BULLETIN: Alexander of Yugoslavia assassinated

October 9, 1934


King Alexander of Yugoslavia, the 46 year old "dictatorial ruler," and France's Foreign Minister Louis Barthou, were shot to death today in Marseilles, only five minutes after the King arrived.

The alleged assassin is named Petrus Kalemen, 35, a native of Zagreb, and is said to be a Croatian, although this has not been confirmed.

The bullets "mowed down a policeman, "gravely wounded a French General riding in the official automobile with the king and foreign minster."  Twelve others were wounded before the alleged assassin was "himself killed, reports the Associated Press.

The new king is Alexander's 11-year-old son, Crown Prince Peter.  A regency will "rest the shape of the policies that may alter the makeup of continental Europe."

Sixteen years ago, Alexander, who led his armies "through three victorious wars" was hailed by his people as "the Liberator."

But in the intervening years "factionalism blocked" the king from his self-appointed task of unifying his heterogeneous nation hemmed in by unfriendly neighbors."

In January 1929, Alexander "discarded Parliamentary government," and declared himself as a dictator.  Many in his country looked upon him, no longer the liberator, but the Tyrant.  The people of Yugoslavia, include Serbs, Croats, Slovenes and Dalmatians, Bosnians and Herzegovinians, with deeply divided religious beliefs: Moslem, Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox.

In 1920, during a visit to Sarajevo the King nearly lost his life when a bomb was "placed in his path by an assassin seeking to avenge" Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

Alexander's successor, Peter, is a student at the Sandroyd school in Surrey, which he entered only two weeks ago.    He was playing in a football game with his classmates at the very moment of his father's assassination.

The news of the tragedy was received in London shortly before 5 p.m., and the Yugoslav Legation immediately telephoned the school, reports the New York Times.  After the boys had returned for the "traditional afternoon tea," the school's headmaster took Peter aside to break the news of his father's death to him.

Crown Prince Peter arrived in England in September with his English tutor, C.C. Parrot.  This was his first trip outside of Yugoslavia. He speaks English and three other languages.

A special police guard has been placed by the school.  He may leave for France tomorrow with his grandmother, Dowager Queen Marie of Romania, who is in London.  She will leave "early tomorrow" to join her daughter, Queen Marie, in France.

Infant Alexis rouses loyalty

October 9, 1904

The infant Tsarevich Alexis carried out his first "patriotic duty," having accompanied his parents, the Emperor and Emperor of Russia, to inspect the fleet at Reval before its departure, reports the Chicago Tribune.

The sight of Empress Alexandra carrying the infant heir "stirred every fiber, loyalty, patriotism, and devotion," of the entire fleet, from the admiral to the cabin boys.

The presence of the "young Empress" served to "complete the happiness of everyone.  There has never been a more "touching appeal" than that of Nicholas II and his young son "engaging his men to fight for Russia.

The 80th anniversary of the assassination of Alexander I

Crown Prince at the Commemorative ceremony on 80th Anniversary of assasination of HM King Alexander I in Marseille

@royalfamily.org

 Marseille, 9 October 2014 – Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Alexander II and Crown Princess Katherine, together with Mr Dragomir Acovic, Chairman of the Crown Council, attended today in Marseille a Commemorative ceremony on 80th Anniversary of tragic assasination of HM King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and French Foreign Minister Mr Louis Barthou. Crown Prince Alexander II was a guest of the French Government, and his host was HE Mr Harlem Désir, Secretary of State for European Affairs. Commemoration was attended by Serbian official delegation, led by Mr Radoslav Pavlovic, councilor tp the President of Serbia.

@royalfamily.org

Crown Prince addressed his hosts and great number of citizens in fluent French saying:“Political history of Serbia, and then Yugoslavia of the first half of 20th century was marked by an efforts of then regent and after a King Alexander Karadjordjevic. He took responsibility for the destiny of Serbia in the eve of the Great War, and ran the state with wisdom during four years of fighting, suffering and exile, and gave huge contribution to the fact that a new state has been founded above all on tradition of Serbian democracy and political tradition. Efforts of King Alexander I the Unifier, as his contemporary have called him, to build a common state of South Slavic people on Serbian tradition of Parliamentary democracy of French type, were the root cause of his tragic death. By bravely fighting all attempts to undermine the state foundations on national or ideological basis, the King became a symbol of the state. All enemies of Yugoslavia, in Zagreb, Moscow or Rome, saw him as a major obstacle for destruction or division of the state. King Alexander tried that Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians first, and then Yugoslavia, keep alliances made during the war, with France above all. The death of King Alexander and Louis Barthou marked without any doubt of policy based on experience from the Great War. Policy of backing down to totalitarian regimes in the heart of Europe and in the East led to a new war, whose first victim was the King and Unifier of Yugoslavia, Alexander Karadjordjevic.”

