Royal Musings: 2025

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Royal Compound in Dedinje is open for the 2025 season

all photos courtesy of HRH Crown Prince Alexander

I have had the pleasure of visiting the palace for several events as Crown Prince Alexander's guest. Belgrade is a lovely city, and I recommend this tour.

"Belgrade, 13 May 2025—The Royal Compound in Dedinje is again open for tours. As always, the first visitors in the 2025 Season were media representatives, who, accompanied by professional tour guides from the Royal Palace, had the opportunity to learn about the interesting history and rich tradition of this building, one of the most beautiful adornments of the Serbian capital.

The hosts, HRH Crown Prince Alexander and HRH Crown Princess Katherine, due to unavoidable obligations abroad, were unable to personally welcome the press teams to their home this year for the first time, but on this occasion a letter of greeting from His Royal Highness was read, in which the Crown Prince expressed his great pleasure that the Palace is again welcoming visitors. This year's tourist season was officially opened by Mr. Miodrag Popović, Director of the Belgrade Tourist Organization, who once again emphasized that the Royal Complex is one of Belgrade's biggest tourist attractions and that there is always enormous interest in its tours.

“The Karađorđevićs are a dynasty that originated from our people, shared the same fate with our nation, and therefore our personal past, as well as the past of our home, cannot be viewed separately and independently from Serbian history. They are intertwined and complement each other. The Royal Compound is a wonderful place, full of interesting stories and anecdotes that enchant and fulfil every visitor. During the past times, it was also a place of great joy, family warmth, and love, but also a place of important events and crucial decisions that fateful determined the direction in which our country was going. Both the Royal Palace, which will celebrate its centenary in four years, and the slightly younger White Palace, remember how my father, King Peter II, played here with his brothers, Princes Tomislav and Andrew, how they threw snowballs at each other in the meadow in front of their home during the winter, or rode in a small boat in the pool in front of the Royal Palace in the summer, how they studied here, gained their first knowledge, grew up... But it also remembers my grandfather, King Alexander I, who met here with Louis Barthou, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, just a few months before they both fell as victims of assassination. It also remembers more than 150 bombs that fell on our family home and its surroundings on 6 April 1941.

The examples are countless, and these are just some of the stories that visitors who come here can hear. That is why many of them say that when they pass through the gates of the Complex, it is as if they have stepped back several decades, into another era. This is precisely why we reopen the Palace for visitors every year. So that our countrymen, but also numerous friends from abroad, can see the Royal Complex in Dedinje, a steady and constant witness to our history and tradition, to get to know this magnificent estate that our country can be proud of, the guardian of the legacy of the Knightly King Alexander and the entire House of Karađore”, said HRH Crown Prince Alexander in his letter.

Media representatives who found themselves as tourists today got to know the home of the Royal Family of Serbia better and visited everything that a standard tour includes - the Royal Palace, the White Palace, the Palace Chapel of St. Andrew the First-Called, and the Royal Park. The tour is a pleasant walk lasting approximately one and a half hours, to get in touch with the history, rich heritage and cultural legacy of our country and the Karađorđević dynasty. By the way, before the return of the Royal Family to Serbia, the Palace complex was a kind of "forbidden city", closed to the public for decades, and opening it for the visitors was one of the first important decisions of the head of the Royal Family, HRH Crown Prince Alexander, of which he is particularly proud.

Mr. Popоvic, Director of the Tourist Organization of Belgrade, said: “When we talk about tourist destinations, the first thing that comes to mind for many is beautiful beaches or high mountain peaks. However, what really makes a place unique and worth visiting is its culture and history. It is precisely these two dimensions that provide a deeper meaning to travel and make the difference between a passing attraction and an unforgettable experience. Cultural and historical heritage represents the greatest treasure of a tourist destination, increases its recognition on the global map, and contributes to the sustainable development of tourism. It also encourages the local population to preserve and respect their heritage, knowing that it is valuable not only for them, but also for the entire world. Traditional visits to the Royal Complex therefore, represent an important segment of Belgrade's tourist offer, a traditional and permanent value to which we return every year.”

The tourists will also, when it is available due to their obligations, be greeted by Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine. "

The Tourist Organization of Belgrade (TOB) organizes visits to the Royal Complex every weekend on Saturdays at 9:30 am and 12:30 pm. Ticket purchased from the Tourist Organization of Belgrade includes organized bus transportation from the marked tourist bus stop on Terazije Square, in front of the Terazije Fountain, to the Royal Complex - gatherings for transport are at 9:30 am and 12:30 pm. The ticket price is 1,500 RSD. The number of people in a group is restricted to a maximum of 30 visitors.

