The Serbian Twins Turn 40: the Birthday of Prince Philip and Prince Alexander!

Prince Alexander and Prince Philip.
Photograph courtesy of the Royal Family of Serbia.

 

Today, Prince Philip and Prince Alexander of Serbia celebrate their fortieth birthdays!

The birth of the twin princes is noted in the Chicago Tribune of 25 January 1982.

Princess Maria da Gloria holding Prince Alexander and Prince Philip while Prince Peter looks on, 1982.

Born on 15 January 1982 at Fairfax, Virginia, the fraternal twin princes Philip and Alexander were the second and third children of Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia (b.1945) and his wife Princess Maria da Gloria of Orléans-Braganza (b.1946). The paternal grandparents of the princes are King Peter II of Yugoslavia (1923-1970) and Queen Alexandra (1921-1993; née Princess of Greece). Their maternal grandparents are Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza (1913-2007) and Princess Esperanza of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1914-2005).

Princess Maria da Gloria and Crown Prince Alexander on their wedding day, 1972.

Crown Prince Alexander and Princess Maria da Gloria married on 1 July 1972 at Villamanrique de la Condesa. The couple were fourth cousins, both being descendants of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his wife Princess Mária Antónia von Koháry. Alexander and Maria da Gloria met in Portugal while both where on holiday with family. The prince and princess found that they could best converse in French. Even after the princess became fluent in English, Alexander and Maria da Gloria continued to speak in French between one another. 

Prince Alexander and Princess Maria da Gloria with their eldest son Prince Peter, 1982.
The couple were on vacation in Fort Meyers, Florida.
Photo (c) News-Press / Acey Harper.

The couple welcomed the arrival of their first child, Hereditary Prince Peter, on 5 February 1980 in Chicago, Illinois. Shortly thereafter, Prince Alexander and Princess Maria da Gloria moved to Virginia, where they purchased a home. It was in Virginia that they welcomed the arrival of their twins. 

Princess Alicia, Duchess of Calabria, and King Constantine II of the Hellenes with Prince Philip and Prince Alexander during their baptism. King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía of Spain as well as Queen Anne-Marie of Greece watch the ceremony.

Prince Philip and Prince Alexander of Serbia were baptised at Villamanrique, Spain, in July 1982; their parents had been married at the same place a decade earlier. When their mother was asked who she and her husband had chosen to be the princes' godparents, Princess Maria da Gloria responded: "They are the same for the two children. Because we had only thought of one child and we asked our cousin King Constantine [of Greece] and my cousin Anita of Bourbon-Sicilies [Duchess of Calabria] to be the godfather and godmother. When the twins arrived, we did not want to ask those we had chosen to share these responsibilities, but they [the King of Greece and the Duchess of Calabria] are so wonderful that they insisted on remaining godfather and godmother of the two children. This is why Philip and Alexander have the same godfather and the same godmother."

Prince Philip and Princess Danica surrounded by family and friends on their wedding day, 2017.
Photo (c) Getty Images / Milica Radicevic.

 

Prince Philip and Princess Danica with their son Prince Stefan, 2018.
Photo (c) Getty Images / Srdjan Stevanovic.

Prince Philip of Serbia graduated from University College London (UCL) with a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Humanities and following that he worked for Landsbanki in the City of London. On 7 October 2017 at Belgrade, Prince Philip married Danica Marinkovic (b.1986). Prince Philip and Princess Danica had their first child, Prince Stefan of Serbia, in 2018. The family live in Belgrade.

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Prince Alexander of Serbia at the wedding of Prince Philip, 2017.
Photo (c) Getty Images / Milica Radicevic.

Prince Alexander of Serbia attended the University of San Francisco and graduated with a Communication Studies Degree with Emphasis on Public Relations and Journalism. The prince lives in the United States.

Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia and his three sons (left to right): Hereditary Prince Peter, Prince Philip, and Prince Alexander.

Our best wishes to Prince Philip and Prince Alexander on their birthday!

A New Princess Bagration-Mukhransky of Georgia

Through the official Facebook page of the Bagration-Mukhransky family as well as reports in the Georgian media, it has been ascertained that Prince David Bagration (b.1976) has a daughter. Princess Anamaria Bagration-Mukhransky was born on 11 January 2011; she recently turned eleven years-old. Her mother is Davit's current wife, Princess Irina (née Begashvili), who the prince married in 2020. According to press reports, Davit and Irina met before the prince married Princess Anna Bagration-Gruzinsky in 2009. They ended their relationship for a time, but it was clearly rekindled at some point. As is already known, Prince Davit and Princess Anna had one son, Prince Giorgi (b.2011), before divorcing in 2013. 

