Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Archduchess Yolande of Austria (1923-2023)




 H& RH Archduchess Yolande of Austria died on September 13, 2023, at Brussels.  She was 100 years old.  She was the widow of Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria, the 5th child of Emperor Karl I of Austria and Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma.
Marlene A Eilers Koenig collection


She was born Princess Yolande Marie Jeanne Charlotte de Ligne, second daughter of Eugene, 11th Prince of Ligne and Philippine de Noailles on May 6, 1923, in Madrid, Spain.  


The marriage between Archduke Carl Ludwig and Princess Yolande took place at Schloss Beloeil, the residence of the Prince of Ligne, on January 17, 1950.   The couple were described as childhood sweethearts.  The civil wedding took place at Beloeil's town hall shortly before the Roman Catholic wedding in the castle's chapel.   Following the civil service, "the procession, with its brilliantly liveried footmen before and behind, retraced its steps along the carpet to the chapel especially built in a wing of the chateau," reported the New York Times.




The guests at the wedding included Carl Ludwig's brothers, Archduke Otto, the pretender to the Austrian throne, and Archdukes Rudolf and Robert.  About a half a dozen members of other European royal families, all of whom were relatives of the bride.  No one from the Belgian royal family attended the wedding 

After the wedding, the couple lived in New York City, where the archduke was employed by an "American metals firm."   Archduke Carl told the Associated Press: "After a short stay in Paris, I will get my wife acquainted with her new home, my Fifth Avenue apartment in New York.  A few days later we will leave for a three-week honeymoon in Palm Beach."




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 After several years in the United States, Archduke Carl Ludwig and Archduchess Yolande moved to Brussels, where the archduke worked in finance.   He died in 2007.

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 Archduchess Yolande is survived by her four children:  Archduke Rudolf (1950), Archduchess Alexandra (Alexandra Riesle) (1952) Archduke Carl Christian (1954) and Archduchess Maria Constanza who is the wife of Franz Josef, Prince of Auersperg-Trautson.
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The birth of a princess who would become a queen


 

Prince Rene and Princess Margrethe of Bourbon-Parma with their children, Jacques, Anne, Michel & Andre



 In the sixteenth arrondissement in Paris, Princess Margrethe of Bourbon-Parma gave birth to a daughter, on September 18, 1923. This was the second child for Margrethe, born Princess Margrethe of Denmark, and her husband, Prince Rene of Bourbon-Parma, who married in Copenhagen on June 9, 1921.  A son, Prince Jacques, was born on his parents' first anniversary.   

The infant princess was the granddaughter of Prince Valdemar of Denmark and Princess Marie of Orléans and Roberto I, Duke of Parma and Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal.   She was named Anne Antoinette Francoise Charlotte Zita Marguerite although it was not until 1999 that Anne learned she had six, rather than five names.  She obtained a copy of her birth certificate for her eldest daughter, Princess Margarita of Romania.  Much to surprise, Anne learned that she also had the name Marguerite, the French version of her mother's name.   Margarita was named for her maternal grandmother.

One of Anne's childhood playmates was her cousin, Prince Philip of Greece, and Denmark.

Prince Philip second from left 


Within the family, Anne was always called Nane, a nickname coined by her older brother, Prince Jacques.   The family lived in Paris until the Second World War.  They were staying in the then-unoccupied south of France as there were fears that Prince Rene would be arrested and sent to a concentration camp.  Rene's brother Prince Xavier was arrested and sent to a concentration camp.   Prince and Princess Rene with their three sons, Jacques, Michel (1926), and Andre (1928) were the first to leave for Britanny.  Anne stayed with her cousin, Princess Isabelle, daughter of Prince Sixte of Bourbon-Parma, with Isabelle's grandfather, the Duke of Doudeauville, near Les Mans.   Princess Anne did not stay long, as her uncle Prince Gaetan of Bourbon-Parma, arrived to take her to Spain.

Anne's parents and brothers were also traveling by a separate route.   Although Anne had no news of her parents for some weeks, she was comforted by her father's words: "We will all meet down there."

Anne and her uncle arrived in San Sebastian, where the young princess soon spotted her aunt Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, and her children.  Luxembourg was under German occupation and Charlotte, who was married to Prince Rene's brother, Prince Felix, and her family, were also refugees.  They were en route to Portugal.

Marlene A Eilers Koenig Collection

                                                            


After more than a month, Anne received a telephone call from her father, who said that he and her younger brothers, Michel, and Andre, were unable to cross the border to San Sebastian.   Anne crossed the border to see her family, then returned briefly to San Sebastian to pack her belongings and rejoin her father and younger brothers in France.   Margrethe and Jacques were already in Portugal.

While in Cannes, Prince Rene was able to obtain the necessary papers to travel through Spain to Portugal and join Margrethe and Jacques.   By the autumn of 1940, Anne and her family arrived in the United States.  Michel and Andre were sent to a Catholic school in Montreal.  Princess Margrethe "found work with a Danish hatter called Erik" and Prince Rene was employed by a gas company.

