From the Duke of Württemberg

In memory of HRH Duke Friedrich of Württemberg

Archduchess Maria of Austria (1935-2018)

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Archduchess Maria of Austria, widow of Archduke Joseph Arpad of Austria, died on July 20 at Vienna.   She was 82 years old.

HSH Princess Maria Aloisia Josephine Consolata Immaculata Benedicta Theresia Antonia Johanna Carla Conrada Leonharda of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, was born at Munich on November 6, 1935, the eldest child of Karl, 8th Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg and Carolina dei Conti Rignon.

She married HI & RH Archduke Joseph Arpad Benedikt Ferdinand Maria Gabriel of Austria, a member of the Hungarian Palatine branch of the Habsburg dynasty.  He died on April 30, 2017 at the age of 84.

Princess Maria and Archduke Joseph Arpad were married in 1956.  Their civil marriage took place on August 25, 1956 and the religious ceremony was on September 12.  Both weddings were celebrated in Bronnbach, Wertheim-am-Main.

The couple had eight children.  Their first child, Archduke Joseph Karl, lived for only a day in August 1957.

Archduchess Maria is survived by her seven children and their families: Archduchess Monika-Ilona (Charles de Rambures), Archduke Joseph and his wife, Margarete (Princess of Hohenberg),  Archduchess Maria Christine (Raymond van der Meide),  Archduke Andreas and Marie-Christine (Countess of Hatzfeldt-Dönhoff), Archduchess Alexandra (Wilhelmus de Wit), Archduke Nicolaus and Eugenia (de Calonje Gurrea) and Archduke Johannes and Maria Gabriela (Montenegro Villlamiszar).  

She is also survived by her sisters and brother: HSH Princess Josephine (Prince Alexander of Liechtenstein),  HSH Princess Monika (Don Jaime Mendez de Vigo y del Arco), HI&RH Archduchess Christiane (Archduke Michael of Austria), HSH Aloys-Konstantin, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (HRH Princess Anastasia of Prussia),  HSH Princess Elisabeth-Alexandra (José Maria Trénor y Suarez de Lezo) and HSH Princess Lioba (HSH Moritz, Prince of Oettingen-Oettingen und Oettingen-Wallerstein.

Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

A Windsor home for the Sussexes?

@Royal Collection

The Daily Mail is reporting that Queen Elizabeth II has gifted Adelaide Cottage at Windsor to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.   Although this report seems credible -- unlike the reports that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were going to move into York Cottage at Sandringham -- but Kensington Palace has not confirmed the report.

Adelaide Cottage is located in the Home Park in Windsor, which is separate from Windsor Great Park as it is not open to the public.   Frogmore House is also located in the Home Park.

Sir Jeffrey Wyatville (1766-1840) built the cottage in 1839 on the site of the Headkeeper's Lodge.  Material from the demolished Royal Lodge was used to build the new cottage, which was named in honor of Queen Adelaide, consort of William IV.

On the morning of March 12, 1831,  King William IV "took an airing in Little Windsor Park in his pony phaeton, and inspected Adelaide Cottage," according to a report in the Norfolk Chronicle and Norwich Gazette.  The newspaper described the cottage as a "romantic building." that has  "a delightful effect from the road leading through the park from Datchet."

The Times noted on August 6, 1832, that there would be a "splendid morning fete at Adelaide Cottage," on the morning of the Queen's birthday.  The cottage's grounds "have been very tastefully laid out under her Majesty's inspection."

Queen Adelaide was born Princess Adelheid of Saxe-Meiningen on August 13, 1792.   She married Prince William, Duke of Clarence at Kew Palace on July 11, 1818, in a double wedding with William's younger brother, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, who married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

The King and Queen often spent time at the cottage, especially during the summers, when they could be driven there in a pony phaeton.  Queen Adelaide would, on occasion, with her ladies, walk to the cottage for tea or other refreshments and then walk back to Windsor Castle\, sometimes strolling through the town.

In April 1831, the Queen, "with her attendants, gratified a numerous assemblage of nobility and gentry, by walking through the Terrace on Sunday afternoon, during the grand promenade.  Her Majesty proceeded on foot through the slopes to Adelaide Cottage, and on her return attended the afternoon service at St. George's Chapel," according to the Windsor Herald.

There are no references to Queen Adelaide visiting the cottage after the death of her husband, King William, in June 1837.    William's successor was his 18-year-old niece, Victoria, who often visited the cottage after she became queen.  She enjoyed having breakfast or tea at Adelaide Cottage.

