Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Wilhelmina comes of age

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 August 31, 1898

 Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands reached her majority today. The eighteen-year-old Queen, who was born on August 31, 1880, issued a proclamation this morning to the people of the Netherlands, reports the New York Times.

 "On this day, so important to you and me, I desire before all else to say a word of warm gratitude. From my tenderest years, you have surrounded me with your love. From all parts of the kingdom, from all classes of society, young and old, I have always received striking proofs of attachment. After the death of my venerated father, all your attachment to the dynasty was transferred to me. On this day I am ready to accept the splendid though weighty task whereto I have been called, and I feel myself supported by your fidelity. Receive my thanks. My experience hitherto as left ineffaceable impressions and is an earnest of the future. My dearly loved mother, to whom I am immensely indebted, set me an example by her noble and exalted conception of the duties which henceforth will devolve upon me. The aim of my life will be to follow her example and to govern in the manner expected of a Princess of the House of Orange. True to the Constitution, I desire to strengthen the respect for the name and flag of the Netherlands. "As sovereign of possessions and colonies East and West, I desire to observe justice and to contribute, so far as in me lies, to the increasing intellectual and material welfare of my whole people. I hope and expect that the support of all, in whatever sphere of official or social activity you may be placed, within the kingdom or without, will never be wanting. "Trusting in God and with a prayer that He gives me strength, I accept the Government. WILHELMINA." 

 There were solemn thanksgiving services throughout the Netherlands to honor the occasion of Queen Wilhelmina's coming of age. Queen Wilhelmina, accompanied by her mother, Queen Mother Emma, attended divine services in the great church this morning. The Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg, the Prince and Princess of Wied, along with the Diplomatic Corps, civil and military authorities, and 4,000 others were present. Wilhelmina was only ten years old when her father died in 1890. Her mother, the former Princess Emma of Waldeck und Pyrmont, acted as regent for young Wilhelmina until today.

Bulgarian royal family getting ready for exile



August 31, 1946

A "high ranking Bulgarian government official" said tonight that the royal family "is preparing to join the Italian royal family" in exile in Egypt, "in the event the Bulgarian people choose a republic over the monarchy" in the upcoming September 8 plebiscite, the AP reports.

There is a "feeling among the Bulgarian people that the country will become a republic," and the Bulgarian monarchy is "dragging through the last days of the Coburg dynasty."

Queen Mother Giovanna believes that her nine-year-old son, King Simeon II, would lose his throne. The government official told the AP correspondent that the family planning to go into exile included the king, his mother, and his older sister, Princess Marie Louise. 

Queen Giovanna is an older sister of the newly exiled King Umberto of Italy.

Duchess and Infant princess doing well

August 31, 1930

The Duchess of York's physician has issued a new bulletin, according to the Associated Press. Her Royal Highness and the infant princess "had made very satisfactory progress during the last week. The Princess gained weight steadily."

The name of the Princess has not yet been made public.

Wheel found off Iceland's coast may have come from Princess's plane

August 31, 1928


The AP is reporting that the Palladium Tire Manufacturing Company has identified "the markings on an airplane wheel found off the coast of Iceland as being one of their products." The wheel have have belonged to the Fokker airplane in which Princess Anne of Löwensteim-Wertheim-Rosenberg, Captain Leslie Hamilton and Col. F.F. Minchin disappeared "just a year ago while on a trans-Atlantic flight to Canada."
The company sold two such wheels on August 12, 1927, and these type of wheels were used on the Princess' plane, the St. Raphael, which left England on August 31, 1927. The plane was last seen flying over Ireland, and apparently disappeared after flying out over the open sea. The plane "disappeared from view and its fate became a mystery just as many other trans-Atlantic attempts."

President Zogu seeks Italian princess as bride

August 31, 1928

In a dispatch from Athens, Greece, the Chicago Tribune reports today that President Ahmed Zogu, who will soon reign as king of Albania, wants to secure his throne with a marriage to an Italian princess. He is said to be in negotiations with Italy, "for the purpose of marrying one of the Italian princesses, whose name is not mentioned.'
A Roman cable, however, states that King Victor Emmanuel of Italy "has refused to consent his daughter's marriage to a Moslem."

Monday, August 30, 2010

Cantacuzene engagement announcement

August 30, 1928


By special cable to the New York Times. Major General Sir John Hanbury- Williams, marshal of the diplomatic corps, today announced the forthcoming marriage of his son, John C. Hanbury-Williams to Princess Zenaida Cantacuzene. The couple will be married in Washington, D.C., on November 1.
Mr. Hanbury-Williams and Princess Zenaide have known each other since childhood, "when Sir John headed the military mission to Russia and Prince Cantacuzene was aide de camp to Grand Duke Nicholas."
The Cantacuzenes have lived in the United States since the Russian Revolution.
Princess Zenaide is the daughter of Major General Michael Cantacuzene and Princess Cantacuzene, who is the former Julia Grant. The bride-to-be is the granddaughter of the late General Frederick D. Grant, and a great-granddaughter of the late President Ulysses S. Grant.
The engagement was officially announced in July in Paris.

Dynastic problems in Mecklenburg-Schwerin

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August 30, 1908


The Marquise de Fontenoy's latest column focuses on the dynastic issues facing the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The Marquise writes that "it is difficult to describe by any other name than that of tragedy the shipwreck of the matrimonial happiness of a prince of the blood who is forced to put aside a morganatic wife to whom he is devoted and take leave of her and of the children she has borne him." He must do this to "contract a loveless marriage for the purpose of securing the succession of the throne."

Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin's marriage is not mentioned in the Almanach de Gotha. He is "happily married to a woman of bourgeois birth but of much refinement and education, as well as irreproachable antecedents."

She is said to be "extremely attractive," as well. The couple is said to be happily married, and the duke is "passionately devoted" to his family. But so much pressure has been "brought to bear upon him, that he has been forced to "take the necessary steps for the dissolution of his marriage." 

The Duke was "urged and entreated to take this step" by members of his family but also "by the leading statesmen and by the people of Mecklenburg, as well as other German sovereigns.

The reigning Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin has been married to Princess Alexandra of Cumberland for the past four years. They have no children and "no hopes or expectations are entertained of their union resulting in any offspring.

The Duke has no brothers. His uncle, Heinrich, is now the prince consort of the Netherlands, and he and his descendants are not eligible for the Mecklenburg-Schwerin succession.

Another uncle, Johann Albrecht, the regent of Brunswick, is an elderly man, whose wife recently died. He was very much attached to his wife and is unlikely to marry again. A third uncle, Duke Paul, and his only son are both bankrupt. Duke Paul, who married a Roman Catholic princess Marie of Windisch-Graetz, was required to renounce for himself and "and any sons born of the union all rights of succession to the throne of Mecklenburg-Schwerin."

Duke Paul, his wife and son "by reasons of their financial irregularities, under the ban of various houses of Europe, unable to live in Germany, and subjected to the severest kind of boycott."

This leaves the Grand Duke's only remaining uncle, Duke Adolf Friedrich, 35, "handsome and popular," who is seen "by members of the house and by the people of the grand duchy to perpetuate this dynasty."

If the Mecklenburg-Schwerin dynast is extinct due to the lack of male issue, the throne would pass to the neighboring Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Adolf Friedrich's morganatic marriage was a "purely ecclesiastical marriage," without the benefits of a civil contract. The couple is married in the eyes of the church, but not in law. Thus, Adolf Friedrich's marriage is not a legal marriage, according to the the grand duchy's law.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Albrecht's parents repudiate marriage

August 27, 1930 

 Archduke Friedrich of Austria issued an official statement from his palace in Budapest regarding his son, Archduke Albrecht's marriage. The statement was sent by wireless to the New York Times. The statement "removes all doubts as to the attitude" of Albrecht's parents toward his marriage with the divorced wife of Louis Rudnay, Hungary's Minister in Sofia. Friedrich "brushes aside Archduchess Isabella's desire to forgive their son with the downright declaration" that they will not recognize the marriage or receive Albrecht's wife as a member of the family. 

This announcement came after an all-day conference with leading Hungarian jurists who were summoned to Friedrich's palace "in an endeavour to contest the legality of the marriage." Because the Habsburgs no longer rule in Hungary, the Habsburg family law cannot be enforced. Archduke Friedrich's decision to not recognize the marriage is a "personal matter, and does not enable him to overthrow the marriage because it did not comply with the family law." 

Thus, the jurists sought reasons for the objection. They discovered three obstacles to why Albrecht's marriage is not valid in Hungary. * Hungary required that a divorced person cannot remarry until ten months after the divorce. 

