Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg married to Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille

It turns out that there were two (semi-)royal weddings yesterday in which descendants of Queen Victoria were involved. Lady Gabriella «Ella» Windsor and Thomas Kingston were married in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

A more private and «secret» wedding («secret» because the wedding was not publically known before the event) took place at Skt. Jørgen kirke (St. George's Church) in Svendborg, Fyn, Denmark between Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, b. Copenhagen 1970, elder daughter of the late Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Princess Benedikte of Denmark, and Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig Bille, b. Svendborg 1965, son of the late Count Claus Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille and Countess (Comtesse) Merete Ahlefeldt-Laurvig.

Princess Alexandra was from 1998 to 2017 married to Count Jefferson-Friedrich von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth. They had two children together.

Count Michael was from 1992 to 2005 married to Margrethe Kirketerp-Møller and from 2006 to 2016 married to Caroline Søeborg Ohlsen. He has four children, two in each marriage (cf. Danmarks Adels Aarbog).

(Thanks to Martin C. for posting the link to Fyens.dk (see above) at the Scandinavian Royals Message Board yesterday.)

Eurohistory. The European Royal History Journal, Vol. 19.4, Winter 2016

The fourth and last issue of volume 19 of Eurohistory. The European Royal History Journal arrived in my mailbox at the end of March.

Last year was the centennial of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria's death, and in the article «Why Cecco Beppe Does Not Die». The death and  continuing afterlife of Franz Joseph, Janet Asthton draws a great picture of his death and how he has been viewed afterwards.

The next article, Alex Wernher. A  close friend of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh by Marlene Eilers-Koenig was also interesting to read, among others because she has focused on a lesser-known member of the royal circle. Alex (George Michael Alexaner Wernher (1918–1942)) was the son of Sir Harold Wernher (1893–1973) and Countess Anastasia «Zia» de Torby (1892–1977). Through his mother he was a descendant of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, and one of his godparents was King George V of the United Kingdom, who was a friend of Alex' grandfather Grand Prince Michael of Russia (1861–1929).

We meet the Wernhers again in Ilana D. Miller's traditional Who is in the Photograph? article, this time titled A Wartime Wedding. The photograph in question is from the wedding of Countess Nadejda de Torby and Prince George of Battenberg in 1916 and shows Prince George of Battenberg, Princess Louise of Battenberg, Countess Nadejda de Torby, Countess Zia de Torby, Princess Xenia Georgievna of Russia and Princess Nina Georgievna of Russia. Miller then goes on with a presentation of the said persons. If you haven't guessed already, Nadejda was the aunt of Alex Wernher, who was killed during WW2. And if you are interested in reading more about the Wernhers and their royal connections, Raleigh Trevelyan wrote the boook Grand Dukes and Diamonds: The Wernhers of Luton Hoo in 1991 (Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd.; ISBN 9780436534041). Paperback and e-book editions were published by Faber & Faber in 2012.

But before Miller's contribution, the readers can enjoy two other articles in which members of the Russian Imperial family are involved: Greg King's The Mad King's Other Empress. Ludwig II and Maria Alexandrovna of Russia and Coryne Hall's St Petersburg's Winter Palace, 1903. The Last Costume Ball.

The readers are then treated with several book reviews (the first by Marlene Eilers-Koenig, the rest by Coryne Hall):

• Greg King & Janet Ashton. A Life for the Tsar. Triumph and Tragedy at the Coronation of Emperor Nicholas II, Eurohistory, 2016. ISBN 9781944207045. See also Koenig's review at Royal Book News.
• Robert Golden & Arturo Beéche. ALBANY – One Dynasty, Two Destinies, Eurohistory, 2016. ISBN 9781944207052.
• Kurt Stjernholm Riisberg. Kongehuset 2016, Linhardt og Ringhof, 2016. ISBN 9788711562246.
• John Van Der Kiste. Queen Victoria and the European Empire, Fonthill Media, 2016. ISBN 9781781555507.

Finally, the Royal News column gives the latest genealogical events in the Imperial, Royal and/or Princely houses of France, Luxembourg, Oldenburg, Prussia, Russia and Schaumburg-Lippe.

The publisher of The European Royal History Royal can be reached at erhj [at] eurohistory.com.

For earlier articles on the magazine, please go here, while the ERHJ blog can be read here. 

