The 7th Duke of Montebello (1939-2022)

Obituary from Sud Ouest.

Maurice Lannes, 7. duc de Montebello, died on 26 March 2022 at Mareuil, France. He was eighty-two years-old.

Born on 2 July 1939 at Biarritz, Maurice Georges Antoine Marie Lannes, Marquis de Montebello ,was the son of Napoléon Lannes, 6. duc de Montebello (1903-1988), and his second wife Princess Diane de Broglie (1903-1987), who married in 1930. Maurice Lannes de Montebello was the great-great-great-grandson of Marechal Jean Lannes (1769-1809), who in 1808 was created 1. duc de Montebello by Emperor Napoléon I.

In 1971, Maurice Lannes de Montebello married Johanna Christina Meyer-Ratken (b.1939). The couple had four children: Jean-Michel Lannes, Marquis de Montebello (1972-2004); Benoît Lannes, Marquis de Montebello (b.1973; now 8th duc de Montebello); Emmanuella Lannes de Montebello (b.1975; married Laurent Colnat), and Désirée Lannes (b.1976; married Michael Drihen).

The funeral of the late duke will take place today, 31 March, at the Église Saint-Laurent de Mareuil with the burial to follow in the church's cemetery. 

For more on the genealogy of the ancestry of the Lannes de Montebello family, you may visit this website:

Lannes de Montebello

The Funeral of Madame the Dowager Countess of Paris

Photo (c) Ancien Ordre de L'Etoile et de Notre-Dame du Mont Carmel.

 

The funeral of Princess Micaëla d'Orléans, Dowager Countess of Paris, took place at the Église Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois on Tuesday, 22 March. The princess was the widow of Prince Henri d'Orléans, Count of Paris, who was Head of the Royal House of France from 1999 until his death in 2019. The couple civilly married in 1984 and religiously married in 2009. Princess Micaëla passed away on 13 March. 

Busts of the late Count and Countess of Paris in the church.
Photo (c) Ancien Ordre de L'Etoile et de Notre-Dame du Mont Carmel.

The funeral mass was attended by the son of the late princess, Monsieur Alexis Francis-Boeuf, as well as by Prince Michel and Princess Barbara d'Orléans, Count and Countess d'Évreux, Prince Charles-Louis and Princess Illéana d'Orléans, Duke and Duchess of Chartres, and by Princess Chantal d'Orléans and her husband François Xavier de Sambucy de Sorgue.

Photo (c) Ancien Ordre de L'Etoile et de Notre-Dame du Mont Carmel.

Archpriest Patrick Chauvet officiated over the funeral mass. 

 

Photo (c) Ancien Ordre de L'Etoile et de Notre-Dame du Mont Carmel.

May the Dowager Countess of Paris Rest in Peace.  

Superb Objets d'Art to be Auctioned from the Estate of Duke Ferdinand of Württemberg

On 30 March, the auction house Neumeister will be hosting a magnificent sale: Hidden Treasures - Treasures from the House of Württemberg. The historically significant items contained in the auction come from the estate of Duke Ferdinand Eugen of Württemberg (1925-2020). Neumeister received sixty wooden boxes in 2021; these boxes and the treasures therein were from the the Württemberg royal family's former castle in Carlsruhe, which was destroyed in 1945 by the Red Army - but not before the Württembergs were able to move their heritage from the castle. Among the collection are beautiful and poignant portraits of members of the royal families of Württemberg, France, Austria, and Bulgaria. Duke Ferdinand Eugen was the eldest child of Duke Albrecht Eugen of Württemberg (1895-1954) and Princess Nadejda of Bulgaria (1899-1958). He was a grandson of King Ferdinand of Bulgaria. 

Source: Neumeister 

Countess Margherita of Arco-Zinneberg Weds Charles Green, Brother of the Duchess of Roxburghe

 

On Saturday, 19 March, Countess Margherita of Arco-Zinneberg married Charles Green in Bavaria.

