A royal wedding in Hannover

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A bit of transparency here ... my maiden name is Eilers - and the Eilers family comes from Hannover  ...so I am a Hanoverian, and rather partial to the Hanover Royal Family.

The monarchy may have ended in 1866 when King Georg V was forced into exile after siding with Austria in the Austro-Prussian war.  Bismarck exacted revenge by absorbing Hanover into Prussia.  King Georg and his family had property in Gmunden, Austria, where the family lived in exile.

It was in 1714 when Georg, Elector of Hanover succeeded his kinswoman, Queen Anne, as King George I of Great Britain.   From 1714-1837,  Great Britain (from 1801, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) and Hanover were ruled, separately, by the same sovereign:  George I, George II, George III, George IV, and William IV.  When William IV died on June 20, 1837,  his niece, Victoria, as first in line, succeeded to the British throne.  Hanover's succession was based on Salic law (males only), which meant that the throne passed to the first eligible make,  Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale,  who was King William IV's brother, and second in line to the British throne.

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Uncle Cumberland was the first to offer obedience to his niece, Victoria, but did not remain long in England.  He left for Hanover only a week or so after William's death.  He returned once to England, in 1843, for the marriage of his niece, Princess Augusta of Cambridge, to his wife's nephew, the Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.  He had planned to attend the baptism of Victoria's daughter, Princess Alice, as he was one of the infant princess' godparents, but he arrived too late to attend that ceremony.  Bad weather.

The new King Ernst August I died in 1851 and was succeeded by his only son, King Georg V, who died in Paris France in 1878.   King Georg's only son, Ernst August, succeeded to his father's de jure as well as to his British peerages.  Ernst August chose to be styled as the Duke of Cumberland.  He married Princess Thyra of Denmark, the younger sister of Queen Alexandra

The Duke of Cumberland died in 1923.  He was succeeded by his third, but the only surviving son, Prince Ernst August. as head of the family.   In 1917, the Titles Deprivation Act stripped the British peerages from Ernst August.  According to the act,  neither he nor his son could reapply for the restoration of the titles as they both fought against Britain.  The present head of the house can apply to Parliament for restoration, but will not.  

The new head of the house had also reigned as Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg from 1913 until 1918.  He married Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, the only daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II.  This was a love match that largely healed the breach between the Houses of Hanover and Prussia.

Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia, who attended today's wedding with his wife, Princess Sophie, laughed about the family history.  The events in 1866 are "not forgotten, but we have forgiven each other."

The bridegroom, Prince Ernst August Andreas Philipp Constantine Maximilian Rolf Stephan Ludwig Rudolph, is a great-grandson of Prince Ernst August and Princess Viktoria Luise.   Their eldest son, Prince Ernst August, married Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein in 1951.   Ernst August's father, Prince Ernst August (1954) is the current head of the family but has turned over some functions of the family estate and businesses to his heir.

The religious wedding (Lutheran) took place earlier today at the Marienkirche in Hannover.   The bride wore a gown designed by a friend, Lebanese designer Sandra Mansour.   She was attended by a dozen young children.  The groom's half-sister, Princess Alexandra, was a bridesmaid.

The bride's brother, Anton, read 1st Corinthians in Russian, and Alexandra read the same text in English. 

The wedding reception was held at Schloss Marienburg, the family's castle outside Hannover.

Yes, Hannover has not been a monarchy since 1866, but the importance and interest  in the Welfen dynasty remains.  One Social Democrat politician said today about the wedding: "We are reminded of an important part of our history on this occasion."

http://www.haz.de/Hannover/Aus-der-Stadt/Uebersicht/Welfenhochzeit-Prinz-Ernst-August-und-Ekaterina-von-Hannover-heiraten-in-der-Marktkirche

More than 600 guests attended the wedding.   No reigning sovereigns.  King Felipe V of Spain is one of Prince Ernst August's godparents.   The bridegroom's father did not attend the wedding, nor has he given his approval to the marriage.

Bernd Althusmann
Aglae Prinzessin von Baden
Berthold Prinz von Baden
Bernhard Prinz von Baden
Friedrich Prinz von Baden
Karl-Wilhelm Prinz von Baden
Leopold Prinz von Baden
Michael Prinz von Baden
Max Markgraf von Baden
Stephanie Prinzessin von Baden
Christina Prinzssin von Baden
Valerie Markgräfin von Baden
Sophie Prinzessin von Baden
Caspar Graf von Bismarck-Schönhausen
Nikolai Graf von Bismarck-Schönhausen
Sascha Graf von Bismarck-Schönhausen
Tassilo Graf von Bismarck-Schönhausen
Leopold Graf von Bismarck-Schönhausen
Charlotte Casiraghi
Pierre Casiraghi
Andrea Casiraghi
Beatrice Casiraghi
Tatiana Casiraghi
Klaus Dräger
Gunther Dunkel
Christian Dürr
Georg Festetics
Alex Flick
Donatella Flick
Friedrich Christian Flick
Moritz Flick
Michael Fürst
Christian Prinz zu Fürstenberg
Jeanette zu Fürstenberg
Milana Prinzessin zu Fürstenberg
Paraja Rodriguez Gabriel
Scott Gioconda
Olympia Prinzessin von Griechenland
Constantin Prinz von Griechenland
Pavlos Prinz von Griechenland
Marie-Chantal Prinzessin von Griechenland
Chantal Prinzessin von Hannover
Olga Prinzessin von Hannover
Julius Prinz von Hannover
Alexandra Prinzessin von Hannover
Albert Prinz von Hannover
Georg Prinz von Hannover
Heinrich Prinz von Hannover
Christian Prinz von Hannover
Otto Prinz von Hannover
Victoria von Hannover
Thyra von Hannover
Reiner Haseloff
Mafalda Prinzessin von Hessen
Michael Graf von Hochberg
Marie Gräfin von Hochberg
Gert Hoffmann
Hendrik Hoppenstedt
Christian von Humboldt-Dachroeden  (Christian is the groom's half-uncle.  He is the natural son of the late Prince Ernst August of Hanover and Baroness Maria Anna von Humboldt-Dachroeden)

http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2010/12/if-circumstances-had-been-different.html

Marie von  Humboldt-Dachroeden
Ferdinand Humboldt
Matthias Jabs
Martin Kind
Volker Kluwe
Alexandra Fürstin zu Leiningen
Andreas Fürst zu Leiningen
Isabelle Prinzessin zu Leiningen
Olga Prinzessin zu Leiningen
Hermann Prinz zu Leiningen
Ferdinand Prinz zu Leiningen
Olaf Lies
Igor Malyshev
Anton Malyshev
Svetlana Malysheva
Ralf Meister
Johanne Modder
Alessandra de Osma
Georg Friederich Prinz von Preußen
Sophie Prinzessin von Preußen
Viktoria Prinzessin von Preußen
Anja Piel
Dirk Roßmann
Raoul Roßmann
Frederik Sachs
Philipp Sachs
Rolf Sachs
Roya Sachs
Hubertus Prinz von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha
Kelly Prinzessin von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha
Prof. Dr. Madjid Samii
Casimir Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn
Alexander Fürst zu Schaumburg-Lippe
Rudolf Schenker
Herbert Schmalstieg
Maya Gräfin von Schonburg-Glauchau
Stefan Schostok
Anezka Souckova
Gerhard Schröder
Lord Edward Spencer-Churchill
Albert Prinz von Thurn und Taxis
Elisabeth Prinzessin von Thurn und Taxis
Stephan Weil
Fritz Graf von Westenholz
Caroline Freifrau von Westenholz
Christian Wulff