Irene Rudnay divorced her husband "only a month or so ago."  Albrecht "neglected to see a dispensation for the publication of banns of marriage in Hungary. * Albrecht also failed to "declare in writing before a notary that so far as he knew no obstacle to the marriage existed." The jurist had long discussions regarding the marriage, and they came to the conclusion "that it would be unwise to take these failures to comply with the law to court."

 The couple was married in England, under British law, and Hungary, by treaty "is obliged to recognize marriages concluded in England." Friedrich, unable to have the marriage declared invalid, "issued his refusal to recognize it." 

Archduke Albrecht ardently desires a Roman Catholic wedding, but a difficulty regarding this desire is seen in a statement by the Lutheran Bishop of Subotica. The bishop, in a statement, said that Irene Rudnay's first marriage took place eighteen years ago at the Subotica Lutheran Church, and "was recognized as valid by the Catholic Church." 

 Prior to 1910, all marriages between Catholics and Protestants were recognized by Hungary, said the bishop. He asserts that "it is outside the province of the Vatican to contest the validity of the marriage, only the Lutheran Church being able to deal with the question." Albrecht has begun the process to register his civil marriage with the Hungarian authorities. He and his wife are living apart until they can marry in a religious ceremony. 

The archduke hopes King Alfonso XIII of Spain will use his influence with the Pope to declare Mme. Rudnay's first marriage was "to be invalid." 

Albrecht told reporters today that he will live in the country, and "refrain from politics."

Rupprecht's engagement

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 August 27, 1918 

 From a New York Times editorial: "The latest victim of Cupid's darts is that war-worn veteran, Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria, who amid the preoccupation entailed by a series of victorious retreats" is now engaged to Princess Antonia of Luxembourg. 

Despite the age disparity -- Rupprecht is 49 and his fiancée is 19 -- "the match will no doubt be a happy one." Rupprecht "crown princes rather better than his distinguished rival Wilhelm of Prussia, and if he has never displayed an inclination toward Wilhelm's habit of stealing clocks and silverware from chateaux where he is quartered, his bride will nevertheless find a well-furnished home." Rupprecht's throne is "likely to be more secure than Wilhelm's when the German people have the leisure to sit down and figure up whether the war was worth what it cost."

Here is "a royal instance of the phenomenon so often seen in humbler circles -- a gentleman consoling himself with the younger sister when the elder will have none of him." Ever since, the German Army took "forcible possession of Luxembourg," on August 2, 1914, "German intrigue" has been doing its best to get Antonia's eldest sister, Grand Duchess Marie Adelaide "to accept a German husband and facilitate the inclusion of her realm in the German Empire." The Grand Duchess has "held out," but Princess Antonia, the third of her five sisters, "has apparently been picked out as the sacrifice." It appears that German royalties were becoming insistent. Germans are beginning to realize that the "good German Sword cannot do all the work at the peace conference and that it is highly advisable to get up some sort of title to the neighboring countries whose inclusion within the German sphere of influence is still hoped for." 

German royals have been selected to be kings of Lithuania and Poland, and "if a good German bridegroom could be admitted to a share of the throne of Luxembourg he might be used as a counterweight to the desires of its people who want the war to restore their independence." But if "this design is so far unsuccessful, the present match will, at any rate, mean a closer German connection to the ruling house."

Wilhelmina in excellent health as stork heads toward palace

August 27, 1908


The Dutch newspaper, The Telegraaf, published the following today: "It is learned that Queen Wilhelmina's health is good, and it is probable that a communication shortly will be made which will cause public joy." This dispatch was sent by cable to the Chicago Daily Tribune.
Queen Wilhelmina is enciente, and is enjoying good health. An heir to the Dutch throne "is expected to arrive shortly from the realm of the stork."

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Archduke Albrecht and wife make first appearance together

August 26, 1930 


 Archduke Albrecht of Austria and his bride, Irene, made their first public appearance together this morning, when they played tennis, on Margaret Island, "in the middle of the Danube. The New York Times reports that one Budapest newspaper tells how Albrecht after he had arrived in Brazil, wrote to his mother, Archduchess Isabella, "saying he was going to the wilds of the Brazilian forests." 

This was a ruse, as the Archduke "caught the next boat to England," where his future bride was waiting for him. After their marriage in Brighton, the newlyweds traveled to Vienna and left there on August 19 for Budapest. When they arrived in Budapest, Albrecht went to visit his mother, and "showed her the marriage certificate.

 Archduchess Isabella expressed "bitter disappointment at his gratitude for all her efforts to secure for him the Hungarian throne." A "violent scene" followed. Eventually, the Archduchess was reconciled with her son, but Albrecht's father, Archduke Friedrich "still refuses" to see him. Albrecht first cabled the news of his marriage to King Alfonso and to the former Empress Zita of Austria. He hopes to enlist Alfonso's aid "in securing a declaration of nullity of his wife's former marriage from the Pope."

 Hungarian common law does not recognize "the disadvantages attaching to a morganatic marriage." It is also impossible for Hungary to "enforce the provisions of the Habsburg family law." It is understood that Albrecht will "bow to any decision of the former Empress Zita regarding title and name." But it is unlikely that she will respond to Albrecht, "as his marriage has removed the only rival to her son Otto's candidature for the throne."

 Archduke Albrecht is one of Europe's wealthiest young men. His father owns more than 60,000 acres of valuable cornland in Hungary, and also has estates in Poland, Yugoslavia, Roumania, and Austria. The family's greatest wealth comes from "Archduchess Isabella's collection of jewels." Archduke Albrecht and his bride are planning to live on one of his estates in Budapest. The marriage between Albrecht and Irene Hudnay took place at the register office in Brighton, England, on August 16. The registrar said that the bride is a "tall and very pretty woman." 

The couple stayed at a local hotel for the two-week "statutory notice of marriage." Both looked "extremely happy." No family members attended the ceremony. After the ceremony, the couple took a plane from the airport at Croydon.

Queen Mary takes up dusting

August 26, 1926

Exclusive to the Los Angeles Times.

Queen Mary is "spending a two weeks holiday as a housewife with a duster, forgetting the formalities of being a queen." Wearing "ordinary working clothes," Mary is spending her vacation at Sandringham, overseeing the "transformation of Queen Alexandra's house there into a modern country mansion for the present royal family.
Mary, accompanied by one lady-in-waiting, "forgot about the cares of state and busied herself about the house with a duster and broom sweeping and cleaning pictures and furniture." These tasks "apparently gave her great pleasure."

More discourse at Duke of Coburg's funeral

August 26, 1900

The Marquise de Fontenoy reports today with news "from a friend who was present at the funeral of the late Duke of Coburg." Kaiser Wilhelm II, a nephew of the late duke, "when bidding farewell to the assembled personages at the railroad station," refused to shake hands with Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria, by "ignoring the latter's proffered hand, coldly touching his Admiral's chapeau, in acknowledgment of the Prince's salute, and then deliberately turning his back on him." Ferdinand's "equally disreputable elder brother," Prince Phillipp, whose wife is "in an insane asylum and whose daughter is married to the Kaiserin's only brother," received similar cold treatment. Kaiser Wilhelm II was "exceedingly distant to him." This attitude was in contrast to the deep affection "which he manifested towards the little Duke of Coburg, towards the Prince of Wales, and to most of the other Princes gathered at the station."

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Marriageable European Princesses



August 25, 1906 

 The New York Times reports on the "comparatively numerous royal marriages in the last few months," which has been followed by another engagement: Princess Maria Immaculata of Bourbon-Two-Sicilies and Prince Johan Georg of Saxony. 

This engagement reveals a "veritable corner in the European royal marriage mart," which can be "further restricted" by the obstacle of marriage. A "difference of religion places in the way of what otherwise might be admirable matches." English princesses, for example, lose their right of succession when they contract Roman Catholic marriages. Only two Princesses have done so since the Act of Settlement -- Princess Marie of Edinburgh, daughter of the late Duke of Edinburgh, who married Crown Prince Ferdinand of Roumania, and Princess Ena of Battenberg, who was recently married to King Alfonso XIII of Spain. 

[The New York Times's reporter wrote "Only two Princesses have done so since the Reformation.]" This statement is incorrect.  The United Kingdom did not exist during the Reformation, and the Act of Settlement was not established until 1701. Charles I was married to a Roman Catholic, Henrietta Maria of France. Their daughter, Henriette Anne, known as Minette, married the Duke of OrlĂ©ans. Charles II's consort, Catherine of Braganza, was Roman Catholic. James II converted to the Roman Church, and his second wife, Mary of Modena, was Catholic.] 

