These three photos, which were released by Kensington Palace, were taken by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge.
Sunday, July 21, 2019
Prince George turns 6
Time flies .. Prince George of Cambridge will celebrate his sixth birthday tomorrow. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their three children are on holiday, most likely in Mustique.
These three photos, which were released by Kensington Palace, were taken by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge.
These three photos, which were released by Kensington Palace, were taken by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge.
Friday, July 19, 2019
A summer photo shoot
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima and their three daughters, Amalia, Princess of Orange, Princess Alexia and Princess Ariane, pose for a new series of family photographs outside their home, Het ten Bosch.
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Thursday, July 18, 2019
Exclusive: The cutest little Prince
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| @HRH Crown Prince Alexander |
Can we have a collective ahhhhhhhh .. so cute. HRH Prince Stefan of Serbia, only child of TRH Prince Philip and Princess Danica of Serbia, now approaching 17 months old .. and already driving his Grandpa's car.
Thank you to Crown Prince Alexander for allowing me to use your photograph for use exclusively on Royal Musings.
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
Princess Auguste, younger sister of Danish queen is dead
Princess Auguste Sophie Friederike Marie Caroline Julie of Hesse-Cassel, the younger sister of Queen Louise of Denmark, died today at Copenhagen. She was 65 years old.
The Princess was the fifth of six children of Prince Wilhelm of Hesse-Cassel and Princess Charlotte of Denmark. She was born at Copenhagen on October 23, 1823. She married Baron Karl Friedrich von Blixen-Finecke, a Swedish-Danish nobleman, at Schloss Panker on May 28, 1854.
She is survived by her sons: Vilhelm Carl Ferdinand Christian Fredrik Hilda Rudolf Gustaf(1857) and Vilhelm Carl Anna Otto Gunnar Axel von Blixen-Finecke (1863).
The Dowager Baroness was close to her sister and kept in touch with her nieces and nephews. In December 1875, the Princess of Wales, the wife of the heir to the British throne, and the eldest daughter of Queen Louise and King Christian IX, visited Auguste at her home in Helsingör.
Baron Axel accompanied his cousin, the Crown Prince of Denmark to Windsor Castle in May 1887 as the guest of the Prince and Princess of Wales. He had the "honour of dining with the Queen and the Royal Family."
[In the early 1890s, Baron Gustav served as an adjutant to Crown Prince Gustav of Sweden --King Gustav V. He shared an interest in photography with Crown Princess Victoria. He carried her equipment during a trip to Cairo. Apparently more than the negatives were exposed during their time together in the photography tent. Baron Gustav, who never married, was dismissed from his position.]
Olga and Paul arrive in London for a private visit
July 17, 1939
Prince Paul, the Regent of Yugoslavia, and his wife, Princess Olga, have arrived in London for what has been described as a "private visit," according to the New York Times. They were greeted at the station by the Duke and Duchess of Kent, who is the Duchess of Kent's youngest sister.
The couple will be saying good-bye to the Duke and Duchess of Kent, who will be heading to Australia in the autumn, as the Duke of Kent will become the Governor General.
To "avoid arousing the Germans," Prince Paul did not receive an official welcome to the United Kingdom. No British government officials were at the train station to meet the royal couple. They have been invited to stay at Buckingham Palace, the invitation being described as "merely a matter of family courtesy."
However, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and several of his cabinet members did attend a "private dinner" for Prince Paul and Princess Olga at Buckingham Palace.
It is understood that Paul will have "several important talks" during his visit.
Government officials are "well aware" of Paul's "pro-German and violently anti-Soviet" reputation. They also respect his position as an "able statesman who can understand the growing power of the 'peace front.'" Prince Paul and Princess Olga paid an official visit to Germany in June, where they met Adolf Hitler.
Prince Paul is a first cousin of King Alexander of Yugoslavia, who was assassinated in Marseilles in 1934. He is one of three regents for Alexander's young son, King Peter II, who is 15 years old, and too young to reign on his own.
