OTD in 1957: The Marriage of Prince Henri d'Orléans & Duchess Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg

Henri & Marie-Thérèse.

The Royal Chapel of Dreux.

The invitation to the royal wedding.

Sixty-five years ago today, Prince Henri d'Orléans, Count of Clermont, and Duchess Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg were married at Dreux. 

The first photo of Henri: the prince is held by his mother, the Countess of Paris, while his older sister Princess Isabelle plants a kiss on his forehead.

The Duke of Guise holds his grandson during Prince Henri's baptism. The Count of Paris and little Princess Isabelle look on.

A tender moment: the Duke of Guise and his grandson Prince Henri.

Prince Henri, aged 2 1/2.

Prince Henri, aged four.

Prince Henri d'Orléans was born in exile, at the Manoir d'Anjou near Brussels, on 14 June 1933. The Manoir d'Anjou was then the residence of the pretender to the throne of France, Prince Jean, Duke of Guise, who had inherited it from his cousin, Prince Philippe, Duke d'Orléans, who died in 1926. The birth of the young prince was greeted with great jubilation, and the story goes that the French monarchists then found a way to ring the great bell of Notre-Dame to celebrate this event.

On the day of his baptism, 5 July 1933 (exactly 24 years before his wedding day) his grandfather, the Duke of Guise, made him swallow a few drops of Jurançon wine and rubbed his lips with a pod of garlic, in memory of the tradition attached to the birth of King Henri IV.

The prince's childhood was spent in Belgium, either with his grandparents or at the Château d'Agimont, his parents' residence, very close to the French border. He came to France early, during the visits that the Countess of Paris could make there, since she was not affected by the law of exile.

When war was declared in 1939, Prince Henri d'Orléans was on a trip to Brazil with the royal family. The Count of Paris returned hastily to Europe and offered to serve his country on the military field, an opportunity that was refused to him: he was to enlist in the Foreign Legion during the invasion of France and to know the fate of the armed forces of his country under the name of Orliac, and the uniform of a 2nd class soldier in the Foreign Legion. His eldest son Prince Henri, as well as all Henri's brothers and sisters, left at this time with Madame the Countess of Paris for Morocco, where the royal family lived until 1942.

In 1943, the Royal House of France moved to Pamplona, ​​then, at the end of the war, to Portugal near Cintra, in a rural property, the Quinta dos Anjinhos. The family of the Count of Paris then consisted of ten children, and Prince Henri and his sister Princess Isabelle well understood the constraints and duties of all the eldest siblings of large families. Henri continued his studies with French professors, occupying his spare time by participating in agricultural work or writing and printing with his brothers and sisters a small newspaper, entitled first We Ten, then We Eleven, after the birth of Prince Thibaut.

In 1948, he traveled with his brother Prince François - thanks to special permission - on a long trip through France, then, in October of the same year, he was authorised, by way of derogation of the Law of Exile, to continue his studies at the Lycée Longchamp in Bordeaux.

After his baccalaureate, Prince Henri entered the School of Political Science.

Duchess Marie-Thérèse, aged four.

Duchess Marie-Thérèse, aged eight.

Duchess Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg was born at Schloß Altshausen on 12 November 1934; she was the fourth child and third daughter of Duke Philipp, head of the Royal House of Württemberg and his second wife, Archduchess Rosa of Austria.

The childhood of the young duchess passed in the residences of Altshausen and Friedrichshofen, on Lake Constance, or in Austria. After having undertaken her early studies with her siblings, then at the monastery of Saint Lioba, in Wald, Württemberg, she took interpreting courses in Munich at the end of which she graduated, then at the University of Tübingen the duchess enrolled in childcare welfare courses. Marie-Thérèse had planned a career as an interpreter for the United Nations. 

Marie-Thérèse and Henri show her engagement ring.

The newly-engaged couple walking through the halls of Altshausen.

Marie-Thérèse and Henri in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

In 1959, Marianne Andrau spoke with Prince Henri, Count of Clermont, as well as with Princess Marie-Thérèse, Countess of Clermont, during the course of Mme Andrau's writing of the book, Famille royale à la mode de France. Henri spoke of how he met Marie-Thérèse, and how their relationship progressed until they became engaged:

Princess Marie-Thérèse: "It is all the same a chance, that since the famous marriage of Marie od France with my ancestor the Duke of Württemberg, our family became Catholic. Thus, between us, no difference."

Prince Henri: "That's what I said to myself when, after meeting you in 1955 at that ball given in Munich by the Thurn and Taxis, I wanted to know more about you.

