Saturday, May 31, 2014

The Prince of Wales in Romania

The Prince of Wales greets Prince Radu at the University of Bucharest @Agerpress
 
 
An affectionate greeting for Crown Princess Margarita @Agerpress
The Prince of Wales was in Romania this week for a private visit.  He spent time in the countryside.  He arrived in Romania on a private charter flight on May 27, and traveled to Viscri, where he met with villagers and local officials.  The heir to the British throne spent some time at the guest house he owns in the small town, and spoke with "an architect about possible work on the house."

He stayed in Miclosoara as the guest of Count Tibor Kalnoky, a long time friend who manages the rentals of his properties.

Today, the Prince of Wales received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bucharest.  He was joined at the event by Crown Princess Margarita and Prince Radu of Romania

http://www.romania-insider.com/prince-charles-of-wales-back-to-romania-speaks-about-expansion-of-his-local-properties/123182/

https://news.yahoo.com/prince-charles-back-annual-transylvania-trip-125844860.html

Twins for Albert & Charlene?

According to this tweet Derek Watts sent on  May 30, the Princess of Monaco is expecting twins.

 This has not been confirmed by the palace's press office.  Charlene will not be accompanying Prince Albert to the Netherlands.

Watts wrote: "My old bulawayo schoolmate mike wittstock has phoned to say his daughter is pregnant with twins. Congrats princess charlene and albert!"


The local newspaper also spoke with  Charlene's father, who stated his daughter is pregnant with twins. 

http://benonicitytimes.co.za/177845/princess-charlene-monaco-pregnant/


I would not call the comments about twins to be gossip, as it was Charlene's father who made the statement.


The official announcement did not say the Princess was having a baby.  The palace announced a pregnancy, thus avoiding, for now, the idea that Charlene has two buns in the oven.


http://www.rivieratimes.com/index.php/monaco-article/items/monaco-celebrates-announcement-of-new-baby1.html







Friday, May 30, 2014

Prince Amedeo to return to Belgium

Prince Amedeo of Belgium, who has been living in New York City for the past few years,  will be returning to Brussels to live.


He studied at the prestigious London School of Economics, and recently received a MBA from Columbia University's Business School. Before heading to Columbia, he worked as a consultant and analyst at Deloitte Consulting, also in New York City.


It was in London where Prince Amedeo met Elisabetta Roscboch von Wolkenstein.  She joined him in New York, securing a position with the Bloomberg Financial news service. 


The couple will marry on July 5 in Rome.  After their honeymoon, they will settle in Brussels, where Amedeo will look for a job in the financial sector.  With his education, his job experience, and his title,  he will be unemployed for a very short time.


Prince Amedeo is the eldest child of Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz of Belgium.    Princess Astrid is looking forward to her son's return, and a future with grandchildren.


http://www.she.be/celebrities/aid1591849/prins-amedeo-keert-terug-naar-belgie.aspx?utm_source=gva&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=homepage_blokonder

The Princess of Monaco is .....

@ Princely Palais Monaco
EXPECTING A BABY!!


It's official.  Charlene is pregnant!    The Prince and Princess of Monaco are going to be parents!!!  Palace made the announcement earlier today.

OFFICIEL
"Le Prince Albert II et la Princesse Charlène de Monaco ont l’immense joie d’annoncer qu’Ils attendent un heureux événement.La naissance est prévue à la fin de l’année.

The princess is three months pregnant, and expected to give birth toward the end of the year!

Succession to the throne is male primogeniture (from the Sovereign Prince and siblings).  Thus, a son would be styled as Hereditary Prince and a daughter would be styled as Hereditary Princess.  A daughter would retain this title until the birth of a younger brother.  

Although second in line to the throne,  Caroline is not the Hereditary Princess. She is not the daughter of the present sovereign.


http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/monacos-princess-charlene-pregnant-23928097

Lady Nicholas Windsor gaves birth to a son

Lord and Lady Nicholas Windsor are the parents of a third son, Louis Arthur Nicholas Felix,  who was born on May 27 in London.

Lady Nicholas will celebrate her 45th birthday in August. 

Lord Nicholas and his sons do not have dynastic rights to the throne.  Lord Nicholas converted to Roman Catholicism, and his children have been baptized in the Roman Catholic faith.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2643431/SEBASTIAN-SHAKESPEARE-Cheer-Cressy-drama-not-crisis.html



Thursday, May 29, 2014

President Roosevelt goes to church with Louis Ferdinand and Kira

May 29, 1938


President and Mrs. Roosevelt "went to church today" with Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia and his new bride, Princess Kira, reports United Press.


