Viktoria Luise and Ferdinand of Leiningen - the descent through Alfred

all photos @Marlene A. Eilers Koenig collection

Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1844-1900) married Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna.  They had one son and four daughters.

Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh (1876-1936) married as her second husband, her first cousin, Grand Duke Kirill of Russia.  

Grand Duchess Maria (1907-1951) married Karl, 6th Prince of Leiningen, and Grand Duchess Kira (1909-1967) married Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia (a descendant of Queen Victoria).

Grand Duchess Maria's eldest son, Emich, 7th Prince of Leiningen (1926-1991) with his wife, Duchess Eilika of Oldenburg and their children.  Prince Andreas, 8th Prince of Leiningen, is their second son (1955). 

Grand Duchess Kira and her family - her husband, Prince Louis Ferdinand and their seven children, including their eldest son, Friedrich Wilhelm.
Emich, Prince of Leiningen and Prince Friedrich Wilhelm were first cousins.  Their children are second cousins, including Prince Andreas and his new daughter-in-law, Viktoria Luise, who is Friedrich Wilhelm's daughter.  
Through this line of descent,  the new Hereditary Prince and Princess of Leiningen are second cousins once removed.

Ferdinand and Viktoria Luise are also descendants of Alexander II of Russia.  Their great-grandmother, Victoria Melita, was the daughter of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, who was Alexander II's only daughter, and their great-grandfather, Grand Duke Kirill, was the son of Grand Duke Vladimir, a younger son of Alexander II

The Hereditary Prince and Princess of Leiningen & their descent from Victoria

 The newly married Hereditary Prince Ferdinand of Leiningen and Princess Viktoria-Luise of Prussia are descendants of Queen Victoria.  Theirs is the first marriage between two descendants since 1981 when Princess Alexandra of Hanover married Prince Andreas of Leiningen.  This shows the line of descent from Queen Victoria's eldest child, Princess Victoria, who married Emperor Friedrich III.     The other line of descent is through Queen Victoria's fourth child and second son, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.  This line will be shown in another post.

Queen Victoria (1819-1901)

Princess Victoria (1840-1901) m. Emperor Friedrich III

Princess Victoria's eldest son, Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941)

Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany (1882-1951) & Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia (Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1892-1980), eldest & youngest children of Kaiser Wilhelm II

Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, second son of Crown Pince Wilhelm, and head of the house of Prussia (1907-1994), married to Grand Duchess of Kira of Russia  and his first cousin, Prince Ernst August of Hanover (1914-1987)

Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, eldest son of Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia (1939-2015)  This photo shows Friedrich Wilhelm with his second wife, Ehrengard von Reden, and their 3 children, Friedrich Wilhelm, Viktoria Luise and Joachim Albrecht.

Princess Alexandra of Hanover (1959), daughter of  Prince Ernst August of Hanover) at her wedding with Prince Andreas of Leiningen.  Alexandra and Prince Friedrich Wilhelm were second cousins

The nine photos are from the Marlene A. Eilers Koenig collection.

Third cousins  Hereditary Prince Ferdinand (son of Alexandra) and Hereditary Princess Viktoria-Luise (daughter of Friedrich Wilhelm)   @Svenja/Castleholic.com.

A royal Marriage - Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia becomes the Hereditary Princess of Leiningen

all photos @Svenja / Castleholic.com 

Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia and Ferdinand,  Hereditary Prince of Leiningen were married today in Amorbach.   The bride, the only daughter of the late Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, and his second wife,  Ehrengard von Reden.

https://www.rexfeatures.com/set/9064373

The new Hereditary Princess wore the Prussian Meander  Kokoshnik tiara, first worn by her late grandmother, Grand Duchess Kira of Russia, who wore it when she married Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia.

This was truly the grandest German wedding of the year.    The guests included the bride's first cousin, Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia and his wife, Sophie,  and the groom's first cousins, the newly married Prince Ernst August of Hanover and his pregnant wife, Ekaterina, and Prince Christian of Hanover and his fiance, Alessandra de Osama.