I noticed Marie-Thérèse the evening of that ball. I cannot say, however, what in her caught my attention. I don't remember how she was dressed. She was wearing a light dress... I think. What I noticed right away were her eyes... her blue eyes. Very large, very soft perhaps, but at the same time... firm. I found this to be very pleasing."

Mme Andrau: "So, Monseigneur, you invited this young girl in a light dress and with blue eyes to dance?"

Prince Henri: "Yes, but I only danced with her once that night. Everyone was asking for it. And since I knew very little about her... I contented myself with observing her from afar. But I had remembered it. I had spoken about it to Papa, who had told me that he held her family in high esteem. He himself considered Duchess Marie-Thérèse to be a serious and agreeable young woman.

Long after... three months it seems to me, I saw the Duchess Marie-Thérèse again at home. She had friends in France, she had come to Paris, she called. I guessed then that she didn't mind seeing me again. She could have not phoned, right?

Duchess Marie-Thérèse then came to lunch at Louveciennes. We couldn't talk much. The whole family was there. Then she came to Portugal in the summer. Unfortunately I was not there. I had work in Paris. Anyway, I hadn't decided to rush things. I wasn't sure what shape they would take. I thought: "We have to wait. We have to see..."

In September, we invited Marie-Thérèse to Louveciennes. There, we finally had the time to speak a little more freely. We had many common tastes that we discovered little by little. But she is much more savvy in music than I am. I liked this young woman more and more. However, I did not envisage marriage with her; just a friendship.

It was after he left that we started writing to each other. Then, in October, my parents and we were invited to 'chez euz', in Germany. Their welcome was very family-like. At the beginning, my brothers, my sisters, and I had a certain reservation vis-à-vis the young Württembergs. They were less exuberant than our family. It is only an appearance, with them, a little cold. But they are easily warmed up and they are charming.

So I stayed there, four or five days. I found Marie-Thérèse always very kind and affectionate. But I haven't asked her anything yet. I wanted to know if our budding feelings were solid.

Despite this, on my return, I had to put up with the jokes of my brothers and my sisters; those of Michael of Greece too. Me, I was silent. I didn't want to commit myself lightly, marriage is very important to me.

Finally, during the summer of 1956, when we were leaving for the mountains, Isabelle, Hélène, François and myself, Marie-Thérèse accompanied us to Chamonix. It was very nice. Then she went back home.

Me, after three days, I was seized with violent headaches. I had to abandon the caravan. It was too cold and I have a sensitive liver. But, naturally, my brothers and sisters didn't want to believe my discomfort. 'It's not altitude sickness you have, they said, it's heartsickness.'

In fact, I immediately went from Chamonix to Württemberg. And this time, I was determined to get married if Duchess Marie-Thérèse was too."

The betrothal of the prince and the duchess was officially announced on 14 November 1956.

The couple in the hôtel de ville de Dreux. With them are the Count and Countess of Paris, Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain, King Umberto II of Italy, the Count of Barcelona, and King Pavlos of Greece (obscured).

Prince Henri signs the marriage registry.

Duchess Marie-Thérèse signs the marriage registry.

Before their religious wedding, Prince Henri d'Orléans and Duchess Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg were civilly married at the mairie de Dreux. The prince's witnesses were the Count of Barcelona and the King of the Hellenes. The duchess's witnesses were her brothers Duke Ludwig and Duke Carl of Württemberg.

Prince Henri d'Orléans, Count of Clermont, and the Countess of Paris.

The Count of Paris and Duchess Rosa of Württemberg.

Duke Philipp of Württemberg and Duchess Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg.

King Umberto II of Italy, Queen Frederica of Greece, and King Simeon II of Bulgaria.

Marie-Thérèse places the wedding band on Henri's hand.

In the Royal Chapel of Dreux, the Abbe Noisée delivered the following sermon at the wedding of Prince Henri d'Orléans, Count of Clermont, and Duchess Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg:

There are dates in life that seem to bring together so many happy and important events that we like to choose them to add new ones.

5 July: the day of your birth, Monseigneur the Count of Paris, and also how happy that this was the day when you were able to return in complete freedom to the soil of a France so loved by you!

5 July: the anniversary of your baptism, Monseigneur the Count of Clermont, and now for many years no doubt - since, in one of the prayers at the altar, the priest will ask "that you may see your children's children until the third and fourth generation" - July 5th will remain the anniversary of this union that you will shortly contract with the one whom you have chosen for her proven moral qualities, her perfect education, her gentle but strong character for the accomplishment of duty.

By your asking me to deliver to you a few words from His Eminence the Cardinal Archbishop of Paris - in whom you find your first archbishop - who receives your request, you wanted to prove your affectionate gratitude for all that your adolescence, during these past years in Bordeaux, given from these strong friendships which surround you, trying to replace your family then distant from France, from these devoted teachers who instructed you, from these fellow pupils who remain attached to you, and from the one you call and who remains with so much affection: your abbot.