The newspaper also stated Princesses of the House of Hohenzollern may not marry Roman Catholics, while Habsburgs "cannot ally themselves with Protestants." [Most Habsburg marriages were with other Catholic families. Archduke Josef married Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia, who was Orthodox. Josef's second and third wives, Princess Hermine of Anhalt and Duchess Maria Dorothea of WĂĽrttemberg, were Lutheran.] 

 The number of marriageable royal Princesses "has grown distinctly less since the marriage " of Wilhelm II's two sons, Crown Prince Wilhelm to Princess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and Prince Eitel Friedrich to Duchess Sophie Charlotte of Oldenburg. Princess Margaret of Connaught recently married Prince Gustav Adolf of Sweden, and Infanta Maria Teresa of Spain was wed to Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria. 

Of the four "Princesses of the first rank now awaiting suitors, three are English: Princess Victoria, 38, the daughter of King Edward VII, Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who was born in 1884, and Princess Patricia of Connaught, who was born two years later. The fourth eligible Princess is Princess Clementine of Belgium, born in 1872. There are not "enough Princesses to around among the eligible Princes of Europe if the latter are to wed with brides of their own rank."

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

An English-language obit for Carlos Hugo

here is a link to the Daily Telegraph's obit on the late Duke of Parma

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/royalty-obituaries/7962633/HRH-Prince-Carlos-Hugo.html

Feodora of Saxe-Meiningen's wedding postponed


August 24, 1898


The Marquise de Fontenoy reports today that the wedding of Princess Feodora of Saxe-Meiningen, eldest great-grandchild of Queen Victoria, has been postponed. It is now expected that the marriage will take place near Easter. Princess Feodora's marriage with Prince Heinrich Reuss was scheduled for next month, "and all the preparations had been made for the ceremony." But due to the recent death of the bridegroom's father, "all of this has been seized upon as a pretext for the postponement of the match."

The "general impression seems to be that the delay is merely a quiet way of breaking off the match altogether." While Feodora has inherited "not only much of her mother's comeliness, but likewise her fickleness, and with a girl of her particular character and temperament a long engagement is, to say the least, a mistake."

The Princess's mother, Princess Charlotte, the eldest sister of the Kaiser, has for the past twenty years "enjoyed the just reputation in Berlin of being the most arrogant and heartless coquette at court." Her "flirtations have been of so extravagant a character as to on several occasions give rise to unpleasant stories."

Berlin is the "worst place for the dissemination of scandal in all Europe."

Rumors of Elisabeth's betrothal as Marie visits Constantine

August 24, 1920

Queen Marie has visited former King Constantine of the Greece in Lucerne, where he is living in exile. After the visit,she returned to Zurich, where her eldest daughter, Princess Elisabeth, is staying.

King Constantine told the Associated Press that "there was nothing official to say" regarding reports of an imminent engagement between his eldest son, George, the brother of King Alexander of Greece. He added, however, that "events may happen."

In the past few years, Princess Elisabeth has been rumored to be engaged to "a number of European princes," but rumors of a marriage with Prince George have been the "most persistent."

Carol is sad as he talks about former wife

Embed from Getty Images 

 August 25, 1920


Crown Prince Carol of Roumania, with emotion in his voice, gave an interview tonight where he talked about his marriage to "20-year-old, titleless, dowerless Mme. Zizi Lambrino and the subsequent annulment by his royal parents."

"I do not care to bring up past sorrows. The incident is closed and I only look forward to the discharge of my duties as Crown Prince of Roumania and heir to the throne."
When he returns to Roumania, he said he would rejoin the army and "assume command of his old mountain regiment."
"
Carol, who is visiting New York City, said: "My present visit to the United States is only an informal and unofficial one, but I intend to pay an official and longer visit sometime later, probably with the queen, next spring.

"I am very much impressed by the beauty and charm of the American women; the tall buildings they are wonderful.

"Your prohibition seems to be working well, but in my country, where we drink light wines and beer in modest quantities, there is no need for prohibition.

"I have seen with great pleasure that Roumania has many friends in the United States, and I am convinced that it would have many more if the country and the conditions at home were better known here. All Roumanians have kept in their hearts most grateful remembrances of the admirable work done by the American Red Cross and the American relief mission.

"We will never forget, in our great need, the generous and unselfish American help to a starving and brave ally. I have been able to see that those who came and who know our country and its peasants have learned to love and appreciate Roumania."

Crown Prince Carol said that since the end of the war, Roumania's size had doubled, and its population had grown to nearly 20,000,000. He said, "Roumania had so many natural products that it would soon become one of the richest countries in Europe."

Bavarian king stricken

August 24, 1916

King Ludwig III of Bavaria "has been stricken with apoplexy and his condition is grave," reports the New York Times, which has based its report from Switzerland via a dispatch from Rome.

King Ludwig III is 71 years old. He succeeded to the throne in 1913. Ludwig is married to the former Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria. He was "appointed a Field Marshall of the Bavarian Army last year." Last year, he visited Bavarian troops "on the battle line in France."

Monday, August 23, 2010

Kaiser's grandson and fiancee visit Doorn

August 23, 1940


Prince Karl Franz Joseph of Prussia,24, and his fiancee, Princess Henriette of Schonaich-Carolath, 22, "have spent several days" visiting former Kaiser Wilhelm II and his wife, Hermine, at Doorn.

Prince Karl Franz Joseph is the only child of the late Prince Joachim of Prussia, the youngest son of Wilhelm II. Princess Henriette is the second daughter of Kaiserin Hermine. The prince is serving in the Germany army, and was recently awarded the Iron Cross.

Alexandrine of Denmark to marry Bavarian


August 23, 1936


Princess Alexandrine Louise of Denmark can be crossed off as a possible consort for King Edward VIII. Her engagement to Count Luitpold zu Castell-Castell was announced today by her family, reports the AP.

The princess, "an attractive, dark-eyed 21-year-old," has often been mentioned as a possible Queen for Edward VIII. She is the daughter of Prince Harald of Denmark, brother of King Christian X, and Princess Helena of Schleswig-Holstein.

Count Luitpold is 31 years old. He is a "member of a prominent Bavarian family," and he lives in Munich.

Infant princess continues to make progress

August 23, 1930

Glamis Castle
Saturday, 10:30 A.M.
"Her Royal Highness the Duchess of York and the infant Princess are both very well."

J.R. Clynes, the Home Secretary, has returned to London, and issued the following: "I am glad to be able to state that when I left Glamis last night the Duchess was making excellent progress. The doctors were very pleased with her. Our new princess is a bonny child."
The nursery at 145 Piccadilly in London, the home of the Duke and Duchess of York, will be reconstructed "to make room" for Princess Elizabeth's baby sister.

London hears rumors of Olav's engagement to Astrid

August 23, 1926

By wireless to the New York Times. It is being reported today that "many Londoners were interested in the revival of the rumor of the forthcoming engagement of Princess Astrid of Sweden and Crown Prince Olaf of Norway."
Crown Prince Olav, 23, was born in England, and is the son of King George V's sister, Maud. He studied at Oxford for two years.

Princess Astrid is well known to Britons. She visited London last September, when it was rumored that she was engaged to the Prince of Wales. She is "said to be the prettiest princess in Europe." Astrid "skates, dances, fences and goes in for all country sports." She also enjoys cooking, and her jam is said to be "splendid." She is a "capable nurse and linguist." Princess Astrid will celebrate her 21st birthday in November.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Ditch the socks, Lord Brabourne

From the Mail on Sunday

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1305085/



Loved-Bahamas-First-pictures-Lord-Brabourne-designer-friend-comforting-split.html# Note to Mail: Norton is Philip's cousin, not the Queen's (not as closely related.) Nor was Norton onboard the Shadow V when his grandfather was assassinated. Katie Nicoll is one of the Mail's sloppiest "journalists." She nor her editor ever take the time to fact check before sending her articles to the press.


 I do not condone the relationship between Lord Brabourne and Lady Nuttall, but she's hardly a gold digger. She was Sir Nicholas' widow, and she runs a lucrative design business. 

 Suffice to say, I am saddened by the apparent breakup of Lord and Lady Brabourne's marriage. However, the media are only speculating on the cause of the breakup - and the cause may not be Lord Brabourne's relationship with Lady Nuttall. She may be the result of the cause of the marital discord.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Another girl for the Yorks

photo by Marlene A. Eilers Koenig


Princess Margaret with Darcey Bussell  Photo by Marlene A. Eilers Koenig

August 21, 1930

The Duchess of York gave birth to a daughter this evening at Glamis Castle in Glamis, Forfarshire, Scotland. The new princess is fourth in line to the British throne after the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, and four-year-old Princess Elizabeth.
The Countess of Strathmore, the Duchess' mother, "conveyed the news to the Duke at 9:20", according to the New York Times. The Duke of York was waiting in the library with the Earl of Strathmore, the Home Secretary and other members of the Strathmore family.
About 90 minutes after the birth, the Duke of York was allowed to enter the Duchess' room, where he met his newborn daughter. The infant princess was also shown to the Home Secretary.