It was truly a family event, as Grand Duchess Maria of Russia and her son, Grand Duke George, joined the celebrations.  Grand Duchess Maria is a first cousin to the bride's late father, Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, and the groom's late father, Emich, Prince of Leiningen.   Other guests included the Prince and Princess of Hohenzollern, the Prince and Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Prince and Princess Victor of Isenburg, and the Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe and his girlfriend.

http://www.thecourtjeweller.com/2015/12/the-prussian-meander-kokoshnik.html

Victoria Luise is a double descendant of Queen Victoria through her grandparents, Kira and Louis Ferdinand.   Her husband, Ferdinand, is a double descendant through his mother, Princess Alexandra of Hanover, whose grandmother, Princess Viktoria Luise, was the only daughter of the late Kaiser Wilhelm II, and through his father, a descendant of Grand Duchess Marie of Russia, who married the Prince of Leiningen.  Kira and Marie were siblings.

The bride was named after her great-great aunt.

Thank you to Svenja for allowing me to publish several of her photos.
Please visit her blog, Confessions of a Castleholic, for her first-hand account of the wedding ...

 http://www.castleholic.com/2017/09/leiningenprussia-wedding-in-amorbach.html

http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2017/03/breaking-news-hereditary-prince.html


http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-civil-marriage-of-hereditary-prince.html

Royal Death: Countess Torby

September 14, 1927

The Countess Torby, wife of Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovitch of Russia, died today at her London home.  The cause of death of heart disease, reports the New York Times.    Since the Russian Revolution, her home has been "guarded by the police," because of her "fear of Nihilism."

She was 59 years old.

The Countess was the daughter of the late Prince Nikolaus of Nassau and his morganatic wife, Countess Natalya  von Merenberg, daughter of the "great Russian poet, Pushkin."

Before the war, the Grand Duke and Countess Torby lived in "great luxury" at Kenwood House, in London, for many years.   The Russian Revolution "greatly reduced" the Grand Duke's fortune.


Grand Duke Michael was "banished from Russia, lost his military rating, and was disinherited" when he married Countess Sophie von Merenberg.   This marriage was morganatic, which meant that Sophie and their three children were not entitled to the Grand Ducal titles nor did the children have succession rights to the Russian throne

The Grand Duke was able to maintain his private fortune, which included estates and forestry.

The couple were close friends of King George V and Queen Mary.

But it was the Russian Revolution that left the Grand Duke and his wife living in near penury.   He was forced to sublease his home and found a job as a clerk in an office near Westminster Abbey, where his yearly salary was £2000.

The Countess, who was given her title by her uncle, Grand Duke Adolphe of Luxembourg, was admired by British and European royals for her "unflagging industry and loyalty," to her husband.

Countess Sophie Torby is survived by her husband, Grand Duke Michael, and their three children,  Lady Zia Werhner,  Nada, the Marchioness of Milford Haven, and Count Michael Torby.


http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2014/05/grand-duke-mikhail-mikhailovich-of.html

Princess Maria Galitzine to marry Rishi Roop Singh

Princess Maria Galitzine and Rishi Roop Singh took out a marriage license in Harris County, Texas, on Tuesday.

The wedding is scheduled to take place on September 24th.

https://www.zola.com/registry/mariaandrishi

Maria Petrovna Galitzine, 29, is the fourth of six children of Prince Peter Galitzine and Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria.   Singh, 39, has a degree from the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

He was the Executive Chef for Boheme, a popular Houston eatery, but was released from his job in 2014 over a "burger dispute."   He is now the executive chef at Batanga, a Latin American restaurant, also in Houston.

They have not been a couple for very long.   For the past several years,  Maria was involved in a long term relationship with Honduran-born and Houston resident Gabriel Florentino. In May, they traveled to Exuma Cay in the Bahamas for a romantic vacation.

http://www.houstonpress.com/restaurants/talented-executive-chef-of-boheme-fired-over-burger-dispute-6422351

https://houston.eater.com/2015/3/10/8182137/batanga-regroups-brings-on-two-rising-stars

Maria is a bridal consultant with Houston-based Kuhl-Linscomb, an upscale department store.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-galitzine-543a5aa4/

The newest QVD

Congratulations to H Ill H Countess Sophie von Schönburg-Glauchau and her husband,  Carles Andreu Alacreu, on the birth of their first child. Rudi Federico Nicolas.