Crown Prince Alexander II, Minister Désir and Mr Pavlovic laid wreaths on the monument to King Alexander and Louis Barthou and that put flowers on the plaques at very place of assassination and toured a Museum where burial mask of HM King Alexander I, grandfather of HRH Crown Prince Alexander II, has been kept.

@royalfamily.org

Crown Prince Alexander II was welcomed by great number of Serbs who live in France, together with many French citizens who still cherish friendship between our two countries and keep memories of late King Alexander I.

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Alexander II will lay a wreath at the tomb of his grandfather, King Alexander I at the Royal Mausoleum of St. George Church in Oplenac this evening on 6 pm, and after that on 7 pm he will officially open an exhibition at the Royal Palace in Belgrade, on the 80th Anniversary of assassination of HM King Alexander I the Unifier.

  
 

Palace confirms what we already knew:

The Princess of Monaco is expecting twins at the end of the year!

The Palace's press office release a statement earlier today largely confirming what was already known.

"Le Prince et la Princesse de Monaco sont heureux de confirmer l'attente de jumeaux pour la fin de l'année."

On May 30, Derek Watts, a South African reporter, and a friend of Mike Wittstock, father of Princess Charlene, sent out this tweet:" My old bulawayo schoolmate mike wittstock has phoned to say his daughter is pregnant with twins. Congrats princess charlene and albert!"

This comment was never refuted by the palace.

Succession to the throne is male primogeniture.  If Charlene has a girl, then a boy, the boy is the Hereditary Prince.  If she has two girls, the elder will be the Hereditary Princess, but if Charlene has another child, and it is a boy, the boy will move ahead of his two older sisters.
http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2014/05/twins-for-albert-charlene.html

Queen Mary approves design for Marina's gown

October 8, 1934

Queen Mary has approved the design for the wedding gown of Princess Marina of Greece, reports the Associated Press.

Princess Marina, the youngest daughter of Prince and Princess Nicholas, will marry Prince George in November.

The gown will be made from a "silver and white brocade with a flower design," and will feature a  15-feet train.  The sleeves of the gown will be "long, in medieval style."

Marina will wear a "handsome lace and white tulle veil, a treasured possession of the Greek Royal Family."  The veil was worn by her mother, Grand Duchess Helen of Russia, when she married Prince Nicholas, and by her elder sister, Princess Paul of Yugoslavia..

Crown Prince Alexander to commemorate assassination of grandfather

 

Crown Prince marks the eightieth anniversary of the tragic assassination of his grandfather, HM King Alexander I

 Belgrade, October 8, 2014 - On the occasion of the eightieth anniversary of the tragic assassination of HM King Alexander I, King of Yugoslavia and Louis Barthou, Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, tomorrow, Thursday, the 9th of October, 2014, a commemorative ceremony will be held in Marseilles. Beside Crown Prince Alexander II, who will lay a wreath at the monument to his grandfather King Alexander I and Louis Barthou, at the ceremony in Marseilles at 11:00, the commemoration will be attended by the French Minister Harlem Désir, as well as by the official delegation of Serbia.

On the same day, at 18:00, Crown Prince Aleksandar II will lay a wreath at the grave of his grandfather in the Royal Family mausoleum church of St. George in Oplenac, after which at the Royal Palace at 19:00 the exhibition dedicated to the eightieth anniversary of the tragic assassination of the Knights of King Unifier will be opened.

 Schedule:

11:00 – The commemorative ceremony in Marseilles

11:35 – Laying flowers at the memorial plaque located exactly at the spot where King Alexander I and Minister Louis Barthou were assassinated

 18:00 – Crown Prince lays a wreath at the tomb of King Alexander I, in a Royal Family mausoleum church of St. George in Oplenac 

Media representatives are invited to the official opening of the exhibition dedicated to the 80 anniversary of the assassination of King Alexander I, which will be opened by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Alexander II at the Royal Palace at 19:00.

Duke of Cambridge arrives in Cork

October 6, 1884

The Duke of Cambridge arrived in Cork today.  According to the New York Times dispatch, the Duke was "received by Mayor at the railway station," and was "welcomed by the populace."

The Duke, a first cousin of Queen Victoria, reviewed the "troops in the park."