In March 1838,  it was reported that the Board of Woods and Forests were "engaged in forming a private carriage way from the north door of the Terrace Conservatory through the Little Park to Adelaide Cottage.  This drive will be enclosed within a Ha! Ha! fence, and screened with shrubberies, etc.; and it is intended to form an easier mode of access for her Majesty to visit this delightful retreat, the occasionally rapid ascents of the walk through the slopes have already been fatiguing."

During the first summer of their marriage,  Queen Victoria and Prince Albert would often walk from Windsor Castle to Adelaide Cottage and would return to the castle on a pony phaeton.   The Cottage offered the young couple to relax away from the pressures of court life at the Castle.   In August 1841, Prince Albert celebrated his birthday at the cottage with a quiet lunch with his wife, where they were treated to a serenade.   The cottage was also a place where the Queen's children could enjoy free time with their parents.

The cottage was also a place where the Queen and Prince Albert could entertain with less formality, often inviting family members,  including the Duchess of Kent, the Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (Victoria's older half-sister, Feodore), and Albert's brother, Ernst, and his wife.   In September 1846, the Queen and Prince Albert, the Princess of Prussia, "and all of her Majesty's visitors, except the Queen Dowager, walked to Adelaide Cottage" and after spending some time there,  the royal party returned to Windsor Castle in pony carriages.

By the 1850s, Adelaide Cottage had become a grace and favor home.  George Fleming, who began a career in Royal service at age 15, rose to become Victoria's Page of the  Bedchamber.  He and his family lived in Adelaide Cottage for 35 years.   Victoria's children often spent time at the cottage with the Fleming children.

King George V and Queen Mary would also use the cottage for afternoon tea.

In 1944, Adelaide Cottage became the home of Peter and Rosemary Townsend and their young son Giles.   Townsend, who served in the Royal Air Force during the second world war, was named as equerry to King George VI.  A year later,  the couple's second son, Hugo, was born at Adelaide Cottage.

The Townsends were divorced in 1952 due to Rosemary's adulterous relationship with John Laszlo, son of the famed portrait painter, Philip de Laszlo.    Townsend became involved with Princess Margaret and they made plans to marry.  Although he was not the guilty party in the divorce,  Townsend was tainted by the stigma of the divorce and would not have been allowed to remarry in the Church of England.  This proved to be a major hurdle in the couple's relationship and in October 1955, Princess Margaret ended the relationship.

For 22 years Adelaide Cottage was the home of Sir John Johnston and his wife, the Hon. Elizabeth "Libby" Hardinge, the younger daughter of the 2nd Lord Hardinge of Penshurst, who as Alec Hardinge, served as Private Secretary to King Edward VIII and King George VI.

Libby Johnston was a childhood friend of Queen Elizabeth.  A year younger than the future queen, Libby joined Princess Elizabeth in the classroom in the palace.
Her mother, Helen Cecil, was a childhood friend of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, who served as one of the bridesmaids at  Helen's wedding.   The Queen Mother was one of Libby's godparents.

Simon Rhodes, the son of Queen Elizabeth's first cousin, the Hon. Margaret Rhodes, lived in the cottage with his family after leaving Rhodesia.

Sir Hugh Roberts, former Director of the Royal Collection and his wife, Jane, the former Librarian at the Royal Archives, also resided at Adelaide Cottage.

The property underwent renovation in 2015.  Adelaide Cottage has a storied history, built for a much-loved Queen Consort.  If the reports are true,  the cottage will once again become a home, this time for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.  It must be noted that Adelaide Cottage is not privately owned, but a part of the Crown Estates, which means the Sussexes would acquire a long lease, but would not actually own the home.

Princess Theodora of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg marries Hungarian noble

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HSH Princess Theodora-Louise of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg married Count Miklós Bálint Béla Bethelen de Bethlen on July 21 in Bad Laasphe, Germany.

The bride is 31 years old and the groom is 41.

The Princess is the fourth and youngest child of HSH Prince Ludwig-Ferdinand of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Swedish-born Countess Yvonne Wachtmeister af Johannishus.

 Count Miklós, known as Miki, uses the German version of his name, Nikolaus, in his professional career as a company director.   He is the son of Count Miklós Bethelen de Bethelen and Gladys Clarisse Mollik.   His sister, Katalin, is married to Carl Christian, the Prince of Wrede.

He received a bachelor's degree in economics and finance from Durham University, and since January 2018,  is a director at Montagu Private Equity.