Anne attended the Parson School of Art, completing the three-year program in two years.   She also found work as a shopgirl in Bloomingdale's. She returned to Europe in September 1943 to train as a nurse and a mechanic.  The princess acknowledged that while in New York City, she learned to "take a car apart and how to put it back together."

After the war was over, Anne and her family spent time in Denmark, as her parents were settling into a new home, having sold their Paris house.  Anne and her brothers were all now adults, finding their own way in the world.  Anne returned to Paris where she spent time with her Luxembourg cousins.  She was studying sculpture at the Ecole du Louvre.  In November 1947, Prince Rene and Princess Margrethe were invited to the wedding of Margrethe's first cousin, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark to Princess Elizabeth, heiress presumptive to the British throne.



Although Anne was not invited to the wedding, her parents asked her to join them in London.   At the time, Anne had no idea why her parents wanted her to come to London.  She wrote in her memoir. Anne of Romania A War, An Exile. A Life: "One of the main reasons why my parents were so keen for me to go with them to London was precisely so that I might meet the young King of Romania. But I suspected nothing at that point, absolutely nothing!"

She had tried to oppose her parents' invitation, "on the pretext that I was too busy with my art classes."

The first meeting between Princess Anne and King Michael of Romania occurred at Claridge's.  Anne went up to her mother's room only to find a "room full of people," including Queen Helen of Romania, and her only child, "a tall handsome young man in Romanian Air Force uniform.  It was him!"

They would meet again at the Luxembourg embassy dinner, a soirée, which took place "a day or two" before Elizabeth's wedding.  Anne had not expected Michael to have attended "a relatively informal event, organized for people of our age."

Princess Anne and King Michael spent the week together, taking long walks in the "streets and parks," or going to the theatre or movies.  

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 There were also family dinners at Claridge's, where both families could have a "private, intimate atmosphere."

 Anne finally realized that her meeting with Michael had been "meticulously arranged in advance" by both families.    An engagement soon followed, but there would be further hurdles to overcome, which were complicated by Michael's forced abdication on December 30, 1947, and the Pope's refusal to recognize the marriage because Michael would not agree to raise their children Roman Catholic.  In March 1948, the Pope denied a dispensation for the marriage.

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2010/03/pope-says-no-to-michael-anne-nuptials.html

Anne and Michael married in Athens on June 10, 1948. 

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https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2016/08/remembering-queen-anne-of-romania.html


Anne of Romania A War, An Exile, A Life was published in 2002 by the Romanian Cultural Foundation Publishing House.  A second edition was published by Editura Humanitas in 2006.  Both editions were published in English and Romanian



Monday, September 18, 2023

Wilhelmine Fürstin von Khevenhüller-Metsch (1932-2023)

@Burg Hochosterwitz



HSH Wilhelmine Fürstin von Khevenhüller-Metsch died on September 18, 2023.  She was 91 years old. 

The Princess was the widow of HSH Max Alfred Bartholomäus Friedrich Anton Franz Eduard Joachim Anna Maria Schnee Oswald Hubertus, 9th Prince of Khevenhüller-Metsch(1919-2010).  She was born on March 24, 1932, in Naklo, Kr. Tarnowitz, Silesia, as Countess Marie Wilhelmine Josefina Theresia Franziska Georgia von Henckel von Donnersmarck.  She was the third child and second daughter of Count Lazarus Henckel von Donnersmarck (1902-1991) and Countess Franziska von Eltz gen. Faust von Stromberg (1905-1997). 

[Naklo is now in the Czech Republic.]

Wilhelmine's older brother, Count Carl Josef (1928-2008) was married Princess Marie Adelheid of Luxembourg. 

The marriage between Countess Wilhelmine and the then Hereditary Prince Max of Khevenhüller-Metsch took place in Munch on January 19, 1956.   The couple lived in Lugano, Italy, and in Madrid, where their six children were born, before moving to Schloss Niederosterwitz in Launsdorf, Austria.

The Schloss has been in the Khevenhüller family since 1690.   Prince Max succeeded his father, Franz, 8th Prince of Khevenhüller-Metsch, as the 9th Prince in 1977.

Princess Wilhelmine is survived by five of her six children: Bartholomäus, 11th Prince of Khevenhüller-Metsch (1958), Count Karl (1959), Count Georg (1960), Countess Melanie von Waldburg-zu Wolfegg-und Waldsee (1967) and Countess Isabel von Hartig (1972).  Her eldest son, Johannes, 10th Prince of Khevenhüller-Metsch died in 2020.

Twenty-two grandchildren also survive her:  Countesses Franziska, Helena, Sophie, Cäcilie von Khevenhüller-Metsch, Hereditary Prince Andreas of Khevenhüller-Metsch, Countesses Clara, Gabriela and Count Philipp of Khevenhüller-Metsch, Counts Maximilian, Franz, Sigmund von Khevenhüller-Metsch, Countesses Hemma, Teresa, Marie Elisabeth and Paula von Khevenhüller-Metsch, Countesses Isabel, Anna, and Count Georg von Waldburg zu Wolfegg-Waldsee, and Countesses Henriette, Laura and Wilhelmine von Hartig, as well as several great-grandchildren.