For information and reservations, tourists should visit the Tourist Information Centre in Belgrade, Knez Mihailova 56, phone: +38111 26 35 622, e-mail: bginfo.knezmihailova@tob.rs, website www.tob.rs

Schools, students, and pensioner associations can visit the Royal Palaces in Dedinje in announced group visits every working day from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm with the mandatory notification to the Office of HRH Crown Prince Alexander at least 7 to 10 days ahead, over the phone +381 11 306 4014 or via e-mail: kancelarija@dvor.rs. Each group must consist of at least 10 visitors and up to a maximum of 40 visitors per group. Website: www.dvor.rs

Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Another Ancient Mail Call

Duke Christian Ludwig married Princess Barbara of Prussia, daughter of Prince Sigismund, second of three sons of Prince Henry of Prussia and Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine.

King Constantine of the Hellenes

The last three cards are from Princess Margaret of Hesse and By Rhine (nee Hon. Margaret Geddes), the widow of Prince Ludwig of Hesse and By Rhine, the younger son of the last Grand Duke of Hesse and By Rhine, Ernst Ludwig. Ludwig and his older brother, Georg Donatus, were paternal first cousins of Princess Alice of Battenberg, whose daughter Cecilie married Georg Donatus in 1931.

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2017/11/the-hesse-air-tragedy-november-16-1937.html

I visited Schloss Wolfsgarten on September 16, 1984, one day after the birth of Prince Harry. At lunch, where guests included Princess Beatrix of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, we celebrated the newest British royal with a champagne toast. Princess Margaret gave me a tour of the house. I saw the window with the signatures etched with a diamond, the height chart for different family members, and access to the family archives. I got to play in Princess Elisabeth's playhouse.

Nearly 41 years I played in Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and By Rhine's playhouse at Schloss Wolfsgarten

The Playhouse

Princess Margaret of Hesse and By Rhine (all three photos by me)

Weeding through files, saving bits and pieces.

HSH Princess Maria Anna's death notice

@Schloss Sayn Archives

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2025/05/mamarazza-has-died-hsh-princess.html

Monday, May 5, 2025

Mamarazza has died - HSH Princess Marianne of Sayn Wittgenstein-Sayn (1919-2025)

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HSH Marianne, Dowager Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, the doyenne of German and Austrian nobility, died on May 4, 2025, at her home in Munich. She was 105 years old.

The Austrian newspaper Krone reports that "no one captured the nobility and high society like Princess Marianne of Sayn-Wittgenstein Sayn, affectionately and appreciatively called 'Mamarazza' by her friends."

Princess Caroline gave her the nickname: "You're not a paparazzo, you're a mamarazzi."

The princess was born Baroness Maria Anna Mayr von Melnhof in Salzburg, Austria, on December 19, 1919. She was the eldest of nine children of Baron Froedrich Mayr von Melnhof and Countess Maria Anna von Meran. Princess Marianne was a descendant of Empress Maria Theresia of Austria through her mother.

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2024/12/princess-manni-celebrates-centenary.html

While studying at the Blocherer Art School in Munich, Princess Marianne met her future husband, HSH Hereditary Prince Ludwig Stanislaw Heinrich of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn. They married at Schloss Glanegg on March 12, 1942. Since 1896, Schloss Glanegg has been owned by the Mayr von Melnhof family.

Ludwig succeeded his father, Gustav Alexander, in 1953 as the 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn.

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Princess Marianne became a widow with five young children when Ludwig, at age 45, was killed by a drunk driver outside Schloss Sayn on January 9, 1961. After hr husband's untimely death, she returned to Salzburg where she inaugurated an annual arts festival. Her hunting lodge in Fuschl am See evolved into a "social hub" during the Salzburg Festival, where a "private 'country lunch' quickly developed into an unofficial meeting place for the nobility, artists, and international celebrities."

The couple's eldest son, Hereditary Prince Alexander Konrad Friedrich Heinrich, was only 17 when he inherited the family estate and position as the 7th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn.

The Dowager Princess is survived by four of her five children: HSH Princess Yvonne, HSH Prince Alexander, HSH Princess Teresa, Countess von Kageneck, and HSH Prince Peter, with numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Her second daughter, HSH Princess Elisabeth, Baroness Schuler von Senden, died in 1997.

Princess Marianne took over 300,000 photographs of celebrities and royals, including the Aga Khan and King Charles III.