Princess Theodora has a degree from St. Andrew's University in Scotland.  She has worked in Jordan and for her father's business.  She has three older siblings,  Prince Carl-Albrecht, who is married to Countess Camilla Schenk von Stauffenberg,  Princess Anna, journalist, who is the wife of Prince Manuel of Bavaria, and Prince August, an actor.

Prince and Princess Ludwig-Ferdinand live at Schloss Wittgenstein.  He is a first cousin of the late Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg.  He is the fourth child of HSH Prince Ludwig-Ferdinand, 3rd child of  HSH Richard, 4th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg.   The late Prince Richard, who married Princess Benedikte of Denmark, was the eldest child of the late HSH Gustav Albrecht of Sayn Wittgenstein--Berleburg.


https://www.montagu.com/our-people/nikolaus-bethlen/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolaus-bethlen-483b4625/

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http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2014/06/princess-theodora-of-sayn-wittgenstein.html

Prince Hermann of Saxe-Weimar declared bankrupt

July 18, 1908

Prince Hermann of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, who is second in line after his father to the grand ducal throne,  appears to be following in the footsteps of his extravagant father, Prince Wilhelm, as he was recently declared bankrupt, according to the Marquise de Fontenoy's latest report.

He has also suffered the ignominy of being retired from the army, and has been placed under a "curatel."  This is means he has been deprived "of the right of owning for managing any properties.  His affairs have been "vested in the hands of trustees.

These actions have been taken due to Prince Hermann's extravagant lifestyle.  His father, Prince Wilhelm, was forced by the Grand Duke to live outside the country due to his frequent financial problems.

After serving for several years in the foreign services of the Dutch Army in Sumatra, Prince Wilhelm moved to the United States, where he assumed the name Wilhelm Rohde.  He received a salary for his work as well as a small allowance from his family, but it was never enough.  Prince Wilhelm soon found himself in debt, and was often in dire straits.  He worked as a riding master, a store clerk, salesman and waiter, but when he became ill, his family "took compassion on him" and brought Prince Wilhelm home.

In 1885,  Wilhelm married Princess Gerda of Isenburg-Büdingen.  Prince Hermann Carl Bernhard Ferdinand Friedrich Wilhelm August Paul Philipp was born on Valentine's Day in 1886.  He has a brother, Prince Albert, who is 10 months his junior, and a sister, Princess Sophie, who was born in July 1888.

Prince and Princess Wilhelm live in Heidelberg, but are largely shunned by their royal cousins due to Wilhelm's behavior.

Now Hermann, too, will feel the coldness as the royal houses of Europe close their doors to him due to his financial shenanigans.

IN MEMORIAM Nicholas II of all the Russias and his family

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The plans had been made for weeks, but it was late on the night of July 16, 1918, when Nicholas II, the former Emperor of all the Russias,  his wife, Alexandra, their five children,  Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexis and four faithful servants,  were killed by local Bolshevik guards on the orders of the Ural Regional Soviet and backed by Lenin and other Soviet Leaders.

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The Imperial family and their retainers were roused from their sleep and escorted down the stairs to the cellar, where they were told that they were being transferred to a safe house due to the chaos in Ekaterinburg.

Nicholas asked for two chairs for Alexandra and Alexis, their son, who suffered from hemophilia.

The prisoners waited, believing they would be taken to another house.  It was in the wee hours of the morning of July 17 that the executioners entered the Ipatiev House.

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Yakov Yurovsky stood before the former emperor and said:  "Nikolai Alexandrovich, in view of the fact that your relatives are continuing their attack on Soviet Russia, the Ural Executive Committee has decided to execute you."

The executioners used guns and bayonets to carry out their murderous assignment.

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 Nicholas II  (1868-1918)
Alexandra (Princess Alix of Hesse and By Rhine) (1872-1918)
Grand Duchess Olga (1895-1918)
Grand Duchess Tatiana (1897-1918)
Grand Duchess Maria (1899-1918)
Grand Duchess Anastasia (1901-1918)
Tsarevitch Alexis (1904-1918)

 Eugene Botkin (1865-1918)
 Anna Demidova (1878-1918)
Alexei Trupp (1856-1918)

 Ivan Kharitonov (1872-1918)

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Garter Ceremony

A little late, but here are photos from the Order of the Garter ceremony,  taken by my friend Arjan, who is the copyright holder.   Thanks for letting me publish them.

Duke of Kent,  Princess Alexandra, Princess Royal

Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra

Princess Royal and Duke of Gloucester

Duke of York and Earl of  Wessex

It's over for Margaretha and Robin

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July 12, 1958

The romance between Princess Margaretha of Sweden and Robin Douglas-Home, a jazz pianist, is over, according to an announcement from the Royal Palace.

