Princesses of Bourbon-Parma Receive First Holy Communion

The Duke and Duchess of Parma with their three children.

Photo (c) PPE / Jeroen van der Meyde.

On Sunday, 29 May, Princess Luisa and Princess Cecilia of Bourbon-Parma received their first Holy Communion at the Holy Jacobus de Meerdere Church in The Hague. Their proud parents, Prince Carlos and Princess Annemarie, were present as was their younger brother Prince Carlos. Also in the congregation were Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, Princess Margarita of Bourbon-Parma with her daughters, Prince Jaime of Bourbon-Parma with his daughters, and the maternal grandparents of the princesses, Johan Gualtherie van Weezel and Anne Gualtherie van Weezel-de Visser.

The 20th Birthday of Prince Tirso of Bulgaria

Today, Prince Tirso of Bulgaria celebrates his twentieth birthday!

Born on 3 June 2002 at Hospital de La Paz in Madrid, Prince Tirso of Bulgaria is the third son and youngest child of Prince Kubrat of Bulgaria and Princess Carla (née Royo-Villanova y Urrestarazu). Tirso joined two elder brothers: Prince Mirko (b.1995) and Prince Lucas (b.1997). Prince Tirso is a grandson of King Simeon II and Queen Margarita of Bulgaria.

Our best wishes to the Prince on his birthday!

François Luce-Bailly de Chevigny (1923-2022), Widower of Württemberg Duchess

François Luce-Bailly de Chevigny and Duchess Margarethe of Württemberg attending the funeral of the Countess of Paris at Dreux, 11 July 2003.

François Luce-Bailly de Chevigny died on 6th March 2022 at Neuilly-sur-Seine. He was ninety-eight years-old. 

Born on 15 June 1923 at Paris, François Luce was the son of Emile Léon Marie Luce (1886-1979) and Charlotte Léonie Bailly (1896-1980). In 1950, François was adopted by his maternal aunt Clémentine Marie Marguerite Bailly; at this time, François adopted the surname "Luce-Bailly de Chevigny."

On 27 December 1954 at Rome, François Luce-Bailly de Chevigny married Marchesa Gabriela Pallavicino (1925-1992; later married Christos Bellos), the daughter of Marchese Alessandro Pallavicino (1898-1965) and Countess Henriette von Schönborn (1897-1992). The couple divorced in 1959; they did not have children.

On 7 August 1970 at Altshausen, François Luce-Bailly de Chevigny married Duchess Margarethe of Württemberg (1928-2017), the second child and first daughter of Duke Albrecht Eugen of Württemberg (1895-1954) and Princess Nadejda of Bulgaria (1899-1958). After being married for forty-six years, Monsieur Luce-Bailly de Chevigny was widowed when his wife Duchess Margarethe passed away on 10 June 2017, aged eighty-eight.

May François Rest in Peace. 

The Tulip Ball in Amsterdam Raises Funds for Reforestation in Romania

Prince Nicholas of Romania.

Photo (c) PPE / Albert Nieboer. 

On Saturday, 28 May, the Tulip Ball was held in Amsterdam. This year, the charitable event raised funds for the Prince Nicholas Association (Asociația Principele Nicolae) and its endeavours to combat deforestation in Romania. Among the attendees were Prince Nicholas of Romania, Hereditary Prince Alexander of Mecklenburg and his fiancée Hande Macit, and Duke Michael of Mecklenburg.

Duke Michael of Mecklenburg, Sophia Wolkonsky, Hande Macit, and Hereditary Prince Alexander of Mecklenburg. Photo (c) PPE / Albert Nieboer. 

A Century Since the Birth of Archduchess Elisabeth, Posthumous Child of Emperor Karl of Austria

A young Elisabeth with her mother and siblings, 1928.

One hundred years ago today marks the birth of Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria, the youngest child of the Blessed Emperor Karl of Austria and his wife Empress Zita.

The wedding of Archduke Karl of Austria and Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma, 1911.

Archduchess Elisabeth Charlotte Alphonsa Christina Theresia Antonia Josepha Roberta Ottonia Franziska Isabella Pia Marcus d'Aviano of Austria was born at El Pardo on 31 May 1922. Her father Emperor Karl had fallen ill and died from pneumonia on 1 April 1922, almost two months before Elisabeth was born. After his death, Empress Zita was invited by King Alfonso XIII of Spain to live in Spain. This was the reason that Elisabeth was born at the Royal Palace of El Pardo. The archduchess was named after Empress Elisabeth of Austria, the wife of Emperor Franz Joseph; the name had been chosen by Elisabeth's father before his passing: it was almost as if he was certain that his next child would be a girl. 

 

The eight children of Emperor Karl and Empress Zita standing in order of birth.

 

Elisabeth joined seven older siblings: Archduke Otto (1912-2011; married Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen), Archduchess Adelheid (1914-1971), Archduke Robert (1915-1996; married Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta), Archduke Felix (1916-2011; married Princess Anna-Eugénie von Arenberg), Archduke Carl Ludwig (1918-2007; married Princess Yolande de Ligne), Archduke Rudolph (1919-2010; married 1st Countess Xenia Tschernyschev-Besobrasow; married 2nd Fürstin Anna Gabriele von Wrede), and Archduchess Charlotte (1921-1989; married Duke Georg Alexander of Mecklenburg). 