Prince Louis Ferdinand, a grandson of the former Kaiser Wilhelm II, and Princess Kira, are "week-end guests" of the President at his Hyde Park estate


They sat in the Roosevelt Pew at St. James' Episcopal Church, where the presiding minister, the Rev. Frank R  Wilson pray at the "pre-Memorial Day services" for the soldiers and sailors who died in "America's wars."


The President's mother and other family members were also present for the church service.


Prince and Princess Louis Ferdinand arrived in the USA from Europe last week, on a "round-the-world honeymoon trip."


After church, President Roosevelt and his guests returned to Hyde Park for lunch.


The President will remain at Hyde Park until tomorrow evening, when he will board a special train for Washington.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Shaking my head

No one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes.  We all do.  I try to strive for accuracy in my daily routine -- I am a university librarian -- and in my own writing and reporting.

I have been writing about British and European royalty since the late 1970s, and I have built up a large library of books, clip files, photographs, and postcards.   But not everyone who blogs about royalty is an acknowledged expert on the topic.

Such is the case of a blog -- not going to name it -- that has a lot of followers and is quoted in the press because of the blogger's expertise in fashion - and what the Duchess of Cambridge wears.  The blogger (there may be more than one) has a unique fashion sense, which is a good thing when writing about Catherine's clothes.  What this blog achieves is terrific.  I know I could never do what they do.  In full transparency, let me say that I know very little about fashion, although I love Ralph Lauren, and wear his clothes nearly every day!  Fashion is not my forte, but British and European royalty are in the realms of my expertise.

But the blogger is not as adept in writing accurately about royal history and royal titles.  A post yesterday about Catherine's titles exacerbated the situation.  I wrote a response, pointing out the mistakes in a very polite response, which was not posted.  Suffice to say, all the information I provided was verifiable, by using different sources (not Wikipedia).

The former Catherine Middleton is NOT Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge.  Her name is not a part of her title.  She is HRH The Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn, and Lady Carrickfergus.   These titles were not given to her, but to her husband,  Prince William, on his wedding day.  The Letters Patent did not refer to the then Miss Middleton, but only to William.   Catherine's titles are by courtesy of her marriage to Prince William.

Widows and divorced wives of peers are styled as first name, title.  Diana, Princess of Wales, and Sarah, Duchess of York, followed this styling.

The present Dukedom of Cambridge is not the same that was first used in 1664, when the infant son, James, of the Duke and Duchess of York (The future James II and his first wife, Anne Hyde) was created as Duke of Cambridge.  Young James died shortly before his fourth birthday, and the title reverted to the Crown, for recreation.    He was the first created Duke of Cambridge, but the Duke of York's first son, Charles (1660-1661) was the first to be styled as Duke of Cambridge. 

The writer is correct in saying that the Cambridge dukedom was first used in 1664, but then adds "over the next three centuries, "Cambridge" would become an earldom and marquessate as well."   She also claims that the Cambridge title "has been held by many future monarchs and high profile royals, including George II and Edward IV.

Strange to list George II before Edward IV, who died in 1483, and was the last of the Plantagenet  Earls of Cambridge.  The title reverted to the Crown in 1461 when he became king.

The fourth creation of the Cambridge earldom was made in 1619 by Charles I for James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton.  The title remained with the Hamilton family until 1651 when the 2nd Duke of Hamilton died.  With the death of the 2nd Duke of Hamilton, the Cambridge earldom became extinct.   Eight years later, Charles II created his younger brother, Prince Henry, as Duke of Gloucester and Earl of Cambridge.

Edward IV was Duke of York, Earl of March, Earl of Cambridge, and Earl of Ulster, before he succeeded to the English throne.  The York dukedom was his primary peerage.   He was the only English King to have had the earldom of Cambridge among his peerages.  

George II was the only monarch (so far) who held the title Duke of Cambridge. 

Thus, two monarchs, not "many",  have had a Cambridge peerage.  The five creations of the Cambridge earldom preceded the first creation of a Cambridge dukedom.  The earldoms did not follow the first dukedom.

Three of the future James II's sons were created Duke of Cambridge. None survived infancy.  It was not until 1706, when Queen Anne created her kinsman, Prince George of Hanover, as Duke and Marquess of Cambridge, Earl of Milford Haven, Viscount Northallerton, and Baron of Tewkesbury.  At the time of this creation,  George was third in line to the British throne after his grandmother, the Electress Sophia of Hanover, and his father, Hereditary Prince Georg Ludwig.


