Habsburgs Welcome Pope Francis to Hungary

Left to right: Archduke Georg, Archduke Michael, Archduke Eduard, and Archduchess Christiana of Austria in Budapest. Photo (c) Eduard Habsburg.

Today, His Holiness Pope Francis I paid a quick trip to Hungary. During the course of his visit, the Holy Father met with religious leaders of many faiths and also had a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban. On hand to welcome Pope Francis were the Hungarian Ambassador to the Holy See, Archduke Eduard of Austria (aka Eduard Habsburg), his parents Archduke Michael and Archduchess Christiana, and his cousin Archduke Georg, the Hungarian Ambassador to France.

Archduke Eduard and Pope Francis at Budapest Airport.

Photo (c) Catholicus Laicus.

According to the archducal ambassador, the Pontiff shared a frequent joke between the two: "Why will we speak Hungarian in heaven? Because it takes an eternity to learn it!"

The Religious Marriage of Prince and Princess Rostislav Romanovsky

Prince and Princess Romanovsky during their religious wedding. Photo (c) Petr Axenoff.

Photo (c) Petr Axenoff.

On Sunday, 12 September, at 3:00pm, Prince Rostislav Rostislavovich and Princess Fonteini Romanovsky celebrated their religious wedding at the Cathédrale Saint-Alexandre Nevsky on 12 rue Daru in Paris in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. The church was established and consecrated in 1861; this made it the first Russian Orthodox place of worship in France. The princess wore a tiara that Russian jeweller Axenoff designed specifically for the occasion: the Russian Paris tiara is made of a silver frame with blue and white topazes. Princess Fonteini Romanovky's gown was designed by her cousin Princess Chloë Obolensky (b.1942; née Georgakis; ex-wife of the late Prince Leonid Obolensky). 

Princess Fonteini Romanovsky enters Saint-Alexandre Nevsky. Photo (c) Petr Axenoff.

The crowning ceremony.  Photo (c) Petr Axenoff.

After the wedding, the Prince and Princess Romanovsky hosted a reception for their guests at the Cercle de l'Union interalliée on 33 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. The menu for the dinner was as follows:

Amuse bouche : cappuccino d'artichaut et cazette

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Steak tartare préparé à la Française et mesclun

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Velouté d'épinard, fenouil et pomme granny aux épices douces, caillé de chèvre parfumé 

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Roulé de caille aux raisins Corinthe, sauce moscovite, écrasé de pomme de terre au lard fumé, sauce gastrique au miel

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Koulibiac de saumon en croûte, beurre blanc Nantais

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Risotto aux légumes de saison à la vodka 

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Plateau de forages affinés

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Café et mignardises

For more information about the wedding, please read the article below: 

September 2021: Prince Rostislav and Princess Foteini Romanovsky To Religiously Wed On Sunday

Our best wishes to Prince and Princess Romanovsky on their religious marriage!

The Golden Wedding Anniversary of Prince Philipp and Princess Isabelle of Liechtenstein

Princess Isabelle and Prince Philipp on their wedding day, 1971.

Photo (c) Rue des Archives / GRANGER.

On 11 September 1971, Prince Philipp of Liechtenstein and Isabelle de l'Arbre de Malander were married in the Abbaye Notre Dame de la Cambre in Brussels. Prince Philipp was the second son of Prince Franz Joseph II of Liechtenstein and his wife Princess Gina (née Countess von Wilczek). Isabelle was the daughter of Jean de l'Arbre de Malander and his wife née Guillemette Grassal; her godmother was Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians. Prince Philipp and Princess Isabelle of Liechtenstein have three sons: Prince Alexander, Prince Wenzel, and Prince Rudolf.

Prince Philipp and Princess Isabelle on their wedding day, 1971.

Photo (c) Rue des Archives / GRANGER.

Our best wishes to the Prince and Princess on their 50th Wedding Anniversary!

Prince Rostislav and Princess Foteini Romanovsky To Religiously Wed On Sunday

Rostislav and Foteini.

On Sunday, 12 September, Prince Rostislav Rostislavovich Romanovsky and his wife Princess Foteini Romanovsky will celebrate their religious marriage at the Saint Alexandre Nevsky Cathedral in Paris. 

The engagement announcement of Rostislav Romanoff, Prince Romanovsky, and Foteini Georganta. Announcement (c) The Telegraph of 25 September 2019.

The civil wedding.

