Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Countess Mountbatten's funeral date announced
MOUNTBATTEN OF BURMA
Countess (Patricia). Wife of the late Lord Brabourne (John). Beloved sister, mother, grandmother and aunt. Died peacefully at home, Mersham, 13th June 2017. Funeral 27th June, 3 p.m., St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge, London. mountbatten@spkb.org No memorial service. Donations to The Compassionate Friends www.tcf.org.uk/countessmountbatten Flowers to CW Lyons, 01227 463508.
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Death of William IV - Young Victoria succeeds
The Times is reporting the death of King William IV. "It is with feelings of the most deep and poignant regret that we announce to the public that one of the most excellent , the most patriotic, and the most British Monarchy that ever sat on the imperial throne of these realms, is no more."
The "melancholy event" occurred between 2:30 and 2:45 a.m. It is understood that the King was "sensible to the last moment of his existence, and expressed the most heartfelt satisfaction at the constant and unremitting attentions which received from different members of his family."
Queen Adelaide was with her husband when he died.
Queen Adelaide was with her husband when he died.
"We are not inclined to be the flatterers of rising greatness, but we are only performing an act of justice to that dignity whose sun is set, in declaring that the brightest gem in the diadem of our young Queen -- whom may God long preserve, for the welfare and happiness and good government of these realms"
The Archbishop of Canterbury left Windsor "immediately after the demise of his lamented Majesty" and arrived at Lambeth Palace at 6 a.m.
The new queen is King William's niece, Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent, the only child of the late Prince Edward, Duke of Kent. She reached her majority on May 24. She will be known as Queen Victoria. May "her name be an augury of triumphant fortune."
The young queen, who resides at Kensington Palace, was awakened early this morning, and learned of her uncle's death. She will be proclaimed as Queen tomorrow.
The Duke of Cumberland, who has succeeded his late brother, as King of Hanover was the first to take the oath of allegiance to the Queen. Although he is now the King of Hanover, he remains as heir presumptive to the British throne.
Friday, June 16, 2017
King Simeon - 80 years
When King Simeon of Bulgaria was born on June 16, 1937, there were few who would have thought that this infant, a much wanted son, would become king at age six, in 1943 following the mysterious death of his father, King Boris III, who became ill after meeting Adolf Hitler.
Bulgaria's political instability increased during the second world war, joining the Axis powers. On September 5, 1944 the Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria, and within three days, the Red Army marched in Bulgaria with no real resistance. Within a few days, Prince Kyril, Simeon's uncle, who served as one of several regents for the young king, and two regents were deposed and arrested. All three were executed in February 1945.
The young king, along with his mother, Queen Giovanna and his older sister, Princess Maria Luisa, remained at the Vrana Palace in Sofia as three new, pro-Soviet regents were named. There is no doubt that the referendum on September 15, 1946 was rigged, as the Soviet army made sure that Bulgaria's citizens were aware of the country's new masters.
There was no doubt that the population (97%) would vote for a republic and the end of Bulgaria's monarchy.
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| Belgrade 2013 State Funeral @Marlene A Eilers Koenig |
The following day, the royal family went into exile, first to Alexandria, Egypt, where Queen Giovanna's father, King Victor Emmanuel III was living, after going into exile earlier that year. A referendum in June 1946 ended the Italian monarchy, and Giovanna's brother, King Umberto and his family, were forced to leave their homeland.
http://www.kingsimeon.bg/en/semejstvo-i-misiya/n-v-tsar-simeon-ii/
The young king attended schools in Alexandria, Madrid and the Valley Forge Military Academy and College in Pennsylvania. When he reached his majority at age 18, Simeon II swore his allegiance to the Bulgarian people, as the Tsar of Bulgaria.
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| Belgrade 2010 @Marlene A,. Eilers Koenig |
After returning from the United States, he studied law and business administration, and worked in business for many years.
Simeon married Doña Margarita Gomez-Acebo y Cejuela on January 21, 1962. The couple had five children: Crown Prince Kardam (1962-2015), Prince Kirill (1964), Prince Kubrat (1965), Prince Konstantin-Assen (1967) and Princess Kalina (1972). All five children have married Spaniards.
The King and Queen have 11 grandchildren.
Be
After the collapse of communism, the king visited Bulgaria for the first time since 1946. It was in 2001 when the king returned to Bulgaria to form a new political party, the National Movement Simeon II, where he promised a positive change for Bulgaria after 800 days. His party won a majority in the election in June 2001. Simeon was named as Prime Minister. Two of his accomplishments were to bring Bulgaria into NATO and the European Union.
