The small village of Aglie in Turin is "crowded with Italian and foreign princes for tomorrow's wedding" of Princess Maria Bona of Italy and Prince Konrad of Bavaria.
The Chicago Tribune's Foreign News service reports that King Vittorio Emanuele, Queen Elena, Crown Prince Umberto and "all the princesses are due to arrive" later today. A number of royal guests have already arrived in Aglie, including Archduke Joseph of Austria, one son of the former Kaiser who is traveling as Count Jasabra, the Duke of Aosta, the Count of Turin, Duke Filiberto of Savoy and Prince Leopold and Princess Gisela of Bavaria.
The marriage ceremony will be performed by Cardinal Richelmy. The celebrations will take place at Aglie's famous castle. The citizens of this "small, pretty village are organizing a popular demonstration" in honor of Princess Bona, who was born in Aglie.
The wedding between Princess Maria Bona and Prince Konrad of Bavaria is "the first marriage of enemy royalties since the war began and ended," reports the New York Times. The ceremony will be a "notable gathering of representatives of the Italian house of Savoy, of Bavaria and of the Habsburgs.:
This is not the first marriage between the Bavarian and Italian royal houses. The bride's mother, Princess Isabella of Bavaria married in 1863 to Prince Tommaso of Savoy, who succeeded his father as Duke of Genoa in 1882. The late duke was a brother of King Vittorio Emanuele. The present duke of Genoa is head of the Italian navy.
Princess Maria Bona is the third of six children of the Duke and Duchess of Genoa. Her siblings are Princes Ferdinando, Filiberto, Adalberto, Eugenio, and Princess Maria Adelaide.
The groom, Prince Konrad, is the fourth child of Prince Leopold, brother of King Ludwig III, the last king of Bavaria, and his wife, Princess Gisela, Archduchess of Austria, and was born in Munich on November 22, 1883.
The bride-to-be was born at the Castello d'Aglie on August 1, 1896. The castle is located in the highlands and north of Turin. The Duke of Genoa bought the property just before his marriage and "passed his honeymoon there." The family's apartments are separated from the ancient part of the castle, and they have "their own private gardens."
Archduke Joseph is the third son of the late Archduke Joseph, the younger brother of the late Emperor Franz Joseph. He was born in 1872, and many Hungarians want to see him as King of Hungary. The archduke is "highly educated, being a doctor of laws and of science and a professor at the Budapest University."
He is married to Princess Augusta of Bavaria. They are the parents of two sons, Archdukes Joseph Franz and Ladislas, and one daughter, Archduchess Sophie.
The "mysterious son of the former Kaiser" is believed prince Oskar, the fifth son of Germany's former War Lord, who married morganatically to Countess Ina Marie von Bassewitz. His surviving brothers and only sister "can otherwise be accounted for." Prince Oscar is considered a "dilettante who paid very little attention to the war."
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