Afterward, the Duke "personally put a telephone call over the 600-mile land line connecting the castle with Sandringham." King George V and Queen Mary were still up, "after the customary hour for retiring, to await the news." The Duke spoke for sometime with his father and mother.

There is naturally to be some disappointment that the child is not a boy, who would have become third in line to the throne. The infant princess will be HRH Princess Christian name of York.
The new Princess is the first member of the royal family to have been born in Scotland since Princess Beatrice gave birth at Balmoral to her daughter, Princess Victoria Eugenie, on October 24, 1887.
The Duchess of York and her daughter are "making satisfactory progress."

The two color photos of Princess Margaret were taken by me. These may not be copied or used by anyone without my expressed permission.

I am so very tired of the innuendo


Let's get to the chase. It is very, very unlikely that Lady Brabourne has had an affair with the Duke of Edinburgh. He's going to be 90 next June. If anything untoward were going on, the Queen would have shut the barn door years ago. Lord and Lady Brabourne have been close friends of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh for some years now. Lord Brabourne's mother, the Countess Mountbatten of Burma, is the Duke of Edinburgh's first cousin. Lord Brabourne and the Prince of Wales have been close friends since childhood. The Duke of Edinburgh is one of Lord Brabourne's godparents, along with Sir Thomas Dugdale, MP, the Crown Princess of Sweden (Queen Louise), and Lady Pamela Mountbatten.

It was the then Lord and Lady Romsey who tried to caution Charles against marrying Diana because they had little in common. Charles did not agree, and Lord Romsey acknowledged that Charles was besotted with Diana at the time, and would not listen to what they had to say. Diana was not fond of the Romseys, although she was named as a godparent to the Romseys' second child, the Hon. Alexandra Knatchbull. (The Prince of Wales is godfather to the couple's son, Nicholas.)

This is not the first time that the British tabloids have aimed their innuendo-pens toward the Brabournes. In 1990, the Sun published on its front page a photo of the Prince of Wales comforting Lady Romsey. The photo implied that Charles and Penelope were, perhaps, having an affair. The Sun published a cropped version of the photograph, as Lord Romsey was right next to Charles and Penelope when the photograph was taken. The headline read "Charles hugs his old flame." Charles and the former Penelope Eastwood were never a couple.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph in May 1992, Lord and Lady Romsey talked about the loss of their younger daughter.

"We had our ups and downs separately," Lord Romsey said. Lady Romsey described her husband as the "pragmatic one." She added that "My faith was tried at one stage -- sorely --but it is stronger now. I accepted her death intellectually, but my heart didn't."

In the late 1990s, Lord Romsey was beset with financial concerns. In 1996, the Sun published the transcript of a taped conversation between a woman and the Duke of Edinburgh. The woman was Lady Romsey. The article claimed that Lady Romsey and the Duke of Edinburgh had "formed a close friendship." A courtier was quoted as saying: "The Duke is like a big cuddly father-figure to Penny. And they are in touch with each other, just as you would expect family members to be. They formed a particularly close relationship born out the tragedy of losing a loving daughter."

In fact, Penny has been friends with the Duke of Edinburgh since the Prince of Wales first brought her to Smith's Lawn to watch polo. At the time, Penelope Eastwood was dating Norton Knatchbull.

Why does the gutter press always have to look to the .. well, the gutter? The Brabournes are having marital problems. This is not a surprise, but it is wrong to suggest that Lady Brabourne is having an affair with the Queen's husband. In February 2004, Lord and Lady Brabourne accompanied the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, where they saw the Cole Porter musical, Anything Goes. The British sovereign, her husband, and the then Romseys sat in the second row of the Dress Circle. Last May, Lady Brabourne, and her daughter joined the Queen and Prince Philip, and other members of the Royal family at Windsor.

Lady Brabourne and Prince Philip share an interest in carriage driving. He arranged for Penny to receive lessons at Windsor Castle. Penny was also instrumental in mediating the difficult relationship between Charles and his father. Penny is family, plain and simple. The Brabournes have often spent weekends at Windsor or at Highgrove. Their two children, Nicholas and Alexandra, were playmates of William and Harry. Nicholas and William were at Eton together. Tragically, Nicholas got into drugs only six weeks after arriving at Edinburgh University. Several attempts at rehabilitation have not brought Nicholas back to reality.

Lady Brabourne has also acted as a confidante to the Prince of Wales.

In 1941, Chips Channon noted that Prince Philip of Greece was likely to become the then Princess Elizabeth's husband. In hindsight, the comment should not have shocked anyone. Young Prince Philip's guardian was his maternal uncle, the Marquess of Milford Haven, not his younger brother Lord Louis. Philip's grandmother, Victoria, lived at Kensington Palace. Lord Louis' daughters, Patricia and Pamela, were childhood playmates of Queen Elizabeth. Princess Elizabeth's intimate circle also included Georgina and Marilyn Werhner, the two daughters of Sir Harold and Lady Zia Wernher, whose sister, Nada, was married to the Marquess of Milford Haven. Their son, Alex, was Prince Philip's best friend. Alex, the heir to the Wernher baronetcy, was killed in the second world war. Philip was never an interloper in Elizabeth's circle. He became a member of it because they share friends and relatives.

Some years ago, a British writer tried to infer that the Duke of Edinburgh was having an affair with Princess Alexandra, whose mother, Marina, Duchess of Kent, was the Duke's first cousin. The Queen has always been fond of her cousin, Alexandra, who, along with her husband, were often included in private family weekends.

Family. I stress the word FAMILY!! The Duke of Edinburgh feels comfortable with Lady Brabourne because they are confidants, they have common interests, and they are family.

The photo was taken by me in June 1991 - part of the balcony scene after the Trooping the Colour. The little girl in the red hat is Leonora Knatchbull, who died at the age of 5 on October 22, 1991. It may not be copied or reproduced without my permission.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Lord Brabourne's new love

Richard Kay reports today on the reason for Lord Brabourne's decision to decamp to Windemere Island in the Bahamas. She is 57-year-old Lady Nuttall, the widow of Sir Nicholas Nuttall, who died three years ago at the of 73. Lady Nuttall was born Eugenie Marie Alicia (Jeannie) McWeeney, daughter of William Thomas McWeeney. (I am not making up this name.) 

Jeannie, 57, is a fashion designer and runs her own business, Jeannie McQueeney. I gather she did not want to go into the hot dog business! Lady Nuttall is from New Providence, Bahamas.



Sir Nicholas's second wife was Miranda Quarry. They were divorced in 1983. Miranda has been married three times. Her first husband was Peter Sellers. Her second husband was Sir Nicholas. In 1995, she married the Earl of Stockton. Miranda is the daughter of Richard Bridges St. John Quarry and Diana Lloyd. Diana's second husband was Stormont Mancroft Samuel Mancroft, 2nd Baron Mancroft. Lord and Lady Mancroft's eldest daughter, the Hon. Victoria Mancroft was married to HRH Prince Nicholas of Prussia, whose marriage ended in divorce largely due to Nicholas' infidelity with Sarah Macmillan, the wife of Hon. Adam Macmillan, younger brother of Lord Stockton, whose wife is Princess Nicholas' older half-sister.

A ball for Bavarian duke

August 20, 1910


Mrs. Ogden Goelet gave a dinner and a ball tonight in honor of her guest, Duke Franz Josef in Bavaria, at Ochre Court, reports the New York Times. The gala event was preceded by a dinner on the terrace. At the hostess's table were the Duke, Congressman and Mrs. Nicholas Longsworth, Lord Rocksavage, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Goelet, Mrs. Ogden Mills, Mrs. Cavendish Bentinck, Capt. von Lossow, the Duke's aid and Count Georg Wedel of the German Embassy in Washington.
The grounds "were illuminated and the dinner appointments and the curtain hung terrace were bedecked with American beauty roses. The verandas were hung in turkey red, with tiny electric arcs." Every table "was ornamented with Dresden baskets of the period of Louis XVI, in keeping with the scheme of decorations throughout Ochre Court."

Insults for new Coburg duke

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 August 20, 1900 

 The Marquise of Fontenoy reports on the "strained relations" between Duchess Marie of Coburg, widow of the late Duke Alfred, and daughters with the new Duke, 16-year-old Carl Eduard. The widowed Duchess and her daughters "appear to regard the presence of the lad and of his mother at Coburg as a personal insult." It was not until Kaiser Wilhelm II and the Prince of Wales intervened on behalf of Carl Eduard "that a public scandal was averted." 