His party did not do as well in the 2005 elections, and took part in a coalition government. In 2009, the party won no seats, and Simeon resigned as the party's leader. As Prime Minister, he swore an oath to uphold the Bulgarian republic, and he has never spoken publicly on a monarchical restoration.
King Simeon's heir is his grandson, Prince Boris, now 19 years old. Although some sources have referred to Boris as Prince of Turnovo, a title his father bore, this is incorrect. King Simeon has not given the title to his grandson, and is unlikely do so in the future. The reason for this is simple: Boris' life is in Spain. He was educated in Spain and in Austria, and his ties to Bulgaria are limited.
An heir in Bulgaria
June 16, 1937
Queen Giovanna of Bulgaria gave birth to the long awaited heir, a son at 5:45 a.m, reports the New York Times.
A 101 gun salute in Sofia announced the birth to the residents of the capital.
Telephone calls were made to provincial garrisons and soon "guns were booming throughout the land."
Queen Giovanna and her infant son are doing well. The queen gave birth at the Clementine Hospital, which was founded by King Boris's grandmother, Princess Clementine of Orléans, the mother of King Ferdinand of Bulgaria.
Large crowds gathered outside the palace and Sofia's mayor "led a procession of more than 100,000 persons through the palace grounds.:" The happy and proud father King Boris, appeared on the balcony, and, with a smile, thanked the crowd for the great ovation.
"I pray that my son and heir may be spared to rule over this country as a good thing."
The new Crown Prince will be named Simeon, after Bulgaria';s "great tenth century ruler, who reigned during a time when Bulgaria's power was at a zenith.
The birth of the Crown Prince is "particularly important" as succession to the throne is limited to males. The king and queen's four and half year old daughter, Princess Marie Louise, cannot succeed to the throne. The king has one younger brother, Prince Kiril, who is unmarried.
Thursday, June 15, 2017
The new Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Norton Louis Philip Knatchbull, the 8th Baron Brabourne, will officially be styled as the 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma, after his mother's funeral and burial.
He was born at London on October 8, 1947, the eldest child of Lady Patricia Mountbatten (elder daughter of Louis, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma) and John, the 7th Baron Brabourne. He is married to Penelope Eastwood.
After the murder of his grandfather by the IRA in August 1979, the Hon. Norton Knatchull became Lord Romsey, the secondary title for the Mountbatten earldom, which his mother succeeded to in her own right. The earldom had a special remainder for Louis' two daughters and their male descendants.
Norton inherited the Broadlands estate from his grandfather, who had inherited it from his wife, the late Edwina Ashley, who died in 1960. The estate is not entailed.
Lord Brabourne will most likely be styled as the Earl Mountbatten of Burma. He will not cease to be be the Baron Brabourne, but the earldom is a higher peerage. Both titles are in the peerage of the United Kingdom.
So what will happen to the Brabourne title. Nothing. Norton will remain as Baron Brabourne until his death, and both peerages, as well as the Knatchbull baronetcy, will pass to his only son, the Hon. Nicholas Knatchbull, 36.
The new earl may decide to have the Brabourne barony be his son's courtesy title, rather than Lord Romsey. There is at least one precedent for this.
In 1959, James George Alexander Bannerman Carnegie, who bore the courtesy title, Lord Carnegie, as heir to his father's earldom, the Earl of Southesk, succeeded his maternal aunt, Princess Arthur of Connaught, as the 3rd Duke of Fife. He remained heir apparent to his father's earldom.
The Earl of Southesk died in 1992, Shortly afterwards, the Duke of Fife announced that his son, Charles, then styled as the Earl of Macduff (secondary title for the Fife dukedom) would now be styled as Earl of Southesk. The Duke remained the titular Earl of Southesk, but allowed his son to be styled as the earl (but not as the peer.) This was due to the inheritance of the Southesk estates in Scotland.
Lord Southesk succeeded as the 4th Duke of Fife in 2015. His eldest son, Charles, is now styled as the Earl of Southesk.
Thus it seems plausible that the new Earl will make a similar decision, and have Nicholas styled as Baron Brabourne, rather than Baron Romsey, as the courtesy title.
Nicholas is not married. The order of succession for the Mountbatten earldom is: the Hon. Michael-John Knatchbull (brother of Norton); the Hon. Philip Knatchbull (brother of Norton); Frederick Knatchbull; John Knatchbull (sons of Philip); the Hon. Timothy Knatchbull (brother of Norton); Milo Knatchbull; Ludovic Knatchbull (sons of Timothy) and Ashley Hicks, who is last in line.