Paul's true importance has less to do with the Regency and more with his position as the "virtual ruler of Yugoslavia. This is why his visit is seen with "unusual importance."
Shots fired at Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The New York Times' London bureau received a dispatch earlier today from Vienna regarding a shooting incident that involved Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir presumptive to the Austrian throne.
The Archduke was on a train that was bringing him back from a visit to Romania when "four shots were fired at the royal compartment, passing the frontier, one of which narrowly missed the Archduke."
The train "immediately stopped" and a search carried out to find the shooter. A local landowner, who was carrying a gun, was arrested. He told the police that he was "merely shooting at bears" and he did not know that his shots had hit the train.
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Happy 74th birthday Crown Prince Alexander
The Crown Prince's office puts put a year in review video each year on the Crown Prince's birthday.
Queen Elizabeth II is the the Crown Prince's godmother.
https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2009/07/son-for-peter-and-alexandra.html
Monday, July 15, 2019
Mail call
In this week's mail: thank yous from the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Stefan zur Lippe.
it is Amazon Prime Day -- today and tomorrow. I treated myself to this little device. You can as well. I hope that when you shop for Prime Deals, please consider starting your search and purchases using the search boxes on the right of the blog posts. Full transparency: I make a few pennies per sale. Thanks
it is Amazon Prime Day -- today and tomorrow. I treated myself to this little device. You can as well. I hope that when you shop for Prime Deals, please consider starting your search and purchases using the search boxes on the right of the blog posts. Full transparency: I make a few pennies per sale. Thanks
Princess Stephanie of Windisch Graetz (1939-2019)
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| Private collection |
HSH Princess Stéphanie Marie Eva of Windisch-Graetz died on July 12 at St. Pierre Hospital in Brussels. She was 79 year old.
Stéphanie was born at Brussels on July 17, 1939, the elder of two children of Prince Franz Josef of Windisch-Graetz (1904-1981) and Countess Ghislaine d'Arschot Schoonhaven (1912-1997).
She was the granddaughter of Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria (1883-1963) and Prince Otto of Windisch-Graetz (1873-1952.) This marriage was dissolved by divorce in 1948 and Erzi, as she was known to her family, married Austrian Socialist politician Leopold Petznek shortly after her divorce. Due to her left wing leanings, Erzi was known as the Red Archduchess.
Thus, Stephanie was a great-granddaughter of Archduke Rudolf and Princess Stephanie of Belgium and a great-great-granddaughter of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria and King Leopold II of the Belgians.
Her engagement to Dermot Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell, a Captain in the Grenadier Guards (1935-2009), was announced on October 3, 1966. They were married in London on February 16, 1967 and were divorced in 1973.
(Dermot married for a second time to Sally Leigh (nee Creer) on March 11, 1976).
Princess Stéphanie is survived by her two sons, Henry Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell (and his wife, Lisa Abadjian) and Alexander Windisch-Graetz (and his wife, Ann Charlotte Le Sellier de Chezelles), five grandchildren, Eléonore and Bryan Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell and Elisabeth-Marie, Otto and Hermine Windisch-Graetz.
In 2011, Alexander changed his surname to Windisch-Graetz.
Princess Stephanie was a gifted photographer who often shot her portraits using candle light.
https://www.lalibre.be/lifestyle/people/cousine-d-albert-ii-la-princesse-stephanie-de-windisch-graetz-est-decedee-5d2b79b6f20d5a58a82b7d27
https://www.google.com/search?q=princesse+stephanie+de+windisch+graetz&sa=N&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS659US659&biw=942&bih=891&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=R3orWNiajdM4aM%253A%252CzBMHweT9p1SJeM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kTlCjjOuE8IEdE__DnE0-NdazEWmQ&ved=2ahUKEwiTq4OLx7fjAhVYaM0KHfWmAQ84ChD1ATABegQIBhAG#imgrc=wcKt_jv_xw2RzM:&vet=1
Georg Friedrich seeks right to live in Cecilienhof
Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia, the head of the house of Hohenzollern, has filed a claim with Germany, "demanding a permanent right of residency for his family in Cecilienhof, now a museum or one of two other palaces formerly occupied by his family," reports the Irish Times.