The newest descendant of Queen Victoria was born today, September 12 at the  Hospital Dr. Gálvez in Malaga, Spain.

Countess Sophie is the daughter of H Ill H Count Rudolf von Schönburg-Glauchau and HRH Princess Marie Louise of Prussia.   She is a first cousin of the Count of Schönburg-Glauchau, who is married to Princess Irina of Hesse, and Gloria, the Princess of Thurn und Taxis.

Carles and Countess Sophie were married at Ronda, Spain, on September 21, 2013.


The line of descent is as follows:  Queen Victoria - Princess Victoria - Kaiser Wilhelm II - Prince Adalbert - Prince Wilhelm Viktor - Princess Marie Louise - Countess Sophie - Rudi

Miss Maud Windsor goes to school, too

The Duke of Cambridge was the only member of the British Royal Family taking his child to school for the very first time.

The Duke's second cousin, Lord Frederick Windsor,  was doing the vary same thing ... at the very same school,  Thomas' in Battersea.  He, too, was beaming as he escorted his elder daughter,  Maud, to her first day of school.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4862740/Lord-Frederick-Windsor-s-daughter-Maud-starts-school.html

I have included a link to the photos.  I cannot republish them because the rights belong to Backgrid, a photo agency.

Lord Frederick, 38, is the son of Prince Michael of Kent, and his wife, Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz.  Lord Frederick and his younger sister, Lady Gabriella, grew up at Kensington Palace, and were childhood playmates of Prince William and Prince Harry.

Lord Frederick, a VP with JP Morgan, is married to actress Sophie Winkleman, who is styled, socially, as Lady Frederick Windsor.  They married at Hampton Court in  September 2009.

Maud Elizabeth Daphne Marina Windsor was born in Los Angeles, on August 13, 2013.   She was baptized at the Royal Chapel, at St. James's Palace, wearing the royal christening gown.  Princess Eugenie of York is one of her godparents.

The family moved back to London several months before Lady Frederick gave birth to a second daughter, Isabella Alexandra Mary in January 2016.  They now live in southwest London.

In a 2016 interview in Hello magazine,  Lady Frederick said that she and her husband and Maud visit the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge shortly before Charlotte's birth.  It was for tea ... and Maud and George had a play date.  Maud is a month younger than her third cousin once removed.

Lady Frederick did not accompany her husband on Maud's first school run.

A son for Lord and Lady Ramsay

Lady Ramsay has given birth a son,  William Fox.  This is the first child for Lord and Lady Ramsay.

Simon David Ramsay is the third child and only son of James Hubert Ramsay, 17th Earl of Dalhousie, and Marilyn Davina Butter.   He has two older sisters, Lady Lorna and Lady Alice, both of whom married.

Lord Ramsay married American-born Kaitlin Kubinsky at  All Souls Cathedral in Asheville, North Carolina  on September 24, 2016.

http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2015/09/lord-ramsay-to-marry-american-girl.html


Lord and Lady Dalhousie live at Brechin Castle in Scotland.

http://www.dalhousieestates.co.uk/


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Lady Dalhousie brings a Romanov lineage to the Ramsay family.   She is the second of five children of the late Major Sir David Henry Butter and Myra Alice Wernher, who was the youngest of three children of Sir Harold Wernher, BT and Countess Anastasia Torby (styled as Lady Zia Wernher after her marriage).

Lady Zia's younger sister, Countess Nada, was married to Prince George of Battenberg (2nd Marquess of Milford Haven).  The late Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven was one of Marilyn's godmothers.

Myra Wernher and her older siblings, Alex and Georgina, were, along with their first cousins, Lady Tatiana and David, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven, and their first cousins,  Patricia and Pamela Mountbatten, and Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark,  were childhood playmates and life long friends of Queen Elizabeth II and the Princess Margaret.

Lord and Lady Ramsay's son is a great-great-great-grandson of Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovitch of Russia and his morganatic wife, Countess Sophie von Merenberg.

