A Right Royal Quiz: Who Am I?

A Gotha Quiz: Who Am I? By Darren Shelton for the European Royal History Journal.

My maternal grandfather at one time was mooted as heir to a throne he did not inherit, although in time he was to become a reigning sovereign on his brother's death. I was born to a well-known mother who was a considerable heiress, and whose inheritance was hard won over cousins with a greater claim. My father was plucked from obscurity. With my siblings, we ruled in the major capitals of the world. Married twice, I was unlucky in love. My first wife, the treasure of my heart, loved another and despised my presence. My second wife, a political match, loved me to distraction, while I could not stand her. Deprived of children who lived, I spent my life being a progressive free thinker. Who am I, and who were my wives? The answer will be revealed on Thursday.

_______

I am Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II and my wives, Princess Isabella of Parma and Princess Maria Josepha of Bavaria. 

A Further Look Into This Year's Russian Imperial Wedding!

The wedding invitation to the first imperial marriage in Russia in over a century. Photograph (c) Russian Imperial Chancellery.

Invitations have been sent out to the one thousand guests for the wedding of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia and Victoria Romanovna Bettarini. The couple will celebrate their religious marriage on Friday, 1 October 2021, in Saint Petersburg. Their engagement was announced in January of this year.

The invitations to the imperial wedding.

The invitations to the imperial wedding were made in Moscow. They were created using old printing machines and techniques. An imperial coat of arms that survived the 1917 Revolution was used to emboss the invitations.  

The engaged couple.

Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia is the only child of Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, Head of the Imperial House, and Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia. Victoria Romanovna (Rebecca Virginia) Bettarini is the only child of Ambassador Roberto Bettarini and Carla Virginia Cacciatore. 

The Embassy of Italy in Moscow.

It is possible that Grand Duke George Mikhailovich and Victoria Romanovna will celebrate their civil wedding at the Italian embassy in Moscow. This would be most fitting, as Victoria's father Roberto Bettinari was an Italian ambassador to several countries over many years. In 2009, Prince Aimone of Savoy and Princess Olga of Greece, both cousins of Grand Duke George, held their civil marriage at the embassy.

Saint Isaac's Cathedral.

On Friday, 1 October, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia and Princess Victoria Romanovna Romanoff will celebrate their religious wedding at Saint Isaac's Cathedral. The ceremony will begin at noon. Princess Victoria will be wearing a Chaumet diadem; Grand Duke George and Princess Victoria will exchange Fabergé wedding bands. The cathedral is a state museum; however, special dispensation has been given by the government for Saint Isaac's Cathedral to be used in a religious capacity for this special event. There is a possibility that the imperial wedding will be televised live in Russia.

The Trans-Siberian Railway.

For their honeymoon, the couple are interested in a wide-ranging trip around Russia. This could be done via train, specifically the Trans-Siberian railway. The couple would very much like to visit Mongolia as well. However, the plans for the honeymoon will likely not be finalised until September.

Saint Basil's Cathedral.

Grand Duke George of Russia and Princess Victoria Romanoff will likely take up residence at their home in Moscow. The couple moved to the Russian capital in 2020.

On This Day: The Marriage of Prince Aimone of Savoy and Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark

Aimone and Irene.

On 1 July 1939 at Florence, Prince Aimone of Savoy, Duke of Spoleto, married Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark. The groom was thirty-nine years-old; the bride was thirty-four. Their wedding took place at the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. Among the guests were King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy and his wife Queen Elena, King George II of Greece, Queen Helen of Romania, the Prince and Princess of Piedmont, the Dowager Duchess of Aosta, and the Duke and Duchess of Kent. 

The Duke of Aosta Buried at the Basilica of Superga Today

The late Prince Amedeo of Savoy, 5th Duke of Aosta, was  buried today at the Royal Basilica of Superga in Turin. He joins his parents, Prince Aimone of Savoy and Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, as well as the ancestors of the prince who are all buried in the Basilica. The ceremony took place at 11:30am in accordance with Covid-19 restrictions in Italy. Leading the mourners were Princess Silvia, Dowager Duchess of Aosta; Prince Aimone, 6th Duke of Aosta, and his wife Princess Olga; Princess Bianca; and Princess Mafalda. The children of Aimone, Bianca, and Mafalda were also present. Prince Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta, died on 1 June. 