Marie, particularly, sees the young duke as an interloper, "owing to the suicide of the young Prince Alfred of Coburg who was heir to the throne," which brought Carl Eduard to the throne. 

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Carl Eduard, the only son of the late Duke of Albany, "was obliged by etiquette to be at the railroad station" to meet the late Duke's married daughters, when they arrived for the funeral. One daughter, Princess Alexandra, is married to the Hereditary Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, who has been named as Regent for the young duke. When the princesses alighted from the train, they "absolutely ignored" Carl Eduard. It was if his "presence was a personal injury." Later in the day, when Carl Eduard's mother, the Duchess of Albany arrived with her daughter, Princess Alice, "not a single one of the royal ladies of Coburg was at the station to receive her." They didn't even bother to send their ladies-in-waiting.

 The young duke was made to "feel so awkward" by the widowed Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, her daughters and sons-in-law. This attitude was noticed by the Kaiser and the Prince of Wales, and both took care to show their support for Carl Eduard. During the point of the service "where the divine blessing was invoked upon him as the new duke, Wilhelm and the Prince of Wales "each placed their hands so affectionately and paternally on his shoulders" that Carl Eduard, whose father died before he was bond, "burst into an uncontrollable fit of weeping." When Carl Eduard emerged from the church, he wiped away tears from off his cheeks. The Kaiser and the Prince of Wales "were most marked in their attention to the Duchess of Albany, as "if to atone" for the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha's "gross discourtesy." 

The Kaiser also had "some pointed words" with his aunt, the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, before making arrangements for the young Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his mother to return to Potsdam "without delay," and return to the "beautiful little palace in the royal park at Potsdam," near the Kaiser's residence. Carl Eduard will remain under the "personal supervision" of the Kaiser, his first cousin until he reaches his majority.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

this story is so funny


but there may be some merit (although the prince in question is only guessing.) 


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/theroyalfamily/7954835/Prince-William-and-Kate-Middleton-to-marry-in-July-claim-dismissed.html 


Prince Eduard, who is the head of the Anhalt family, is neither closely related nor close to the British royal family. He is not going to be on the guest list. The Lord Chamberlain's office, which will be sending out the invitations, has not sent out "Save the date" cards! They do not do that sort of thing. 

 I wonder if Prince Eduard reads Royal Musings because I have said largely the same thing, but for different reasons. I see no need to change my thoughts, although I accept that I may be proven wrong. This is my theory. IF ... Prince William and Kate Middleton are to become engaged, the engagement will be announced, as early as this fall or as late as March with the wedding taking place between April and July 2011. The wedding will not take place after July because the royals go on vacation to Scotland and elsewhere (as do other royal houses.)
 
The weather is better in the summer, more tourists, more money into the coffers. The couple probably will not marry in 2012 because of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Summer Olympics. The first weekend of July can be crossed off as a date as the Prince of Monaco's wedding to Charlene Wittstock will take place on July 2 and July 3.

 However. British royal weddings have taken place during the week. The marriages of the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York occurred on a Wednesday. 

 The wedding will take place at one of two places: Westminster Abbey or St. George's Chapel. As I have said before, my thoughts are theoretical. I could be proven wrong.

No reconciliation for Carol & Helen

August 19, 1930

Reports of a reconciliation between King Carol and his former wife, Queen Helen, are now believed to be "groundless," according to a wireless to the New York Times. Roumanians now believe that the king has "abandoned hope of resuming relations with Queen Helen," and he now intends to "seek the hand of another European royalty." The popular opinion says the king will marry the Duchess of Guise.
Carol is "rapidly losing popularity in this connection, as the "government and political parties stand behind Helen."
In an attempt to thwart another crisis regarding the state of Carol's marriage, Dowager Queen Marie today left Bled in Yugoslavia, where she had been staying with her daughter, Queen Marie, and her family, "in desperate haste." Marie "hopes to effect an eleventh-hour reconciliaton between Carol on one side and Helen and her political supporters on the other."

Olav wants to be a sailor

August 19, 1926

Crown Prince Olav of Norway "has an intense love of the sea," according to an AP dispatch. He said he would have "elected the sea for his career had he been free to make his own choice." Olav is the heir to the Norwegian throne. He was born in England, when his parents were Prince and Princess Carl of Denmark. His mother, Queen Maud is a sister of King George V.

Duke Franz Josef in Newport

August 19, 1910

Duke Franz Josef in Bavaria, who is on a tour of the United States, is a guest of Mrs. Odgen Goelet at her home in Newport, Rhode Island, according to the New York Times. Mrs. Goelet is "also entertaining Congressman and Mrs. Longworth.
Mrs. Goelet gave a luncheon for her guests this afternoon.
Mrs. Goelet's daughter, Mary, known as May, is married to the Duke of Roxeburghe. Mrs. Longworth is the daughter of former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. Duke Franz Josef is the son of Duke Karl Theodore in Bavaria.

Working Princesses


August 20, 1910

A number of European princesses have acquired skills that would allow them to work for a living, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

The Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is an "accomplished typewriter and stenographer. " She learned her trade as a student in a German business college, and she boasts that "she can earn 100 marks per month for herself if need be." 
Viktoria Adelheid is the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderberg-GlĂĽcksburg. Viktoria Adelheid's mother, Caroline, is a sister of the German Empress.

The GlĂĽcksburgs are "among the poorest royalties in Europe." When his daughters were growing up, the Duke insisted that each learn a trade "to guard against a rainy day."

Viktoria Adelheid's sister, Princess Alexandra Viktoria, who is engaged to Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia, studied art and is "earning considerable pin money by miniature painting. She paints on ivory the portraits of most of Europe's sovereigns, and "is always sure of a good prince.

Duke Friedrich Ferdinand's third daughter, Princess Helena has trained as a nurse. Whenever "a relative of hers falls ill she comes to aid by the next train. Princess Eleonore Reuss, who is engaged to marry the Prince of Bulgaria, is also a trained nurse.

Princess Adelheid's education is not completed. She is studying cooking. At the present time, she "makes only the dessert for the ducal table," but she has a goal to "cook an entire dinner for a party of twelve."

The Duke and Duchess' youngest daughter, Princess Karoline, is only 12. According to her older sisters, Karoline has selected "an easy trade." She wants to be a Kindergartnerin, a kindergarten teacher. She has lessons with her governess, but when she is older to expects to study at a "celebrated Vienna institute" after her confirmation.



Princess Hermine of Schoenaich-Carolath does watch repair. She "mends most of the watches of royalty, at least those of the younger set." Real Kings "carry timepieces that require little repairing." At Schloss Schoenaich, packages containing broken watches and clocks arrive each day. The Princess makes about 5000 marks per year with her watch repair business. 

Every so often, Hermine says to her husband: "If you would let me open a shop in Unter den Linde I might make five times as much or more."

Duchess Philipp of WĂĽrttemberg, who was born an Archduchess of Austria. "comes to aid of suffering royalty with bandages and other medical apparatus.
She is an expert in making rubber stockings, and she receives royalties from several War Ministers on bandages she invented.

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Archduchess Friedrich of Austria has "adopted a most unusual trade." The mother of "numerous pretty daughters," is a candlemaker. Her candles are "most beautifully decorated and smell so sweet." The Archduchess "makes a lot of money" as her candles are used in the "boudoirs of her royal and imperial sisters." 

A devout Catholic, the Archduchess also supplies the Pope with candles for his bedroom, and "on festive occasions also furnishes altar candles for the Sistine Chapel or St. Peter's when the Pope says mass there."


Duke of Saxe-Altenburg takes flight

August 19, 1908

The Duke of Saxe-Altenburg "was the the helm of the Parseval airship this evening during half an hour of the most intricate manoeuvring." He also flew for a short trip against the wind and "attained a speed of more than 29 miles an hour," reports the New York Times.

After landing, the Duke "expressed astonishment at the wonderful ease which the craft was steered and the balloon's rapid response to the movements of the rudder." He is the present of the Eero Club, and is interested in flying.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Funeral plans for the late Duke of Parma

The body of the late Duke of Parma will lie in repose on Friday in the Fagel Dome at the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague. It will not be opened to the public. The honor, however, is a testament to Queen Beatrix's support for her former brother-in-law. Princess Irene and their four children moved to the Netherlands after the divorce. The children were incorporated into the Dutch nobility, and became Dutch nationals.
The coffin will be flown to Piacenza, Italy, and placed in the Santa Maria della Stecata, where other family and friends and the public will be able to pay their respects.
The funeral will be held on August 28, the day where the late Duke of Parma's eldest son, Carlos, was to have married his wife, Annemarie, im a religious ceremony. The wedding has been postponed.