 

Empress Zita and Archduchess Elisabeth are reunited with Archduke Felix and Archduke Otto in New York, July 1940.

 

Empress Zita and her eight children resided in Spain until 1929; they then relocated to Belgium. In 1940, Empress Zita left Belgium and took her children to the Americas in order to escape the horrors of World War II. The family arrived in the United States, where they spent time at Royalston, Massachusetts, in the home of Calvin Bullock. The family later settled in Quebec, Canada, at the Villa Saint Joseph. While in Quebec, Archduchess Elisabeth attended the Sillery convent.

 

Archduchess Elisabeth and Prince Heinrich on their wedding day, 1949.

 

On 12 September 1949 at Lignières, Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria religiously married Prince Heinrich of Liechtenstein (1916-1991), the son of Prince Alfred of Liechtenstein and Princess Theresia Maria zu Oettingen-Oettingen. The newlyweds honeymooned in the South of France. Elisabeth and Heinrich had five children: Prince Vincenz (1950-2008; married 1st Hélène de Cossé-Brissac; married 2nd Roberta Valeri Manera), Prince Michael (b.1951; married Hildegard Berta Peters), Princess Charlotte (b.1953; married Pieter Kenyon Fleming-Voltelyn van der Byl), Prince Christoph (b.1956), and Prince Karl (b.1957)

 

Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria, Princess Heinrich of Liechtenstein, died on 6 January 1993 at Waldstein, Bavaria. She was seventy years-old.

The Current State of the Princely House of Kohary

King Simeon II and Queen Margarita of Bulgaria with Princess Marie-Louise.

On 5 May 2015, King Simeon II issued an ukase from Vrana Palace. In this document, the king ceded the title of Fürstin von Kohary, with the style of Highness, to his sister Princess Marie Louise of Bulgaria. 

Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Princess Maria Antonia von Kohary.

In the ukase, His Majesty made reference to his and his sister's descent from Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his wife Princess Maria Antonia von Kohary. Maria Antonia was the only surviving child of Count Ferenc József Koháry de Csábrág et Szitnya and his wife Countess Maria Antonia von Waldstein-Wartenberg. On 15 November 1815, Ferenc József was granted the title Fürst von Kohary by the Emperor of Austria. Two weeks later, on 30 November 1815, Ferenc József's daughter Maria Antonia married Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, son of Duke Franz of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Countess Augusta Reuß zu Ebersdorf. 

The wedding of Princess Maria Luisa and Bronislaw Chrobok.
Photo (c) King Simeon II.

His Majesty decreed that the title is hereditary to the descendants of Princess Marie Louise by her second marriage to Bronisław Chrobok, whom she married in 1969. The princess and Mr Chrobok have two children: Alexandra-Nadejda Chrobok (b.1970) and Pawel (Paul) Alastair Antoni Chrobok (b.1972). In 2001, Alexandra Chrobok married Jorge Champalimaud Raposo de Magalhães (b.1970); the couple have three children: Louis Raposo de Magalhães, Jeanne Raposo de Magalhães and Clémentine Raposo de Magalhães. Pawel Chrobok married Ariana Oliver Mas; the couple have two children: Maya Chrobok (b.2015) and Alexander-Ferdinand Chrobok (b.2017). As a result of this ukase, Alexandra Chrobok became Her Highness Alexandra Chrobok, Princess von Kohary, and Pawel Chrobok became His Highness Pawel Chrobok, Prince von Kohary. The grandchildren of Princess Marie Louise by her second marriage presumably also already bear the style and title His/Her Highness Prince(ss) von Kohary. 

 

Source: https://www.kingsimeon.bg/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Nie_Simeon-II_Kohary.pdf

The 2022 Royal Versailles Ball

Prince Jean-Christophe and Princess Olympia Napoléon.

Photo (c) Rowben Lantion/BFA.com.

 

Last Saturday, 21 May, the Royal Versailles Ball was held at the Palace of Versailles. The Royal Versailles Ball celebrates the historic state visit between Queen Victoria and Emperor Napoléon III in 1855 at Versailles. The Royal Versailles Ball is held to raise money to support UNICEF, Street Child and LEWA Wildlife Conservancy. UNICEF has been vaccinating, educating and protecting children since 1946, Street Child works to provide educational opportunities for vulnerable children in war torn countries and Lewa Wildlife Conservancy protects species through community conservation and education.

 

Professor Kate Williams and Marcus Gibbs.
  Photo (c) Rowben Lantion/BFA.com.

 

Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma.
Photo (c) Rowben Lantion/BFA.com.

Sir Rodney Williams, Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda, and Lady Williams.
Photo (c) Rowben Lantion/BFA.com.

 

The Marquess and Marchioness of Reading.
Photo (c) Rowben Lantion/BFA.com.

 

The Duke of Fife.
Photo (c) Rowben Lantion/BFA.com.

 

Clara Marzloff and Prince Boris of Bulgaria.

Photo (c) Rowben Lantion/BFA.com.