In 2011, Rostislav Romanovsky and Foteini Georganta first met at the Russian Summer Ball held at Whitehall Palace in London. In 2013, the couple welcomed the birth of their first child, a son named Rostislav-George. The couple were civilly wed on 29 October 2019 in Rye, East Sussex, United Kingdom.

Prince Rostislav Rostislavovich with his wife Christa and their three children in 1998 during their trip to Saint Petersburg.

Prince Rostislav posing for Tatler, 2017. Photo (c) Oli Kearon.

Born on 21 May 1985 at Lake Forest, Illinois in the United States, Prince Rostislav Rostislavovich Romanovsky was the first son and second child of Prince Rostislav Rostislavovich Romanovsky (1938-1999) and Christia Ipsen (b.1949; married Prince Rostislav in 1980; married Hon. David Whitney Erskine Russell, 5th Baron Ampthill, in 2002). Rostislav has two full siblings: Princess Alexandra Rostislavovna (b.1983; married in 2020 to Edward George William Heard) and Prince Nikita Rostislavovich (b.1987). From his father's first marriage to Stephena Verdel Cook, Rostislav has an older half-sister, Princess Stephena Rostislavovna (b.1963; married in 1988 to William Porter Boggess III). Rostislav Romanoff is a talented artist; full disclosure: I own one of his paintings, so I might be biased. 

Prince Rostislav and Princess Foteini Romanovsky at the reception following their civil wedding.

Born on 7 November 1979 at Athens, Foteini Maria Cristina Georganta was the only daughter and youngest child of Greek industrialist Philippos S. Georganta (deceased) and Haralambia Papathoma. Foteini has three older brothers, one of whom (Georges) died last year from Covid-19. 

Prince Rostislav of Russia and Princess Alexandra Galitzine.

The paternal grandparents of Prince Rostislav Romanovsky are HH Prince Rostislav Alexandrovich of Russia (1902-1978) and his first wife Princess Alexandra Pavlovna Galitzine (1905-2006). The 1928 marriage of Prince Rostislav of Russia and Princess Alexandra Galitzine was not in conformity with the Fundamental Laws of the Russian Imperial House; therefore, the descendants of this morganatic union do not have dynastic status. In 1951, Princess Alexandra Pavlovna and her descendants received the title of Prince(ss) Romanovsky from Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia, Head of the Imperial House. 

Prince Rostislav Romanovsky, Princess Olga Romanovsky, TRH Prince Michael and Princess Michael of Kent attend services commemorating a century since the death of Tsar Nicholas II, 2018.

Photo (c) Alexander Chizhenok / Shutterstock.

Strangely, the announcement of the religious marriage of Prince Rostislav Rostislavovich Romanovsky refers to Rostislav as having the style of His Imperial Highness, which is incorrect. Rostislav's grandfather Prince Rostislav of Russia, who was a member of the Russian Imperial House, only bore the style of His Highness. It is totally inaccurate to claim that Prince Rostislav Rostislavovich Romanovsky, a Romanov morganaut, might hold any style besides His Serene Highness (the style accorded to some Princes Romanovsky), let alone a style that is higher than that borne by his own grandfather Prince Rostislav Alexandrovich of Russia, who was a Romanov dynast. If you would like to read the entirety of the press release regarding the religious marriage of Prince Rostislav and Princess Foteini, you can find it below.

Our best wishes to Prince Rostislav and Princess Foteini on their religious wedding!

The Pearl Wedding Anniversary of Fürst Carl and Fürstin Katharina of Wrede

Fürst Carl and Fürstin Katharina of Wrede, 2007. Photo (c) Seeger-Presse / Sandra Zellner.

Today, the Fürst and Fürstin of Wrede celebrate their thirtieth wedding anniversary. Fürst Carl of Wrede (b.1942) and Eva Katharina Kovarcz de Kovarczfalva (b.1945) married on 9 September 1991 at Pleinfeld. It was the second marriage for both parties. 

The Fürst and Fürstin of Wrede with their children (left to right) Hereditary Prince Carl Christian of Wrede, Prince Georg-Constantin and Princess Désirée of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, 1997. Photo (c) Seeger-Presse / RB.

In 1969, Fürst Carl of Wrede married Ingeborg Hamberger (b.1944). The couple had two children: Princess Alexandra (b.1970; married Archduke Karl Peter of Austria) and Hereditary Prince Carl Christian (b.1972; married Countess Katalin Bethlen de Bethlen). Fürst Carl and Fürstin Ingeborg divorced in 1989. 