She lived in an apartment in Munich, where she was cared for 24 hours a day.

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In December, when she celebrated her 105th birthday, her youngest son, Prince Peter, told a reporter: "My mother was always vain and placed great importance on her appearance. My mother would never wear a tracksuit or even a nightgown during the day when guests came."

According to the Kurier, an Austrian newspaper, the Princess will be " remembered as a hostess of legendary parties and a noble observer of high society."

The late Marianne, Dowager Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, said of her work as a photographer: “I always photographed my friends as friends.”

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Saturday, May 3, 2025

140th ANNIVERSARY OF PRINCE ALEXANDER’S DEATH MARKED IN OPLENAC

TRH Hereditary Prince Philip and Prince Stefan

Belgrade, 3 May 2025 – TRH Hereditary Prince Philip, Princess Danica, Prince Stefan, and Princess Marija attended today a memorial service and a wreath-laying ceremony held in Saint George’s Church in Oplenac, honouring the 140th anniversary of the death of HSH Prince Alexander, the son of the founder of the Royal Dynasty, Supreme Leader Karadjordje.

Due to unavoidable obligations abroad, TRH Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine could not attend the marking of this important jubilee. After the church service held by the priests of the Oplenac Parish, the Hereditary Prince laid a wreath on the tomb of his ancestor, the great reformer. TRH Prince Mihailo, Princess Ljubica, and Mr. Dragan Reljic, Director of the Foundation of King Peter I in Oplenac, were also present and paid their respect to His late Serene Highness.

Earlier today, HRH Crown Prince Alexander shared his message in remembrance of Karajdordje’s son. “My great-great-grandfather, Aleksandar Karađorđević, Serbian Prince from 1842 to 1858 and son of the leader of the First Serbian Uprising – Supreme Leader Karađorđe, ruled the country for almost 16 years, and his reign was marked by visible progress, especially in the establishment and strengthening of institutions, the passing of laws, the growth of economic activity and the development of education.

Although he did not gain glory on the battlefield like other Karađorđevićs, Prince Aleksandar fought a different battle, a battle for the establishment of civil society, progress, and modernization of the Principality of Serbia, which was still part of the Ottoman Empire. During his reign, the first in our history in which the monarch respected the Constitution, many reforms were initiated, and numerous new institutions were founded. All this was done to overcome the centuries-old lag behind other European countries, to encourage the progress of the Serbian state, and to bring our nation closer to modern society.”

HRH Hereditary Prince Philip stated:“Today, with deep respect, we remember Prince Alexander Karađorđević — a statesman of quiet strength and a visionary whose role in our history has remained insufficiently illuminated. Although often in the shadow of other great names, he is precisely the one who laid the foundations of the modern Serbian state in the difficult times after the First and Second Serbian Uprisings.

During his reign from 1842 to 1858, Prince Alexander initiated significant reforms: he established the National Assembly as the seed of parliamentarism, renovated the judicial system, founded the Artillery School — the forerunner of today's Military Academy — and strongly supported education, culture, and science. He supported the work of the Serbian Literary Society - the future Academy of Sciences- and was convinced that the people's spiritual progress must go hand in hand with the state system.

Prince Alexander was the first Serbian ruler of the modern era who consistently and quietly directed Serbia towards Europe—not only in foreign policy but primarily through institutions, laws, and the way of governing. His reformist spirit was marked by an aspiration to European administration standards, education, the army, and the judicial system.

He laid the foundations of the Court as a serious, state-building center. His Court was not a place of personal splendor but a dignified institution that symbolized order, stability, and openness towards Europe. Gradually and without imposition, he introduced a style of governance that brought order, modesty, and European political culture into the civil service.

His rule was not loud, but it was thorough. His contribution to statehood was devoid of personal ambition, but filled with responsibility towards the people and the Karađorđe’s oath.

Today, more than ever, we have a moral obligation to correct historical injustice and pay a worthy tribute to this statesman. That is why I call on all of us, as a community, to support the initiative to erect a monument to Prince Alexander in his birthplace, Topola, the place where not only the history of our dynasty began, but also the struggle for an orderly, legal and European-oriented Serbia.

TRH Hereditary Prince Philip and Hereditary Princess Danica &TRH Prince Mihailo, Princess Ljubica

May this monument not be just a stone, but a living reminder of the values that Prince Alexander stood for — responsibility, reforms, institutions, and the European spirit. And may it be a lesson to future generations that the silent builders of the state deserve the same eternal respect as the heroes on the battlefield. May his glory be immortal, we are forever thankful!”