Viktoria Luise's wedding postponed?

April 12, 1913

The marriage of Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia and Prince Ernst August of Cumberland has been postponed due to the recent assassination of King George of the Hellenes, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The Princess is the youngest child and only daughter of German Emperor Wilhelm II.

Although no date was announced, it was believed that the couple would marry on May 24.

King George was the brother of the Duchess of Cumberland, the mother of the groom.  The new King Constantine is married to Wilhelm II's sister, Sophie.

The postponement is seen as a "mark of mourning and respect" for the late king and his family.

Princess Viktoria Luise is said to be not superstitious, and she does not worry that a postponement "will prove unlucky."  The couple may now wait a year and marry in May 1914.

Jean & Josephine Charlotte: a political arrangement?

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April 11, 1953

Today's Daily Mirror, a mass-circulation newspaper reports today "whispers" that the marriage between Princess Josephine Charlotte of Belgium and Prince Jean of Luxembourg was a "political arrangement," and not a love match, according to an Associated Press dispatch.

Several guests who attended the wedding were upset by "an unexpected and unfortunate incident" between 74-year-old Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians, widow of King Albert, and the "glamorous"  Princess Liliane, second wife of former King Leopold III, who is Elisabeth's eldest child.

A photograph of Princess Josephine Charlotte in her wedding dress was splashed across the Mirror with a headline in two-inch type:  "The Sad Royal Bride."

The newspaper alluded to rumors "flying through Luxembourg" that the princess' "sad face" was not due to illness, despite what court officials have insisted.

Less than 12 hours after the wedding, when the 25-year-old Princess "looked pale and strained" on her husband's arm, the gossips were saying that this was "just a marriage of convenience to unite the Belgian and Luxembourg royal dynasties."

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The rumors are being denied by Joseph Bech, Luxembourg's Foreign Minister. He states that the rumors are "mischievous, malicious and completely unfounded."

The Mirror also reports that the "incident" between the Belgian Queen Mother and her daughter-in-law was due to a question of precedence.

Princess Liliane was "relegated to eighth place" in Luxembourg's "strict order" of precedence.

But as the newlyweds "walked up the aisle to lead the royal procession, Princess Liliane rose to her feet rather early."  Prince Felix, the husband of Grand Duchess Charlotte, found Liliane "beside her in place of the Queen Mother, who should have been his partner."

"Prince Felix," according to the Mirror, "looking thunderous, stopped.   The Princess stared straight ahead.  Queen Elisabeth, standing alone 'looked distressed."

Josephine Charlotte hailed on first visit home

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April 11, 1949

Princess Josephine Charlotte, the 21-year-old daughter of King Leopold III, "received a great welcome" today when she arrived in Brussels for a short visit, reports the New York Times.

The Princess is the first member of the Belgian royal family to return to Belgium since the Allied landing in Normandy, when the princess, along with her brothers, King Leopold and his morganatic wife, were "deported by the Germans."

She had spent the weekend in Luxembourg as the guest of her godmother, Grand Duchess Charlotte.  Accompanied by an equerry and lady in waiting,  Princess Josephine Charlotte traveled to Brussels by car.  Enthusiastic crowds welcomed her "all along the route," shouting "Love live the Princess, long live King Leopold."

Prince Nicholas separates from wife

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April 11, 1933

The Associated Press is reporting that Prince Nicholas of Romania and his morganatic wife, Jana Doleti have separated.  Well-informed sources stated that the Prince will soon return to Romania to "resume all his royal rights and prerogatives." 

The Romanian newspaper, Adverul, states that it was Queen Marie who was "instrumental" in bringing about a reconciliation between Prince Nicholas and his older brother, King Carol II.

Will Boris marry a Grand Duchess

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April 11, 1929

The Associated Press reports that King Boris is determined to find a bride. As "religious obstacles" appear to have prevented his marriage with Princess Giovanna of Italy, there is now talk in Sofia that the King may soon announce his engagement to Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna of Russia.

The 19-year-old Grand Duchess is the younger daughter of Grand Duke Kirill and Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna of Russia. 