Sophia died in 1714 several months before Queen Anne.  Thus, it was her son, Georg Ludwig, who succeeded to the British throne, as George I.  The Duke of Cambridge, as heir apparent, became the Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay.  He did not cease to be the Duke of Cambridge, but as the heir to the throne, he was styled by the appropriate titles. Soon after succeeding as king, George I soon named his son  Prince of Wales. 

When George II succeeded in 1727, the peerages given to him by Queen Anne reverted to the Crown.  His eldest son, Frederick, became the Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay and was created Prince of Wales.

The Cambridge dukedom was created for the fourth time in 1801 by George III for his seventh son (and tenth child), Prince Adolphus (1774-1850.)  He was succeeded by his only son, Prince George (1819-1904).   As the 2nd Duke's marriage was in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act, his sons were not dynasts, and the peerages reverted to the Crown.

It was not until 1917 when the Marquessate of Cambridge was created for the 2nd Duke of Teck (Prince Adolphus), who was the brother of Queen Mary, and great-grandson of Prince Adolphus, Duke Cambridge, through his youngest child, Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge. 

The 1st Marquess of Cambridge died in 1927 and was succeeded by his elder son, George.  The title became extinct, and reverted to the Crown, in 1981, when George died without male heirs.  His younger brother, Lord Frederick Cambridge, was killed in action in 1940.

The writer also notes that because Kate will "one day be the queen consort of Scotland, it is custom for heirs and their spouses to take a "Scottish title."

Queen Consort of Scotland?  Not since 1707, and the Act of Union, which brought together England and Scotland as one country with one sovereign: today the country is known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

No one "takes" Scottish titles.   The British sovereign is the fountain of all honours, and the sovereign creates the titles for the members of the royal family.   But the "Scottish" title is not reserved for the heir.

In Scotland, the heir has the title Duke of Rothesay.    Prince William is second in line to the throne.  He is not the heir.  His father, the Prince of Wales, is the heir to the throne.  William does not have a constitutional role.  That will come when his father is King.

Queen Victoria's third son, Prince Arthur was Duke of Connaught and Strathearn.  He was succeeded by his grandson, Alistair, who bore the courtesy title, Earl of Macduff, as he was also heir to his mother's dukedom, Fife.   The 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn died unmarried in Canada in 1943, at the age of 28. 

Connaught and Strathearn reverted to the Crown.  As Connaught is located in the Republic of Ireland, it won't be created again. 

It was George V who largely established the English dukedom, Scottish earldom, and Irish  (after 1947, Northern Irish) peerages for male members of the Royal Family, although he did switch the order for one of his sons.

In 1920, George V created his second son, Prince Albert, as Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, and Baron Killarney.  These titles reverted to the Crown when Bertie succeeded to the throne following his brother, Edward VIII's abdication.    Eight years,  King George created his third son, Henry, as Duke of Gloucester, Earl of Ulster, and Baron Culloden.  Ulster is in what is now Northern Ireland, and Culloden is in Scotland.

It was not until October 1934, six weeks before his marriage to Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark,  Prince George, the youngest surviving son of George V, was created Duke of Kent, Earl of St. Andrews, and Baron Downpatrick.

In 1986,  Queen Elizabeth II created her second son, Prince Andrew, as Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, and Baron Killyleagh, rather than Killarney, which is located in the Republic of Ireland.

The blogger states that when Charles becomes king,  William and Catherine will be "given the title Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall."  She adds that the Cambridge title will return to the "title bank" for later use.   There is no such thing as a title bank.  Peerages revert to the Crown for a possible recreation.

When Charles succeeds to the throne, William, as the eldest son, will become Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay, just as HRH Prince Charles of Edinburgh became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay (in Scotland) when his mother became Queen.

At some point, Charles will invest William with the titles, Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester.  Catherine will have a good seat at the investiture, but she will not be a part of the ceremony.  As the wife of the Prince of Wales, she will bear the title by courtesy, not by an investiture.  

So what happens to the Dukedom of Cambridge?  Absolutely nothing until William becomes king, when his peerages revert to the Crown, apart from Cornwall and Rothesay.  He will remain as Duke of Cambridge until the death of his father.

"In accordance with the direction of Her Majesty The Queen Letters Patent have passed the Great Seal of the Realm, dated 26 May 2011 granting unto Her Majesty’s Grandson, His Royal Highness Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales, K.G., and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten the dignities of Baron Carrickfergus, Earl of Strathearn, and Duke of Cambridge."

This means Prince George and any younger brothers are heirs to the dukedom, but when William becomes king, the Cambridge dukedom will revert to the Crown, and not be inherited by George.