Cecilienhof, which was built in 1917, was named for Georg Friedrich's great-grandmother, Crown Princess Cecilie, the wife of Crown Prince Wilhelm, eldest son of Kaiser Wilhelm II, who abdicated in November 1918 as the German Empire had collapsed from the weight of its defeat and the changing political tide that was steamrolling through Europe.
The palace was the site where the Allied nations, celebrating their victory over Germany and fascism, held the Potsdam Conference in 1945, where President Harry S. Truman, Prime Minister Clement Atlee and Josef Stalin met to finalize the establishment of a post-World War II, which included the division of Europe and the path toward what would be known as the Cold war.
The palace is now open to the public, as a part of the Preussische-Schlösser und Gärten in Berlin-Brandenburg.
Georg Friedrich has been involved in "discreet talks" for five years but "negotiations have reached an impasse." He has canceled "long-term loans of family art works in Berlin and Potsdam." He has also demanded the return of the "family library and 1000 letters" to and from his great-great-grandmother, Empress Auguste Viktoria, the consort of Wilhelm II.
The letters were found during a "recent renovation" of the Neues Palais, also in Potsdam.
Prince Georg Friedrich, 43, succeeded his grandfather, Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia. as head of the Imperial House.
http://www.potsdam-park-sanssouci.de/cecilienhof-palace.html
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/the-fall-of-the-house-of-hohenzollern-1.3956448?mode=amp&fbclid=IwAR1DAHQQLzah7WgGYNZctdec-99zat5tZo_uSZqK7nDBxS8_XoPq-J-UiZE
https://www.dw.com/en/german-kaisers-heir-wants-seized-artifacts-back/a-49576011-0
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/07/15/descendants-german-kaisers-bid-reclaim-artworks-palaces/
https://www.spsg.de/en/palaces-gardens/object/cecilienhof-palace/
Crown Princess Victoria celebrates her 42nd birthday at Solliden
Today- July 14 - Crown Princess Victoria celebrated her 42nd birthday with her annual appearance at Solliden on Oland. The Swedish royal family have their summer residence at Solliden. The Crown Princess was accompanied by her husband, Prince Daniel and their two children, Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar and the King and Queen. In the evening, the Crown Princess was the guest of honor the annual birthday concert at Borgholm's Idrottsplats.
The royal guests arrived by carriages from Solliden.
The royal guests arrived by carriages from Solliden.
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I attended the concert and the birthday celebrations in 2017.
Friday, July 12, 2019
Two missing princesses .. in the Vatican
In the last few days, news organizations, including the the New York Times, have reported on the opening of two tombs in the Vatican City's Teutonic Cemetery.
In June, 1983, 15-year-old Emanuela Orlandi, the daughter of a Vatican City employee vanished while walking home in Rome. There are numerous theories about her death, the most recent being was that she was buried in a tomb in the cemetery. According to Emanuela's brother, the tomb could be identified by an a statue of an angel pointing to a cemetery.
This led officials to the tomb of Princess Sophie of Hohenlohe-Bartenstein, the eldest of seven children of Ludwig Leopold, Prince of Hohenlohe-Bartenstein and Countess Polyxenia of Limburg-Stirum.
Sophie was born at Schillingsfürst on December 13, 1758. She died at Rome on January 13, 1836. She did not marry.
The present head of the Hohenlohe-Bartenstein is descendant of Sophie's younger brother. Karl Joseph.
The tomb of Duchess Charlotte Friederike of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was also opened. She was the seventh surviving child of Duke Friedrich Franz I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Princess Luise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Friedrich Franz was created Grand Duke in 1815.
Charlotte was born at Ludwigslust on December 4,1784. She married her first cousin, Prince Christian Frederik of Denmark (1786-1848), the son of Hereditary Prince Frederik of Denmark and Duchess Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
Christian was visiting Mecklenburg when he met and fell in love with Charlotte. They were married two years later at Ludwigslust on June 21, 1806.