In 1973, Eva Katharina Kovarcz de Kovarczfalva married Prince Wilhelm of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (b.1946). The couple had two children: Princess Désirée (b.1974; married Count Florian von und zu Hoensbroech) and Prince Georg-Constantin (1977-2018; married Olivia Page). Prince Wilhelm and Princess Katharina divorced in 1985.

Fürstin Katharina and Fürst Carl of Wrede, 1998. Photo (c) Seeger-Presse.

Our congratulations to the Fürst and Fürstin of Wrede on their 30th wedding anniversary!

The Youngest Musini/Liechtenstein Guest: Baby Princess Anastasia of Bourbon-Parma!

Schneider-Press/Frank Rol/SIPA/Newscom.

The youngest guest at the weekend religious nuptials of Emanuele Musini and Princess Maria Anunciata of Liechtenstein was likely the bride's first cousin once removed: Princess Anastasia of Bourbon-Parma. Prince Henri of Bourbon-Parma and his wife Archduchess Gabriella of Austria attended the wedding on Saturday, 4 September, in Vienna along with their infant daughter, who is the couple's second child. It seems Anastasia was born quite recently. Prince Henri and Archduchess Gabriella married in 2020; the couple welcomed their first daughter Victoire in 2017. 

The wedding of Prince Henri and Archduchess Gabriella, 2020.

Both of Princess Anastasia's parent are related to Princess Maria Anunciata of Liechtenstein. Prince Henri of Bourbon-Parma and Princess Maria Anunciata are second cousins; both are great-grandchildren of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg and her husband Prince Félix of Bourbon-Parma. This is the same line of descent that connects Prince Henri and his wife Archduchess Gabriella. Archduchess Gabriella and Princes Maria Anunciata are first cousins; both are grandchildren of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg and his wife Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte (born Princess of Belgium).

September 2020: The Marriage of Prince Henri of Bourbon-Parma and Archduchess Gabriella of Austria

Our congratulations to Henri and Gabriella on the birth of Anastasia!

Count Jan Bernadotte (1941-2021)

Count Jan Bernadotte af Wisborg.

Count Jan Bernadotte af Wisborg died on 1 September 2021. He was eighty years-old.

Count Lennart Bernadotte and Karin Nissvandt, 1932.

On 9 January 1941, Count Carl Johan "Jan" Gustaf Vilhelm Bernadotte af Wisborg was born at Stockholm. He was the son of Count Lennart Bernadotte af Wisborg (1909-2004; born Prince Lennart of Sweden) and his first wife Karin Nissvandt (1911-1991). Count Jan's paternal grandparents were Prince Wilhelm of Sweden (1884-1965), Duke of Södermanland, and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (1890-1958). Count Jan Bernadotte is the second cousin of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

Count Jan Benadotte and his first wife Gunilla Stampe.

Count Jan Bernadotte and his second wife Anna Skarne.
Photograph (c) Getty Images.

Count Jan Bernadotte and his seventh and current wife Gunilla Stenfors.

Photograph (c) Svenskdam.

The count was well-known to royal genealogists for his reputation as the "Elizabeth Taylor" of the Gotha. Jan had been married seven times. From 1965 until their divorce in 1967, Jan Bernadotte was the husband of Gunilla Stampe (1941-2010). From 1967 until their divorce in 1970, Jan was the spouse of Anna Skarne (b.1944). From 1972 until 1974, the count was married to Annegret Thomssen (b.1938). From 1974 until 1987, Jan was married to Maritta Berg (1953-2001). From 1993 until their divorce in 2004, Jan Bernadotte was the husband of Gabrielle Kick (b.1949; née Hess). From 2004 until their divorce in 2011, the count was married to Christiane Grandmontagne (b.1944), a former partner of Prince Christian-Sigismund of Prussia. Finally, in 2012, Count Jan Bernadotte wed Gunilla Stenfors (b.1957), a teacher. 

Count Jan Bernadotte.

Count Jan Bernadotte has four children, two daughters and two sons. From his second marriage to Anna Skarne, Jan has a daughter, Countess Sophia Magdalena Bernadotte af Wisborg (b.1968). From his third marriage to Annegret Thomssen, Jan has a daughter, Countess Cia-Rosemarie Bernadotte af Wisborg (b.1972). From his fourth marriage to Maritta Berg, Jan has two sons, Count Alexander Wilhelm Bernadotte af Wisborg (b.1977) and Count Stephan Bernadotte af Wisborg (b.1980).

Source: Kungens svåra sorg – släktingen Jan Bernadotte plötsligt död

May Jan Rest in Peace.

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