Spanish news agencies are reporting that King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia have sent their condolences to Prince Carlos, the Duke of Parma. The King and Queen "unite in the grief" of the late Duke's family, and "fell for the sisters and the children of the deceased." The Prince and Princess of Asturias have also sent their condolences to the new Duke of Parma.

An interview with the late Duke of Parma

In April 1978, shortly after his return to Madrid after several years of exile, Prince Carlos-Hugo of Bourbon-Parma sat down with a New York Times reporter. He was. according to James Markham's report, Spain's "last political exile" to come home. The "slim, intelligent, 48-year-old aristocrat, heir to an anarchic populist movement" that plunged 19th-century Spain into several civil wars, renounced his claims to the Spanish throne.
The French-born Prince conceded that the question was difficult to answer. "In a democracy, no one has to renounce his past. The Communists have not renounced their past, the Socialists have not renounced their past, and I do not feel I have to renounce my past."
Thanks to "some radical updating" by Prince Carlos Hugo, Carlism has become "a voice for socialism and a decentralized federal state." Carlos Hugo is "Spain's socialist prince."
He said: "Carlism has always been socialist without calling itself such." He and his family were sent into exile in 1968. They lived in Paris until last October, when the exile was lifted. He "does his best" to play down the "monarchical side of the party he leads."
"The dynastic question does not present itself, at least for the moment. I say that in Spain there is not a dynastic quarrel."
King Juan Carlos seems to have taken the Prince at his word. Last month, the King invited him for a private meeting at the Zarzuela Palace. The meeting lasted for 45 minutes. "Many difficulties from the past have been overcome," said Prince Carlos Hugo. "He is the King. Of course it is necessary to accept him, because if we don't we will rupture the coexistence of Spanish politics."
The New York Times' correspondent notes that the the present "Carlist cause is little more than a curiosity," but it once was a "mass-based, sometimes violent rear-guard nuisance."
Prince Carlos Hugo's father, Prince Xavier, fought with Franco in the Spanish civil war, but eventually broke with the dictator, and ended up joining the anti-Nazi resistance in France. He was arrested by the Germans, and was taken to the Dachau concentration camp. He was liberated by the Americans in 1944.
A year ago, the "aging pretender" was kidnapped by Prince Carlo Hugo's "right-wing brother" Prince Sixte. But before his death, Xavier "passed on the mantle of succession" to Carlos Hugo.
The "shady Sixte" has been "compromised by various far right wing adventures in Spain. He represents "a more authentic streak of Carlism," but he is now in hiding "after a gunfight in 1976 at the Carlist shrine at Montejurra," which is located in Basque country, where two people were killed.
In 1964, Prince Carlos Hugo married Princess Irene of the Netherlands. They have two sons and two daughters. Four years after their marriage, Carlos and Irene were expelled from Spain, due to the Prince's outspoken liberalism.
A year later, in 1969, Franco named Juan Carlos as the Prince of Spain, "dashing the hopes of some Carlists who had bet on the young man's father, Don Juan, hoping to marry their ambitions with his and close the dispersed Borbon ranks."
While in exile, Prince Carlos Hugo "revised his doctrine," and maintained contact with different political leaders in Spain, including the head of the Communist Party.
He claims that his party could win 20% of council seats in the next municipal elections. The claim "appears wildly ambitious" as the party "was illegal at the parliamentary elections last June."
"Since my infancy, I've always lived in rare situations," the prince said, puffing on his cigar. "I have always aid that everything is possible -- even something good."

The Duke of Parma and Piacenza has died


August 18, 2010

The Duke of Parma and Piacenza died today in a hospital in Barcelona, Spain. He was 80 years old and had suffered from prostrate cancer
HRH Prince Charles-Hughes Xavier Marie Sixt Louis Robert Jean Georges Benoit Michel of Bourbon-Parma was born at Paris on April 8, 1930, the eldest son of HRH Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma, Duke of Parma, and his wife, Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset.
In the 1950s, the prince studied law at the Sorbonne in Paris and economics at Oxford. By the late 1950s, the prince became immersed in Carlism politics. At the time, Spain was a dictatorship headed by Generalissimo Francisco Franco. Although the dictator had re-established the monarchy in 1947, there was no guarantee that the main line - the Count of Barcelona or his son, Juan Carlos -- would achieve the throne. Thus, the Carlist line, headed by Carlos Hugo's father, saw an opportunity advance their cause.
Carlos Hugo made his first official trip to Spain in 1957, although the visit was conducted in secret. Five years later, he returned to Spain, where he worked for a month as a miner, using the name Javier Ipiña.
Even though his political prestige was enhanced by his marriage in 1964 to Princess Irene of the Netherlands, Carlos Hugo eventually resigned as president of the Carlist party.
Franco's death in 1975 was followed the succession of the Prince of Spain to the throne as King Juan Carlos.
Carlos Hugo's marriage ended in divorce in 1981, although he maintains good relations with the Dutch royal family. He is survived by his four children, Carlos, who succeeds to the title of Duke of Parma, Margarita, Jaime, and Maria Carolina, a granddaughter, Julia ten Cate, and his siblings, Princess Francoise (Princeess Edouard de Lobkowicz), Princess Marie Therese, Princess CĂ©cile, Princess Marie-des-Neiges and Prince Sixte.

Princess Francoise and Prince Sixte were not included on the official death announcement as both are long estranged from their late brother. Sixte is a traditional Carlist.
The late Duke of Parma was also estranged from his father. due to political differences. Carlos Hugo wanted to see Carlisim move toward more socialist principles, which went against traditional Carlism.
The late Prince Xavier's marriage to Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset was not recognized as equal by the head of the house of Parma. In 1958, Elie, Duke of Parma, made it clear that he supported the Count of Barcelona as the future king of Spain. He died in 1959, and was succeeded by his son, Roberto, who said that if the throne of Spain did devolve on the Parmas, he would be the heir because he was a Spanish citizen, and born of an equal marriage.
It was not until the marriage of Princess Francoise of Bourbon-Parma to the American-born Prince Eduoard de Lobkowicz, when Roberto met with Prince Xavier, and finally acknowledge Xavier's marriage and Xavier's sons' succession rights.
"I am not married and have no issue, my uncle Xavier is indubitably my eventual successor. His children have always born the titles Prince or Princess of Parma."
But Prince Roberto made it clear that he would not recognize Xavier's rights to the Spanish throne, and he regretted that Xavier would not accept the Count of Barcelona as heir.
Neither Xavier nor Carlos Hugo were Spanish citizens. The family's relationship began to disintegrate. Princess CĂ©cile, Marie-Therese and Marie de Neiges were all active participants in the Carlist movement, until all three found themselves moving toward leftist politics. All three moved to Spain.
Princess Francoise supported Duke Roberto's ideas, and did not take on a political role. She raised her children, and worked tirelessly for charitable organizations.
In the early 60s, Prince Xavier and Princess Madeleine, along with Carlos-Hugo and their three daughters continued to foment Carlist insurrections within Spain. Carlos-Hugo began to speak out vocally against Juan Carlos, who was seen as Franco's heir, calling Juan Carlos Franco's puppet.
Juan Carlos maintained a dignified front, but was seething inside after a meeting with Franco, who had told his father, the Count of Barcelona. that he had another candidate. Franco was, of course, referring to Carlos-Hugo, but it is doubtful that Franco ever seriously considered the Carlist candidate.
Carlos-Hugo began to see Carlisim in a new way, not traditional nor favoring capitalism.
Carlos-Hugo's marriage in 1964 was seen to be controversial, especially in the Netherlands. Princess Irene, who converted to Roman Catholicism before the wedding, did not seek Parliament's approval for the marriage, and thus, she and her descendants have no succession rights to the Dutch throne. Irene's father, Prince Bernhard, was not pleased with his daughter's choice of a husband. He insisted that that there would be no marriage unless Carlos-Hugo renounced his claims to the Spanish throne.
Irene and Carlos-Hugo refused to acknowledge her father's request. They were married in Rome on April 29, 1964. None of Irene's family attended. Nor did the Duke of Parma, who supported the Count of Barcelona.
As Carlos Hugo's view of Carlism moved toward the left,they fell out with Franco. Prince Xavier abdicated his role his Carlos Hugo 1975, but his son refused to adopt the more traditional view of Carlism, which further alienated Carlism's supporters. Although the traditional Carlists announced that they would remove Carlos Hugo as the head of the movement, Carlos Hugo responded: "I have renounced noting. These are matters which one cannot renounce because they do not belong to the patrimony of any individual."
In the meantime, Carlos-Hugo's younger brother, Sixte, embraced traditional Carlisim, thus setting up further problems for the family. In 1977, Carlos-Hugo accused his brother of hiding Xavier in a French monastery. Princess Madeleine, who supported Sixte, accused her elder son of trying to force Xavier to acknowledge him as heir.
Several days later, Xavier issued a statement disavowing himself from his son's increasingly leftist politics, but three days later, after Carlos-Hugo and his three sisters managed to remove their father from a local hospital, he issued another statement, this time naming Carlos-Hugo as his heir.
Xavier died on May 7, 1977. The breach between Princess Madeleine and Carlos-Hugo and his three sisters was never healed. Princess Madeleine died in 1984, and left her estate to Sixte and Francoise. Carlos-Hugos and his three sisters were not permitted to attend her funeral.
In 1978, Carlos-Hugo met with King Juan Carlos in a private audience. He acknowledged Juan Carlos as head of state. In a statement released to the media, Carlos-Hugo said: "Neither myself, nor my family, have, at this time, any ambition to occupy the place occupied by Juan Carlos. The facts are facts. He is today the head of State and we have not been asked, neither ourselves, nor the people."
In 1979, Carlos-Hugo finally acquired Spanish nationality as Carlos de Bourbon-Parma y Borbon with the style of Royal Highness nor the title of Duke of Parma.
In 1980, the Duke of Parma resigned as head of the Carlist party. He also ceased to be a member of the Carlist party.
Prince Sixte is the head of the traditionalist Carlist Party. He is not married, but it is his belief and hope that one of Carlos-Hugo's sons, Carlos or Jaime, will take up the cudgels of traditional Carlism. These seems unlikely.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Tax exile ... or another woman

