Duchess of Edinburgh arrives for engagement

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 As Patron of the Treloar Trust, HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh arrived at RHS Lindley Hall in London to tour the Defying Limits, Defining Art: 70 Years of the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists exhibition.

All 6 photos are Fran's copyright

A friend of mine, Fran, happened to be walking by the Hall, on Elverton Street, near Vincent Square, when she spotted the Duchess of Edinburgh's arrival.

The Duchess unveiled a portrait of herself by mouth painter Sarah Jane Parson, who said she was "extremely, extremely honoured” to be asked to paint the portrait."

She added: "I chose to paint the Duchess of Edinburgh in watercolour because it's a Royal Family tradition. I think Queen Victoria was one who started that. And then I used a Philip Morris print for the background because he was a major figure in the British Arts and Crafts movement. Once I decided on my subject and background, everything fell into place."

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 The Duchess was presented with the portrait, which she took home.

Count Friedrich of Schönburg-Glauchau to marry longtime girlfriend

 In a recent interview with the Spanish newspaper, ABC, Count Rudolf of Schönburg-Glauchau, the former manager of the Marbella Club,  announced the forthcoming marriage of his only son, Count Friedrich, to Carina Amanda Lange. The couple has been together for about sixteen years.

The 93-year-old former manager of the Marbella Club said: "What a joy it was for us when my son told us he's getting.  We're so happy.  He has been with his fiancée for some time now, and the whole family adores her."

It is apparent that Count Rudi is happy for his son's success. "He's achieved everything and is much bigger than me.  I'm so proud of my son, who, at 36, is the youngest CEO of a luxury hotel."

H Ill H Count Friedrich Wilhelm Simeon Dionysius Joachim Rudolf Maria Adalbert von Schönburg-Glauchau is the second and youngest child of H Ill H Count Rudolf Maria Emil Franz Friedrich Carl Antonius Christophorus Hubertus Joseph Wenzel Michael von Schönburg-Glauchau and HRH Princess Marie Louise Marina Franziska of Prussia. He was born in Malaga, Spain, on April 27, 1985.

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Following in his father's footsteps, Count Friedrich Wilhelm studied at the EHL Hospitality Business School in Lausanne.   In 1956, Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg appointed Count Rudolf as Assistant Manager of the new Marbella Club.   The young Count "brought with him youth and drive to create a new era of hotels for discerning guests," according to a 2022 profile in Top-Magazin of his son, Fritzi.

Although Count Friedrich Wilhelm was raised in Spain, he has German nationality.    He told Top-Magazin: "I went to school in Spain.  The Marbella Club was my home.  If the receptionist was absent, my mother stepped in.  Otherwise, she devoted herself to caring for AIDs patients on the Costa de Sol. I, on the other hand, was closely connected to the club."

Friedrich Wilhelm acknowledged that the Marbella club sparked his interest in hotel management.  "In a sense, yes.  However, my training at the hotel management school raised my doubts.  I considered a career in advertising.  My sister worked successfully in that field.  I tried it for a while, but soon realized that the job wasn't for me."

After graduation, he worked at "some of the world's most luxurious hotels" in Paris, Madrid, Marbella, Berlin, and London, including the Savoy and Connaught Hotels.  One of his jobs in London was wth the Rosewood Hotels and Resorts as Director of Guest Relations.

When he was a child. Count Friedrich could not understand why his father worked long hours at the Marbella Club.  Count Rudi was only 24-years-old when he became the resort's General Manager.   Rudi believed "every hotel guest was his personal guest," which meant exemplary customer service.  Now, Count Rudi sees the "same passion" in his son, who has embraced the same "dedication and commitment to guests of his hotel."

In 2019, after ten years in London, Friedrich returned to Spain when he was named Hotel Manager and later General Manager at the El Palace in Barcelona.  Three years later, he accepted the position of General Manager at the Rosewood Villa Magna Hotel in Madrid. 

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 In 2025, he was appointed Regional Vice President of the Rosewood Hotel chain and remained General Manager of the Rosewood Villa Magna.

At the time of his appointment, Friedrich said he was "extremely excited to return to the Rosewood family and lead this incredible, newly refurbished  property in Madrid, the capital of the country I call home."  

Friedrich's mother, Princess Marie Louise of Prussia, is a cousin and a close friend of Queen Sofia, who is the godmother of his older sister, Sophie.

The future Countess has a Danish father and a Chilean mother.  She is the Project Manager for Ivy & Company, a  "boutique consulting and executive training firm."

The wedding will take place on June 13 at the Iglesia de Santa Bárbara (Iglesia de las Salesas Reales) in Madrid.

Count Friedrich is a descendant of Queen Victoria.

Victoria - Victoria - Wilhelm -  Adalbert - Marie Louise - Friedrich

Daisy Knatchbull to marry Italian music industry exec

Daisy Knatchbull/Instagram

 During a recent trip to the Bahamas, music executive Gionzy Damiani proposed to his girlfriend, Daisy Knatchbull.  He did not get down on one knee; instead, he wrote the proposal in the sand.

Of course, Daisy said yes. 

Miss  Knatchbull is the only child of the Hon Philip Wyndham Ashley Knatchbull and his first wife, Atalanta Cowan.

She was born on October 5, 1992, at St. Thomas's Hospital in London and was named Daisy Isadora Louise.    