From January 22, 1901, until November 9, 1901, when he was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester,  the future George V was styled as Duke of Cornwall and York.   George, the only surviving son of Edward VII,  was created Duke of York by his grandmother, Queen Victoria, on her birthday, May 24, 1892. 


Thus, there is a precedent, that William might be styled as Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge until King Charles III makes the announcement that he will create his son as Prince of Wales.  We won't know this until Charles is on the throne.

Catherine's title will not be Catherine, Princess of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall.  She will be HRH The Princess of Wales.  She will also be the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duchess of Rothesay (in Scotland, depending on how the referendum goes later this year), Duchess of Cambridge, etc.   But she will be styled as HRH The Princess of Wales because it is the higher, more important title.  Her name will not be included.   Names are not used in the style of titles unless one is a widow or divorced.

The press may call her Princess Catherine, but this is never correct as she is not a Princess of the Blood Royal.  She is a Princess by marriage.  Only Princesses of the Blood Royal are styled by their own names.  If William had not been created Duke of Cambridge,  he would have remained as HRH Prince William of Wales.  Catherine would have been styled as HRH Princess William of Wales.   The precedents: HRH Princess Arthur of Connaught,  HRH Princess Richard of Gloucester (now HRH The Duchess of Gloucester), and HRH Princess Michael of Kent.

There are one or two anomalies that could happen regarding titles.  If Charles dies before his mother,  William will become the heir apparent to the throne.  But he will not become the Duke of Cornwall, nor have access to the Duchy's revenues.  Why? Only the eldest son of the Sovereign can be the Duke of Cornwall.  

The Duchy and its revenues revert to the Crown when there is no Duke of Cornwall.  This was the case from when George VI succeeded until his death, when Elizabeth became queen, and her son became the Duke of Cornwall.  Elizabeth was heiress presumptive.

If William would die before his father and grandmother, little George would succeed as Duke of Cambridge.  The Letters Patent bestowed the title on William and his male heirs.  George would remain Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn, and Baron Carrickfergus until he succeeded to the throne when the titles revert to the Crown.  He would have been styled as Prince of Wales if the sovereign invested him with the title,  but he, too, would not inherit the Cornwall dukedom.

Catherine's rank and style are through marriage.  The HRH and the rank of Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are not hers by right but by marriage.  Should this marriage end in divorce before Charles is king (doubtful), Catherine would lose the HRH (Queen Elizabeth II issued a Letters Patent after the divorces of the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of York regarding the status of former wives.  They would lose the HRH as it was not theirs by right.)

Catherine would be styled as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.  She would also have the option of reverting to her maiden name.  If Diana had remarried a man without any title, she would have become The Lady Diana surname. 

http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2011/05/primer-catherine-is-princess.html


http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2013/08/british-titles-etc-rules-are-hard-and.html


(This second post was cited by New York Magazine!)


http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2013/08/when-queen-mum-was-princess.html



So what would I do in this situation?  I would invest in several good reference books, including Debrett's Correct Form,  Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, and The Royal Encyclopedia by Ronald Allison and Sarah Riddell, and place them next to the Vogue subscription and latest LK Bennett catalog!

Monday, May 26, 2014

Grand Duke Ludwig IV & family

Marlene A Eilers Koenig collection

Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and By Rhine with Princess Victoria and Princess Elisabeth and their fiancés,  Prince Louis of Battenberg and Grand Duke Serge of Russia ...

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

No lament in Weimar for former Grand Duchess

May 20, 1904


Grand Duchess Pauline of Saxe-Weimar's recent death on board a train between Rome and Florence is unlikely to be mourned in Weimar, according to the Marquise de Fontenoy.


The Grand Duchess, mother of the present Grand Duke, bore the title by courtesy as her husband when he was still heir apparent.  In her son's "dominions, Pauline was the "reverse of popular."  She had lived for many years in Italy, having contracted a morganatic marriage with her chamberlain.


She created problems which "rendered the position of her daughter-in-law, the present Grand Duchess" to be extremely difficult, and she was also responsible her first husband's unhappiness. 


She was plain, "extraordinarily fat," and her "homeliness being of the crabbed and sour order."


Grand Duchess Pauline's second marriage was not included in the Almanach de Gotha nor did it "receive the sanction of her son."  The marriage was not officially recognized by Saxe-Weimar's government nor other "foreign courts."




Prince Laurent to become a UN ambassador



Prince Laurent of Belgium has "accepted a mission as goodwill ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations," confirms a Belgian royal family spokesman.