There are other male heirs to the Brabourne barony after Ludovic Knatchbull. These are the descendants of the Hon. Adrian Norton Knatchbull-Hugessen, the youngest son of the first Baron.
The new earl is a godson of the Duke of Edinburgh, and is one of the Duke of Cambridge's godparents.
a Princely wedding: Fugger von Babenhausen - Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg
In just over a week, Princess Sophie of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg will marry Count Constantin Fugger von Babenhausen, in an ecumenical service on June 24 at the Wertheim Stiftskirche.
The bride is Lutheran and the groom is Roman Catholic.
The couple's legal wedding, the civil ceremony, took place in December at Schloss Kreuzwertheim.
Sophie is the daughter of the Prince and Princess of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg. Her mother, Princess Elisabeth, is in the final week of preparations, and things have not gone completely smoothly. The crane that was to be used to help erect the tends, proved to be a bit too heavy and started to sink into the ground.
Three tents have been erected. "One is set up as a lounge and serves as an extension of our salon in the afternoon," said Princess Elisabeth. It stands next to the larger tent, which will host the "bridal soiree."
Most of the flower arrangements will be in blue and yellow, the colors of the bride;s house. The bride's flowers will also be blue and yellow.
500 guests have been invited to the afternoon reception, where finger food will be served. A more intimate reception (280 guests) will be held in the evening. This will be a three-course meal with wines from the family's vineyard, and a "very special Bordeaux" from the vineyards of the Count Stephan of Neipperg.
Nineteen cooks have been hired to prepare all of the meals.
Guests include members of the Saxe-Coburg, Bavaria, Hohenzollern, Sayn-Wittgenstein. Oldenburg, Württemberg, two branches of the Waldburg family, Leiningen and Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenvberg,
"Many guests come from other european countries and from overseas as well," said Princess Elisabeth.
http://www.main-echo.de/regional/kreis-main-tauber/art4003,4675664
http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2017/04/preparing-your-daughters-wedding.html
http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-noble-engagement.html
The bride is Lutheran and the groom is Roman Catholic.
The couple's legal wedding, the civil ceremony, took place in December at Schloss Kreuzwertheim.
Sophie is the daughter of the Prince and Princess of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg. Her mother, Princess Elisabeth, is in the final week of preparations, and things have not gone completely smoothly. The crane that was to be used to help erect the tends, proved to be a bit too heavy and started to sink into the ground.
Three tents have been erected. "One is set up as a lounge and serves as an extension of our salon in the afternoon," said Princess Elisabeth. It stands next to the larger tent, which will host the "bridal soiree."
Most of the flower arrangements will be in blue and yellow, the colors of the bride;s house. The bride's flowers will also be blue and yellow.
500 guests have been invited to the afternoon reception, where finger food will be served. A more intimate reception (280 guests) will be held in the evening. This will be a three-course meal with wines from the family's vineyard, and a "very special Bordeaux" from the vineyards of the Count Stephan of Neipperg.
Nineteen cooks have been hired to prepare all of the meals.
Guests include members of the Saxe-Coburg, Bavaria, Hohenzollern, Sayn-Wittgenstein. Oldenburg, Württemberg, two branches of the Waldburg family, Leiningen and Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenvberg,
"Many guests come from other european countries and from overseas as well," said Princess Elisabeth.
http://www.main-echo.de/regional/kreis-main-tauber/art4003,4675664
http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2017/04/preparing-your-daughters-wedding.html
http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-noble-engagement.html
BUSTED Fake "Prince Stefan" finally nabbed
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| from the faux prince's Facebook page |
Italian police have arrested two men, CS and SS, pretending to be Prince Stefan Crnojevic of Montenegro, and his valet, on the charges of " false declaration of identity, and possession and manufacture of forged identity documents."
I first wrote about this loser in 2014 when he bestowed the title countess on Pamela Anderson. "Stefan" threatened me with a lawsuit for defamation. I laughed it off then, as now. In fact, I think I get the last laugh.
The arrests were made in Turin. The Italian police have been pursuing a case against the two men, since 2016, who have not been named, and are known only by their initials.
So happy to see the faux prince and his sidekick brought down a few pegs. They can lament about their deceit in an Italian jail, one hopes.