Prince Gustav dead at 57

October 7, 1944

Prince Gustav of Denmark died on October 5 of a heart attack at Engelund Palace, according to a "German-controlled Danish home radio broadcast."  The New York Times reports that the broadcast was recorded yesterday by the Federal Communications Commission.

Prince Gustav was 57 years old and unmarried.  He was born on March 4, 1887, and given the names Christian Fredrik Wilhelm Valdemar Gustav.  He was the seventh child and fourth son of King Frederik VIII and Princess Louise of Sweden.

He is survived by his siblings, King Christian X of Denmark, King Haakon VII of Norway, Prince Harald of Denmark, Princess Ingeborg (wife of Prince Carl of Sweden), Princess Thyra of Denmark and Princess Dagmar of Denmark, Mrs. Castenskjold.

The prince was "very popular" in Denmark but never held "any Government posts of importance."

David Chavchavadze's death notice

From the Washington Post

DAVID CHAVCHAVADZE  

On Sunday, October 5, 2014 of Washington, DC. beloved husband of Eugenie Chavchavadze, loving father of Michael, Maria, and Alexandra Chavchavadze, and Catherine Redpath; loving step-father of Paul Olkovsky. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, October 8, 2014 at St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral, 3500 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007. Interment Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Wounded Warrior Project, 1120 G Street NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005. Arrangements by Philip D. Rinaldi Funeral Service, Silver Spring, MD 301.585.4050

Heinrich XLV Reuss Younger

Marlene A. Eilers Koenig collection
 

 

The newest addition to my postcard collection:  Heinrich XLV Reuss (1895-1945/)

Heinrich was the last male member of the Reuss-Schleiz, younger line.  He was born on May 13, 1895, the only son of Heinrich XXVII, Prince Reuss (Younger Line) and Princess Elise of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, a granddaughter of Princess Feodora of Leiningen (Queen Victoria's half sister).


Hereditary Prince Heinrich was the youngest child of Prince Heinrich XXVII and Princess Elise.  He had two older sisters, Viktoria 1889-1918) who married Duke Adof Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1918, Luise (1890-1951) and two brothers, Heinrich XL (1891-1891) and Heinrich XLIII (1893-1912.)

He succeeded his father in 1928, and became head of the House of Reuss following the merger of the Younger and Elder Lines, when the Elder line became in extinct in 1927.  

He adopted a cousin, Prince Heinrich I, a member of the Köstritz branch of the family, who was married to his niece, Duchess Woizlawa Feodora of Mecklenburg.

Heinrich XLV joined the Nazi party in the 1930s.  He was arrested by Soviet military officials at his home in Ebersdorf in August 1945, and was never seen again.  It is assumed that he was killed in a NKVD special camp in Buchenwald.  He was declared officially dead on January 5, 1962.

He never married, and he was succeeded as head of the house by Prince Heinrich IV of the Köstritz branch.

The Grand Duchesses - relaxing

Marlene A. Eilers Koenig Collection

 

While looking through one album for another photo, I found this one - of three of Nicholas II's daughters.  Taken in 1916.  Not sure who the gentleman is, however

Princess Caroline's HRH

There are some funny comments (and misinformation) on a royal message board, where one of the current topics is HRH The Princess of Hanover (Princess Caroline of Monaco.)










No, the HRH is not British.  It is by pretense due to Caroline's marriage to HRH Prince Ernst August of Hanover, de jure King of Hannover.  The Monegasque court styles the Princess as HRH The Princess of Hannover, as a matter of courtesy.  Neither Prince Rainier III nor Prince Albert II created the HRH for Caroline.  The Sovereign Prince of Monaco, a princely state, cannot give a higher rank than his own.  The Prince of Monaco and male-line descendants are His or Her Serene Highness, which is lower in precedence than the HH.

Hannover was a kingdom that was incorporated into Prussia in 1866.  Members of the family were styled as HRH Prince or Princess of Hanover.  Members of the family were also Princes and Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which was not lost when Ernst August succeeded as king. (Equally, until Victoria succeeded to the British throne,  British princes and princesses were also princes and princesses of Hanover, beginning with the children of George I.)

In the early part of the 19th century, the HRH was largely confined to the children of the sovereign, and, perhaps, the grandchildren of the sovereign in the male line.  Further generations were HH (His/Her Highness).

On July 22, 1816, in an Order in Council, the Prince Regent granted the HRH to Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, following the latter's marriage to the Prince Regent's sister, HRH Princess Mary.  The HRH was also extended to the Duke of Gloucester's sister, Princess Sophia Mathilda.