His "health permits," Prince Laurent will travel to Rome at the end of June as a "part of his new mission."


http://www.xpats.com/prince-laurent-appointed-un-ambassador#.U3syuav-sYk.twitter

Monday, May 19, 2014

Grand Duke Mikhail Mikhailovich of Russia Article

Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovitch of Russia


Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia broke with Imperial tradition and the Family Law -- when he married Countess Sophie von Merenberg. As Sophie was not a member of a reigning or ruling house, the marriage was considered morganatic. Although Grand Duke Michael would retain his title - and his right to succeed to the throne B his wife and their children were not considered members of the Russian Imperial Family, and thus were not entitled imperial titles or the right of succession to the Russian throne. 

The Fundamental Laws, which were promulgated during the reign of Paul I, required that members of the Imperial Family were to marry equally and with permission of the Emperor. 
Michael's marriage caused great concern and strain for the Grand Duke's immediate family, and for Emperor Alexander III, whose permission had not been sought. The consequences for Michael=s decision to marry were immediate, and included exile from Russia. But in hindsight, this marriage was the catalyst that saved Michael's life.           



If Grand Duke Michael had married a German princess, he would have remained in Russia, where he might have suffered the same fate as other Romanovs. Two of his brothers, Nicholas and George, were imprisoned during the revolution. In January 1919, they were shot on the orders of Lenin. But Michael, in exile in England, was safe from the Bolshevik thugs who had killed his brothers and other relatives.


Grand Duke Michael's marriage may not have been a grand alliance, but it was a marriage that survived the initial scandal, exile, and, eventually, financial insecurity. Today, Michael and Sophie=s descendants live in the United Kingdom, and include two future dukes (Abercorn and Westminster), a future Earl (Dalhousie), and a current Marquess (Milford Haven).


One great-granddaughter has married into a historic Scottish family, and another is the wife of a Hungarian prince.


The second son of Grand Duke Michael Nikolayevich of Russia and his wife, Princess Cäcilie of Baden, Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich was born at Peterhof in St. Petersburg on 16 October 1861. Most of his childhood was spent in Tiflis1, Georgia, where his father was the Viceroy of the Caucasus. It was common for a Romanov to be known by a nickname. Young Michael was known by the family nickname, Miche-Miche.

His mother, Princess Cäcilie Auguste, was a pious Lutheran, who took the name Olga Feodorovna when she converted to the Orthodox faith. She was the youngest of eight children of Grand Duke Leopold of Baden, who, in 1819, had married his great-niece, Princess Sophie of Sweden. Although her paternal grandmother was born a von Geyersburg, Cäcilie's ancestral lines were largely impressive. Her mother was a member of the Holstein-Gottorp dynasty that had ruled Sweden from 1751-1818.2 Most important, for the Russians, she was a descendant of Rurik, the founder of Russia's first dynasty.....

I wrote this article some years ago for Royalty Digest - with lots of footnotes
For the complete article, please purchase for $5.00.  Will be sent in a PDF to your email. 

A boy for Princess Francoise

May 19, 1964


Princess Edward de Lobkowicz gave birth to a son at the American Hospital in Neuilly, France, reports the New York Times.   The baby was born on Sunday, May 17.

The princess is the former Princess Francoise of Bourbon-Parma, daughter of Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma, Carlist Pretender to the Spanish throne.

She is the sister of Prince Carlos Hugo, who recently married Princess Irene of the Netherlands.

The infant prince has been named Charles Henri Hugues.

Prince Edward is the son of the late Prince Edward de Lobkowicz and Princess Edward, the former Anita Lihme of Chicago.

Princess Ileana breaks tradition with political speech

May 19, 1934


Archduchess Ileana of Austria recently "broke a Habsburg tradition" when she gave a speech at Mödling, lower Austria, at a meeting of Fascist heimwehr members," according to a Chicago Daily Tribune dispatch.


It was noted that this was the first time that any "Habsburg housewife"  addressed a political meeting.


Princess Ileana of Romania, youngest daughter of the late King Ferdinand and Queen Marie, married Archduke Anton in 1931.  They live in Mödling.


Ileana's eldest brother, Carol II, is the current sovereign of Romania.

Queen of Belgium expecting a baby

May 19, 1934


Belgian court officials have confirmed that Queen Astrid, the wife of King Leopold III, is expected to give birth to her third child "in the next few days," according to the Associated Press.


The King and Queen were married in 1926.  They have two children, Princess Josephine Charlotte, born in 1927, and Crown Prince Baudouin, born in 1930.

Rumor has it: Kirill to marry divorced Grand Duchess

Embed from Getty Images 

 May 19, 1904

Once again there are unofficial reports that Grand Duke Kirill of Russia is to marry the divorced Grand Duchess Victoria Melita of Hesse and by Rhine, reports the New York Times.