Grand Duke Kirill is the head of the Russian Imperial family.   The young Grand Duchess is a niece of Queen Marie of Romania. 

There would be no question of religious differences as Kira is Russian Orthodox.

The plans for the Italian marriage apparently fell apart after the Pope refused to issue a dispensation to allow the marriage to take place.  He would agree to the marriage only if King Boris agreed to raise any children born of the marriage in the Roman Catholic faith.

The King could not agree to this.  The Bulgarian constitution requires that the heir to the throne be raised in the Bulgarian Orthodox church.

The Vatican also "demanded the establishment of a papal nuncio " and the appointment of several Roman Catholic bishops in Sofia. The Bulgarian government considered this proviso "unacceptable."

Italian President Mussolini favored the alliance despite the Vatican's conditions. But King Boris, worn out by the opposition, has no interest in further pursuing his suit due to the opposition to the marriage abroad and in Bulgaria.

The King, who is currently on a tour of European capitals, will end without the "heralded visit to Rome." This is due to the "seeming impossibility" of achieving a reconciliation of the "divergent views" between the Roman Catholic and the Bulgarian Orthodox churches.

Bertie visits Gibraltar: ill-feeling in Madrid

April 11, 1903

King Edward VII's recent visit to Gibraltar has, according to the Marquise de Fontenoy, caused much "ill feeling" in Spain.  This is the first visit by a British sovereign to the "historic rock" since the days of the crusades.  (Great Britain did not exist at the time.)  King Richard I of England visited the rock.

The Spanish have "always resented the presence" of the British on Spanish soil.  They are apparently angry that King Edward's visit to Lisbon should have been followed by a trip to Spain to meet King Alfonso XIII. 

But King Edward could not have gone to Madrid to meet the young king until Alfonso had first visited London.

The Spanish people, "so proud and sensitive," would have "warmly appreciated" King Edward's action if he had any regard for their feelings, "restrained from visiting Gibraltar.

Edward's visit to Gibraltar has only increased the bitterness that the Spanish feel toward England, which also maintained a "pro-American attitude" during the war of 1898.

So what did Charles Philippe say? Uncle Henri not happy!

Paris 11 avril 2013

 Communiqué de Monseigneur le Comte de Paris.

Le Prince Charles Philippe, un de mes nombreux neveux, qui vit au  Portugal,
n'est nullement habilité à parler au nom de la Famille Royale de France.
Je me désolidarise totalement de ces propos outranciers et  irresponsables,
qui lui ont peut-être été dictés."Henri Comte de Paris et Duc de France


A rough translation:

Prince Charles Philip, one of my many nephews, who lives in Portugal,
has no authority to speak on behalf of the Royal Family of France.
disassociates I totally outrageous and irresponsible remarks,  which may have been dictated. "

Prince Charles-Philippe, Duke of Anjou, is the son of Prince Michel, Count of Evreux.   He is married to Diana Álvares Pereira de Melo, Duchess of Cadaval.  They have one daughter, Princess Isabelle of Orleans.

Wonder what the 40-year-old Duke of Anjou did to piss off his uncle Henri?

Happy Birthday Maam

#HappyBirthdayMaam

Hallmark Calls for Tweets with a Royal Twist

To celebrate the Queen's birthday this month (21^st April), card and gift specialists Hallmark is asking Twitter users to tweet about the highlights of Her Majesty’s reign (from the coronation to her Bond cameo) using the dedicated hashtag #HappyBirthdayMaam.

Tweets collected from this hashtag will then be used to create a unique personalised card for the Queen. What's more, three lucky winners will also be chosen from those taking part to win a year's supply of Hallmark Cards*.

The competition will end at 10 am on Friday 12th April 2013. Those wanting to enter, or add their royal memories, can log onto www.twitter.com, type in #HappyBirthdayMaam and share their favourite moments. Twitter users can also follow Hallmark directly through their Twitter channel @HallmarkUK.