Less than a year after the wedding, Charlotte gave birth to the couple's first child, a son, Christian Frederik at Schloss Plön on April 8, 1807. The infant prince lived for only a few hours.
A second son, Frederik Carl Christian, was born at Copenhagen on October 8, 1808.
Charlotte and Christian settled into a homes in Amalienborg and Sorgenfri. IThe marriage was not a happy one. Within two years of marriage, there were reports that the capricious Charlotte was having an affair with her singing teacher, the Swiss-born Edouard Du Puy. She was forced to leave the court. Christian divorced her in 1810 and she was sent to live at Horsens. She would never see her son again.
Charlotte lived for several years in a palace in Horsens. She also had a home in Aarhus, where she had an active social life, as well as several affairs with Danish officers. In 1929, she moved to Karlsbad, Germany, remaining there for a year before settling in Rome. She was baptized as a Lutheran, but converted to the Roman Catholic faith some years later.
She died at Rome on July 13, 1840 and was buried in the Teutonic Cemetery, which was the final resting places for persons of Germanic origin.
Christian succeeded to the Danish throne in 1839. He died in 1848 and he was succeeded by his son Frederik VII. Christian VIII married for a second time to Caroline Amalie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, whose mother was Princess Louisa Augusta of Denmark. This marriage was childless.
KIng Frederik VII was the last of the Oldenburg dynasty He died on November 15, 1863. His first two marriages to Princess Vilhelmine of Denmark and Duchess Caroline Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, were dissolved by divorce.
His third marriage to a commoner Louise Rasmussen was morganatic.
Frederik did not have children. The Danish throne passed to a kinsman, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior branch of the Oldenburg dynasty.
The Vatican authorized permission for the two tombs to be open. Emanuela's remains were not found, but adding to the mystery, officials learned that the remains of Princess Sophie or Duchess Charlotte were not in their respective tombs.
A Vatican spokesman issued a statement several hours after the tombs were opened: “There were no human remains nor funerary urns.”
Princess Sophie's tomb was "completely empty" and Duchess Charlotte's had "no human remains."
The Vatican has no explanation for the two empty tombs.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/world/europe/italy-vatican-emanuela-orlandi.html?searchResultPosition=3
In June, 1983, 15-year-old Emanuela Orlandi, the daughter of a Vatican City employee vanished while walking home in Rome. There are numerous theories about her death, the most recent being was that she was buried in a tomb in the cemetery. According to Emanuela's brother, the tomb could be identified by an a statue of an angel pointing to a cemetery.
This led officials to the tomb of Princess Sophie of Hohenlohe-Bartenstein, the eldest of seven children of Ludwig Leopold, Prince of Hohenlohe-Bartenstein and Countess Polyxenia of Limburg-Stirum.
Sophie was born at Schillingsfürst on December 13, 1758. She died at Rome on January 13, 1836. She did not marry.
The present head of the Hohenlohe-Bartenstein is descendant of Sophie's younger brother. Karl Joseph.
The tomb of Duchess Charlotte Friederike of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was also opened. She was the seventh surviving child of Duke Friedrich Franz I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Princess Luise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Friedrich Franz was created Grand Duke in 1815.
Charlotte was born at Ludwigslust on December 4,1784. She married her first cousin, Prince Christian Frederik of Denmark (1786-1848), the son of Hereditary Prince Frederik of Denmark and Duchess Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
Christian was visiting Mecklenburg when he met and fell in love with Charlotte. They were married two years later at Ludwigslust on June 21, 1806.
Less than a year after the wedding, Charlotte gave birth to the couple's first child, a son, Christian Frederik at Schloss Plön on April 8, 1807. The infant prince lived for only a few hours.
A second son, Frederik Carl Christian, was born at Copenhagen on October 8, 1808.