Embed from Getty Images

It is now being said that the Russian Emperor Nicholas II, who "hitherto has opposed the alliance," has now given his permission because of Kirill's "narrow escape from death" at the time of the sinking of Petropavlovsk, a Russian battleship off Port Arthur.


The Grand Duke and Nicholas II are first cousins, as their fathers were brothers.   Princess Victoria Melita is their first cousin, as well, as her mother, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna is the only daughter of Alexander II, and sister to the late Alexander III and Grand Duke Vladimir,  Kirill's father.

Victoria Melita's former husband, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig, is the older brother of Empress Alexandra.    All three are grandchildren of Queen Victoria.

The marriage of Elisabeth von Einsiedel and Ulrich Kunhardt von Schmidt




 
Elisabeth von Einsiedel and Ulrich Kunhardt von Schmidt were married on Saturday in the village church at Schönach in Bavaria.  The bride is the daughter of Curt-Hildebrand von Einsiedel and his wife, Princess Amelie of Urach.   She is a Munich-based dress designer, operating under the name Mausi by Eve.

Elisabeth was born in 1977, the second of eight children.  Her younger sister, Theresa, will marry Prince Francois of Orleans in July.  Ulrich is the son of Bernd Sebald Kunhardt von Schmidt and his Swedish wife, Baroness Ulla Thott.

Elisabeth and Ulrich have an infant son, Georg, born earlier this year.   Her previous marriage to Amaury du Réau de La Gaignonnière ended shortly after the civil marriage in January 2012.  The religious wedding,  scheduled for July 28, 2012, never took place.  

The witnesses included the bride's sister, Valerie von Einsiedel, Isa Katharina von Arnim, Emanuel von Doder and Christian von Sieg.

The flower girls and page boys were Magdalena von Eichborn (the bride's niece),  Anna-Maria, Cecilia, Theresa and Oskar Kunhardt von Schmidt and Elisabeth von Nes.


(The photos of the wedding were removed at the request of the bride and groom.)






.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

It's over for the Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and his morganatic wife

May 15, 1884




The Berlin correspondent of the (London) Times says "he is authorized to announce that the morganatic marriage of the Grand Duke Louis of Hesse-Darmstadt and Mme Kolemine has been legally dissolved."


The dispatch to the New York Times did not provide further information.

Concern for the young Duke of Coburg

May 15, 1904


The health of the young Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is causing some concern and anxiety, according to the Marquise de Fontenoy.


Carl Eduard, who was born several months after the death of his father, Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, "appears to have inherited a good deal of the delicacy of his father," who was an invalid "to all intents and purposes" for his entire life.


The questions regarding the duke's health bring a fresh reminder of the question of succession.  Should Carl Eduard die, the succession would revert to his uncle, the Duke of Connaught, who, along with his son, Prince Arthur, renounced their rights in favor of Prince Carl Eduard (then known as Charles Edward).


The conditions "have not changed" with regard to their decision to "waive their rights" it may be "taken for granted" that Duke of Connaught and Prince Arthur would "adhere to their former decision."


The throne would pass to Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a Roman Catholic, who is estranged from his wife, Princess Louise of Belgium.  She is currently "under restraint in a private asylum for the insane near Dresden."


Prince Philipp has one son, Prince Leopold, who is currently serving as an Austrian hussar officer.  Should anything happen to Prince Leopold, the next in line is Philipp's younger brother, Prince August,  who married the younger daughter of the late Emperor Pedro of Brazil.  Their eldest son, once the heir apparent to the throne of Brazil, has for a "number of years been interned in lunatic asylum, afflicted with homicidal mania."


It is no wonder that the people of Coburg have "good cause" for worrying about the health of their young Duke Carl Eduard.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

The marriage of Princess Florence von Preussen and the Hon. James Tollemache

Princess Florence von Preussen, second daughter of Prince Nicholas of Prussia and his former wife, Victoria, married the Hon. James Tollemache, younger son of Lord and Lady Tollemache, on May 10 at the Church of St. Michael and All Angels in East Coker, near Yeovil, Somerset.

It was very much a society wedding, rather than a royal wedding.  Before going any further, I want to offer a VERY HUGE THANK YOU to British photographer, Jesal Parshotam, who has allowed me to use his photos.  I am thrilled to bits.   All the photos belong to Jesal Parshotam.  It would be very bad to take any of the photos from my blog and post them somewhere else.  These are Jesal's photos: period. 

I was surprised that several of Prince Nicholas' family were not present for the wedding unless I missed them in the photos.   Prince Nicholas' sister, Antonia, is married to the Marquess of Douro, heir to the Duke of Wellington.  Their eldest son, the Earl of Mornington, is married to Jemma Kidd.  

