Royalty Digest Quarterly no 2, 2020

The latest issue of Royalty Digest Quarterly – no. 2, 2020 – has arrived, and as usual it provides plenty of quality reading. The cover is in green colour this time (what about yellow next, Mr. Editor!), and the photo is of King Alfonso XIII of Spain (1886–1941) together with his 6 surviving childen; Jaime, Maria Christina, Gonzalo, Alfonso, Beatriz and Juan. The latter was of course the father of King Juan Carlos and grandfather of the current king, Felipe VI.

Royal jewels is the topic of the first article of the present issue. The Leuchtenberg Jewels in Sweden is written by the Brazilian-born Claudia Thomé Witte, who appeared on Norwegian TV 12 days ago in a documentary on the royal jewels of Sweden. While royal jewels (tiaras etc.) are not exactly «my thing», there is no doubt that they represent important royal family history, and I admire experts like Ms. Witte who posess such a detailed knowledge. My daughter, who will turn 10 years old next month, took a great interest in the documentary, and even hushed me down when I dared to start talking. Who would have guessed that she would be interested in royal history ... It was a good article as well, although I miss a list of sources at the end.

Empress Elizabeth of Austria, Duchess in Bavaria (1837–1898), nicknamed «Sisi», still draws great interest, and there are no limits to how many different aspects of her life one can write about. In the article Imperial Bride in Vienna Elizabeth Jane Timm studies the wedding between Sisi and Emperor Franz Joseph in great deatail, including the whereabouts of her wedding dress.

The photo cover revals that the main article of this issue is the second part of The Royal House of Spain – A Family Album. A House Divided - the descendants of Carlos IV by Charlotte Zeepvat. The introduction takes the readers from King Fernando VII to King Felipe VI, and we are as usual treated by a large number of illustrations – 99 in all – the last is of King Felipe VI and his eldest daughter Leonor, Princess of Asturias. In addition there are four pages with genealogical tables.

The historian Datiu Salvia Ocaña, who resides in Barcelona, Spain, then completes the third and last part of his series The Six Stunning Infantas. The unexpexted fortune of the daughters of exiled King Miguel I of Portugal. The third part also includes notes, which also cover part I and II.

Who is the next one out in the series Little-Known Royals? Coryne Hall has this time written about Princess Maria of Italy (1914-2001), the youngest daughter of King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy and his wife Queen Elena, née Princess of Montenegro. Princess Maria married in 1939 Prince Luigi (Louis) of Bourbon-Parma (1899–1967), the 22nd (!) child of Duke Roberto I and his 2nd wife Duchess Maria Antonia, née Princess of Portugal. They had four children. None of them made «dynastic marriages» and their children don't appear to have any titles according to An Online Gotha, but here I could be wrong. I am not talking about legal titles, of course, only titles by «a genealogical-historical definition».

And finally the column The World Wide Web of Royalty, bringing genealogical news from the European Imperial, Royal and Princely families. This time we get news from Bourbon-Parme, Greece (Brandram), Hesse, Luxembourg, Russia (Kulikovskaya), Stolberg-Roßla, Sweden (Nilert), Bourbon-Two Sicilies and Waldeck and Pyrmont.

Information about Royalty Digest Quarterly can be found at its editor's website Royalbooks.se. See earlier presentations of RDQ here. See also its Facebook page.

Royalty Digest Quarterly no. 2, 2018

The latest issue of Royalty Digest Quarterly (no. 2, 2018) was waiting for me on my return from Australia 12 days ago. The cover is green and beautiful, and the family photo is from the christening of Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma in 1926, third child of Prince René and Princess Margrethe, née Princess of Denmark and a brother of the late Queen Anne of Romania. Prince Michel died on 7 July this year.