Sources:

https://www.facebook.com/TheRoyalHouseOfGeorgiaOfficialPage/posts/4832357720174073

https://kvirispalitra.ge/article/85319-qchemi-favoriti-qalishvili-anamariaq-rogor-gamoiyureba-davith-bagrationisa-da-irina-begashvilis-shvili-romelic-samefo-ojakhis-tsevria/

A New Princess Bagration-Mukhransky of Georgia

Through the official Facebook page of the Bagration-Mukhransky family as well as reports in the Georgian media, it has been ascertained that Prince David Bagration (b.1976) has a daughter. Princess Anamaria Bagration-Mukhransky was born on 11 January 2011; she recently turned eleven years-old. Her mother is Davit's current wife, Princess Irina (née Begashvili), who the prince married in 2020. According to press reports, Davit and Irina met before the prince married Princess Anna Bagration-Gruzinsky in 2009. They ended their relationship for a time, but it was clearly rekindled at some point. As is already known, Prince Davit and Princess Anna had one son, Prince Giorgi (b.2011), before divorcing in 2013. 

Sources:

https://www.facebook.com/TheRoyalHouseOfGeorgiaOfficialPage/posts/4832357720174073

https://kvirispalitra.ge/article/85319-qchemi-favoriti-qalishvili-anamariaq-rogor-gamoiyureba-davith-bagrationisa-da-irina-begashvilis-shvili-romelic-samefo-ojakhis-tsevria/

Princess Ghislaine of Monaco on Life at the Princely Court

Prince Louis II of Monaco, King Gustav V of Sweden, and Princess Ghislaine of Monaco in 1947.
Photo (c) Getty Images / Keystone-France.

In 1946, Ghislaine Marie Françoise Dommanget (1900-1991) married Prince Louis II of Monaco (1870-1949). Before her marriage, Ghislaine was an actress. She had been married once before her union to the grandfather of Prince Rainier. The Dowager Princess of Monaco weighed in on what it was like being the consort of the Monegasque sovereign in an interview she gave in 1962. In 1964, Princess Ghislaine published her memoirs; a move that did not go over well with the princely family. The Dowager Princess of Monaco resided in Paris after the death of Prince Louis. She died there in 1991.

Following are some of the recollections of Princess Ghislaine on her experience of being the Princess Consort of Monaco:

"I can understand why Princess Grace wants to return to motion-picture work. It's no fun to be the reigning princess of Monaco. Life as I lived it and as Princess Grace must be living it now in the Grimaldi Palace is often stuffy and frequently painful. Most of the time I dreamed of the day when I would leave there. I recall a morning soon after my marriage to Prince Louis when I woke with a high fever. I told my husband that I wouldn't be able to attend a state lunch that had been planned." Louis II's reply was straight to the point: "'Madame, one doesn't become ill here until after lunch.' I can understand what she's going through. A few weeks of movie work would be such a relief from her terrible bondage of rank and position. What a heartbreak to have a contract in your hands and then have to give it up or put it off." 

Archduchess Margherita of Austria-Este, Princess of Savoy-Aosta (1930-2022)

+ 

Archduchess Margherita of Austria-Este,

née Princess of Savoy-Aosta

(7 April 1930-10 January 2022)

 

Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta on the eve of her marriage.

Today, HI&RH Archduchess Margherita of Austria-Este, Princess of Savoy-Aosta, died at the age of ninety-one years-old. The archduchess died in Basel, Switzerland; this being the town where she and her husband had lived in their later years. 

Embed from Getty Images

 

Princess Anne of France, Princess of Savoy, Duchess of Apulia, expects her first child.
Snippet (c) Chicago Tribune of 9 March 1930.

On 7 April 1930, Princess Margherita Isabella Maria Vittoria Emanuella Elena Gennara of Savoy was born at Capodimonte. The princess was the first child of Prince Amedeo of Savoy (1898-1942), at the time Duke of Apulia and later Duke of Aosta, and Princess Anne d'Orléans (1906-1986), who married in 1927. Present at Margherita's birth were her maternal grandmother Princess Isabelle d'Orléans, Duchess of Guise, and her great-aunt Queen Amélie of Portugal. The infant Margherita was baptised at the Royal Palace of Capodimonte (Reggia di Capodimonte) on 28 May 1930; King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy was her godfather, her paternal grandmother Princess Hélène, Duchess of Aosta, served as Margherita's godmother. Several years later, Margherita was joined by sister Princess Maria Cristina in 1933.

Embed from Getty Images

In March 1942, Margherita's father Amedeo died from tuberculosis at the age of forty-three. As a commander in the Italian army, the Duke of Aosta had become a prisoner-of-war when he was captured by the British armed forces on the African front. Anne d'Orléans was thus left a widow, who had to care for her two young daughters during the slow but imminent fall of the Kingdom of Italy. 

 

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

The engagement between Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta and Archduke Robert of Austria-Este (1915-1996) was announced in October 1953. The couple met in November 1952 at the wedding of Robert's brother, Archduke Felix, to Princess and Duchess Anna-Eugénie of Arenberg. Marchese Falcone Lucifero, the Head of the Royal Household of King Umberto II, issued the following communiqué to the press: "King Umberto was happy to give his consent, and expressed his fervent good wishes for the engaged couple." Robert was one of the children of Emperor Karl of Austria and Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma. Robert and Margherita contracted a civil marriage on 28 December 1953 at Bourg-en-Bresse, France. 