Prince Nicholas is the eldest son of the late Prince Friedrich Georg of Prussia, fourth son of the late Crown Prince Wilhelm and Crown Princess Cecilie of Prussia.  Prince Friedrich Georg was a student at Cambridge when the second world war broke out.  He was arrested, and sent to an internment camp in Canada.     He was a British prisoner of war, and remained in the United Kingdom, becoming a British national in 1947 (under the terms of the Sophia Naturalisation Act).  He married Lady Brigid Guiness, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Iveagh in 1945.   Lady Brigid's sister, Lady Honor, was married to Chips Channon. 

Princess Florence's tiara was also worn by her mother, the Hon. Victoria Mancroft, when she married Prince Nicholas in 1980.  The tiara originally belonged to Lady Brigid Guinness.

If any of my readers can identify some of the people, please post in the comments.  One of Prince Nicholas' first cousins told me this evening that none of his siblings are in these photos. 

All photos have the credit @ Jesal / Tanna.  All the photos.

Lady Tollemache and Iain Russell


Hon. Alice Beaumont & her fiancé, Richard Maxey


Left & center  the Earl & Countess Alexander of Tunis

The Hon Flora Hesketh in dark blue Lady in purple:  Viscountess Astor, and the main next to Lady Astro is the Hon. Edward Sackville

Olivia Hunt and Arabella Musgrave

Olivia Hunt and Arabella Musgrave

Richard Dennen and Astrid Harbord

Catherine (Katie) Elliot, Ben & Mary-Clare Elliot

Victoria Princess of Preussen and Prince Frederick

The Hon. Mr. and Mrs. James Tollemache

The newly married Hon. James Tollemache and Princess Florence


A flower arch at the church of St. Michael and All Angels


the adorable pages and flower girls


this car has been used in Prince Nicholas' family photos for some years.

Hon. Selina Hopkins with her daughter, Lily.  Selina is the groom's sister


Alex Spencer-Churchill & Hon. Sophia Hesketh


Amanda Ferry, Fritz von Westenholz and his wife, Caroline Sieber

An actress named Scarlett Johanssen and her fiance


Ben Goldsmith and Jemima Jones

Olivia Hunt




Iain Russell

Holding umbrella: Earl of Pembroke

Christabel Lawson-Johnson,  Vanessa Beaumont

Caroline Sieber and Amanda Ferry

Elizabeth and Katherine Acland







Lady Eloise Waymouth



Ben Goldsmith


Princess Florence with her father, Prince Nicholas


all photos @ Jesal / Tanna


THANK YOU AGAIN, JESAL .... THESE PHOTOS BELONG TO JESAL PARSHOTAM.  HIS COPYRIGHT.  YOU NEED HIS PERMISSION TO USE THEM

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Concern over Grand Duke's morganatic marriage

Embed from Getty Images 

 May 13, 1884

A cable from London to the Chicago Daily Tribune notes that "another phase of the morganatic marriage muddle" has come to light.  It is now being stated that Queen Victoria when she learned at Darmstadt that her son-in-law, Grand Duke Ludwig IV, "had dishonored the memory of his dead wife, Princess Alice, and ignored the claims of his semi-betrothed, Princess Beatrice" by contracting a "left-handed alliance" with a Russian woman, Alexandrine de Kolemine.  

The British sovereign became "furiously indignant" and raised a "right British row" at the dinner celebrating the marriage of the Grand Duke's eldest daughter, Princess Victoria, and Prince Louis of Battenberg.

Queen Victoria is determined to keep the grand duke in her family.  She "compelled" the grand duke to "accompany her and Beatrice to Windsor."   The invitations were more a "threat of the royal displeasure," coming from a very "rich and powerful mother-in-law" to a "poverty-stricken" German Grand Duke and the "father of an almost portionless bride."

Victoria had her "confidential agents" find as much as they could about the "details of the morganatic marriage" and of the bride herself, including her own "shady" career, and her divorce.

Queen Victoria is now satisfied that there were "certain flaws" in the marriage to allow it to be ruled invalid. Officers of the court in Darmstadt have "received orders" that the morganatic marriage never took place.

An official announcement is expected to be made shortly, with the explanation that the Grand Duke was 'deceived.'

Dowager Empress Marie said to be in Kiev

Embed from Getty Images 

 May 13, 1918

Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna and Grand Dukes Nicholas Nicolaivitch and Alexander Mikhailovich are now in the hands of the Germans, according to the Ukrainian press bureau from Odessa.