Tamsyn Johnston Hughes, PR and Social Media Manager at Hallmark, said:

“Twitter is such a great tool for sharing your thoughts with friends and family. However, when it comes to life’s special occasions, there’s no real replacement for a tangible card which can be displayed proudly and treasured for years to come. Bringing these too methods of communication together, as well as the nation’s memories of the Queen, is such an exciting project and we hope to see lots of Twitter users joining in. We certainly can’t wait to see what the finished card looks like and we can only hope that Her Majesty likes it too!”

*Prize packs will contain over 40 cards, with the average UK adult sending 36 per year.

Oh my! Emmelie getting a lot of hits!

This morning I checked my Feedjit link, and noticed an explosion -- and I mean explosion -- of a direct link to my post on Emmelie de Forest, the 20-year-old singer who will represent Denmark in the upcoming Eurovision singing contest.

The source may be in the United Kingdom due to the number of UK hits!

In January, Emmelie claimed she was a great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria.  According to her story, her paternal grandfather, Maurice de Forest, was the son of King Edward VII and an Austrian princess who was a member of the Habsburg family.  The story is not true.  Miss de Forest has been informed, and her team has been in contact with me .. after I sent them a copy of my original post, which disputed the entire story.   I know there is a link to the Royal Musings post on Wikipedia, but someone has put a direct link to my Royal Musings post, as well.

Royal Musings has received a lot more visitors today, and it isn't even 11:00 a.m.  RM is popular, but sometimes there are posts that send my numbers into the stratosphere.  Several other over-the-top posts were about the TV show, the Secret Princes.  

I would love to know where all the hits are coming from.  Someone must have written about Emmelie and provided a direct link to the Royal Musings post.   If you know, just add to the comments. 

http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.no/2013/02/emmelie-de-forest-great-great.html

Royal engagement: Mafalda and Leopold

April 10, 1923

The American news agency, Associated Press is reporting that the betrothal of Princess Mafalda, second daughter of King Vittorio Emanuele, to the Duke of Brabant, heir to the Belgian throne, will "shortly be announced officially."  The AP has based its dispatch on a report from the Agenzia d'Italia.

This is the second report of an engagement between Princess Mafalda and Crown Prince Leopold.  In February, Rome dispatches noted that this engagement would be announced "immediately" after the marriage of Princess Jolanda and Count Calvi di Berglo.

Princess Jolanda was married yesterday.

Princess Mafalda is 20 years old.  The Duke of Brabant reached his majority last November 3.

http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2013/02/mafalda-to-marry-leopold.html

Good progress for the Duchess of Connaught

April 10, 1913

The Duchess of Connaught was operated on this morning at Clarence House, reports the New York Times.  The surgery was performed by William Arbuthnot Lane, who practices at Guy's Hospital. 

The operation was "severe," but was "borne well by the Duchess."

She is making "good progress," according to the latest bulletin, and her temperature is said to be normal.

The Duchess of Connaught's husband, the Duke of Connaught, is the Governor General of Canada.

Exclusive interview: Prince George of Serbia

April 10, 1909

Prince George of Serbia, eldest son of King Peter, recently gave an exclusive interview to the Los Angeles Times, in which he criticized European crowned heads.

The interview took place in the palace in Belgrade.

The Prince made unflattering comments about the German and Russian Emperors and remains unconvinced about war.

"I do not think there will be a war because the great powers don't want it.   But war would do good, in a way.  One thing I don't understand  -- why doesn't Germany want to fight now?   The longer she waits the stronger Russian will get and the less will be a chance to getting toward eastern Europe.  Austria is a corpse on the point of decay -- but one cannot be sure that the Slavs in the Austrian army will fight for us.  Ach! I would throw all those crowns off and govern the country myself.

"The Emperor of Germany is mad, but not clever.  King Edward is a clever man, and so is the King of Italy.  The Czar of Russia, whom I visited lately, gave me the impression of a doll.  He is not an Emperor, but a puppet.  He knows nothing about what is going on: people tell him just as much and no more than they want to, and when there is something against him in the papers, they tell him how they got lost in the mails and there is an end to it.

"What a country Russia is. What could be done with energy and a leader?  Peter the Great was right to build St. Petersburg and get to the sea.  If we are to live instead of existing, we must get to the sea -- otherwise, we shall be stifled.  We were so many years under the Turkish yoke and threw it off at last -- why should we not throw off the Austrian, too?"

