Princess Amalie weds car dealer

July 17, 1908

There were "extraordinary scenes" at the wedding of Princess Amalie zu Fürstenberg, and ex-Lieut. Gustav von Koczian, "a handsome motor car agent," who ran off together last May.

The New York Times is reporting on  a story in the Nardoni Listy Czech, a "newspaper inimical to Germans" regarding the marriage of Princess Amalie and her driver, who is said to be a "descendant of a good family and an ex-cavalry officer.

The couple originally met in Karlsbad, and the von Koczian frequently took the princess out for drives.  They fell in love, but Amalie's family did not approve of the marriage.  They fled the country, but her family" intervened and the wedding was arranged."

The marriage took place on July 14 at the chapel at Schloss Kammerburg, in Hradek.

The wedding preparations were kept secret, as the princess' family "hoped until the last minute to prevent the marriage. "  The groom appeared at the castle shortly before the ceremony was about to begin.  He was "allowed to enter by the back door" and was taken to a small room, where he changed into the uniform of a Lieutenant of Dragoons.

The princess' mother "attempted with tears and reproaches" to persuade Amalie to "give up her sweetheart.   Her brother also "made a determined effort" to change his sister's mind.  After her mother entered the chapel, "she made a final appeal," to her daughter, who, overcome by her mother's entreaties, "fell in a faint on the floor."

When she recovered, she "insisted upon going through the ceremony."  She was so weak that she "had to be supported. " 

After the wedding, the newlyweds left for Prague.  Princess Amalie "embraced her husband in the presence of a crowed assembled in front of the castle."

Princess Amalie is the third and youngest child of the late Prince Emil Egon zu Fürstenberg and Countess Leontine von Khevenhüller-Metsch.