Be deeply convinced that by allowing your union God first wants you to be happy, because what can a father desire for his child if not happiness. Now, who is more of a Father than God?

But the Lord is also accustomed to making His own participate in His work; that is why you will not find this happiness ready-made. Under what conditions will you establish it? By thinking each one has to make the other happy. Besides, is not love above all about wanting the happiness of the other and being ready to sacrifice everything, even oneself if necessary, to achieve it?

If many couples are disappointed by marriage, it is not the fault of this institution willed by God, but, too often, because we seek more to profane love than to accept it with its joys, its requirements. Selfishness in the home may for a time bring satisfaction to one who no longer struggles, but, like the worm in the fruit, it destroys happiness, and sometimes with happiness, the home itself.

Besides, it will not be enough for you to be happy, even for each other, for both of you. If you must know this sweetness and this strength of love, it will be to allow those little beings whom the Lord will entrust to you, to find in your home this atmosphere of real joys so necessary for children to blossom and to prepare for the struggles of life.

If there are so many unhappy children in the world, it is because there are too many homes where we do not love each other as we should. You who know what a real family is, you will continue the example left by those who gave it to you.

Faithful to each other, you will be, because to carry out a common task, you always need undivided love.

Do I need to tell you that your marriage, not going unnoticed, as well as your existence, your home must, more than others, remain an example, because, to remind people of the greatness of the family, a real Christian home consists of more than a grand wedding.

To help you live this ideal, you will have the grace that the sacrament of marriage will bring you, that praying together will strengthen.

The presence at your side today of His Excellency the Bishop of Chartres guarantees that you will not be without the help of the Virgin, to whom he prays for you in her beautiful cathedral.

So, trusting in God as you both do, leaning on each other, go joyfully towards the life that disappoints only those who do not trust it. Even if it is rough at certain times, and it will be, your love will only come out stronger, because shared sorrows unite two hearts even more than joys.

You are well aware, Madame, of what the family means to many French people who has given you the eldest of their sons with all the responsibilities he carries, and you know with what joy and with what confidence they do so.

We who know and love the person who will become your traveling companion for good and bad days - because true love goes so far - we know that he will make you happy. We have, moreover, the same certainty with regard to you; you too will make him happy.

Does not a very old popular song from your country proclaim "No one has yet repented of having loved a young Swabian girl", and we are firmly convinced that it is not the descendant of Princess Marie d'Orléans, Duchess of Württemberg, who could begin to disappoint the trust and affection of the one who gave her everything!

You can now say the "yes" that will link your two lives.

Silent, we listen to you, but, now more than ever, our souls pray with you and for you.

Amen.

The Count and Countess of Clermont cut the wedding cake.

Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands.

Princess Anne, Dowager Duchess of Aosta, and Archduke Gottfried of Austria-Tuscany.

King Umberto II of Italy and Queen Frederica of Greece. Behind them are King Pavlos of Greece and Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain.

Count Evrard von Limburg-Stirum and Princess Diane d'Orléans.

Princess Isabelle d'Orléans.

Numerous royal and noble families attended the wedding of the Count and Countess of Clermont.

Austria

Archduke Robert and Archduchess Margherita of Austria

Archduke Ferdinand and Archduchess Helen of Austria

Archduke Heinrich of Austria

Baden

Margrave Berthold and Margravine Theodora of Baden

Hereditary Prince Max of Baden

Bavaria

Duke Albrecht and Duchess Marita of Bavaria

Hereditary Prince Franz of Bavaria

Duke Max Emanuel of Bavaria

Princess Marie Gabrielle of Bavaria

Duke Luitpold in Bavaria

Brazil

Princess Elisabeth of Orléans and Bragança

Prince Pedro Gastão and Princess Esperanza of Orléans and Bragança

Prince Pedro Carlos of Orléans and Bragança

Princess Teresa of Orléans and Bragança

Princess Maria Pia of Orléans and Bragança

Prince Luiz of Orléans and Bragança

Princess Pia Maria, Countess René de Nicolay

Bulgaria

Queen Mother Giovanna of Bulgaria

King Simeon II of the Bulgarians

Denmark

Prince Axel and Princess Margaretha of Denmark

Prince Viggo and Princess Viggo, Count and Countess of Rosenborg 

France

The Count and Countess of Paris

Princess Isabelle d'Orléans

Princess Hélène d'Orléans and Count Evrard von Limburg-Stirum

Prince François d'Orléans

Princess Anne d'Orléans

Princess Diane d'Orléans

Prince Michel d'Orléans

Prince Jacques d'Orléans

Princess Claude d'Orléans

Princess Chantal d'Orléans

Prince Thibaut d'Orléans

Princess Isabelle, Princess Pierre Murat

Princess Isabel, Dowager Duchess of Montpensier

Princess Geneviève, Marquise de Chaponay

Greece

King Pavlos and Queen Frederica of Greece

Crown Prince Constantine of Greece

Princess Sophia of Greece

Prince Michael of Greece

Hannover

Prince Ernst August and Princess Ortrud of Hannover

Prince Christian of Hannover

Prince Welf Heinrich of Hannover

Hohenlohe

Fürst Gottfried and Fürstin Margarita of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Hereditary Prince Kraft of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Italy