Prince George offered a high opinion of the United States and the American people.  He said: "I have made up my mind to go to the United States; the Americans look upon life in a wholly different way.  Everything seems to be on a huge scale,  not like it is in Europe.  I think one can learn a good deal from America; the people seem so energetic and enterprising.

He is not as keen on American women.

"But the few American women I have met seem cold and passionless.  Why do they always go about without their husbands?  I hear the husbands sit at home and earn money for them to spend in Europe.  They must be very complacent -- I have seen their wives at the tables in Ostend.  There is a great fascination about gambling - playing with chance."

Alix not unwell

April 10, 1903

Contrary to reports "circulating in Paris,"  Empress Alexandra of Russia is not "suffering from peritonitis."  According to a New York Times dispatch, the Empress is in "perfect health," and will leave later today for Moscow with the Emperor.

The Princely family of Liechtenstein

In 1961

Marlene A. Eilers Koenig collection

Prince Jean marries his Princess

All images: Marlene A. Eilers Koenig Collection

April 9, 1953

Hereditary Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg and Princess Josephine Charlotte of Belgium were married earlier today in Luxembourg's cathedral, reports the New York Times.

Prince Jean, 32, is the eldest son and heir of Grand Duchess Charlotte and her husband, Prince Felix. Princess Josephine Charlotte, 25, is the eldest child of King Leopold III of the Belgians and his late wife, Princess Astrid of Sweden.

The civil wedding occurred in the Grand Ducal Palace Hall of Ceremonies.

Two reigning sovereigns, King Baudouin of the Belgians, the bride's brother, and Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, were among the guests, who also included one former king, two former queens, twenty-two princes, eighteen princesses, one archduke, one duchess, one duke, four countesses, and three counts. 

The royal houses of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden were "well presented."

Princess Margaret of Great Britain had to send her regrets as the British royal family "is in mourning for Dowager Queen Mary."

The British Minister to Luxembourg represented the Queen in Margaret's place.

Princess Josephine Charlotte wore a gown of "organza, a light, natural white silk in two layers, with white tulle between."  The gown featured "pleated flounces" at the neck and the V-shaped décolleté.

The bridal train was "of hand-made needle-point and pillow lace, with flower motifs on an organza backing." It was fourteen feet long and "almost as wide." Her veil was made of tulle, "lined with hand-made lace and attached by a platinum diadem studded with 855 diamonds." 

She was escorted down the aisle by her father, King Leopold.

The train was held by the bride's 10 1/2-year-old half-brother, Prince Alexander, son of King Leopold, and his second wife, Princess Liliane de Rethy.

More than 2500 guests witnessed the Roman Catholic ceremony in the 16th-century cathedral. 

The newlyweds and their guests traveled in open cars back to the palace -- a one-mile drive.  A crowd estimated at 135,000 -- 100,000 came from Belgium -- lined the streets and "enthusiastically cheered," waving Belgian and Luxembourg flags.

The crowds cheered all afternoon, and the newlyweds "had to appear on the balcony again and again."

The wedding reception, which was held at the Grand Ducal Palace, was attended by 750 guests.

The wedding was "almost postponed at the last minute" because of Princess Josephine Charlotte's nerves.  She "nearly fainted three times," and Prince Jean had to "whistle for his tardy limousine." 

The floodlights in the cathedral may have been the cause of Princess Josephine Charlotte's nerves. After kneeling, Prince Jean helped her up, and one of the priests assisted her a second time.

The lights were dimmed,  as Prince Jean "slid a band of gold" on his bride's finger.

As the couple "marched down the aisle," Princess Josephine Charlotte stumbled, paused, and closed her eyes. Prince Jean "tightened his grip" on her arm.

One guest, an unnamed Princess, became ill and had to stay in bed.

The honeymoon destination remains a secret, but it is rumored that the newlyweds may spend some time in Africa or Brazil.  They plan to be away for eight months as their new home, a chateau, is not ready for them.  The chateau, which is about 15 miles from the capital, is "being transformed from a reformatory for young prostitutes" to a royal residence.


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