Princess Margarete of Thurn und Taxis (1933-2019

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 HSH Princess Margarete Eleonore Maria Franziska Antonius von Padua of Thurn und Taxis died on December 29.  She was 86 years old.

Princess Margarete was the second of three children of HSH Prince Philipp Ernst Maria Adalbert Joseph Maximilian Antonius Ignatius Stanislaus Lamoral of Thurn und Taxis (1908-1964) and his wife, HSH Princess Eulalia Marie Antonie Eleonore of Thurn and Taxis (1908-1993).

the marriage of Margarete's parents, Prince Philipp and Princess Eulalia of Thurn und Taxis

She is survived by her brother, Prince Albrecht (1930) and her sister, Princess Antonia (1936).    Margarete and her younger sister, Antonia, were both born at Schloss Hohenberg in Seeshaupt on Lake Starnberg in Bavaria.   The two princesses lived for most of their lives at Schloss Hohenberg until 1999, when they gave it to a nephew as the castle was too large for them to manage.    Margarete and Antonia built a smaller wooden home, an Austragshäsl, which they called their retirement home, according to the Sueddeutsche newspaper.

Margarete was briefly engaged in the 1960s, but neither she nor Antonia ever married.  In a 2011 interview with SZ-Magazin,  Princess Margarete said:  "Because everyone was different.  Not everyone like us," noting that it was unusual for a woman, especially a member of the nobility, to not marry.

Some years later,  Princess Gloria of Thurn und Taxis, the widow of the late Johannes, Prince of Thurn und Taxis, and mother of the present head of the house, Prince Albert, thought the two sisters were "cool," due to their modern attitudes.

Margarete studied to become a pediatric nurse, while her sister became a tailor.  Money was never an issue for Daisy and Toni, as the two sisters were called,  as they inherited  a forest south of Lake Starnberg from their father.  "I took over the forest, and my sister the hunt," said Princess Antonia.

Antonia described her sister as a "very helpful person."    Margarete helped to care for their elderly grandparents as well as their parents.  Margarete also helped to deliver a number of family births, staying with the new mothers, as they adjusted to motherhood.   "She was ready to support anyone who needed it."

Antonia added that she and her sister "always got along well."  There were sisterly disagreements, but they made it a habit to talk about the disagreements.  "Then we would understand each other again."

The two women always spoke to each other in the third person, a remnant of cout life.    They lived an almost inconspicuous life, with little fanfare although they were often present for family events at Regensburg.

"Fortunately, we had and still have a lot of friends," Antonia said.

Princess Margarete was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2004.  Her health began to decline.  Last year, she spent eight weeks in a clinic, but Antonia wanted to bring her sister home to their "wooden house in the forest." 

Antonia said:  "She was able to experience her last Christmas here."  Although Antonia had time to prepare for her sister's death, she said: "But of course it is a strange feeling to be alone."


https://www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/starnberg/seeshaupt-prinzessin-thurn-taxis-tot-1.4744757

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2013/05/illa-to-marry-prince-philipp-of-thurn.html

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2008/07/princess-illa-leave-fiance-at-altar.html


https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2008/10/can-you-help.html