They had been living at Dullber near Ai-Todor in the Crimea.  The Dowager Empress is now in Kiev according to "special dispatches" from Moscow.  Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovitch is also said to be in Kiev, where he has taken a "prominent part in the coup d'état," overthrowing the Ukrainian dictatorship.

A soviet government dispatch to the Times confirms that the former emperor Nicholas Romanoff with his wife and one of their daughters was removed to Ekaterinburg "as the result of a peasant conspiracy to assist in his escape from captivity."

The former heir apparent, Alexis Romanoff, remains at Tobolsk due to "ill health."

The former emperor is now "confined to a small house" with few attendants.  No "strangers are allowed to approach him."  He has complained that the guards are "rude and meddlesome."

Monday, May 12, 2014

Funeral for Former Crown Princess

May 12, 1954

More than 250 people, including members of former noble families of Germany, today attended the funeral at Burg Hohenzollern for former Crown Princess Cecilie, reports the Associated Press.

Cecilie died on May 6 after a "long illness." She was 67 years old.   She was the widow of Crown Prince Wilhelm, eldest son of the late Kaiser Wilhelm II, who died in 1951.

Heinrich-Borwin's visit to US causes embarrassment



May 12, 1914

The visit to the United States by Duke Heinrich-Borwin of Mecklenburg-Schwerin is causing embarrassment to officials in Washington, according to the Marquise de Fontenoy.    The Duke is currently in San Francisco, saying with American friends.  He has proposed to "make a stay of considerable duration on this side of the Atlantic."

Duke Heinrich-Borwin was forced to leave the German army because of his debt.  His parents, Duke and Duchess Paul of Mecklenburg are also in financial distress, which has received much attention in Germany, and have undergone an intervention by the present Grand Duke. 

The young duke is now working in the automobile business.  He is "connected" with a Paris firm, and is now representing the firm in the United States.

Some wonder about a scion of a European sovereign house, in the "line of succession to a throne, having to earn his own living, rather than "subsisting on idleness.  As a member of a reigning royal house, he enjoys the same privileges as diplomats.   He is "immune from the jurisdiction of all American and Canadian courts of law.  He cannot be sued, if, for example, he is involved in an auto accident here in the United States.

Thus, there is a real concern about the Duke working in the United States, where he would have "the right of free duty" for importing French cars.   This would cause concern because it was "never contemplated" that foreign diplomats would make use of their diplomatic prerogative for "business purposes."

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Prince Hermann zu Leiningen

A Canadian TV spot about Prince Hermann zu Leiningen and family.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k52L2_dS_c

von Preussen-Tollemache wedding

Princess Florence von Preussen and the Hon. James Tollemache were married yesterday at St Michael and All Angels church in East Coker  Somerset.  Apparently, Scarlett Johansson was one of the guests, and she got more attention than the bride.  Scroll down to see photo of the newlyweds.

The princess wore the same tiara that her mother, Hon. Victoria Mancroft, wore on her wedding to Prince Nicholas of Prussia.   The tiara belonged to Lady Brigid Guinness, the mother of Prince Nicholas.

http://tinyurl.com/ky3hkzj

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2625881/Williams-pal-bags-princess-Old-Etonian-friend-James-Tollemache-marries-magnificent-Somerset-wedding.html

About the historic church where the wedding took place  http://www.eastcokerchurch.org.uk/

Friday, May 9, 2014

Nicholas II to visit London

May 2, 1914

A member of the Downing Street staff has "let slip" that Russian Emperor Nicholas II will be visiting London in August as a "fitting conclusion to the visits being exchanged" among the heads of the Triple Entente nations.

Last June, French President Poncairé visited England, and just last month, King George V and Queen Mary went to Paris.

President Poncairé will be traveling to St. Petersburg in June to visit Nicholas II, who will return the visit at the "end of July" and then will travel on to London.

It has been eighteen years since Nicholas' last visit to England, although he was in English waters in 1909 when the imperial yacht Standart was escorted into the Solent "by the three largest British cruisers."

Nicholas and Alexandra joined the King on board the Victoria and Albert.   The Emperor's five children "still have the happiest memories" of playing on the beach "free from the cares" in their native Russia.   They remained for three days.

In 1894 and in 1896,  Nicholas stayed with Queen Victoria at Windsor and Balmoral.  It was at Walton where the then Tsarevitch wooed Princess Alix of Hesse and By Rhine.

The young princess was a great favorite of her grandmother, Queen Victoria, and was never "happier than when she was at Balmoral."

Today, the lives of the imperial family have been "clouded by the constant dread of assassination," which certainly has affected the health of the Empress.

It is not known if Emperor will be accompanied by his wife and children.