 

Archduke Robert and Princess Margherita during their religious wedding.

 

On the following day, 29 December, Robert and Margherita's religious union took place at Brou, France. Standing six feet tall and wearing a diamond tiara, Margherita proved to be an imposing presence. The bridegroom was himself six feet three inches tall: they formed an impressive couple. Monsignor Marella, the Papal Nuncio to Paris, presided over the imperial and royal wedding. King Umberto II of Italy and Prince Filiberto of Savoy-Genoa, Duke of Pistoia, were the witnesses for Princess Margherita; Archduke Rudolph of Austria and Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma were the witnesses for Archduke Robert. Following their marriage, Archduke Robert and Archduchess Margherita departed Paris for a honeymoon in New York and Palm Beach.

Embed from Getty Images

Archduke Robert and Archduchess Margherita settled in Paris. Robert worked in the banking industry. The couple had five children: Archduchess Maria Beatrix (b.1954), Archduke Lorenz (b.1955), Archduke Gerhard (b.1957), Archduke Martin (b.1959), and Archduchess Isabella (b.1963).

Embed from Getty Images

Archduchess Margherita and Archduke Robert of Austria-Este in the 1990s.
Photograph (c) Presse-Foto-Seeger.

Archduchess Margherita of Austria-Este with her daughter Archduchess Isabella in November 1997.
Photograph (c) Presse-Foto-Seeger.

Four of Margherita and Robert's sons and daughters married into royal and aristocratic circles. In 1980, Archduchess Maria Beatrix wed Count Riprand von Arco-Zinneberg. In 1984, Archduke Lorenz married Princess Astrid of Belgium. In 1997, Archduchess Isabelle wed Count Andrea Czarnocki-Lucheschi. In 2004, Archduke Martin married Princess Katharina zu Isenburg. Only one son, Archduke Gerhard, contracted an "unequal" union; this took place in 2015 when Gerhard wed Iris Jandrasits. Archduke Robert and Archduchess Margherita of Austria had nineteen grandchildren.

Archduke Robert and Archduchess Margherita of Austria-Este

 

On 7 February 1996, Archduke Robert passed away at Basel, Switzerland, one day shy of his eighty-first birthday. He was buried at Kloster Muri in the Swiss countryside. His widow Margherita survived him by over twenty-five years.

 

May Margherita Rest In Peace.

The Engagement of Alexander Dru and Lady Tatiana Mountbatten, Daughter of the Marquess of Milford Haven

Alick Dru and Lady Tatiana Mountbatten at Royal Ascot, June 2021.
Photo (c) Getty Images / Kirsten Sinclair.

Through her social media, Lady Tatiana Mountbatten recently announced her engagement to Alexander Dru.

The engagement announcement in The Telegraph, 8 January.

The official announcement of the engagement was placed in The Telegraph by Tatiana's mother, Lady Spencer of Alresford.

Born at London on 16 April 1990, Lady Tatiana Helen Georgia Mountbatten is the only daughter and first child of George Mountbatten, 4th Marquess of Milford Haven (b.1961), and his first wife Sarah Georgina Walker (b.1961), who married in 1989. Lady Tatiana's paternal grandparents are David Mountbatten, 3d Marquess of Milford Haven (1919-1970) and his second wife Janet Bryce (b.1937). Her maternal grandparents are George Alfred Walker (1929-2011) and Jean Hatton (b.1936). Through her father, Lady Tatiana Mountbatten is a descendant of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse and by Rhine, among others.

Born at Somerset in 1991, Alexander "Alick" Bernard M. Dru is the son of Auberon A. B. Dru (b.1951) and Catherine M. Norden (b.1960), who married in 1989. Alexander's paternal grandparents are Major Alexander Bernard Cecil Dru (1904-1977) and Gabriel Mary Hermione Herbert (1911-1987). His maternal grandparents are Dr. Richard H. Norden (b.1933) and April Mary Binet (1936-2012). Through his paternal grandmother, Alexander Dru is a great-great grandson of the 4th Earl of Carnarvon and the 4th Viscount de Vesci of Abbey Leix. 

Our best wishes to the couple on their engagement!

A Princely Birth in the French Royal House!

Princess Theresa and Prince François d'Orléans, 2014.

According to Noblesse et Royautés, Prince François and Princess Theresa d'Orléans, Count and Countess of Dreux, welcomed the birth of their third child and second son in the autumn of last year. Prince Raphaël d'Orléans was born on 4 September 2021. Prince Raphaël joins older siblings Prince Philippe (b.2017) and Princess Marie-Amélie. The Count and Countess of Dreux live in Mallorca, Spain.

Our congratulations to the family!