In 1864,  Queen Victoria extended the HRH to the grandchildren of the sovereign in the male line.   This was further defined in May 1898, when the Queen issued a new Letters Patent, extending the HRH to the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales.  The first three children of the Duke and Duchess of York had the rank of HH before this change.  The HH remained for other male-line descendants of the Sovereign, i.e., the children of the Duke of Albany (the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) and Prince Arthur of Connaught.

But all of this changed in 1917 when George V issued a new letters patent regarding titles and styles for members of the Royal Family.  The HRH was limited to the children of the sovereign, the grandchildren of the sovereign in the male line and the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales.   This also applied to the title Prince or Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.   Nearly three-year-old HH Prince Alistair of Connaught, son of HRH Prince Arthur of Connaught (a grandson of Queen Victoria) lost his HH and the title Prince.  He went from being a prince to Alistair Windsor (bearing the courtesy title Earl of Macduff, as his mother was the Duchess of Fife in her own right.  In 1942, he succeeded his grandfather, HRH The Duke of Connaught) as the second Duke of Connaught.  He was styled as His Grace, and not HRH.

Engagement of Prince Ernst August and Princess Ortrud with the duke and duchess of Brunswick (all images: Marlene A Eilers Koenig collection)

This meant that the title of Prince and Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was limited to the children of the Sovereign and the grandchildren of the Sovereign in the male line, and to the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales. (Prior to the birth of Prince George of Cambridge in July 2013, Queen Elizabeth II issued a Letters Patent extending the HRH to all of the children of the Duke of Cambridge.  If the Queen had not issued this LP, and the first child was a girl, she would have been styled as The Lady Christian name Mountbatten-Windsor until Charles succeeded to the throne, when she would become HRH and a Princess.)


When William IV died in June 1837,  his niece, Victoria, succeeded to the British throne, but because the Hanover succession was based on Salic law,  the next in line, Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, became King Ernst August of Hannover.  The Hannover royal family retained their British titles as well.  After King Georg V (Ernst August's son) lost his throne in 1866, he and his family continued to use their German titles but following his death, his son, Ernst August, the new head of the family, was styled as Duke of Cumberland (his wife was Princess Thyra of Denmark, younger sister of the Princess of Wales.)

If you look at the Court Circular for this time period, you will notice that Georg V's daughter, Princess Frederica, was styled as HRH Princess Frederica of Hanover, but the children of the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland were styled as Princes and Princesses of Cumberland (in Britain) but on the Continent, they were known as "of Hanover."

In Britain, the children of the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland were HH as Princes and Princesses of Great Britain but were largely styled as HRH because they were also Princes and Princesses of Hanover, and the HRH was a higher rank. Their British titles were used when they applied for permission to marry as required according to the Royal Marriages Act.

In May 1913,  Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, only daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II, married HRH Prince Ernst August of Hanover, although he was mentioned in the Court Circular as HH Prince Ernest Augustus of Cumberland. Because he was a Prince of Blood Royal, a representative from the Home Office was present in Berlin, when Princess Viktoria Luise gave birth to the couple's first son, HRH Prince Ernst August, but HH Prince Ernest Augustus of Cumberland.

The 1917 Letters Patent meant that members of the Hanover royal family were no longer Princes and Princesses of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.  The Titles Deprivation Act stripped the elderly Duke of Cumberland of his British peerages because he was on the enemy side during the first World War. (According to the Act, the loss of the title was not in perpetuity.  The present head of the house could petition Parliament for restoration, but in the mid-1990s, Prince Ernst August stated publicly that he would not do this.)

So why does the family continue to use the title Prince or Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland?  Very simple. Tradition.  Family history.  In 1931, the head of the house, Prince Ernst August, then head of the house, declared that he and his male-line descendants would continue to style themselves as such because they were the only male-line descendants of George III (not in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act.)  The present Prince Ernst August of Hannover (1954) is the senior male-line descendant of George III.

This declaration was made by a German citizen, whose German titles had become a part of his legal surname. It can be said that British sovereigns have tended to look the other way in regards to the use of the older British title.  There is no legal basis for the inclusion of the British titles.

It is apparent that the British sovereign treats the 1931 decision as a courtesy.  In 1951, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth sent a congratulatory telegram to Prince Ernst August of Hanover and Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein, addressing them by their British titles.  Queen Mary is the godmother of their eldest child, Princess Marie.

Most members of the Hanover royal family have asked for permission to marry, using the Royal Marriages Act although the Orders in Council usually do not include the British titles.

