Mail call

Prince Louis' baptism card arrived today.  Still hoping for the Sussex wedding card.

BULLETIN -- FROM BERLIN KAISER ABDICATES

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arrest ordered for Emperor's brother & other news

November 9, 1918.

News about the ruling families in Germany and Austria is coming fast and furious as re reports about an Armistice.

Here are the latest dispatches.

The Washington Post is reporting that an order for the arrest of Archduke Max, brother of Emperor Karl, has been issued, according to Viennese newspapers.   Archduke Max reportedly left the Hofburg with "heavily laden trunks."

The Washington Post is also reporting that Kaiser Wilhelm II has stated in a cable dispatch that he is extremely reluctant "to abandon my sorely tried people" and has "graciously proclaimed his readiness to become hereditary president of a Prussian or all German republic" if he is unable to retain his imperial crown.

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 A Central News dispatch from Amsterdam states that the King  Wilhelm II of Württemberg has abdicated.

A telegram received in Copenhagen from Brunswick asserts that the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and his successor have abdicated.  The Duke of Brunswick was born Prince Ernst August of Hanover, son of the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland.   The Duchess of Cumberland is Princess Thyra of Denmark, youngest sister of Dowager Queen Alexandra and the Dowager Empress of Russia. 

The Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg married Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, only daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II, in May 1913.  They have two sons, Ernst August, and Georg Wilhelm and a daughter, Friederike Luise.    Young Prince Ernst August, the heir, is four years old.

The German Emperor and the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg are first cousins of King George V.

Consent given to the Duke of the Abruzzi's marriage

November 9, 1908


The marriage between the Duke of the Abruzzi and Miss Katherine Elkins will take place in Rome or Turin in 1909, according to the Daily Express.

The London-based newspaper "claims to have authority to state that the king and members of the royal family wish for the marriage to be solemnized in Italy with State ceremonies so that the nation may participate.

King Vittorio Emanuele's consent has been obtained and Miss Elkins will be recognized "as a royal princess."  Queen Elena has been a "strong supporter" of the young American woman throughout.

It is understood that the newlyweds will live in Turin in a new wing now being built to the palace.

However, according to the Washington Post,  Miss Elkins' family states that there has  been "no change in the status" of the couple's relationship and "no definite announcement of any sort" is expected in the near future.

A formal announcement will come from Italy and not from Miss Elkins' family.  There are too many "unauthorized and speculative stories regarding the affair," which have annoyed Senator Elkins and his family.

The stories about a special dowry are "erroneous," as well as "unjust to the young couple."

A thank you from Eugenie and Jack

Arrived in yesterday's mail a thank you from HRH Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank.

Celebrating Queen Sofia of Spain

Queen Sofia of Spain, born Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark, consort of King Juan Carlos I and mother of King Felipe VI, celebrated her 80th birthday on November 2.

I looked through my photo collection and selected a number of photos to share here on the blog.

@Marlene A Eilers Koenig

From Bucharest 2011, for King Michael's 90th birthday all photos by Marlene A. Eilers Koenig

A Royal Salute for Princess Elizabeth's baby

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November 6, 1948


Royal Navy warships, wherever "they may be on the seven seas," will "fire a royal salute, " when the "news is flashed" of the birth of Princess Elizabeth's baby, according to the Associated Press.

The naval ships will be "dressed with masthead flags from the start of the salute until sunset."   If the "royal infant is born at night," the ships will fire the salute at the following day at an hour to be decided by the commanders in chief.

BULLETIN: All Archdukes have fled to Switzerland

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November 6, 1918

The New York Times is reporting that "all the Austrian archdukes and their families" have fled to Switzerland, according to dispatches from Vienna.

Swiss newspapers have announced that Empress Zita of Austria has rented Schloss Wartegg at Rorschach on Lake Constance.  Zita, who is married to Emperor Karl, is expected soon to arrive at the chateau.

But reports that Emperor Karl "intends to abdicate" are being denied by an "official dispatch" from Vienna.   Another report from the Austrian capital states that the Emperor and Empress "drove in the public parks on Sunday and received cordial salutations from the people."

King Albert II ordered to undergo DNA test

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November 5, 2018

King Albert II  of Belgium  has been ordered to undergo a DNA test within the next three months, according to a Belgian court ruling  announced today in Brussels.

[Albert remains styled as King of Belgium, but is no longer King of the Belgians.]

He must submit to the DNA test to establish whether he is the biological father of  Delphine Boel.  The ruling was handed down on  October 25 and made public by Miss Boel's attorneys.

In 2013,  a DNA test proved  conclusively that Boel, who 50 years old, is not the biological daughter of Jacques Boel, who was married to her mother, Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps, who had a long term affair with the then Prince Albert, Prince of Liege, heir presumptive to his  older brother, King Baudouin,

In 1959,  Albert married Italian nobleman, Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria.  The couple had three children. King Philippe,  Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent.  By the mid-1960s, there were rumors that their marriage was in serious trouble with reports of infidelity from both sides.