Robin, 26, is the son of the Hon. Henry Douglas-Home, second son of Charles, 13th Earl of Home and his former wife, Lady Margaret Spencer, daughter of the 6th Earl Spencer.

Lady Margaret has served as a lady-in-waiting to Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, and Princess Alexandra of Kent.

Robin, a nephew of the present Earl of Home, had planned to travel from London to Stockholm, hoping "to wrote a happy ending of his year-long courtship" with the pretty 23-year-old Princess Margaretha, according to United Press International.

Princess Margaretha and her family are at the Swedish royal family's summer residence, Solliden, on the island of Oland.    A spokesman for the Princess said Margaretha spoke to Mr. Douglas-Home for ten minutes.  Their engagement was broken off during the conversation.

Margaretha was said to be "shocked" to learn of Douglas-Home's decision to not travel to Stockholm.  Her mother, Princess Sibylla, was also shocked.

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The princess was keeping to her room and was "reported to be near a nervous breakdown."

Spokesman  Count Goesta Lewenhaupt told three representatives of the Swedish, American and British press that "for Princess Margaretha the romance with Home has been a very serious thing, and of course she is upset by the latest developments." 

He said he expected the princess to stay at the villa for the rest of the summer and then "perhaps go abroad for awhile."

Lewenhaupthaupt had invited the press to "refute" reports that Margaretha's mother had "at the last moment" had forbidden Margaretha to marry Douglas-Home.

Princess  Sibylla and King Gustav VI Adolf left the decision of becoming engaged or not up to Margaretha.



Spokes

Five seek Polish throne

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 July 12, 1918

There are five candidates for the Polish throne, according to a cable sent by the London Times to the Washington Post.

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The original report was published in the Berliner Tageblatt.

The five candidates are:  Archduke Karl Stephan of Austria, Prince August Wilhelm of Germany (Kaiser Wilhelm II's fourth son),  Prince Friedrich Christian of Saxony (second son of the King of Saxony),  Duke Albrecht Eugene of Württemberg and Prince Kyril of Bulgaria, second son of King Ferdinand.


Archduke Karl Stephan, who is 56, is the most obvious candidate.  He speaks fluent Polish and he and his family have an estate at Saysbusch in Galicia.   Two of his daughters, Archduchesses Renata and Mechtildis, are married to members of two Polish princely families, Radziwill and Czartoryski

intrigue, poison and a princess

A rather fascinating two-part article in Der Speigel about corruption, investigations, poison and a princess,  HH Princess Marie-Alix of Saxe-Meiningen.


http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/bilfinger-corruption-scandal-involving-oman-and-a-princess-a-1213167.html

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/bilfinger-corruption-scandal-involving-oman-and-a-princess-a-1213167-2.html

HH Maria-Alexandra Elisabeth Beatrice of Saxe-Meiningen was born at Heilbronn on July 5, 1978.   She is the eldest of two children of the late HH Prince Friedrich-Ernst of Saxe-Meiningen (1935-2004) and HH Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1951).   Princess Beatrice is the younger half-sister of Prince Andreas, the head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

The princess' marriage to Benno Widmer ended in divorce.  The couple had no children.

Princess Marie-Alix is a descendant of Queen Victoria through her mother, Princess Beatrice.

Victoria - Leopold - Charles Edward (Carl Eduard) -Friedrich-Josias -Beatrice - Marie-Alix.




https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-alix-von-meiningen-393913a/

what the mailman brought

Thank you cards from the Duke of Cambridge and Princess Astrid of Belgium, who has been unwell with sleep issues.

Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma

Marlene A. Eilers Koenig collection

HRH Prince Michel Marie Xavier Waldemar Georg Robert Karl Eymar of Bourbon-Parma,  third of four children of the late Prince Rene of Bourbon-Parma and Princess Margrethe of Denmark, died on July 7 at Neilly-sur-Seine, France.  He was 92 years old.

Michel's father was the 19th child of Duke Roberto I of Bourbon Parma.  Two of his full siblings were Empress Zita of Austria and Prince Felix, who married Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg.

Prince Michel was born in Paris on March 4, 1926.  He spent his childhood in Paris, but after the German invasion of France, he and his family fled to New York City.  He attended a Jesuit school in Montreal.