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 Daisy is a granddaughter of the late 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma and the 7th Baron Brabourne.  Lady Mountbatten was the elder daughter of  Louis, 1st Earl Mountbatten (ne HSH Prince Louis of Battenberg)

Her father, Philip, served as CEO of Curzon from May 2006 until November 2023. He now serves as Executive Chair at Curzon in a part-time position.

After graduating from Beneden School, Daisy attended the University of Leeds, where she earned a BA in Philosophy in 2015.  She was drawn to fashion from an early age, noting in a Tatler profile (July 2019) that it was her maternal grandmother, Sylvia, "who sparked my interest in fashion from a young age."  Sylvia Cowan, who was married to the 60s fashion photographer, John Cowan, would regale her granddaughter with "tales about time spent on the King's Road with the likes of Mary Quant and Grace Coddington."

Daisy realized that her grandmother's stories "shaped and guided my personal style."    She wanted to "leave my mark" on women's wear, but the market "was a saturated one."

She decided to "try and move into menswear," and was able to secure a job in the press office at Huntsman, a Savile Row tailor.   Daisy learned "everything I could about this secret world."

 In 2016, while working for Huntsman, she caused a positive stir when she was the first woman to wear a top hat and tails in the Royal Enclosure at Royal Ascot.

"I couldn't have had a more positive response. That's the moment when I could see the suit-shaped 'gap' in which to operate."

Her new company, The Deck, was born, providing bespoke suits and tailoring for women.  In 2018, her business was in a ground-floor shop on King's Road, where she hired the "most prestigious ateliers in Europe to tailor the garments."  The then 24-year-old secured £150,000 in private funding, which led to the launch of The Deck.  Within several months of "booming business," The Deck moved to its first store on Lower Sloane Street. 

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In September 2021, a more "impressive move" took place when The Deck opened on Savile Row, the 'menswear Mecca'.

In an interview with the Telegraph in 2022, Daisy said: "Savile Row had always been a dream for me, to have my slice of modern femininity and to give the opportunity for women to walk down the street and be heard."

In 2024, The Deck was rebranded as Knatchbull.  Vanity Fair said: "Daisy Knatchbull has taken Savile Row to new heights... she has challenged the sartorial norm and helped women see themselves in a new light by disrupting the traditionally male-dominated area."

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 Her bespoke suits have been worn by Kate Moss, Elizabeth Hurley, India Hicks (her cousin), and the Princess of Wales.  Of her customers, she said in a 2024 Hello magazine interview: "They're not just a load of rich women. I've got women who can walk in and buy 20 (suits) and the woman who saves for one waistcoat."

Knatchbull has a 62% repeat order rate, according to a 2025 New York Times profile of Daisy.  The United States is her most lucrative market, and she travels across the Pond "four or five times a year to do trunk shows and fittings in New York, Washington, and Dallas, as well as Palm Beach, Fla., and Greenwich, Conn."

"I think people all over the world love the idea of English heritage and the bespoke craftsmanship of the Row," she told the New York Times.

Daisy and Gionsy have been together for several years and share a home in London.  In the Hello profile, she referred to him as Giovanni, "who works in music but is a keen cook.  We eat a lot of Italian food."

  At the time of the Hello interview, Daisy confided: "I'm close to being 32, and in three years, I'm a geriatric mother, right? It's that age-old problem: I'm a woman, and I want a career and kids. How do I balance that?"   She added, "And my boyfriend has his own endeavors, so he's always racing around the world."

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 Giovanni Luca Maria Damiani was born in Italy in July 1985,  the son of Dedo Damiani and Marzia Dainese.  He is the director of Only Good People,  which manages "artists, songwriters, and producers — and run the studios, labels, and publishing to back them up."

Gionzy studied Business and Italian at University College in London.

Daisy is a descendant of Queen Victoria.  She and the Prince of Wales are third cousins.

Victoria - Alice  - Victoria - Louis - Patricia - Philip - Daisy

Victoria - Alice - Victoria - Alice - Philip - Charles  - William

Victoria Edward - George - George - Elizabeth - Charles - William

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Princess Beatrix at 18

 

January 31, 1956 - An official photograph for Princess Beatrix's 18th birthday with her mother, Queen Juliana.

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front of the card from Doña Beatriz de Orléans-Borbon

The Royal Vist to South Africa in 1947

 

King George VI signing the Visitors' Book at City Hall in Pretoria

Queen Elizabeth, after receiving an honorary doctorate at the University of Cape Town 

Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by Dr Pellisier, Director of Education, Orange Free State, chatting to children at King's Park, Bloemfontein.

The Royal Family with General Smuts at the Grootkerk (Dutch Reformed Church) in Pretoria

Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret chatting with the Mayor of Pretoria 

The Royal Family at Church Square in Pretoria

Queen Elizabeth talking with an official underground at the Crown Mine

The  Royal Family visiting a Hippo Pool, Kruger National Park

In 1947, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth, and Princess Margaret spent three months traveling 10,000 miles in South Africa.

In the early 1980s, when I was living with my dad in Ballston Spa, New York, I was already doing research for my first book on Queen Victoria's Descendants.  At the time, I was a student at the State University of New York at Albany, earning a master's degree in library science.

I wrote to the National Museum of Cultural History in Pretoria, as I was interested in information about Prince and Princess Arthur of Connaught.  The museum package included photos and news articles about Prince and Princess Arthur, as well as photos from the 1947 visit.

While looking for other photographs, I found these images.  Thought it would be a good idea to  post them on Royal Musings