King Umberto II of Italy

Princess Anne, Dowager Duchess of Aosta

Princess Maria Cristina of Savoy-Aosta

Liechtenstein

Fürst Franz Joseph II and Fürstin Georgina of Liechtenstein

Prince Karl Alfred and Princess Agnes of Liechtenstein

Prince Georg and Princess Marie Christine of Liechtenstein

Princess Margarita of Liechtenstein

Prince Ulrich of Liechtenstein

Prince Aloys of Liechtenstein

Prince Heinrich of Liechtenstein

Löwenstein

Fürst Karl and Fürstin Carolina of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg

Luxembourg

Hereditary Grand Duke Jean and Hereditary Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg

Princess Marie Adelaide of Luxembourg

Prince Charles of Luxembourg

The Netherlands

Crown Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands

Princess Irene of the Netherlands

Parma

Princess Hedwige of Bourbon-Parma

Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma

Prince Louis and Princess Maria of Bourbon-Parma

Portugal

Duarte Nuno and Maria Francisca, Duke and Duchess of Braganza

Saxony

Margrave Friedrich Christian and Margravine Elisabeth Helene of Meißen

Hereditary Prince Maria Emanuel of Saxony

Spain

Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain

The Count and Countess of Barcelona Infanta Pilar of Spain Infante Jose Eugenio of Spain, Prince of Bavaria, and Princess Marisol of Bavaria

Thurn and Taxis

Fürst Franz Joseph and Fürstin Elisabeth of Thurn and Taxis

Prince Karl August and Princess Maria Ana of Thurn and Taxis

Prince Johannes of Thurn and Taxis

Prince Raimundo delle Torre e Tasso

Tuscany

Archduke Gottfried and Archduchess Dorothea of Austria

Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria

Archduchess Alice of Austria

Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria

Archduke Radbot Ferdinand of Austria

Archduchess Walburga of Austria

Archduchess Katharina of Austria Archduke Hubert Salvator and Archduchess Rosemary of Austria

Two Sicilies

Infanta Alicia, Duchess of Calabria

Princess Teresa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

Princess Inès of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

Prince Antonio of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

Württemberg

Duke Philipp and Duchess Rosa of Württemberg

Duke Louis of Württemberg

Duke Carl of Württemberg

Duchess Helene of Württemberg

Duchess Elisabeth of Württemberg 

Duchess Marie Antoinette of Württemberg Duchess Nadeshda of Württemberg Duke Ferdinand of Württemberg

Duchess Margarethe of Württemberg Duke Eugen Eberhard of Württemberg

Duke Alexander of Württemberg Duchess Sophie of Württemberg

Yugoslavia

Prince Alexander and Princess Maria Pia of Yugoslavia

The Birth of Princess Cosima de Nassau, First Granddaughter of Prince Jean

 

Constantin, Katy, and their son Félix on the occasion of their marriage.

Prince Constantin and Princess Kathryn de Nassau welcomed the birth of their second child and first daughter, Princess Cosima, on 13 May 2022. Cosima joins older brother Prince Félix (b.2018). Prince Constantin de Nassau and Princess Kathryn (née Mechie) married in 2020.  Prince Constantin is the son of Prince Jean of Luxembourg and his first wife Hélène Vestur; the prince is the nephew of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg. Kathryn Mechie is the daughter of Stewart Campbell Mechie and Kaye MacEwan.

Source: Ampleforth Society

90 Years Since the Death of King Manoel II of Portugal

The last photo of King Manuel II, 1932.

On 2 July 1932, King Manuel II of Portugal died at 2pm at his home-in-exile, Fulwell Park, Twickenham. His wife Queen Victoria Auguste was at his bedside when the last Portuguese monarch passed away. A malady of the throat was the case of death for the forty-three year-old king. King George V and Queen Mary immediately sent their condolences. 

The official statement of the passing of King Manuel read as follows:

We are authorised and regret to announce that His Majesty King Manoel of Portugal died suddenly this afternoon at two o'clock. 