The first public reports of Albert fathering a child out of wedlock came in late 1999 with the publication of unauthorized biography of Queen Paola.  Neither Delphine nor her mother were named in the book, but it did not take long for Belgian journalists to identify Sybille and Delphine, neither of whom would confirm the the allegations at the time.

But King Albert II did allege to marital problems in his 1999 Christmas speech, where he said "This Christmas feast is also the occasion for each of us to think to one's own family, to one's happy periods but also to one's difficult moments. The Queen and I have remembered very happy periods but also the crisis that our couple have experienced more than 30 years ago. Together we could, very longtime ago already, surpass those difficulties and find back a deep understanding and love. This period has been recalled to us short ago. We don't wish to dwell  on that subject which belongs to our private lives. But, if certain people who meet today similar problems could get some reasons to hope from our lived experience, we would be so happy."

Many have assume that the King was acknowledging his relationship with the Baroness Sybille.

When Delphine turned 18-years-old, her mother told her that Albert was her father.

It was not until 2013 that Delphine began the process to establish the fact that Albert II is her biological father.  Albert, who succeeded his brother, King Baudouin, in 1992, enjoyed immunity from the courts and was not obligated to respond to Delphine's legal request.  He lost immunity following his abdication on July 21, 2013.

A DNA test in 2014 proved that Jacques Boel was not Delphine's biological father.  Three years later,  a Belgian court ruled, that despite Jacques Boel's DNA test,  Albert II was not Delphine's legal father.   Her lawyer said after the 2017 ruling:  "You can lose battles, but win the war, and I'm determined to win this war, especially as this decision seems to me in many ways to be questionable."


Albert can refuse to submit to the DNA test.  If this happens,  the case will be referred to Belgian highest court, the Court of Cassation.


http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2016/10/king-albert-ii-summoned-to-court.html

http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2017/03/albert-ii-is-not-delphine-boels-legal.html

General Grant's great-granddaughter marries

November 1, 1928


Princess Zenaida Milhailovna Cantacuzene, a great-granddaughter of President Ulysses S. Grant, was married today in Washington, D.C., to John Colbrooke Hanbury-Williams, reports the Chicago Tribube

The ceremony took place at noon at St. John's Church.

The guests at the wedding included  President and Mrs. Coolidge, Secretary of State Frank Billings Kellogg and Mrs. Kellogg,  Chief Justice Taft and Mrs. Taft.  the British Ambassador and Lady Isabella Howard and Mrs Woodrow Wilson.

The bride is the younger daughter of Prince Michael Cantacuzene, a former general in Emperor Nicholas II's army, who was "wounded four times in battle," and his wife, Julia Dent Grant, daughter of the late General Frederick Dent Grant, and granddaughter of President Ulysses S. Grant.

The bridegroom is the son of Maj.Gen. Sir John Hanbury-Williams.   Sir John formerly was the head of the "British military mission with the headquarters of the Russian army and now is marshal of the diplomatic corps at the court of St. James. 

Sir John, who lives at Windsor Castle, served as his son's best man,  Lady Hanbury-Williams was unable to make the trip across the Atlantic due to poor health.

Princess Zenaida's matron of honor was her sister, Mrs. Bruce Smith of Louisville, Kentucky.  Her bridesmaids were her cousins, Misses Edith, Clara, Frances and Julia Grant, daughters of Col. Ulyssses S. Grant III; Misses Bertha and Pauline Potter, daughters of Potter Palmer of Chicago; Miss Eleanor Preston, daughter of Ord Preston, and Miss Francesca Stewart, both of Washington.

The flower girl was the bride's niece, Princess Irina Cantacuzene, the three-year-old daughter of Prince Michael Cantacuzene of Chicago.  The little girl "made an adorable picture with her picturesque frock and quaint, self-possessed manners."

The bride wore "white satin, made with a close fitting, very plain, long waisted bodice, with full skirt which reached her ankles in front and on the sides and trailing between three and four yards at the back, the train being a part of the gown, and discs of embroidery in white chenille over the train."   Her tulle veil was worn over her face when she entered the church and "lay much longer upon the floor than her satin train."  The veil was held in place by a "lacework of pearls forming a close fitting cap."   Princess Zenaida carried a "arm bouquet of gardenias, jasmine and heather" brought from England by Sir John Hanbury-Williams.

It was an all-white wedding as the bride's attendants were wearing "similar frocks of fluffy white tulle, made in tiers of six inch flounces over crinolined skirts of white silk, the silk hanging far below the knees and the tulle falling to the ankles."

The words "obey" and "with all my worldly goods I thee endow" were omitted from the simple ceremony. 

A breakfast and reception immediately followed the wedding at the home of the bride's grandmother, Mrs. Grant, at her home at 1711 New Hampshire Avenue, NW.

Mr. and Mrs. Hanbury- Williams will sail for England on Saturday, and will reside in London, where they have already taken a house.

Is Harper my 12 millionth reader?

At some point today,  the 12 millionth visitor arrived on Royal Musings.   Twelve million readers since July 2008.  Holy moly.

Thank you so much for visiting this blog and Royal Musing's Little Sister,  Royal Book News.

Royal Musings will continue to provide historical royal stories and coverage of modern royal events for a long time to come ... I hope ...

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