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In 1979, the Hon. Norton Knatchbull, heir apparent to the Mountbatten earldom and the Brabourne barony, inherited Broadlands, in Romsey, Hampshire. The Palladian mansion, once the home of Lord Palmerston. 
 The estate passed to Lord Palmerston's stepson, William Cowper, later Lord Mount Temple, who, in turn, left the estate to the grandfather of Edwina Ashley.

 Lord Mount Temple died without male issue in 1888. The peerage was recreated for his great-nephew, Wilfrid William Ashley in 1932. The new Lord Mount Temple was the father of Edwina Ashley. In 1922, the Hon. Edwina Ashley married Lord Louis Mountbatten, later 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, who inherited the Broadlands estate and Classiebawn Castle in Mullaghmore, Ireland, when Edwina died in 1960. 

 It was decided that Lord Mountbatten's eldest grandson, Norton, would inherit Broadlands, thus, bypassing his mother, the new Countess Mountbatten of Burma. Classiebawn Castle is no longer owned by the Mountbatten family. Norton was styled as Lord Romsey, the courtesy title for the Mountbatten earldom when his mother inherited the peerage. In 2005, his father, the 7th Baron Brabourne died, and Norton succeeded to this peerage. Broadlands is closed through 2011, due to major renovations. The website is also down. 

 Due to Nicholas Knatchbull's drug problems, there have been reports in the media that the Broadlands estate will be inherited by the Brabournes' daughter, the Hon. Alexandra Knatchbull. Nicholas will inherit both peerages if he lives longer than his father.

 If Nicholas dies without a legitimate son,  the Mountbatten and Brabourne peerages will be inherited by Norton's brother, Michael-John, who has two daughters, but no sons. Norton's two youngest brothers, Philip and Timothy have two sons each.


 There has been no confirmation of the reason for Lord Brabourne's departure. Richard Kay's column in today's Daily Mail gives a clue: "The news that the Queen’s cousin, Lord Brabourne, has decided to up sticks and quit Britain — exchanging his stately home, Broadlands in Hampshire, for his estate in the Bahamas — has come as little surprise to chums. Despite being married for nearly 31 years to his wife Penny, they have led separate lives for some time, I am told. A great pal of motor-racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart — who by contrast remains devoted to his wife of 48 years — Norton has decamped to his five-bedroom house on Windermere, a private island just five miles long. Says a pal: ‘It is quite simple. Norton has found somebody else.’ So what does his mother, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, think of it all? ‘I have made it a rule never to comment on anything private to do with my family,’ she says."

 Lord and Lady Brabourne have been through so much. They were married only a few months after Lord Mountbatten's murder in 1979. Their son, Nicholas, has battled drug addiction for more than a decade, and their youngest daughter, Leonora, died from cancer in 1991.

Prince Carlos of Bourbon Parma's marriage postponed

It was announced today that the religious wedding, which was scheduled to take place on August 28, between Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Parma and Annemarie Gualthérie van Weezel has been postponed due to the health of Prince Carlos' father, Prince Carlos Hugo, the Duke of Parma.

The Duke of Parma, who was once married to Princess Irene of the Netherlands, is dying of cancer. His condition has been described as critical, and he is not expected to survive. Several days ago, the duke released a statement that he wished for the marriage to go ahead, despite his health.
The couple were married in a civil ceremony on June 12, 2010.

A lovely family photo of the new king of Poland

Karl Stephan to be king of Poland


August 17, 1919

Germany "has approved the suggestion made by Austria" that a member of the Habsburg Imperial family is made King of Poland. A Berlin newspaper, the Lokal-Anzeiger, reports that Archduke Karl Stephan "probably will be named.

The New York Times reports today on these dispatches from Berlin and London as Germany's "concession to Austria on the Polish question are in consequence of the strong stand" taken by Emperor Karl and the Austro-Hungarian government, according to information received by the Daily Mail's correspondent in The Hague.

The Germans have demanded that Austria "send to the western front from ten to fifteen divisions of picked troops, confining herself to the defensive on the Italian front."

Archduke Karl Stephan has "long prepared himself" for the role of King of Poland. When he was exiled many years ago from the Vienna court, he moved to his residence in Cracow, setting up "a Polish household and frequenting the aristocratic Polish clubs. His children were taught to speak Polish. One of his daughters married Prince Jerome Radziwill and another is the wife of Prince Czartoryski, the Polish leader.

Even before the German Governor of Warsaw on November 4, 1916, "announced that the German and Austrian Emperors had agreed to the independent status of a Russian Poland," Archduke Karl Stephan's name had been mentioned in Vienna and Berlin as "presumptive King of the monarchy to be formed out of the new Polish state."

Archduke Karl Stephan is a cousin of the late Emperor Franz Joseph. He was born at Gross-Seelowitz, Silesia, on September 5, 1860. He is the son of Archduke Karl Ferdinand. In 1886, he married his cousin, Archduchess Maria Theresia. They have six children. Their eldest son, Archduke Karl Albrecht, is an artillery officer in the Austrian army.

Archduke Karl Stephan is an "honorary Colonel in several German and Austrian regiments and has many decorations."

The couple's six children are Archduchess Eleonora, who is the wife of Alfons von Kloss; Archduchess Renata, Princess Radziwill; Archduke Karl Albrecht; Archduchess Mechtildis, Princess Czartoryski; Archduke Leo Karl; and Archduke Wilhelm.

Duke Franz Josef likes the chorus girls

August 17, 1910


Duke Franz Josef in Bavaria, who arrived in New York on Tuesday, went to the theatre tonight for a "sample of American musical comedy," when he attended a performance of "Up and Down Broadway at the Casino Theatre. The New York Times reports that the Duke and his party of "men friends," occupied one of the lower stage boxes. He "understands English well enough to appreciate much of the dialogue." Jokes "that were made up of American slang were translated by one of his comrades."
After the first act, the Duke and members of his party went backstage and were introduces to several members of the company. Franz Josef said the "American chorus girls surpassed his expectation for beauty and intelligence."
The Duke is on a tour of the United States.

Monday, August 16, 2010

A movie star is born


Just an extra, actually, in the upcoming movie, How Do You Know, starring Reese Witherspoon and Owen Wilson. Starting at 1.43 - crowd scene at baseball stadium --- I am in one of those seats!!!! Owen Wilson plays a Washington Nationals relief pitcher. Several of the scenes were filmed at Nationals Park. Two of the scenes were shot in the visiting team's bullpen, but it was made to look like the Nats' bullpen!

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3436250649/

Princess Herzeleide marries

both images  Marlene A Eilers Koenig collection


August 16, 1938

Princess Herzeleide of Prussia, a granddaughter of former Kaiser Wilhelm II, was married today to Prince Karl Biron von Curland at the Potsdam garrison church. Many members of Germany's former royal family attended the ceremony.

The bride is the only daughter of the Kaiser's fifth son, Prince Oskar. her husband is the eldest son of Prince Gustav Biron von Curland, head of a noble house which originally "was Polish."

