Royalty Digest Quarterly no. 3, 2021

I received the third issue of Royalty Digest Quarterly ages ago, and as the fourth issue is just around the corner, I thought it was on time to write a few words. I have several periodicals in line to be commented on, so stay tuned for the next few weeks ...

My first impression: What a beautiful cover! Both the greyish-blue cover and the photo – of the coronation of Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil on 1 December 1822 in the Old Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro – look great. The photo is followed up by Charlotte Zeepvat's article  The Imperial House of Brazil – A Family Album. Besides the introduction to the Brazilian imperial family the readers can enjoy nearly 100 illustrations of various family members and residences. There are many reasons why I would like to visit Brazil one day – the imperial summer palace at Petrópolis is one of them – it just looks splendid! In addition to the illustrations there are also four pages of genealogical tables.

Charlotte Zeepvat's second contribition is the article A Long Chain of Persecutions. Princess Luise Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein and Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia. Part I: A Divided Family. The couple in question is Princess Luise Sophie (1866–1952), the sixth child of Duke Friedrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (1829–1880), by his wife Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1835–1900). Luise Sophie married in 1889 Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia (1865–1931). Her elder sister Auguste Viktoria (1858–1921) was the first wife of Emperor Wilhelm II (1859–1941), and who caused the long chain of persecutions. It is almost unbelieveble how badly treated the princess and her husband were. I look forward to reading the second part.

Other articles:

• Memorials to Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse by Elizabeth Jane Timms
• A Devoted Servant – Albert Latapie by Alberto Penna Rodrigues
• Tombs, Graves and Monuments in Thurungia. V: Schwarzburg-Sondershausen by Ove Mogensen
• Little-Known Royals. Prince Peter of Greece by Coryne Hall
• The World Wide Web of Royalty. Births, marriages, deaths and other events in the Royal Families of Europe

The latter column includes news from Austria, Bentheim-Steinfurt, Liechtenstein. Schaumburg-Lippe and Bourbon-Two Sicilies. The aforementioned Albert Latapie (b. 1877) was employed by Princess Isabel of Brazil and her husband Count d'Eu and their children. The article contains extracts of his memoirs.

All in all the issue had several most readable articles and fortunately I don't have to wait long for the fourth and last issue of 2021 to arrive.

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.

Erling Sven Lorentzen (1923–2021)

The Norwegian Royal Court announced today the death of the shipowner, industralist and war hero Erling Sven Lorentzen, widower of Princess Ragnhild and brother-in-law of King Harald V. Erling Lorentzen died in Oslo at 01.30 a.m. on Tuesday 9 March 2021, 98 years old, after a short period of illness.

The king's condolences on behalf of the royal family: «It is with great sorrow we have received the sad message that Erling Sven Lorentzen has passed away. Our thoughts go to his closest ones, who have lost a good father, father-in-law, grandfather and great-grandfather.»

Erling Sven Lorentzen was born at Huseby in Aker (now part of Oslo) on 28 January 1923 as the youngest of six children of the shipowner Øivind Lorentzen, Holmestrand (1881–1980) and Ragna Nilsen, Hamar (1885–1976). During the war he joined the so-called «Kompani Linge» («The Linge Company», i.e. the Norwegian Independent Company 1 (NOR.I.C.1), a British SOE group formed by Norwegian volunteers) in Scotland where he received military training before becoming regional commanding officer in Hallingdal in 1944. When the royal family returned from exile following the end of the war in 1945, Lorentzen served as one of their bodyguards. He met and fell in love with the the Crown Prince Olav's eldest daughter Ragnhild, who was 15 years old at the time. They corresponded while Erling studied at Harvard Business School. The couple was finally allowed to marry in 1953.

After the wedding in Asker Church on 15 May 1953 the couple settled in Brazil where Lorentzen became a successful business man. In the first years he owned a gas distribution company, before he went into the cellulose business, owning a large share of Aracruz Celulose S.A. and working as its executive chairman for many years.

Erling Lorentzen and Princess Ragnhild had 3 children – Haakon, Ingeborg and Ragnhild – as well as 6 grandchildren. Princess Ragnhild died in 2012 and was buried at Asker Cemetery, where it is also expected that Lorentzen will be laid at rest. After her death Lorentzen continued to live in Brazil, but usually spent the summers in Norway, either at his summer place at Ostøya in Bærum or at his childhood home in Husebyveien in Oslo. The last fall and winter was spent in Oslo. He was an active and vital man to the last. As late as in December 2020 he strongly critizised the TV series «Atlantic Crossing» in a letter to the editor of Aftenposten.

I never met Erling Lorentzen, but exchanged a few e-mails over the years, and he was always forthcoming when I asked for assistance to my genealogy inquiries. He had lived a long and rich life and one should of course not be too surprised when he passed away at the age of 98. Still, I had somehow expected that he would at least turn 100, as he said himself that he aimed for! His father was 99 years old when he died, and his elder brother Øivind Lorentzen, Jr. died in March 2020, 101 years old. 

The Norwegian Minister of Defence, Frank Bakke-Jensen, said today: «One of our last war heroes from WW2 has passed away. His war effort, his will to defend his country and his imparting of knowledge to the younger generations will stand as a monument.»