Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg engaged

The Danish Royal Court announced today that HSH Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg*, a niece of Queen Margrethe II, has got engaged to Alexander Johannsmann.

Princess Nathalie, b. 1975, the youngest daughter of the head of the princely house of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, Prince Richard, and Princess Benedikte of Denmark, lives at Schloss Berleburg in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, where she is responsible of breeding and training the family’s dressage horses. The princess herself is an active rider. She became a Danish champion in dressage in 2002 and 2009, and won a bronze medal with the Danish dressage team during the Olympic Games of Beijing in 2008.

Mr. Alexander Johannsmann is, according to the press release, 32 years old and thus (most likely) born in 1977. He is a German citizen living in the city of Gütersloh near Bielefeld in Nordrhein-Westfalen, where he works in his uncle’s international company specializing in horse transport.

Johannsmann also grew up in an environment where the equine sport has played a large role, as his father is a recognized German jump racer and coach.

The couple has today started a combined business and family trip to Australia and is expected to return to Germany towards the end of January.

It is not yet known when the couple intends to get married.

(*) The Danish Royal Court refers to Princess Nathalie as Højhed (Highness, HH), although it has never been granted in a special act, cf. among others Peter Kurrild Klitgaard's article Conditional Consent, Dynastic Rights and the Danish Law of Succession (see note). If Germany had still been a monarchy, the princess would have been styled Durchlaucht (Serene Highness, HSH), a reference which is continued in a social setting only.

References

• Press release of the Danish Royal Court 4 January 2010 (in Danish only)
• Biography of Princess Nathalie at Nettyroyal.nl
• Nobiliana Forum, thread "Johannsmann/Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (Desc. Danmark)", 4 January 2010

Updated Tuesday 5 January 2010 at 22:50.