louise of Great Britain (1867-1931). Owing to his descent from Queen Victoria, the Duke of Fife is in line to the succession of the British throne. He is a second cousin once removed of HM The Queen.

Many happy returns of the day to His Grace!

New Photos of Prince Oscar of Sweden as He Turns 5!

The birthday boy: Prince Oscar of Sweden.
Photograph (c) Kate Gabor.

 

Photograph (c) Kate Gabor.

Today, Prince Oscar of Sweden celebrates his fifth birthday!

Prince Oscar, Duke of Skåne, is the younger child and only son of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and her husband Prince Daniel. Oscar is a grandson of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. The prince is third in the line of succession to the Swedish throne, after his mother Crown Princess Victoria and his sister Princess Estelle.

Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar.
Photograph (c) Kate Gabor.

100 Years Since the Passing of King Nicholas I of Montenegro

The King of Montenegro.

On 1 March 1921, His Majesty King Nicholas I of Montenegro died at Cap d’Antibes, France. The king was seventy-nine years-old. Nicholas had reigned as the sovereign of Montenegro for fifty-eight years: from 1860 until 1910 as Prince of Montenegro, and from 1910 until 1918 as King of Montenegro.

Mirko Petrović-Njegoš.

Born on 7 October 1841 at Njeguši, Montenegro, Nikola Petrović-Njegoš was the only son of Mirko Petrović-Njegoš (1820-1867) and his wife Stana Martinović (1824-1894), who married in 1840. Nikola (also known as Nicholas) had two sisters: Anastasia and Maria. In August 1860, Nicholas succeeded his uncle Prince Danilo of Montenegro after Danilo’s assassination. 

Nicholas and Milena of Montenegro.

Aged nineteen, Prince Nicholas of Montenegro married the thirteen year-old Milena Vukotić on 8 November 1860 at Cetinje. Milena was the only daughter of Petar Vukotić and his wife Jelena Vojvodić. Nicholas and Milena had been betrothed to one another by their respective parents when the future groom was twelve and the future bride was six.

King Nicholas I and Queen Milena of Montenegro with their family on the occasion of the proclamation of the Kingdom of Montenegro in 1910.

Prince Nicholas and Princess Milena of Montenegro had a long and happy marriage. The couple had thirteen children: Princess Zorka (1864-1890; married the future King Peter I of Serbia), Princess Milica (1866-1951; married Grand Duke Peter Nicolaevich of Russia), Princess Anastasia (1868-1935; married 1st Duke George of Leuchtenberg; married 2nd Grand Duke Nicholas Nicolaevich of Russia), Princess Marija (1869-1885), Princess Elena (1871-1952; married future King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy), Crown Prince Danilo (1872-1939; married Duchess Jutta of Mecklenburg-Strelitz), Princess Anna (1873-1971; married Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg), Princess Sofía (b. and d.1876), Prince Mirko (1879-1918; married Natalija Konstantinović), Princess Xenia (1881-1960), Princess Vjera (1887-1927), and Prince Peter (1889-1932; married Violet Wegner). Due to the advantageous marriages of five of his daughters, Nicholas of Montenegro was known as “the Father-in-Law of Europe.”

The King and Queen of Montenegro with two of the princesses in exile in France.

During World War I, King Nicholas I and Queen Milena of Montenegro were forced to leave their country for exile in France. It was not until 1989, nearly sixty-eight years after his death, that the last King of Montenegro returned home, when he, his wife, and several daughters were reburied at Cetinje, the capital of the Montenegrin kingdom.

Royal Balkan cousins: Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia and Crown Prince Nicholas of Montenegro.
Photograph courtesy of the Royal Family of Serbia.

King Nicholas I of Montenegro is the great-grandfather of Crown Prince Nicholas of Montenegro (b.1944) and the great-great-grandfather of Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia (b.1945).

Fürst Albrecht of Hohenberg (1931-2021), Grandson of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Fürst Albrecht of Hohenberg died on 25 February 2021. He was ninety years-old.

Duke Max and Duchess Elisabeth of Hohenberg.

Fürst Albrecht Philipp Leopold Josef Andreas Hubertus Maria of Hohenberg was born on 4 February 1931 at Artstetten as the third child and third son of Duke Maximilian of Hohenberg (1902-1962) and Countess Elisabeth von Waldburg zu Wolfegg und Waldsee (1904-1993). Duke Maximilian of Hohenberg, Georg Friedrich's father, was the second child and first son of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. Albrecht had two older brothers, Franz Ferdinand (1927-1977; married Princess Elisabeth of Luxembourg), and Georg (1929-2019; married Princess Eleonore von Auersperg-Breunner), and three younger siblings:  Johannes (1933-2003), Peter (1936-2017), and Gerhard (1941-2019).

Fürstin Leontine, Fürst Albrecht, and Duchess Anita of Hohenberg.

On 11 April 1962 at Vienna, Fürst Albrecht of Hohenberg married Countess Leontine von Cassis-Faraone (b.3 August 1933), the daughter of Count Leo August von Cassis-Faraone and Wilhelmina Fentener van Vlissingen. Albrecht and Leontine had four children: Fürstin Margarete (b.1963; married Archduke Josef Carl of Austria), Fürst Leo Johannes (b.1964; married Rosalind Roque Alcoforado), Fürstin Johanna (b.1966; married Count Andreas Henckel von Donnersmarck), and Fürstin Katharina (b.1969; married Carlos Manuel Méndez de Vigo y Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg). 

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, Duchess Sophie of Hohenberg, and their four children.

Albrecht's passing leaves two surviving grandchildren of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and Duchess Sophie of Hohenberg: Albrecht's first cousins Countess Sophie von Nostitz-Rieneck, Baroness von Gudenus (b.1929) and Fürst Ernst of Hohenberg (b.1944). 

May Albrecht Rest in Peace.