The choice of cover photo signals which family has been rewarded with A Family Album article by the magazine's returning contributor and historical consultant, Charlotte Zeepvat. The readers are treated with the traditional introductory piece about The House of Bourbon-Parma and a large selection of photos and other illustrations – 99 in all, if I have got it right – a number which includes a map and a photo of the Ducal Palace (Palazzo del Giardino) in Parma. The family is large, so you will also find four pages with family tables as well.

Palazzo del Giardino, Parma. Photo: © 2007 Szeder László/Wikimedia Commons.

The first article in this issue, Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, is written by Marlene A. Eilers Koenig. The duchess, b. 1878, d. 1948, who was the daughter Grand Duke Adolf Friedrich (1848–1914) and Grand Duchess Elizabeth, née Princess of Anhalt (1857–1933), had quite a challenging life, having among others an illegitimate child with a footman named Hecht and a rather sad marriage to a Count George Jamatel. Koenig gives a good account of it all. The baby was adopted, and naturally I keep wondering if he or she has ever been identified.

100 years ago this summer, Emperor Nicholas II of the Russias and his family as well as many other members of the Romanov dynasty were murdered. Coryne Hall has contributed with the excellent article Caught in Revolution – Miss White and the Paley Family. Annie Mary White (1873–1940s) was in 1914 employed by Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich (1860–1919) and Olga Countess of Hohenfelsen, née Karnovitz (1866–1929), later created Princess Paley. Miss White played the role as a companion to their daughters. If you only have time for one article in the current issue, this is the one! The genealogist in me of course wonders if it is possible to find the exact date of death for Miss White. A common name, yes, but her death is of course registered somewhere. I had no immediate success when searching for it on Ancestry.com and Findmypast.co.uk, though. I guess I will leave it to someone else ...

The next one out, the article Double Wedding. Two Princesses and Their Different Destinies by Alberto Penna Rodrigues, covers the weddings in 1802 of Princess Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1784–1806) to the then Prince of Asturias, later Fernando VII (1784–1833) and Infanta Maria Isabel (1789–1848) to the then Duke of Calabria, later King Francis I (Francesco I)  of Bourbon Two-Sicilies (1777–1830). An interesting read, but a bit heavy, packed with details and with so many names that a little family table of the two most important families had been in place.

In the series  Little-Known Royals Coryne Hall pays attention to Princess Eugenie of Greece and Denmark (1910–1989), daughter of Prince George (1869–1957) and Princess Marie Bonaparte (1882–1962), and a first cousin to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. She made two marriages, the first to Prince Dominic Radziwill, the second to Prince Raymundo della Torre e Tasso, Duke of Castel Duino, and divorced both of them. She is described as a talented writer, but did she ever publish anything?

Finally, The column The World-Wide Web of Royalty brings news from the royal or princely families of Isenburg, United Kingdom, Denmark, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Saxony, Saxony-Weimar, Sweden, Waldeck and Pyrmont and Württemberg.

Information on Royalty Digest Quarterly can be found at its editor's website Royalbooks.se. See earlier presentation of RDQ here. See also its Facebook page.  

Princess Irina of Romania arrested

It is not often you hear about Princess Irina of Romania, the third daughter of the former King Michael of Romania. But this morning I woke up to the news that she and her husband, John Wesley Walker, had been arrested in her home state of Oregon, USA, accused of having staged cockfighting derbies!

The Press Office of King Michael has released the following declaration:

His Majesty King Michael I has noted with deep sorrow the events related to Princess Irina of Romania, his daughter. His Majesty and the Royal Family as a whole hope that the justice system of the US and the courts of the Oregon state will offer an as equitable and rapid solution as would be possible in this case.

His Majesty also hopes that the presumption of innocence to function, as is normal legally and morally, from the onset to the end of this unfortunate event.

The translation has kindly been provided by Valentin Mandache. His wife Diana has used the same translation at her blog. Diana Mandache has also provided comments made by Princess Irina's daughter Angelica Kreuger in her blog, which is worth reading.