Crown Prince Wilhelm, attired in the Death's Head Hussars uniform, was one of the members of former ruling family in attendance. Kaiser Wilhelm's wife, Hermine, was also present.

Herzeleide was born on Christmas Day in 1918, several weeks after the collapse of the German monarchy. She was given a name meaning "heart's sorrow" after the "tragic queen in the Parsifal legend.

On their honeymoon, Princess Herzeleide and Prince Karl will visit Wilhelm II in Doorn.

Hermine buys a villa

August 16, 1928


Empress Hermine, the second wife of the former Kaiser, has bought a villa in Potsdam, according to the New York Times. She plans to spend several months each year "in the former royal stronghold."
The Lichtenstein villa, formerly the property of Potsdam's ex-mayor, "has exchanged property with an Upper Silesian owner of a large landed estate." Rumor says tgat "Hermine is the other party in the transaction."
It is believed that Hermine wants to reside in Potsdam "to keep in touch with Wilhelm's family, "most of whom are living there."

Prince Eitel Friedrich burns the fat!

August 16, 1908


Prince Eitel Friedrich, the second son of Kaiser Wilhelm II, "has decided that hard work, and plenty of it, is the best cure for the obesity which threatens him," reports the New York Times. At his summer home, Schloss Ingenheim, near Charlottenburg, the Prince works from "morning till night in the most strenuous labor."
He has taken on tree-felling, gardening, cutting hedges, sawing wood, and carpentry. The estate's gardeners and other staff "obtain little leisure while the Prince is in residence, "as he exacts from them a full day's work every day in the week." One of the Prince's major projects is the construction of a new riding school. One morning, when it was very hot, the Prince was remonstrated by his wife, Princess Sophie Charlotte. He told her: "This kind of work is very good for my figure."
When the Prince is not working in the grounds, he and his wife "take long rides on horseback," leaving the castle before 7 a.m.,"without a groom, taking a light lunch with them." They eat in the forest, and only return to the castle "just in time to dress for dinner."
On occasion, the Prince and Princess drive together in a dogcart, and have a picnic in the woods. The Princess likes to take her sketchbook with her. On occasion, when the Prince returns, he applies "himself for some hours to manual labor about the castle."
Prince and Princess Eitel Friedrich live a very simple life at the castle. There are "no superfluous lackeys in attendance," and the household "is conducted more "in the manner of a villa than like that of a Prince of the blood."

Broadlands and the Brabournes

The Mail on Sunday had the following story:

 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1303199/Bust-Broadlands-Lady-Penny-left-Mountbatten-home-husband-moves-Bahamas.html 



 Very sloppy research. Lord Brabourne is a distant relative of the Queen. He is a close relative of the Duke of Edinburgh, who is a first cousin of Lord Brabourne's mother, the Countess Mountbatten of Burma. 

 The writers state that Lord Brabourne "survived the IRA attack that killed his grandfather in 1979." Lord Brabourne was not on board the Shadow V, the fishing boat that was rigged with a bomb. The Brabournes' younger daughter, Leonora, did not die from Leukemia. She suffered from Wilm's disease, a tumor on her kidney. 


India Hicks is not Lord Brabourne's niece. She is his first cousin. Their mothers are sisters. Broadlands is undergoing a major renovation, including the removal of asbestos, and will be closed through 2011. The tabloids are speculating on the reasons why Lord Brabourne has relocated to the Bahamas. Health concerns? Another woman? Broadlands' maintenance costs are staggering. The heir to the Brabourne barony and the next-but-one in line for the Mountbatten earldom is Lord Brabourne's only son, the Hon. Nicholas Knatchbull. 

 Tragically, for the family, Nicholas has battled substance abuse issues for some years now and has been and out of treatment centers. It is believed that the Brabournes set up a trust to protect the estate when Nicholas inherits the Mountbatten earldom. This may have done in the 1990s, and possibly mirrors what the Duke of Marlborough, when he established a trust to protect Blenheim and the family fortune, when his son, the Marquess of Blandford, succeeds. 

Lord Blandford battled drug problems for many years. There has been discussion in the media that the Brabournes are considering leaving the house to their daughter, Alexandra. Is it possible that Lord Brabourne has decamped to the Bahamas to become a tax exile? 


If he establishes a residence abroad, Lord Brabourne's tax situation will change, which will benefit the estate's heir.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Little prince sleeps in mommy's arms

Little Prince Carl-Emil Maximilian Moritz Casmir zu Bentheim-Tecklenburg slept blissfully in his mother's arms during his first meeting with the press. The three-day old prince was a trouper during a press conference on August 12 at Schloss Rheda, the home of his parents, the Hereditary Prince and Princess.
Carl-Emil, who is the couple's fourth child, was born shortly before noon on August 10.
Hereditary Princess Marissa came into the room, holding her infant son. "Sorry, I've only just come out of the hospital," she said amiably. Marissa and her husband, Hereditary Prince Maximilian, posed with their newest child. Prince Maximilian said that the three older children, Moritz, Luise and Amalie were very excited about the birth of a little brother. Prince Moritz said he had wanted a younger brother. The entire family rejoices in the birth of a new world citizen, as each new sibling is a gift, a ray of sunshine. It is a tradition on the Bentheim-Tecklenburg family to give each of the older children a gift in honor of the newborn.
The three older children received a toy helicopter, a tent and a doll carriage.
Prince Carl-Emil's baptism will take place "probably in the spring," said Hereditary Princess Marissa. The little prince's next official appearance will take place in two weeks when the entire family travels to Cornwall to attend the wedding the Hereditary Princess Marissa's brother, James.

d3556366.html

Friday, August 13, 2010

Archduke Felix in felony court

August 14, 1940

Archduke Felix of Austria was in Felony Court today in New York when Edward Concowich, 19, "waived examination and was held without bail for the action of the grand jury for the theft" of the Archduke's car.
Concowich, who has a previous police record, allegedly stole the car from in front of Archduke Felix's home at 10 Park Avenue. The Archduke "identified the car." Three other youths, a young widow and a young girl were with Concowich "in the car when it crashed" on East Side Drive at 125th Street on Saturday night. The other occupants of the car were discharged.

Marriage rumors for King Edward

August 13, 1936

King Edward VIII is nearing Greek waters on his yachting cruise, and "with him came the the rumor that he will soon marry," reports United Press.
This time, there are two candidates: King George II of the Hellenes' two sisters, Princess Irene, 32, and Princess Katherine, 24.
The princesses are expected to arrive at Corfu this week to visit their brother, and King Edward "is expected later."
The king's younger brother, the Duke of Kent, is married to Princess Marina of Greece, a first cousin to King George.

Italian Crown Princess expecting again

August 13, 1936

Sources close to the Italian family are confirming that Crown Princess Marie José is pregnant with her second child, according to an Associated Press dispatch. The Princess has been staying at the family's castle near Turin. Crown Prince Umberto joined her there today after returning from Berlin, where he attended the Olympic Games.
The couple have one child, Princess Maria Pia, who was born in September 1934. Only males can succeed to the Italian throne.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Pope offended by Ernst Gunther's marriage

August 12, 1898

The Vatican's official organ, the Osservatore Romano, has been authorized "to express the great displeasure of his Holiness at the action of a Vienna priest" who took part in the marriage of Duke Ernst Gunther of Schleswig-Holstein, brother of the Empress of Germany, and Princess Dorothea of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, "without a formal guaranty of the Catholic education of the offspring," the New York Times reports.

Norwegian Crown Princess and children en route to the US

August 12, 1940

Crown Princess Martha of Norway has accepted the personal invitation of President Franklin Roosevelt, and left Stockholm today for Petsamo, Finland, where she and her three children will board "the United States Army transport American Legion en route to the United States."
The Princess will be accompanied by her three children, Prince Harald, 3 years old, and Princesses Ragnhild and Astrid, 10 and 8 years old. The Princess is "traveling incognito," according to the New York Times. Traveling with the Princess are her lady-in-waiting, Mrs. Oestgord, whose husband, a navy commander, who is an aide-de-camp to Crown Prince Olav, now in London, and a nurse.
Crown Princess Martha crossed into Sweden on April 11, two days after the German invasion of Norway. Twp days earlier, the royal family and the government were on board a train that had been "heavily bombed and machine-gunned by German planes near Elverum."
Martha spent several days in a hotel at Saelen, near the Norwegian border, where she received she received frequent messages from her husband, who was still in Norway, Martha traveled to Stockholm to stay with her parents, Prince Carl and Princess Ingeborg of Sweden.
Last year, the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince toured the United States, and met President Roosevelt at Hyde Park.