This is how it appeared in the Order in Council for the present Prince Ernst August's request.  Notice the HRH, but no British titles.  The British sovereign recognized Ernst August as an HRH and a Prince of Hanover, as a matter of courtesy.

"My Lords, I do hereby declare My Consent to a Contract of Matrimony between His Royal Highness Prince Ernst August Albert of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Her Serene Highness Princess Caroline Louise Marguerite of Monaco."   When the new succession law becomes official (a few small hurdles left in Australia), members of the Hannover royal family will not need to seek permission from the British sovereign to marry.

Prince Ernst August's first marriage (to Chantal Hochuli) was dissolved in the United Kingdom.  The divorce decree refers to Ernst August by his legal surname Prinz von Hannover, Herzog von Brunswick-Lüneburg, Prinz von Grossbritannien und Irland.    No HRH.

Thus, the use of HRH is courtesy.  In Germany, royal titles and styles are used socially, informally, but are not found on passports, birth certificates or other legal documents.  It is not legal because Germany is a republic.  Since 1919, titles are a part of one's surname.

This same courtesy is extended to other former sovereigns and their families.   The Monegasque court recognizes Ernst August as a Prince and HRH.  Thus, his estranged wife is accorded the HRH by virtue of her marriage and recognized by other royal houses.  It may even be on her Monegasque passport.

Caroline's younger daughter, Alexandra's HRH and title, is also recognized in Monaco.

Prince David Chavchavadze(1924-2014)

Wedding of Princess Marie and Grand Duke George
(Marlene A Eilers Koenig Collection)

Prince David Chavchavadze, the only son of Prince Paul Chavchavadze and Princess Nina of Russia, died today, October 5,  in Washington, D.C.  He was 90 years old, and had been ill for some time.

The funeral will take place on October 8 at St. Nicholas Cathedral. in Washington, D.C.

David, a naturalized American citizen, worked for many years as  CIA agent.

His maternal grandparents were Princess Marie of Greece and Denmark (daughter of King George I and Queen Olga, nee Grand Duchess Olga Constantinova of Russia) and Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia.  His grandfather was executed in January 1919 by the Bolsheviks.  Prince David's father, Paul, was a member of Georgian noble family.

Grand Duchess Marie of Russia (nee Princess of Greece and Denmark)
Marlene A Eilers Koenig Collection

Princess Nina of Russia (de Laszlo portrait)

Prince David and Princess Eugenie Chavchavadze at their home in Washington, D.C. in the 1990s.  Photo by Marlene A. Eilers Koenig

Prince David in the 1990s  photo by Marlene Eilers Koenig

David was born in London on May 20, 1924.   Three years later, his parents emigrated to the United States


His first two marriages to Helen Husted and Judith Clippinger ended in divorce.    He is survived by his third wife, Eugenie, whom he married in 1979, four children, Maria and Alexandra (by his first wife) and Catherine and Michael (by his second marriage) and numerous grandchildren.

Prince David was the author of two books, Crowns & Trenchcoats, and The Grand Dukes, both of which were published by Atlantic International.  I had the pleasure of working with David on both books, as well as  A Romanov Diary, the autobiography of Grand Duchess Marie, which I edited.  This latter title is difficult to find as it was published in a limited edition. 

It is the playoffs, baby

Am a little pre-occupied at the moment.  Playoffs start tomorrow ... Let's go Nats!
(And yes, I was at Jordan Zimmermann's No Hitter on Sunday. Amazing)

Sienna Rose taking prayer to the baseball god to a higher level

Countly godparents to my great-grandfather!

Schloss Sonnewalde  ... where great-great oma was a maid!

I was doing family history research and discovered that my great-grandfather, Theodor Bernhard Volmar and his twin brother, Carl-Richard, were the godsons of Theodor, Count of Solms-Sonnewalde and his sister, Countess Clementine.

Great-grandfather Theodor and great-uncle Carl-Richard were born in Berlin on May 6, 1868 in Berlin, the children of Gustav Adolph Bernhard Volmar and Marie Caroline Fischwasser, who was a maid at Schloss Sonnewalde.   They married in 1865 at the Gnaden-Invaliden-Kirche, Berlin.  She apparently had an illegitimate son from a previous relationship. 

Marie Caroline was baptized on February 12, 1837 at the Lutheran church in Gossmar, Prussia.  One of her godparents was Voigt in Sonnewalde.

Apparently, there is a book about the Fischwasser family:  Die Chronik der Familie Fischwasser in der Herrschaft Sonnewalde

Marie Caroline must have been a very good maid to the Solms-Sonnewalde family.