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2021/01/hsh-johannes-prince-of-khevenhuller.html

Sunday, September 17, 2023

A Prince Marriage - Louis and Helene

 

TSH the Hereditary Prince and Princess of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg


HSH Hereditary Prince Ludwig of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg and Helene von Pezold were married on September 9 at the Wertheim Collegiate Church.  The wedding was a Lutheran service

The bride was dressed in a "simple wedding dress with a train," according to Bunte.   She was given away by her father, Kilian von Pezold.

The Princess of Bentheim-Tecklenburg and her daughter, Princess Louise

The Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg with his daughter-in-law, Stephanie (widow of the late Hereditary Prince Carl Friedrich)


Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria and Daniel Terberger

Princess Ameli of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg & her husband Constantin von Brandenstein Zeppelin 

Princess Amelie of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg and her husband, 
                            Benedikt Schmid von Schmidsfelden.


Several pages and flower girls attended the new Hereditary Princess: Caspar and Ottilie von Dewitz, Countesses Camilla and Eleonore Fugger von Babenhausen (nieces of the groom), and Count Xaver of Solms-Laubach.

The Landgrave and Landgravine of Hesse


Prince and Princess Heinrich of Croy


Sophie, Countess of Fugger von Babenhausen (sister of groom) with her daughters, Countesses Eleonore and Camilla.

The Prince and Princess of Schaumburg Lippe

the Hereditary Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe










The guests included the Prince and Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe and the Hereditary Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. the Landgrave and Landgravine of Hesse, Prince Stephan and Princess Maria zur Lippe with their children, Duke Christian and Duchess Caroline of Oldenburg,  The Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg and Stephanie, Hereditary Princess of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg Fürst,  The Prince and Princess of Leiningen and the Hereditary Prince and Princess of Leiningen, the Prince and Princess of Isenburg, Count of Erbach-Erbach, Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria and Daniel Terberger, the Prince of Castell-Rüdenhausen Count Anton of Castell-Rüdenhausen and his husband, William Ferro Melo and the Prince and Princess of  Oettingen-Wallerstein.


The Prince of Isenburg

Prince of Leiningen (right)

The Prince and Princess of Leiningen (Princess Alexandra of Hanover)

 Count and Countess Franz Clemens of Waldburg-Zeil-Hohenems



Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria

Prince Stephan and Princess Maria zur Lippe with their children

The Prince and Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe and the Hereditary Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe


Count and Countess Franz Clemens of Waldburg-Zeil-Hohenems



A reception followed at Schloss Kreuzwertheim, the residence of the Prince and Princess of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg.


These photos are the copyright of a friend, who has allowed me to use them.  Unfortunately, not all have captions.

It's over for Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece & Hon Peregrine Pearson

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The rumors of a broken relationship began to surface even before the Hon. Peregrine Pearson was conspicuously absent from Princess Maria Olympia of Greece's 27th birthday party in July.  

Richard Eden, the Daily Mail's gossip columnist, confirms that the couple has "split up," and have not been seen together since last November, when they attended Diet Coke's 40th anniversary gala hosted by Kate Moss. 

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Peregrine,28, is the son and heir to the 4th Viscount Cowdray, who recently separated from his wife.   Princess Olympia is the eldest child and only daughter of Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie Chantal of Greece.  She is a goddaughter of King Charles III.

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 They began dating in 2020.

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2020/08/fingers-crossed.html

Eden reports that Princess Olympia, who is a model, "unfollowed" Perry on Instagram and "deleted all traces of him on her Instagram account.   According to Eden, the couple "grew apart," although "their friends and family were hoping their union would lead to marriage, but it wasn't meant to be."

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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-12524721/King-Charless-goddaughter-Princess-Maria-Olympia-splits-heir-4th-Viscount-Cowdray.html

Sunday, September 10, 2023

More Photos from Duchess Amélie's wedding


 
Infanta Maria Francisca of Portugal and her fiancé, Duarte de Sousa Araújo Martins

Tariq Nasser Judeh and his wife, Zain Hadi Abu Hantash.  He is a grandson of Prince Hassan of Jordan


Duke of Braganza

Count and Countess Ulrich Graf Ulich Goess Enzensberg

Baron Louis-Ferdinand and Baroness Johanna von Feilizsch (in yellow)

Duchess Marie of Württemberg with her son, the Duke of Württemberg, the bride's parents are behind them









Diane, Duchess of Württemberg with her son, Philipp and his wife, Gaby, & the Prince and Princess of Waldburg-Zeil

Prince and Princess Wilhelm of Wied.  He is the brother of Duchess Marie of Württemberg

Queen Mathilde of the Belgians and Hereditary Count of Koenigsegg-Aulendorf 

Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria (in pink)




These photos were taken by a friend, who is the copyright holder