His Majesty attended the tennis tournament at Wimbledon yesterday. This morning the King complained of a sore throat, but was free from fever and paid a visit to his laryngologist, who advised his immediate retirement to bed.

At 1pm His Majesty felt more ill and went to bed. 

At 1:40 there was an attack of breathlessness, which became worse with extreme rapidity, and death ensued from acute oedema of the glottis.

King Manuel had been visit by his laryngologist, Sir Milson Rees, on the morning of the day of his death. No doctor was present at the death of king owing to the rapid deterioration in his condition. However, a brief time after the king died, his consulting physician Lord Dawson of Penn arrived at Fulwell Park. The king's mother Queen Amélie, who often resided at Fulwell Park with her son and daughter-in-law, immediately departed to England from her French residence, the Château de Bellevue at Le Chesnay near Versailles. 

Queen Victoria Augusta and Queen Amelia of Portugal arrive at Westminster Cathedral.

On 14 July, a High Mass of Requiem was held at Westminster Cathedral. Upon the casket of the late king was a crown, it was comprised of blue and yellow flowers, the colours of the Portuguese flag. Chief among the mourners were the widowed Queen Victoria Auguste, who wept silently with her head bowed, and Queen Amélie, who held her head erect...a woman who had now lived through the assassinations of her husband and eldest son and was witnessing the final rites for her youngest child. Both royal ladies were dressed in simple black mourning attire. The mass was also attended by King Alfonso XIII of Spain, King George II of Greece, and the Duke of Gloucester representing his father King George. Two thousand mourners were in the cathedral.

The funeral cortege of King Manuel makes its way through the streets of Lisbon.

The mortal remains of the last King of Portugal were transported from the United Kingdom to Portugal on the British cruiser Concord. The ship arrived at Lisbon on 2 August. The Republic of Portugal, lead by then by António de Oliveira Salazar, authorised state honours to be accorded to the events surrounding the burial of King Manoel. The Reverend C.G. Holland, honorary chaplain to the British embassy in Lisbon, recounted his recollections of King Manoel's body returning to his beloved homeland for the The Sevenoaks Chronicle, Westerham Courier and Kentish Advertiser, on 12 August 1932:

The passing of Royalty has a poignancy wider and deeper than private obsequies however intimate such may be. For the King belongs to his country and his mourners are his subjects of all ages and of every class. But on the sadness of the cry, "Le Roi est mort," there follows hard the shout of "Vive le Roi"; the slow sad music of death merging into the joyful coronation march as the new monarch ascends to the throne of his fathers. 

When the King has lost his throne and has died in exile, when he is the last of his Royal House to hold the sceptre, there is no fanfare of accession to drown the funeral dirge: "Le Roi set mort," and with him Royalty dies.

Today I have witnessed such a passing, surely the strangest, most poignant, and most romantic of all Royal funerals, the homecoming of King Manuel II. of Braganza after an exile of 22 years.

As the sun rose in cloudless glory on yet another perfect summer's day, the motor launch chartered by the correspondents of Reuters and Havas set off down the river to meet the British cruiser bringing the Royal coffin. A brisk "Nortade" was whipping up the broad estuary into short foam-crested waves as we crouched in the shelter of the canvas wind-dodger straining our eyes down stream to catch the first glimpse of the escorting destroyer.

Not until we had nearly reached the lighthouse which guards the bar of the Tagus did we see the tell-tale plume of smoke from the low funnels of Guardiana, the Portuguese destroyer, half-a-mile ahead of the cruiser. A few minutes later the light cruiser H.M.S. Concord came into sight, astern of her the little torpedo boat Lis.

Concord flew the white ensign astern, the Jack at the bow, and at her signal halyards the Royal Standard of the House of Braganza, red with the Royal arms in gold in the centre, all three at half-mast. Liner, tramp, bluff-nosed tug, and fussy launch, the graceful schooners of the Newfoundland cod-fishing, even the coal-hulks and lighters flew the right and green flag of the Republic at half-mast, the beaches and the quays were black with people, while over the city a thousand lowered flags were paying homage to Royalty. Where the river narrows at Belem stands the tower of Vasco da Gama on the spot where that famous voyager set off and returned on his voyage to the Indies. From the side of the Concord a flash and a cloud of light grey smoke, followed by a deep boom which echoed among the hills of the many-hilled city of Ulysses. An answering gun from the fort of Bom Successao; 21 guns from river and from land the salute of international curtesy. The vessels quicken speed, the little Lis plunging her bows into the waves as she works up to what must be for her, in her old age, full speed. A string of flags from Guardiana, answered in kind by the Concord; the International Code understood by all the ships of the world. The escort turns aside, the British cruiser with a wide sweep slows down the quay of the Sul e Oeste, hawsers are made ready and she edges into the quayside.