Princess Irina, who was born at Lausanne, Switzerland on 28 February 1953, is the third daughter of the former King Michael (Mihai) of Romania and his wife Anne, née Princess of Bourbon-Parma. She married John Kreuger in 1983 and had two children by him, Michael, b. 1985, and the aforementioned Angelica, b. 1986. After their divorce, Irina married John Wesley Walker in 2007.

Updated on 17 August 2013 at 01:10 (original link to Oregonlive.com replaced with Usatoday.com, as the former seemws to have a virus of some sort, as confirmed by McAfee).

Prince Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma: Obituary in The Daily Telegraph

Prince Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma, died in Barcelona on 18 August 2010. The Daily Telegraph published his obituary today, 25 August 2010.

The funeral service and interment will take place in the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata in Parma on Saturday 28 August 2010.

Some articles about Prince Carlos Hugo

A couple of articles in English following the death of Prince Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma and Piacenza:

• Prince Carlos Hugo dies (RNW 18 August 2010)
• Duke of Parma, 80, dies in Barcelona (Royalblog.nl 18 August 2010)

I am sure some English-speaking newspapers will publish an obituary in the near future.

In the meantime, the late Duke's claims as a Carlist pretender used to be a controversial subject in some quarters, but except for the still ongoing conflict in the Bourbon-Parma family, few people would care about it today. Carlism is dead!

But if you want to read more about the subject, you could for instance read Guy Stair Sainty's article Carlism & Carlos-Hugo de Borbón-Parma, now Duke of Parma (it is unfortunately undated, but is obviously written some years ago).

See also the blog The New Beginning's entry of 15 June 2010, which contains links to other articles on the subject.

Prince Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma, has died

Prince Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, died in a hospital in Barcelona, Spain in the early morning of 18 August 2010. The duke had issued a statement earlier this month informing that his health situation was critical.

Prince Carlos Hugo, to some a Carlist pretender, was born in Paris on 8 April 1930 as the eldest son of Prince Xavier and Madeleine Bourbon-Busset. Carlos Hugo married in Rome on 29 April 1964 Princess Irene of the Netherlands, a younger daughter of Queen Juliana and thus a younger sister of Queen Beatrix. The couple divorced in 1981.

Prince Carlos Hugo and Princess Irene had four children together - Prince Carlos, Prince of Piacenza; Prince Jaime, Count of Bardi; Princess Margarita, Countess of Colorno (Mrs. ten Cate) and Princess Carolina, Marquise of Sala - as well as 2 grandchildren.

The duke's body will be brought from Barcelona to the Hague to be lying in state in the Koepel van Fagel ("The Fagel Dome") in the park of Noordeinde Palace. Later the prince will be interred in the family crypt at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata in Parma, Italy. A memorial service will take place in Madrid, but the date is yet to be announced.

The 40 years old Prince Carlos - who was referred to as Carlos Javier in the statement mentioned above - has succeeded his father as the new Duke of Parma and Piacenza. He married Annemarie Gualthérie van Weezel on 12 June 2010. The religious ceremony was scheduled to take place on 28 August 2010, but has now been postponed.

Official website: Borboneparma.it.

Prince Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma seriously ill

Prince Carlos Hugo, head of the Royal House of Bourbon-Parma and to some a Carlist claimant, has recently issued a statement at his website, informing that his health situation is critical. The prince has suffered from prostate cancer for some time.

Surrounded by his immediate family at a hospital i Barcelona, the prince expressed in his statement that "my life is in the hands of the Lord".

Prince Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma and Piacenza was born in 1930 as the eldest son of Prince Xavier and Madeleine Bourbon-Busset. Carlos Hugo married in 1964 Princess Irene of the Netherlands, a younger daughter of Queen Juliana and thus a younger sister of Queen Beatrix. The couple divorced in 1981.

Prince Carlos Hugo and Princess Irene had four children together.

See also De Telegraaf's article of 5 August 2010, 'Prins Carlos Hugo van Bourbon neemt afscheid'.