Lady Dalhousie is a first cousin of the Duchesses of Abercorn and Westminster.   Lord Dalhousie is a the nephew of the late Sir David Stirling, founder of the SAS, and a first cousin of Archie Stirling (son of William Stirling of Keir, David's older brother),  which means Lord Ramsay and Archie's only daughter, actress Rachael Stirling, are second cousins.

First Day of School

Prince George of Cambridge started school today at Thomas's, Battersea.  He was accompanied by his father, the Duke of Cambridge.   The Duchess of Cambridge was unable to accompany her husband and son to school as she is suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarum, a severe form of morning sickness.   The Duchess is expecting a third child in late spring.

 Kensington Palace released a photo of the Duke and his son, getting ready to leave for school.

George was joined by his third cousin, Miss Maud Windsor, elder daughter of Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor at the school.

This photo was taken by Getty's Chris Jackson.

Royalty Digest Quarterly How to Subscribe -- and you should Subscribe

Are you looking for a royal magazine that focuses on the history and not on the fashions or the latest gossip about Prince Harry.    Royalty Digest Quarterly is published by Ted Rosvall.  RDQ specializes in royal history with articles written by experts in their field. (Yes, I do write for the magazine)

 Don't expect articles on the Duchess of Cambridge's third pregnancy.

Subscribe to Royalty Digest Quarterly, now in our 12th year, a journal devoted to the history, genealogy, and images of the Royal Families of Europe. In every issue, which all have 64 pages in large format and over 120 illustrations, we present one dynasty in text, pictures, and pedigrees. Plus a lot of other articles, book reviews, and royal news.
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All 46 back issues are still available.

Prince Henrik suffering from dementia: official

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Official announcement from Denmark:


"It is with deep regret that Her Majesty The Queen has asked the Lord Chamberlain to announce:

Following a longer course of investigation, and most recently, a series of examinations conducted during late summer, a team of specialists at Rigshospitalet has now concluded that His Royal Highness Prince Henrik suffers from dementia.

The diagnosis implies a decline in The Prince’s cognitive functional level. The extent of the cognitive failure is, according to Rigshospitalet, greater than expected considering the age of The Prince, and can be accompanied by changes in behaviour, reaction patterns, judgement and emotional life and may therefore also affect the interaction with the outside world.

As a consequence of the diagnosis, The Prince will further downgrade his future activities, just as patronages and honorary memberships will be considered.

It is the wish of The Queen and the Royal Family that The Prince will have the peace and quiet as required by the situation."

Engaged: Duchess Sophie of Württemberg and Maximilien d'Andigné

@ private .. thank you for letting me use this photo.

Duke Philipp and Duchess Marie Caroline of Württemberg have made it official.  Their eldest daughter,  Duchess Sophie Anastasia Assunta Marie Pauline, is engaged to Maximilien d'Andigné, son of Hervé d'Andigne and his wife Marie Adelaide de la Barre de Nanteuil.

The 23-year-old bride-to-be met her future husband in London.  Maximilien is the Vice President of  Energy Derivatives Mitsui Bussan Commodities ltd.

The marriage will probably take place at Tegernsee in October 2018.  Duke Philipp, the third son and fourth child of Carl, the Duke of Württemberg, and his wife, Princess Diane of France.   Marie Caroline is the daughter of Duke Max in Bavaria and Countess Elizabeth Douglas.

Duchess Sophie is the eldest of four children.  She has two younger sisters, Duchesses Pauline and Anna and a younger brother, Duke Carl.   Maximlien is the second of four children. He has one older brother, Alexandre, and two younger siblings, Gaspard and Marie-Astrid.

Duchess Sophie is the first grandchild of the Duke and Duchess of Württemberg and the Duke and Duchess in Bavaria to marry.