Charlotte and Christian settled into a homes in Amalienborg and Sorgenfri. IThe marriage was not a happy one. Within two years of marriage, there were reports that the capricious Charlotte was having an affair with her singing teacher, the Swiss-born Edouard Du Puy. She was forced to leave the court. Christian divorced her in 1810 and she was sent to live at Horsens. She would never see her son again.
Charlotte lived for several years in a palace in Horsens. She also had a home in Aarhus, where she had an active social life, as well as several affairs with Danish officers. In 1929, she moved to Karlsbad, Germany, remaining there for a year before settling in Rome. She was baptized as a Lutheran, but converted to the Roman Catholic faith some years later.
She died at Rome on July 13, 1840 and was buried in the Teutonic Cemetery, which was the final resting places for persons of Germanic origin.
Christian succeeded to the Danish throne in 1839. He died in 1848 and he was succeeded by his son Frederik VII. Christian VIII married for a second time to Caroline Amalie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, whose mother was Princess Louisa Augusta of Denmark. This marriage was childless.
KIng Frederik VII was the last of the Oldenburg dynasty He died on November 15, 1863. His first two marriages to Princess Vilhelmine of Denmark and Duchess Caroline Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, were dissolved by divorce.
His third marriage to a commoner Louise Rasmussen was morganatic.
Frederik did not have children. The Danish throne passed to a kinsman, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior branch of the Oldenburg dynasty.
The Vatican authorized permission for the two tombs to be open. Emanuela's remains were not found, but adding to the mystery, officials learned that the remains of Princess Sophie or Duchess Charlotte were not in their respective tombs.
A Vatican spokesman issued a statement several hours after the tombs were opened: “There were no human remains nor funerary urns.”
Princess Sophie's tomb was "completely empty" and Duchess Charlotte's had "no human remains."
The Vatican has no explanation for the two empty tombs.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/world/europe/italy-vatican-emanuela-orlandi.html?searchResultPosition=3
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
The Queen in Cambridge & Duchess of Gloucester in London
A special thank you to Ken Stone and his camera for allowing to use his photos from yesterday in Cambridge, where HRH The Duchess of Gloucester, welcomed HM The Queen to the Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge. The Duchess, who is married to the queen's first cousin, HRH The Duke of Gloucester, is the patron of the hospital.
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| @ Ken Stone |
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| @Ken Stone |
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| @Ken Stone |
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| @ Ken Stone |
In London earlier today, the Duchess was present for the Royal Academy of Music's graduation ceremony. She is the President of the Royal Academy of Music. Queen Elizabeth II is the Patron.
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| @Ken Stone |
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| @Ken Stone |
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| @Ken Stone |
Meanwhile in Norway
Lovely new family snaps of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway and their two children, Princess Ingrid and Prince Sverre Magnus at their country home in Dvergsoya.
I wonder how Crown Princess Mette-Marit's health is faring as there as not been an update in some months.
https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2018/10/crown-princess-mette-marit-of-norway.html
the Royal Box at Wimbledon
The Duchess of Cornwall was in the Royal Box at Wimbledon today. She was joined by the Duke of Kent and his daughter, Lady Helen Taylor, and her husband Tim Taylor, the Countess of Wessex and the Prince of Monaco.
Mike and Zara Tindall were at Wimbledon as well, but they were sitting in Centre Court.
The Countess of Wessex was accompanied by her goddaughter, Amelia Etherington, daughter Mark and Lady Alexandra Etherington. Lady Alexandra is the daughter of the late 3rd Duke of Fife, a grandson of Princess Louise, daughter of Edward VII, and the elder sister of the 4th Duke.
Mike and Zara Tindall were at Wimbledon as well, but they were sitting in Centre Court.
The Countess of Wessex was accompanied by her goddaughter, Amelia Etherington, daughter Mark and Lady Alexandra Etherington. Lady Alexandra is the daughter of the late 3rd Duke of Fife, a grandson of Princess Louise, daughter of Edward VII, and the elder sister of the 4th Duke.
The Duke of Kent is the President of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
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