Princess Alix, the youngest of Grand Duchess Charlotte's six children, was the first to marry. She married Prince Antoine de Ligne at Luxembourg on August 17, 1950.
Princess Marie Gabrielle married Danish Count Knud of Holstein-Ledreborg at Colmer-Berg on November 6, 1951.
The heir to the throne, Hereditary Grand Duke Jean, married Princess Josephine-Charlotte of Belgium, the only daughter of King Leopold III and Princess Astrid of Sweden. It was largely an arranged marriage as the bride and groom had fallen in love with others. But it would have been impossible for Jean to have married a commoner. Josephine Charlotte, a goddaughter of Grand Duchess Charlotte, was the perfect choice, even though she loved another man. One can see the sadness in Josephine Charlotte's eyes in many of the wedding photos.
Three years after Jean's marriage, Princess Elisabeth married Franz Ferdinand, the Duke of Hohenberg. They married at Luxembourg on May 19, 1956.
Princess Marie Adelaide married Count Carl Henckel von Donnersmarck at Luxembourg on April 10, 1958.
Prince Charles married American Joan Douglas Dillon at Guildford, Surrey, on March 1, 1967.
All the photos are from my private collection.
Josephine-Charlotte may have also been upset about the family fight regarding precedence that sprang up within her family over the wedding. Princess Liliane wanted to take the place of mother of the bride in all events; this was her first big event as Leopold's wife. Her request was refused, and Dowager Queen Elizabeth took her place. There were evidently hurt feelings on both sides, enough so that Elizabeth did not travel with the rest of her family to Luxembourg by train and made the trip by car instead.
ReplyDeleteI've heard the commoner love story as well, so I'm not sure what upset Josephine-Charlotte so much, but it was enough to delay her honeymoon with Jean for a little while. They were originally supposed to cruise the Mediterranean by yacht, but toured Africa instead a few months later.