What the mailman brought

TSH Prince Wolfram and Princess Janina von der Leyen.  Princess Janina was born Countess Janina von Schönborn-Wiesentheid.  The couple were married in Monaco on June 24, 2017.
Janina is the second of two daughters of Count Peter and his wife, the former Bénedicte Courtin.  She and her older sister, Countess Alana, were born and raised in Monaco.  
Count Peter is one of six children.  His older sister, Gabriela, is married to Alexander, Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn.
Prince Wolfram is the eldest of four children of Prince Philip von der Leyen und Hohengeroldseck and his wife, Baroness Elisabeth von Gagern.  The Prinz der Leyen name has been been passed through the female line as the last male heir, Hereditary Prince Wolfram was killed during the Second World War.  Wolfram was the eldest of four children, and the only son.  His father, Erwein, the 5th Prince, married to Donna Maria Nives Ruffo,  adopted his grandso, Philipp, in 1969.  
Philipp is the son of Erwein's youngest daughter, Princess Marie-Adelheid, and her husband, Baron Georg von Freyberg-Eisenberg.  The two eldest daughters never married.
The couple are third cousins, sharing common great-great -grandparents, Antonio Ruffo, Principe della Scaletta and Ludovica Borghese.  Erwein, Count of Schönborn-Wiesentheid, married Donna Ernestina Ruffo.  Their second son, Count Rudolf,  was married twice.  His first wife was Princess Helene of Thurn und Taxis.  Their fourth child, Count Peter, is the father of Princess Janina.
Donna Maria Nives Ruffo was Donna Ernestina's younger sister.

It is a boy

@Marlene A Eilers Koenig

UPDATE:   It is a boy.  A little brother for Alexander.


The Office of The Marshal of the Realm is delighted to announce that HRH Princess Sofia gave birth to a healthy child Thursday the 31 August 2017 at 11.24am at Danderyd Hospital.
Both mother and child are in good health.  The newborn prince weighed 7.5lbs and is 19 inches tall.

Svante Lindqvist
Marshal of the Realm

Prince Carl Philip told reporters that the new prince is "super sweet," and they are "super happy, glad and excited."  Sofia and baby are doing fine.  Alexander has not met his little brother, but will shortly.   The rest of the royal family have been sent a photo of the new baby.

The name and the ducal title will be announced by the King at a Cabinet meeting on Monday.  The Te Deum, a service to give thanks for the birth of a healthy child, will also be held on Monday.

Sofia was expected to give birth in mid-September.

My choice for a name:  Prince Eugen.

Baby News: a baby for Ernst August and Ekaterina

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Update:  A spokesman for the Hereditary Prince and Princess has told the local Hannover newspaper, HAZ,  that the newlyweds will not "comment on a private matter."

Several German news organizations are reporting that the Hereditary Princess of Hanover is expecting a baby in March.

http://www.bunte.de/royals/daenisches-koenigshaus/ekaterina-von-hannover-baby-geheimnis-gelueftet-unter-diesem-brautkleid-schlummert-ein-welfen-spross.html

Prince Ernst August married Russian-born fashion designer Ekaterina Malysheva in July.

If their first born is a son, I wonder why they will name him.  Probably Ernst August, but that does not mean they will stick with tradition .... because the family has broken with tradition on two occasions.

Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, succeeded his brother, William IV, as King of Hanover, in 1837.  (William's niece, Victoria, inherited the United Kingdom.)    The Duke was known in Hanover as King Ernst August.   His only son, Prince George Frederick Alexander Charles Ernest Augustus, was born on May 27, 1819 in Berlin, three days after the birth of Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent, the future Queen Victoria.

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George succeed his father in 1851.   His only son was named Ernst August, who married Princess Thyra of Denmark, the youngest sister of the Princess of Wales.  They had three sons, Georg Wilhelm, Christian and Ernst August.  Georg Wilhelm was the heir.   Christian died at age 16 from peritonitis in 1901.  The youngest brother, Ernst August, became the spare.   In 1912,  Prince Georg Wilhelm was killed in a car accident en route to his uncle, King Frederik VIII's funeral.
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 The third son was now the heir.   In 1913, he married Princess Victoria Luise of Prussia.   Their eldest son was named Ernst August,  and his eldest son - the present head of the family is named Ernst August and his recently married heir (and soon-to-be dad) is named Ernst August.

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At least, one hopes a girl will not be named Ernestine Auguste.


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