The 30th Birthday of Princess Sophie Napoléon!

Princess Sophie and companion attend the wedding of her brother Prince Jean-Christophe, 2019.

Today, Princess Sophie Napoléon celebrates her thirtieth birthday!

Prince Charles with his daughter Princess Sophie. Photo (c) Getty Images / Benoit Gysembergh.

Princess Jeanne Françoise, Prince Charles, and their daughter Princess Sophie. Photo (c) Getty Images / Benoit Gysembergh.

Born on 18 April 1992 at Paris, Princess Sophie Cathérine Napoléon is the first daughter of Prince Charles Napoléon (b.1950) and his second wife Jeanne Françoise Valliccionni (b.1958), who married in 1996. Sophie has two older siblings from her father's first marriage to Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies: Princess Caroline (b.1980; married Eric Quérénet-Onfroy de Breville) and Prince Jean-Christophe (b.1986; married Countess Olympia of Arco-Zinneberg). Sophie has one younger sister, Princess Anh (b.in Vietnam 1998), whom the family adopted when Anh was a baby. 

Our best wishes to the Princess on her birthday!

An Engagement in the Princely House of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg

Hereditary Prince Ludwig zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg has recently become engaged to Helene von Pezold.

 

Born in 1994, Prince Ludwig Hubertus Alfred-Ernst Sebastian Carl Roman zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg is the third child and only son of Fürst Ludwig zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg (b.1951) and Countess Elisabeth von Waldburg-Wolfegg-Waldsee (b.1962). Ludwig has two older sisters: Princess Sophie (married to Count Constantn Fugger von Babenhausen) and Princess Amelie (married to Benedikt Schmid von Schmidfelden).

 

Born in 1995, Helene von Pezold is the third of four daughters of Kilian von Pezold (b.1964) and Countess Christina zu Solms-Laubach (b.1962). Helene's sisters are Johanna, Sophia, and Pauline. 

 

Ludwig and Helene are third cousins once removed. Their common ancestors are Prince Alfred zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg (1855-1925) and Countess Pauline von Reichenbach-Lessonitz (1858-1927).

 

Our congratulations to the happy couple on their engagement!

 

Archduchess Maria Immaculata of Austria-Tuscany (1933-2022)

Count Reinhart and Archduchess Immaculata at the wedding of their youngest son in 2000.  Photo (c) Seeger-Press.

Archduchess Maria Immaculata of Austria-Tuscany, Countess von und zu Hoensbroech died on 2 April 2022 at Engelskirchen, Germany. She was eighty-eight years-old. Maria Immaculata was buried at Schloß Kellenberg on 9 April.

The wedding of Archduke Theodor Salvator and Countess Maria Theresa, 1926.

Born on 7 December 1933 at Schloß Wallsee, Archduchess Maria Immakulata (Immaculata) Mathilde Elisabeth Gabriele Walburga Huberta of Austria-Tuscany was the third child and second daughter of Archduke Theodor Salvator (1899-1978) and Countess Maria Theresa von Waldburg zu Zeil und Trauchburg (1901-1967), who wed in 1926. Schloß Wallsee had been inherited by Archduke Theodor Salvator from his mother Archduchess Marie Valerie, the daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria. 

Archduke Franz Salvator of Austria-Tuscany, Princess Theresa of Bavaria, Countess Maria Immaculata von und zu Hoensbroech, and Archduke Karl Salvator.

Maria Immaculata had three siblings: Archduke Franz Salvator (1927-2012; married twice), Archduchess Theresa (b.1931; married Prince Rasso of Bavaria), and Archduke Karl Salvator (b.1936; married Edith Wenzl Baroness von Sternbach).

Maria Immaculata and Reinhart with their seven children.

On 14 May 1959 at Koslar, Archduchess Maria Immaculata of Austria-Tuscany civilly married Count Reinhart von und zu Hoensbroech (1926-2005), the fourth child and second son of Count Lothar von und zu Hoensbroech (1889-1951) and Baroness Helene de Loë (1896-1933). Maria Immaculata and Reinhart celebrated their religious marriage on 9 June 1959 at Schloß Wallsee. The couple went on to have seven children: Countess Alexandra (b.1960), Count Branco (b.1961; married Baroness Assunta von Lüninck), Countess Consuelo (b.1962; married Count Alexandre d'Hemricourt de Grünne), Countess Donata (b.1963; married Count Friedrich-August von Plettenberg), Countess Elena (b.1965; married Baron Georg von Holzhausen, one of the sons of Archduchess Maria Magdalena of Austria-Tuscany, a second cousin of Archduchess Maria Immaculata), Count Florian (b.1969; married Princess Desiree of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach), and Countess Gloria (b.1974). 

Kellenberg.

The couple raised their family at Schloß Kellenberg, the ancestral home of Count Reinhart. For many decades, Reinhart oversaw the castle and its estate; he was an accomplished forester. In April 1992, a fire almost completely destroyed the main part of the castle. Schloß Kellenberg was sold by the family in 2009. Together, Reinhart and Maria Immaculata enjoyed vacationing to locales which were not overwhelmed by tourists. In 2004, Archduchess Maria Immaculata attended the wedding of the Prince of Asturias (now King Felipe VI of Spain).