Poor Pamela ... not so bright after all.
http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2014/10/pamela-anderson-gives-blondes-bad-name.html
http://bari.repubblica.it/cronaca/2017/06/14/news/brindisi_si_fingono_principe_e_ambasciatore_del_montenegro_per_soggiornare_gratis_nel_resort_denunciati-168063573/#gallery-slider=168081947
https://www.thelocal.it/20170614/italian-police-probe-fake-prince-who-blagged-free-luxury-holidays
http://www.princeofmontenegroandmacedonia.eu/_home.html
https://www.facebook.com/PrinceStefanCrnojevic/
HRH Duchess Margarethe of Württemberg (1928-2017)
HRH Duchess Margarethe Louise Eudoxie Nadejda Maria Josepha Albertine Therese Amélie Elisabeth Benedicta Rosa Catharina Elisabeth-Bona of Württemberg died at Paris on June 10, 2017. She was 88 years old.
Duchess Margarethe was second of five children of HRH Duke Albrecht Eugen Maria Philipp Carl Joseph Fortunatas of Württemberg and HRH Princess Nadejda of Bulgaria. She was born at Karlsruhe on November 25, 1928.
Margarethe married at Schloss Althausen on August 17, 1970 to Vicomte Francois Luce de Chevigny (1928).
The couple's marriage was childless.
Margarethe is survived by her four siblings, Duke Ferdinand, Duke Eugen, Duke Alexander, and Duchess Sophie, as well as her natural son, Patrick de la Lanne, and three grandchildren, Marie Charlotte, Berenice and Cyran de la Lanne-Mirrlees. Patrick was the mayor of Delmenhorst, Germany, from 2006 through 2014. He was estranged from his natural father, Robin de la Lanne-Mirlees, who died in 2012, and left his estate to Patrick's son, Cyran.
She was a granddaughter of King Ferdinand of Bulgaria and Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon Parma. Her first cousins include Princess Marie Louise and King Simeon of Bulgaria and Carl, Duke of Württemberg, present head of the house.
http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2008/10/german-mayor-has-royal-connections.html
http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2012/06/death-of-robin-de-la-lanne.html
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Patricia, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma (1924-2017)
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| taken in 1989 in NYC @Marlene A. Eilers Koenig |
It is with great sadness to report the death of Patricia, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma, elder daughter of the late Louis, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma and the Hon. Edwina Ashley. She was born February 24, 1924. She died at her home at Mersham in Kent on June 13, 2017.
Lady Mountbatten was 93 years old.
Lady Mounbatten was a first cousin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and a childhood friend of Queen Elizabeth II. She was the last surviving godparent for the Prince of Wales.
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| Lady Brabourne and Lady Pamela Hicks outside Lady Brabourne's home near Harrods in the 1980s. Taken by me ... after spending an afternoon having lunch with two charming ladies |
Patricia married John Ulick Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne (1924-2005), on October 26, 1946. Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret and Princess Alexandra of Kent were among the bridesmaids.
The couple had eight children, and six survive: Norton, 8th Baron Brabourne, who succeeds as 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma, the Hon. Michael-John Knatchbull, Lady Joanna Zuckerman, Lady Amanda Ellingworth, the Hon. Philip Knatchbull and the Hon. Timothy Knatchbull. She is also survived by her sister, the Lady Pamela Hicks and numerous grandchildren.
A truly lovely lady. We corresponded for many years.
Saturday, June 10, 2017
Thursday, June 8, 2017
Friedrich Karl Prince of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst (1933-2017)
HSH Friedrich Karl, 9th Prince of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst died on June 6. He was 83 years old.
http://www.stimme.de/hohenlohe/nachrichten/oehringen/Friedrich-Karl-Fuerst-zu-Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-gestorben;art1921,3860925
Friedrich Karl Josef Gero Michael Maria Aloisius was born at Waldenburg on January 19, 1933, the eldest of five children of Friedrich Karl, 8th Prince of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst and Princess Mechtilde of Urach.
He succeeded his father in 1982.
The prince was passionate about forestry, which he studied at universities in Freiburg and Munich, He also loved painting, and studied with his uncle, Albrecht Prince of Urach.
The family home, Schloss Waldenburg, was destroyed during the second world war and has been partially rebuilt.
The prince and his wife, Marie Gabriele von Rantzau, moved into the rebuilt castle after their wedding in April 1965.
The marriage was childless. Friedrich Karl has been succeeded by his nephew, Prince Felix, eldest son of his brother, Prince Hubertus as the 10th Prince of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst.
Prince Felix is married to an American, Barbara Ross Dabney. Their religious wedding took lace on April 16, 1994 at Lynchburg, Virginia. They have six children, Prince Konrad (1995), Princess Frances (1997), Princess Maria (1999) Prince Albrecht (2002), Prince Franz (2005) and Princess Charlotte (2010).