Photograph (c) Alessandro Sala.

Photograph (c) Alessandro Sala.

Archduke Leopold Franz of Austria (1942-2021), Former Head of the Grand Ducal Tuscan Habsburgs

A portrait of Archduke Leopold Franz.

According to his son Archduke Sigismund, Archduke Leopold Franz of Austria, former titular Grand Duke of Tuscany, died in June 2021. Leopold Franz was seventy-eight years-old. He is survived by his two sons, Sigismund and Guntram, as well as by five grandchildren.

Archduchess Dorothea and Archduke Gottfried of Austria, Titular Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Tuscany.

Archduke Leopold Franz Peter Ferdinand Maria Joseph Gottfried Georg Karl Otto Rudolf Michael of Austria, titular Hereditary Grand Duke of Tuscany was born on 25 October 1942 at Leutstetten, Bavaria. He was the only son of Archduke Gottfried of Austria (1902-1984) and Princess Dorothea of Bavaria (1920-2015), who married in 1938. Leopold Franz had three sisters: Archduchess Elisabeth (b.1939), Archduchess Alice (b.1941), and Archduchess Antoinette (b.1950). The paternal grandparents of Leopold Franz were Archduke Peter Ferdinand of Austria and Princess Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. The maternal grandparents of Leopold Franz were Prince Franz of Bavaria and Princess Isabella of Croÿ.

Archduke Leopold Franz and Archduchess Laetitia of Austria, titular Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess of Tuscany, with their sons Archduke Sigismund and Archduke Guntram.

In 1965, Leopold Franz married Laetitia de Belzunce d'Arenberg (b.1941), eldest child and only daughter of Marquis Henri de Belzunce (1909-1944) and his wife Marie-Thérèse de la Poëze d'Harambure (1911-2005). Through her mother, Archduchess Laetitia was a first cousin of Count Romée de La Poëze d’Harambure, who was the first husband of Princess Anita of Hohenburg, the daughter of Duke Franz Ferdinand of Hohenberg and Princess Elisabeth of Luxembourg, who was herself the niece of Crown Princess Antonia of Bavaria. Leopold Franz and Laetitia had two children together: Archduke Sigismund of Austria, Prince of Tuscany (b.1966) and Archduke Guntram of Austria, Prince of Tuscany (b.1967). Leopold Franz and Laetitia divorced in 1981. He married for a second time on 18 June 1993 to Marta Perez Valverde, a Salvadoran-born Viennese psychoanalyst; the couple divorced in 1998. Upon his second marriage, Leopold renounced his rights as titular Grand Ducal throne of Tuscany in favour of his elder son Sigismund, the current head of the House of Tuscany. 

May Leopold Franz Rest in Peace.

The 60th Birthday of Fürstin Nadejda von Starhemberg

Nadejda.

Today, Fürstin Nadejda von Starhemberg celebrates her sixtieth birthday! Born on 29 Jun 1961 at Köln-Lindenthal, Countess Nadejda von Abensperg und Traun was born as the daughter of Count Ernst Ferdinand von Abensperg und Traun and Felicia Guepin. In September 1988, Nadejda married Fürst Georg Adam von Starhemberg (b.1961). The couple have four children, two sons and two daughters.

Our best wishes to Fürstin Nadejda on her birthday!

45 Years of Marriage for Archduke Rudolf and Archduchess Marie Hélène of Austria

Rudolf and Marie Hélène on the day of their religious wedding.

Today, Archduke Rudolf and Archduchess Marie Hélène of Austria celebrate their forty-fifth wedding anniversary. The couple were civilly married on 28 Jun 1976 at Overijse, Belgium. Their religious wedding took place on 3 July 1976 at Brussels. Archduke Rudolf of Austria (b.1950) was the son of Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria (1918-2007) and Princess Yolande de Ligne (b.1923). Baroness Marie Hélène de Villenfagne de Vogelsanck (b.1954) was the daughter of Baron Guy de Villenfagne de Vogelsanck (1927-2018) and Baroness Marina de Crombrugghe de Looringhe (b.1933). Archduke Rudolf and Archduchess Marie Hélène of Austria have eight children, six sons and two daughters.

Our congratulations to Archduke Rudolf and Archduchess Marie Hélène on their anniversary!