Archduchess Maria Immaculata and Count Reinhart at the wedding of Hereditary Prince Carl Christian von Wrede and Countess Katalin Bethlen de Bethlen, 2003. Photo (c) Seeger-Press / Minka Reddig.

Maria Immaculata was widowed on 8 June 2005 when her husband Reinhart died at the age of seventy-eight. The couple had been married forty-five years, and would have celebrated their forty-sixth anniversary the day after Count Reinhart passed away following a short illness. Now, Maria Immaculata has rejoined her husband.

Maria Immaculata with Pastor Stefan Bäuerle at Schloß Kellenberg, 2009. Photo (c) Jagodzinska.

May Maria Immaculata Rest in Peace.

A Romanian Royal Birth!

The happy family.
Photo (c) Felicia Simion.

Prince Nicholas of Romania and his wife Alina-Maria have welcomed the arrival of their first son and second child, Michael (Mihai). Michael was born at Polizu Hospital in Bucharest at 2:05am on Friday, 15 April. On 5 December 2021, Nicholas of Romania announced that his wife Alina-Maria was expecting their second child in Spring 2022. Their first child and daughter, Maria Alexandra, was born on 7 November 2020.

 

 

Nicholas of Romania (b.1985) and Alina-Maria Binder (b.1988) were civilly married on 6 October 2017 in the United Kingdom and religiously married on 30 September 2018 at Sinaia. Nicholas is the son of Princess Helen of Romania and the late Dr. Robin Medforth-Mills. Alina is the daughter of Heinz Binder and Rodica Iancu. Nicholas and Alina live in Bucharest with their family. 

 

King Michael of Romania and his grandson Nicholas.

 

Michael of Romania (b.2022) is a great-grandson of King Michael of Romania (1921-2017) and Queen Anne (1923-2016; born Princess of Bourbon-Parma). Michael is a double descendant of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. 

Our Congratulations to Nicolae and Alina-Maria on this extremely happy news! Long life to Mihai!

 

The 60th Birthday of Duchess Caroline of Oldenburg

Duchess Caroline of Oldenburg in 2013.

Today, Duchess Caroline of Oldenburg celebrates her sixtieth birthday.

Born on 10 April 1962 at Kiel, Countess Caroline zu Rantzau was the youngest child and second daughter of Count Christian zu Rantzau (1924-2002) and Héloise von Lettow-Vorbeck (1923-2018), who wed in 1954. Caroline's paternal uncle Count Kuno zu Rantzau and maternal aunt Ursula von Lettow-Vorbeck had married in 1953.

In 1987, Caroline married Duke Christian of Oldenburg (b.1955), the eldest son of Duke Anton Günther of Oldenburg (1923-2014) and Princess Ameli zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg (1923-2016). Duke Christian and Duchess Caroline of Oldenburg have four children: Duke Alexander (b.1990), Duke Philipp (b.1991), Duke Anton (b.1993), and Duchess Katharina (b.1997). 

Many happy returns to the Duchess of Oldenburg on her birthday!

Family Gather in Madeira to Commemorate the Blessed Emperor Karl of Austria

The descendants of Blessed Karl of Austria, April 2022.

Last weekend, at least one hundred descendants of Emperor Karl I of Austria-Hungary gathered on the island of Madeira. The emperor died on Madeira on 1 April 1922. He was only thirty-four years-old. In 2004, Emperor Karl was beautified by Pope John Paul II.

The imperial family in the Cathedral of Funchal. Front row: Archduke Karl, Archduchess Anna Gabriele, Archduke Georg, and Archduchess Maria Beatrix. Photo (c) Duarte Gomes.

Archduke Karl and Archduke Georg with their aunt Archduchess Anna Gabriele. Photo (c) Duarte Gomes.

Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, wearing the Order of the Golden Fleece. Photo (c) Duarte Gomes.

On 1 April 2022, a Mass was held at the Church of Our Lady of the Mount in Funchal. The church was packed with a large number of descendants of Emperor Karl and Empress Zita. Among those present were Archduke Karl, Head of the Imperial House and a grandson of the emperor, as well as Archduchess Anna Gabriele, a daughter-in-law of the late emperor, and Dom Duarte, Duke of Braganza and Head of the Royal House of Portugal. 

Father László Erffa, the Bishop of Funchal, Father Paul Habsburg, and Father Johannes Habsburg. Photo (c) Duarte Gomes.

In the homily for the Eucharist, the Bishop of Funchal, Dom Nuno Brás, stated: "Faithfulness to God and to the commitments that God had entrusted to him at the time of his coronation as Apostolic King of Hungary, always led and enlightened him [Karl] in the understanding of reality and in the search for paths that would lead to a happy life for all. As ruler of the Empire, looking for new ways to respond to new needs; he did so as a believer, living on the basis of faith” And that's what the Servant of God Zita recognised, when questioned by a journalist about how she and Karl found the strength to overcome the persecution and betrayal they were subjected to, she replied: 'Without faith, it would have been impossible.' In these days, once again marked by a war that invades our Europe, we must look to the example of this Holy Emperor. [An emperor who] sought to make peace; but also an Emperor who ‘breathed’ an inner peace that could only come from God."