The new Princess is the daughter of the late Ross Hutcheson Dabney, a professor emeritus of English at Sweet Briar College and Charlotte Gmelin
http://www.hsm-forest.net/cms/firmenhistorie.html
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
After 30 years, Wallis joins royal family
June 7, 1967
Thirty years of "formal social ostracism" of the Duchess of Windsor by the British royal family ended today "under the trees along the Mall," reports the New York Times.
The Duchess, who stood next to her husband, the former King Edward VIII, joined Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family at the "unveiling of a memorial plaque" to Queen Mary, the Duke's mother, who died in 1953.
The "brief ceremony" took place outside Marlborough House, long the residence of Queen Mary, only a few hundred yards from Buckingham Palace.
It was the first time that the 72-year-old Duke and the 70-year-old Duchess had attended "a royal family occasion together" since Edward's abdication in December 1936, stating he was abdicating to "marry the woman I love."
The plaque commemorated the 100th anniversary of Queen Mary's birth. The irony of today's ceremony highlighted the fact that the Queen was "firmly opposed" to her son's marriage to a twice-divorced American.
Queen Mary died in 1953 at the age of 85. She never received the Duchess of Windsor.
As the years passed, the Duchess of Windsor began to "appear as more of an anachronism." The first step toward ending the Duchess' alienation came in March 1965, when the Queen met the Duchess twice, by arrangement, at the Duke's bedside, when he was in a London hospital for a series of eye operations.
The "five-minute unveiling ceremony ended" with the royal family chatting, "wreathed in smiles." The Duke and Duchess of Windsor then went off to "an informal private lunch" at Kensington Palace as the guests of Princess Marina, the widow of the Duke of Kent, the Duke of Windsor's younger brother.
Thirty years of "formal social ostracism" of the Duchess of Windsor by the British royal family ended today "under the trees along the Mall," reports the New York Times.
The Duchess, who stood next to her husband, the former King Edward VIII, joined Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family at the "unveiling of a memorial plaque" to Queen Mary, the Duke's mother, who died in 1953.
The "brief ceremony" took place outside Marlborough House, long the residence of Queen Mary, only a few hundred yards from Buckingham Palace.
It was the first time that the 72-year-old Duke and the 70-year-old Duchess had attended "a royal family occasion together" since Edward's abdication in December 1936, stating he was abdicating to "marry the woman I love."
The plaque commemorated the 100th anniversary of Queen Mary's birth. The irony of today's ceremony highlighted the fact that the Queen was "firmly opposed" to her son's marriage to a twice-divorced American.
Queen Mary died in 1953 at the age of 85. She never received the Duchess of Windsor.
As the years passed, the Duchess of Windsor began to "appear as more of an anachronism." The first step toward ending the Duchess' alienation came in March 1965, when the Queen met the Duchess twice, by arrangement, at the Duke's bedside, when he was in a London hospital for a series of eye operations.
The "five-minute unveiling ceremony ended" with the royal family chatting, "wreathed in smiles." The Duke and Duchess of Windsor then went off to "an informal private lunch" at Kensington Palace as the guests of Princess Marina, the widow of the Duke of Kent, the Duke of Windsor's younger brother.
A first for Princess Elizabeth
June 7, 1947
Now that she has come of age, Princess Elizabeth needs help as she begins to undertake engagements as the heiress presumptive to the throne. The Associated Press is reporting that the Princess now has a private secretary. Buckingham Palace has announced the "temporary appointment of 33-year-old John Rupert Colville.
Mr Colville is a member of the foreign service, and the grandson of the first Viscount Colville of Culross.
Now that she has come of age, Princess Elizabeth needs help as she begins to undertake engagements as the heiress presumptive to the throne. The Associated Press is reporting that the Princess now has a private secretary. Buckingham Palace has announced the "temporary appointment of 33-year-old John Rupert Colville.
Mr Colville is a member of the foreign service, and the grandson of the first Viscount Colville of Culross.
A vote to send Nicholas to Kronstadt
June 7, 1917
Reuters has received a dispatch from Petrograd stating that "a meeting of the workmen;s section of the workmen's and soldiers' delegates and the Leninists," a vote was taken and passed in favor of sending former Emperor Nicholas II and his family to Kronstadt.''
The dispatch further stated "in consequence of the hilarity caused by alternative proposals by the Leninists, such as the imperial prisoners be sent to work in the Siberian gold mine, some groups refrained from voting."
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