Countess Margherita Ginevra Maria of Arco-Zinneberg (b.1983) is the third daughter of Count Riprand of Arco-Zinneberg (1955-2021) and Archduchess Maria Beatrix of Austria-Este (b.1954). Margherita has five sisters: Countess Anna Theresa (b.1981; married Colin McKenzie), Countess Olympia (b.1988; married Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon), Countess Maximiliana (b.1990), Countess Marie-Gabrielle (b.1992), and Countess Giorgiana (b.1997). Margherita is the paternal granddaughter of Count Ulrich Philipp of Arco-Zinneberg (1917-1980) and Countess Maria Theresia von Preysing-Lichtenegg-Moos (1922-2003). Margherita is the maternal granddaughter of Archduke Robert of Austria-Este (1915-1996) and Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta (1930-2022).

Charles Douglas Green (b.1981) is the son of the late Ian Green and Helena Marian Hunt (b.1946; married 1st in 1967 to Richard H. Cooper; married 2nd in 1976 to Michael C. Martin; married 4th in 1986 to The Hon John Fermor-Hesketh). Charles has several siblings from his father and mother's previous marriages. His half-sister, Annabel Green, is the current Duchess of Roxburghe. Charles Green is the maternal grandson of Robert John Cochrane Hunt (1903-1992) and Helena Wilson (1908-2000).

Our best wishes to the newlyweds!

Grand Duke George of Russia Recovering From Surgery

The following communiqué has been released by the Russian Imperial Chancellery:

 

2022-03-21 Grand Duke Georgy Mikhailovich underwent surgery

On Sunday, March 20, 2022, H.I.H.  Grand Duke Georgy Mikhailovich was hospitalized and urgently operated on due to an abdominal hernia.

The operation was successful.  In the following days, His Imperial Highness will be discharged from the clinic and return home.

 

We wish the Grand Duke a full and fast recovery.

The Dowager Countess of Paris Not To Be Buried Beside Husband

Micaela and Henri on holiday in Spain, 1997.
Photo (c) Getty Images / Dusko Despotovic.

The funeral of Princess Micaela d'Orléans, Dowager Countess of Paris, will take place at the Église Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois in Paris on Tuesday, 22 March 2022 at 10 o'clock. 

 

The remains Princess Micaela will not be buried beside her husband, the late Prince Henri, Count of Paris, at Dreux. The Dowager Countess of Paris will be laid to rest at Saint-Jean-de-Luz, with her siblings and mother.

The 90th Birthday of Dowager Fürstin Wilhelmine von Khevenhüller-Metsch

Wilhemine.

Today, Dowager Fürstin Wilhelmine von Khevenhüller-Metsch celebrates her ninetieth birthday!

Wilhelmine's parents: Lazarus and Franziska.

Born on 16 March 1932 at Naklo, Countess Marie Wilhelmina Josefina Theresia Franziska Georgia Henckel von Donnersmarck was the third child and second daughter of Count Lazarus "Lazy" Henckel von Donnersmarck (1902-1991) and Countess Franziska von Eltz (1905-1997), who wed in 1927. Wilhemine had four siblings: Count Carl Josef (1928-2008; married 1stly to Princess Marie Adelaide Pss of Luxemburg; married 2ndly to Claire Regina Barclay-Hoess), Countess Elisabeth (b.1929; married Count Ernst von Waldstein-Wartenberg), Count Heinrich (1935-2005), and Count Winfried (b.1938; married Christine von Arnim). 

Wilhemine and Maximilian on their wedding day.

Photo (c) Keystone Press Agency/Keystone USA via ZUMAPRESS.com.

On 19 January 1956 at Munich, Countess Wilhelmine Henckel von Donnersmarck married Count (later Fürst) Maximilian "Max" von Khevenhüller-Metsch (1919-2010). The couple had met the previous year. They honeymooned in Paris before settling in Madrid, were Max lived. Max and Wilhelmine had six children: Fürst Johannes (1956-2020; married Donna Camilla Borghese dei Principi di Nettuno), Count Bartholomäus (b.1958; married Cristina Sanchez de Movellán y Garcia Ogara), Count Karl (b.1959; married Lelia Gailly de Taurines), Count Georg (b.1960; married Countess Stephanie zu Castell-Castell), and Countess Melanie (b.1967; married Count Hubertus von Waldburg zu Wolfegg und Waldersee), and Countess Isabel (b.1972; married Count Florian von Hartig).

Our best wishes to the Dowager Fürstin on her birthday!