At the age of 17, Prince Michel joined the U.S. Army and was part of a sabotage team that parachuted into Nazi-occupied France.  He later was sent to Indochina to fight the Viet Minh.  He parachuted into Vietnam on August28, 1945.  Within hours he and five others were captured and held for eleven months.

There were several attempts to escape.  The prisoners, who survived on a daily bowl of rice.   Four of the six men were killed before France agreed to a ceasefire.

The Viet Minh held more than 12,000 French prisoners.  Prince Michel was one of only 3000 prisoners to have survived the ordeal.   He received the Legion of Honour, the British Military Cross and the Croix de guerre.

He returned to France to live where he became a race car driver and a businessman.

On June 9, 1951,  Prince Michel married Princess Yolande de Broglie-Revel (1928-2014).  The couple had five children: Princess Inés (1952-1981), Price Erik (1953),  Princess Sybil (1954), Princess Victoire (1957-2001) and Prince Charles-Emmanuel (1961).  He also has a daughter, Amelie (1977), by  Laure Le Bourgeois.

By the 1960s, the marriage was strained as Prince Michel began an affair with Princess Maria Pia of Italy, the wife of one of Michel's close friends, Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia.   Maria Pia and her husband were the parents of a set of twin boys, born in 1958.   She became pregnant again during her affair with Michel.   

The second set of twins,  Prince Serge and Princess Helene, were born on March 12, 1963.  

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Princess Yolande, a devout Catholic, would not agree to a divorce in 1999, although the couple legally separated in 1966.   Prince Michel married Princess Maria Pia in Manalapan, Florida, in May 2003.  Prince Michel and Princess Maria Pia had a home in Palm Beach, Florida, spending winter there for many years.

https://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/local/war-hero-and-palm-beacher-prince-michel-bourbon-parme-dies/zgl65RKZQZ3KkU3xKNoCBP/

https://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/french-born-prince-and-part-time-palm-beacher-michel-bourbon-parme-recalls-adventures/cqcXuQ9nP0zKzHVVRrbX0I/

25th anniversary thank you

A lovely thank you from the Hereditary Prince and Princess of Liechtenstein.  The photo is signed with a gold pen.

Princess Stephanie of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha marries

HH Princess Stephanie of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Mr. Jan Stahl were married earlier today in a civil ceremony at Schloss Friedenstein Gotha.

This is the first marriage for the 46-year-old Princess Stephanie and Mr. Stahl.

The ceremony, conducted by Gotha's mayor, Knut Kreuch, a family friend, took place in the castle's throne room.

His comments to the couple included numerous references to the history of the Ducal family.

Princess Stephanie, the eldest child and only daughter of TH Prince Andreas  and Princess Carin of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, wore a white silk suit from German fashion designer Gordon Sieverding, who is based in Michelau.  Her bouquet featured red, white and yellow roses.

Mr. Stahl wore a tail coat.

After the ceremony, the newlyweds got into a horse drawn carriage for a ride through the castle's sprawling park.   They joined close family and friends for a reception at the Hotel am Schlosspark for a post-wedding lunch.

This was the first royal wedding in Gotha since July 31, 1817, when sixteen-year-old Princess Luise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg-married Duke Ernst III of Saxe-Coburg-Saafeld.  In 1826,  Ernst became Duke Ernst I of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.   The couple had two sons,  Duke Ernst II (1818-1893) and Prince Albert (1819-1861) who married his first cousin, Queen Victoria.  The marriage was not a happy one.  The couple were divorced on March 31, 1826.

Princess Stephanie is a descendant of Victoria and Albert through their eighth of nine children: Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany.   Victoria-Leopold-Carl Eduard-Friedrich Josias -Andreas-Stephanie.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-5922789/German-Princess-Stephanie-Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-marries-Jan-Stahl-quirky-ceremony.html

https://www.np-coburg.de/region/oberfranken/laenderspiegel/Stephanie-Prinzessin-von-Sachsen-Coburg-und-Gotha-hat-sich-getraut;art2388,6213234

Hereditary Prince and Princes of Liechtenstein celebrate their Silver Anniversary

HSH Alois Philipp Maria, the Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein married HRH Duchess Sophie  Elizabeth Marie Gabrielle in Bavaria,  eldest daughter of Duke Max in Bavaria, were married on July 3, 1993 at St. Florin's in Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

The couple has four children: Prince Wenzel (23), Princess Marie-Caroline (21), Prince Georg, 19 and Prince Nikolaus, 17.

https://www.fuerstenhaus.li/en/princely-house/hereditary-princess-sophie/


https://www.fuerstenhaus.li/en/princely-house/hereditary-prince-alois/

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