On the quay await the Minister of War, members of the Government, and foreign diplomats, among whom in the place of honour our own Ambassador, Sir Claud Russell, today enoye extraordinaire of King George V. There, too, await Cardinal Archbishop of Lisbon, with his Canons and his chaplain, the guard of honour, and a little crowd of reporters with notebooks, film and "still" cameras, the insignia of their trade.

Concord is now alongside, her decks manned for entering harbour. The coffin has been carried on the poop-deck, guarded by four bluejackets with arms reserved. Now covered with the Royal Standard it is borne by eight sailors down the gangway. A sharp command, the marines present arms, the buglers take up the plaintive notes of the "Last Post." As the last note dies away the guard of honour on the quay repeats the call learnt more than a hundred years ago from Wellington's army on the battlefields of Spain and Portugal. The bearers have reached the quay, and King Manuel is on his own soil and among his own people after 22 years of exile. A short religious ceremony at the catafalque inside the station on the pier in the midst of which four flash-lights explode and twenty cameras secure another "news photograph." Again the coffin is lifted, this time upon the shoulders of eight Portuguese sailors. England has done her part, has paid her last act of homage to her Royal guest, and given back the King to his own people. 

Outside in the great Praca do Commercio, the citizens of Lisbon await their former King. Fifty deep they stand ringed by a line of armed soldiers in sky-blue uniforms and steel helmets. Alone in the midst of the great square, the dead King's ancestor, King Jose I, carved in bronze astride his coal-black charger set high above all early Kings and Presidents, dominates the pageantry of passing Royalty. The coffin is lifted upon a gun-carriage drawn by six horses, and is made secure by four former officers of the Royal household. On the coffin rest the wreaths sent by the King and Queen of Italy and by the officers and men of H.M.S. Concord. Our own Royal wreath with hundreds of others fill to overflowing two large motor hearses.

The gun-carriage moves off, followed by the golden coaches of the Cardinal Archbishop and his clergy, each with six mules and mounted positions. On each side a line of infantry with arms reversed, a squadron of landers with pennons-a-flutter in the breeze, units from every regiment garrisoned in Lisbon, a detachment from the fleet, and the long, long line of motor cars. Out into the sunshine of the square where the pigeons wheel beneath the summer sky, amid the respectful homage of a people for a true patriot and a great cavalheiro who loved his country to the last and bequeathed his worldly goods to the nation which had rejected him. The sobs of the women, the set white faces of the men, the lofty buildings and the streets black with mourners, the jingle of the bits and the hoof-beats of the escort. King Manuel has come home at last, and all Lisbon is there to receive him. Past the very spot where before his eyes his father and elder brother had been shot down by the assassin, up the steep Rua da Graca to the Church of Ste. Vincente where his Royal forebears lies, among whom the English Queen, Catherine of Braganza, wife of our own Charles II.

Twenty-two years ago a British vessel, our Royal Yacht, Victoria and Albert, brought King Manuel to our shores, today a British vessel has given him back to his fatherland. Today in Lisbon there is neither monarchist nor republican, for today all are subjects of the last of the Kings. Tomorrow politics will blaze forth again and ancient feuds be renewed. Today "None is for a party and all are for the King."

"Le Roi est mort" - yes, the King is dead; and yet he lives and will live on in the hearts of those who drove him from the land he loved so well and fain would have served so faithfully. As I write the guns are booming again: this time it is the Royal salute. The Republic is paying her last respects to the last of her Kings.

The body of King Manuel II was interred in the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora. 

50 Years Since the Marriage of Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia & Princess Maria da Gloria of Orléans and Braganza

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Yugoslavia during their Orthodox religious wedding.

Maria da Gloria and Alexander. Her father Pedro Gastão can be seen behind them.

The engagement announcement in the Daily Telegraph of 21 December 1971.

On 1 July 1972, Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia and Princess Maria da Gloria of Orléans and Bragança were married at Villamanrique de la Condesa, Spain. The couple's engagement had been announced on 20 December 1971 by a spokesman of the prince in London. Alexander and Maria da Gloria met at a party given by Maria's Tante Bebelle (the Countess of Paris) in Cascais; it was love at first sight.

Crown Prince Alexander approaches the altar with Princess Olga, wife of Prince Regent Paul.

The couple during their religious wedding.

The couple during their religious wedding.

The couple during their religious wedding.

Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Maria da Gloria of Yugoslavia during their religious union. Behind the princess one can see Prince Regent Paul of Yugoslavia.