On 15 March, Dom Nuno Brás reflected on the life and example of the Blessed Emperor Karl of Austria. In his writing, the Bishop of Funchal recalled to readers the three core tenants of the beliefs and faith of the emperor:

First, the primacy of God. In personal life, be it interior, in the secret of conscience, or public, in the attitudes and words that someone addresses to everyone; and, above all, the primacy of God in political life, in the organization of society and in the laws that regulate its way of life. Throughout his life, this was Karl's secret: God and his will, sought after, known and lived as far as our strength and abilities allow. Then the primacy of the person. The person is seen not as a means to an end, not as another insignificant number, but as someone dear and loved by God for himself, with a unique dignity that cannot be compared to the mere consideration of one in the midst of an anonymous mass. Finally, the primacy of peace. It may seem strange, but the fact is that at the beginning of the 20th century (and even today), many defended war as a means of human progress: from the partisans of the class struggle to the defenders of savage individualism that does not look at nothing or anyone to achieve your purposes. In front of these and against them, Karl, since he arrived at the head of the Empire, always tried seriously and with all his strength to find ways to peace in Europe and in the world.

Sources:

No centenário do seu falecimento: D. Nuno Brás afirma que Beato Carlos é “uma bênção para o mundo”

Blessed Karl of Austria: Blessed Karl at 100 years

Nós e o Beato Carlos de Áustria

Us and Blessed Karl of Austria

Princess Monica of Liechtenstein, Who Eloped In Brazil, Is 80!

Princess Monica.

Today, Princess Monica von und zu Liechtenstein celebrates her eightieth birthday!

Born on 8 April 1942 at Vienna, Princess Monica Maria Theresia Elisabeth of Liechtenstein was the only child of Prince Constantin of Liechtenstein (1911-2001) and his first wife Maria Elisabeth von Leutzendorff (1921-1944), who married in 1941. Princess Maria Elisabeth was killed during a bombing raid in Vienna. In the late 1970s, Prince Constantin remarried to Countess Ilona Esterházy von Galántha (1921-2019; widow of Count Miklós Cziráky von Czirák und Dénesfalva).

Prince Constantin and Princess Monica were guests at a party given in St. Moritz by Joan Crawford in 1955, which is noted in the pages of Joan's not-so-happy daughter Christina's book, Mommie Dearest. The following year, in 1956, when she was fourteen, Monica and Prince Francesco Borghese began a relationship. Her father was so disturbed by the romantic attachment of his daughter, owing to her youth, that he had Monica stay in a convent in Vienna for a year to "think it over." Needless to say, Monica and Francesco did not marry.

In 1959, Princess Monica represented her family at the inauguration of the new Brazilian capital, Brasília. During the festivities, she met her future husband, Andrzej Franciszek Spitzman Jordan (b.1933; also known as André Franz Jordan), a Polish expat who had become a businessman in Latin America. The couple swiftly fell in love. When Monica returned to Vaduz, she told her family of her feelings for André. Her father Constantin was not wholly opposed to his only child's desire to marry Mr. Jordan. However, her cousin Prince Franz Joseph II and his wife Princess Georgina did not think the union wise or "suitable," given Monica's status. In an attempt to win over her family, Monica cabled André and asked him to come to Liechtenstein, which he did in short order. His reception by the princely family was reportedly courteous but not terribly warm. Franz Joseph told Monica: "The young man is cultured and pleasant and I wish him well. But I'm dead set against your marrying a commoner as I've been before." Faced with the opposition of the sovereign prince, Monica decided to do a rather daring deed. The eighteen year-old decided to run away from home and elope. She and André agreed that he would return to Rio de Janeiro and prepare for their marriage. Several weeks later, Monica pretended that she was going to visit relatives in Paris. When she arrived in the French capital, she boarded a plane for Brazil that ended up being grounded in London due to poor weather conditions. It took her father Constantin almost two days to find out that his daughter was staying at a hotel in the British capital. He was able to reach Monica by phone, but she refused to return to Vaduz. The next day she flew to Brazil. 

Monica and André on their wedding day.

On 25 November 1960 at Rio de Janeiro, Princess Monica of Liechtenstein and André Jordan were married. The couple had two sons, Gilberto Frederic Jordan (b.1961) and Constantino Pedro Jordan (b.1964), before divorcing in 1969. Prince Constantin flew to Rio for his first grandson Gilberto's christening. In February 1979, Princess Monica joined her father Prince Constantin and their cousin Princess Barbara with her husband Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia for a holiday in St. Moritz. 

Prince Constantin and his daughter Princess Monica, 1958.

Our best wishes to the Princess on her birthday!