Born in 1945, Crown Prince Alexander was the only child of King Peter II of Yugoslavia (1923-1970) and Queen Alexandra (1921-1993; née Princess of Greece). Educated in Switzerland, the United States, and the United Kingdom, Alexander was a lieutenant in the British army with the Queen's Royal Lancers, with whom he did a tour in Northern Ireland. The crown prince was a godson of Queen Elizabeth II. Born in 1946, Princess Maria da Gloria was the daughter of Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans and Bragança (1913-2007) and Princess Esperanza (1914-2005; née Princess of Bourbon-Two Sicilies). Maria da Gloria had studied interior design in Paris, and was working as an interior decorator in Madrid.

Left to right: Prince Pedro Gastão; the Countess of Barcelona; the newlyweds; Infante Alfonso, Duke of Galliera; Princess Olga of Yugoslavia; Princess Esperanza; Princess Teresa; Prince Paul of Yugoslavia; King Umberto II of Italy.

Prince Juan Carlos; the Count of Paris; Princess Sofía with her children; the Countess of Barcelona; the newlyweds; Princess Anne; King Constantine II of the Hellenes with Queen Anne-Marie and their children; Infante Alfonso (between the Greek king and queen); Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia.

Princess Maria da Gloria and Prince Alexander with the bride's aunt, the Countess of Paris.

The Count of Paris with Infanta Pilar of Spain and her husband Luís Gomez-Acebo y de Estrada.

The guest list included the following royal relations: Prince Juan Carlos and Princess Sofía of Spain with their children; the Count and Countess of Barcelona; Infanta Pilar and Luís Gomez-Acebo y de Estrada; Infanta Margarita and Dr Carlos Zurita y Delgado; Infante Alfonso of Spain, Duke of Galliera; Princess Anne of the United Kingdom; King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes with their children; the Count and Countess of Paris; Princess Chantal d'Orléans and François Xavier de Sambucy de Sorgue;  King Umberto II of Italy; Prince Paul and Princess Olga of Yugoslavia; Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia; Infanta Alicia, Dowager Duchess of Calabria; Infante Carlos and Princess Anne, Duke and Duchess of Calabria with their children; the Margrave of Baden; Princess Dolores of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and her husband Señor Carlos Chías; Prince Adam Czartorsky; Prince Pedro Gastão and Princess Esperanza of Orléans and Bragança; Princess Teresa of Orléans and Bragança; Infante Duarte Pio of Portugal, Prince of Beira, with his brothers Infante Miguel and Infante Henrique; Prince Tomislav and Princess Margarita of Yugoslavia; and Duke Carl and Duchess Diane of Württemberg. 

Father Florian: The Bavarian Prince who Became a Monk (1957-2022)

Father Florian.

Photo (c) Christena Dowsett/The GroundTruth Project.

On 22 June 2022, Father Florian died at St. Scholastica Uzima Hospital in Ruaraka, Kenya. He was sixty-four-years-old.  Prince Franz-Josef Michael Maria Ignatius of Bavaria, the first son and second child of Prince Rasso of Bavaria and Princess Theresa (born Archduchess of Austria), was born at Schloss Leutstetten on 21 September 1957. The prince became a Benedictine monk, a member of the Roman Catholic Order of Saint Benedict. In 1982 after finishing his studies he joined the Benedictine monastery of St. Ottilien as a novice, choosing the name Florian, and 1983 he took his first vows. Until 1996, he lived under the name Pater [Father] Florian at St. Ottilien in Emming in southern Bavaria. The following was shared about the upbringing of the prince on his website:

His childhood and youth were spent on the family farm of Rieden, the former model farm of his great-grandfather King Ludwig III of Bavaria, which used to supply the Haunersche Kinderklinik, a children’s hospital in Munich, with fresh milk. During Franz-Josef´s childhood on the farm mainly young cattle were raised but there were also horses, goats and sheep. It was a carefree childhood. After the first years of primary school in the one-class village school of Leutstetten, he went to school in the nearby town of Starnberg. His upbringing in agricultural surroundings formed him as a person deeply connected to animals and nature. Dealing with agricultural machinery awoke his passion for mechanics and technology.

Since 1996, Prince Franz-Josef lived between the Peramiho Abbey in Tanzania and in Kenya he became prior administrator of the Prince of Peace Benedictine Monastery - Tigoni Limuru. He worked primarily in Illeret, St Peter the Fisherman parish, and a new Benedictine Monastery in the Diocese of Marsabit, northern part of Kenya.

May Pater Florian Rest in Peace. 

Sources: 

Father Florian, the Benedictine monk who was a prince

Benediktinerpater Florian Prinz von Bayern in Kenia gestorben

The 60th Birthday of the Earl of St Andrews, Future Duke of Kent

Edward and Katharine with their son George, July 1962.

On 26 June 1962, George Philip Nicholas Windsor, Earl of St Andrews, was born at the family home of Coppins in Iver, Buckinghamshire. George was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, who had married in 1961. At the time of his birth, the Earl of St Andrews was tenth in the line of succession to the British throne. He was also the first male-line member of the extended British royal house to not be born with a princely title; it was noted at the time of his birth that the Earl of St Andrews would become the first non-royal Duke of Kent whenever the time came for him to succeed to the title. The newest addition to the Kent branch of the Royal Family weighed 6 1/4 lbs. 

The statement released from Coppins following his arrival read: "Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent was safely delivered of a son at three o'clock this afternoon. Both the Duchess and her child are well. [signed] John H. Pell." Indeed, Sir John Pell, the gynaecologist of HM Queen Elizabeth II, led the team of doctors who attended the Duchess of Kent at the birth. 

The Earl of St Andrews was christened in the music room at Buckingham Palace on 14 September 1962. George received as godparents: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh; Princess Alexandra, Mrs Angus Ogilvy; Mr Oliver Worsley; and Lady Lily Serena Lumley. The christening of the Earl of St Andrews was officiated by Dr A M Ramsey, the Archbishop of Canterbury; the little earl wore the christening robe of Honiton lace worn by Queen Victoria's children, as well as by the earl's late grandfather George and his father Edward. In addition to the Duke and Duchess of Kent, the attendees included The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen Mother, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, Princess Marina Duchess of Kent, Princess Mary the Princess Royal, Princess Alexandra, Prince Michael of Kent, Prince Paul and Princess Olga of Yugoslavia, Sir William Worsley and Lady Worsley, Mr and Mrs Marcus Worsley, and Mr Oliver Worsley. A reception was held afterward at Kensington Palace. 

Our best wishes to the Earl of St Andrews on his birthday!

The Baptism of Prince Michael of Romania at the Coronation Cathedral!

Alina-Maria with Michael, Karina, and Nicholas with Maria Alexandra.

 

Last Saturday, 18 June, Prince Michael of Romania was baptised at the Coronation Cathedral (Catedrala Încoronării) in Alba Iulia. The cathedral was built between 1921-1922; it was the setting for the coronation of Michael's great-great-great grandparents King Ferdinand and Queen Maria of Romania as monarchs of Greater Romania on 22 October 1922. Michael's father Prince Nicholas noted: "It is a moment of great joy, it is a very important moment in our son's life. It is very important to keep in touch with history and of course with family. The name Mihai is a special name, of course in memory of my grandfather. It is also the name of a great saint, and that was important to us. I'm Mihai too, I have a cousin Mihai, it's a family name, so it's not only the king's name."

 

The happy parents with their little boy.

 

Michael's godparents are Liviu and Simona Popescu. The Popescus were the sponsors for Princess Alina-Maria of Romania during her and Nicholas's religious wedding in 2018. 

 

A united family: Mihai Binder, Rodica Binder holding Princess Maria Alexandra, Princess Alina-Maria holding Prince Michael, Prince Nicholas, Karina de Roumanie, and Heinz Binder.

 

Around 100 guests from Romania and Europe came to Alba Iulia for the baptism. The maternal grandparents of Prince Michael, Heinz and Rodica Binder, were there to celebrate this momentous occasion. Michael's maternal uncle, Mihai Binder, and his paternal aunt, Karina de Roumanie, were also on hand to take part in this special family event. Members of the Cantacuzino and Ghyka noble families were in attendance as well. 

 

The baptism of Nicholas of Romania
(left to right) King Michael, Crown Princess Margarita, Queen Anne, Princess Helen holding her son Prince Nicholas, and Dr. Robin Medforth-Mills

 

When Michael's father Nicholas was baptised on 8 June 1985 in Switzerland, Nicholas received as his godparents the following family and friends: King Michael of Romania; Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester; the Prince of Asturias (now King Felipe VI of Spain); Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark; Princess Sophie of Romania; Countess Charles de Breteuil (née Solange de Ganay); Dick Stern, Sophie Maris, Paul Contomichalos, Flora Deacon, and Mrs Jean Boissevian. The baptism of Michael's great-grandfather King (then Prince) Michael took place on 22 January 1922 at the Royal Palace in Bucharest.

Princess Alina-Maria holding Prince Michael and Prince Nicholas holding Princess Maria Alexandra.

 

May God Bless Michael! La multi ani!

 

Sources:

One hundred years after the baptism of his great-grandfather, the son of Prince Nicolae was baptized in Alba Iulia

Former Prince Nicolae baptized his son at the Coronation Cathedral in Alba Iulia. The child is named after King Michael