Eurohistory. The European Royal History Journal, Vol. 19.3, Fall 2016

The latest issue of Eurohistory. The European Royal History Journal, issue CXI, volume 19.3, fall 2016, which I received two weeks ago, has on its front cover a photo of the late Queen Anne of Romania, née Princess of Bourbon-Parme. An obituary of the queen, who died on 1 August 2016, is published in the magazine, written by its publisher and editor Arturo E. Béeche. Queen Anne was married in 1948 to King Michael (Mihai), who rather unvoluntarily abdicated the throne of Romania the previous year.

Traditionally each issue of the ERHJ includes a photo article written by Ilana D. Miller, and this time her Who Is In the Photograph presents a photo of  The Battenberg Brothers, i.e. Prince Alexander of Bulgaria (1857–1893, r. 1879–1886), Prince Louis (Ludwig) (1854–1921), Prince Henry (1858–1896) and Prince Franz Joseph of Battenberg (1861–1924), sons of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine (1823–1888) and his wife Julia von Hauke (1825–1895), who was created Countess of (von) Battenberg when they married in 1851 and in 1858 Princess of Battenberg with the style of Serene Highness. Alexander and Julia also had the daughter Marie Caroline (1852–1923), who married Prince Gustav of Erbach-Schönberg (1840–1908) in 1871. The article is based on the talk Miller gave at the XIX Eurohistory Conference in September 2015.

The Battenberg article is followed by Ludmila Prokopova's presentation of the Livadia Palace at Crimea, the former summer retreat of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia. The article is titled Tours to Imperial in the 19th Century.

In 2016 it was 110 years since King Christian IX of Denmark (1818–1906, r. from 1863) died. This is probably why Coryne Hall has contributed with her article APAPA. King Christian IX of Denmark and His Descendants. King Christian has been nick-named «the Father-in-Law of Europe» due to the great dynastic matches two of his daughters made – Princess Alexandra, who married the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, and Princess Dagmar, who married the future Emperor Alexander III of Russia and became Empress Maria Feodorovna. His eldest son Frederik became King of Denmark, his younger son Prince Wilhelm became King Georgios I of the Hellenes, while his grandson Prince Carl was elected to the throne of Norway in 1905 and took the name Haakon VII. Descendants of Christian's children, who also included Princess Thyra, who married Ernst August of Hannover, Duke of Cumberland, and Prince Valdemar, who married Princess Marie of Orleans, are spread into the courts of Europe. Reigning descendants today include Queen Margrethe of Denmark, King Harald V of Norway, Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom, King Felipe VI of Spain, King Philippe of the Belgians and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg.

Coryne Hall and Arturo E. Beéche's book APAPA: King Christian IX of Denmark and His Descendants was published by Eurohistory in 2014.

On 8 October 2016 Prince Leka of the Albanians married his long-time fiancée Elia Zaharia in Tirana. Seth B. Leonard was lucky to be present and he has written a nice account of his impressions for the ERHJ. The wedding was also covered by Netty Leistra in the latest issue of Royalty Digest Quarterly.

The ERHJ also includes a second obituary, that of  Marco de Hohenlohe-Langenburg y Medina, the 19th Duke of Medinaceli (1962–2016), also written by the editor, Arturo E. Beéche.

The last main article in the latest issue is written by Joe Spiteri and is titled The Royal Governor of the Rock of Gibraltar. The only royal person to be governor of Gibraltar was Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (1767–1820), the fourth son of King George III and Queen Charlotte, née Princess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Coryne Hall has written reviews of the following titles:

• British Nannies and the Great War by Louise Heren (Pen & Sword, 2016), ISBN 9781473827530.
• Franz Joseph, 1830-1916. Exhibition Catalogue, edited by Karl Vocelka and Martin Mutschlechner (Christian Brandstätter Verlag, Vienna, 2016), ISBN 9783850339902 (German),
  ISBN 9783850339988 (English)
• The Hohenzollern Case File. A Story of Royal Rivalry and High Court Forgery that Divided a Dynasty by Marco Houston (Leppi Publications, 2016), ISBN 9780952164456
• The Countess. The Scandalous Life of Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey by Tim Clarke (Amberley Publishing, 2016), ISBN 9781445656267
• Mrs Keppel, Mistress to the King by Tom Quinn (Biteback Publishing, 2016), ISBN 9781785900488

The first and fourth and fifth titles are thankfully also available as e-books.

The ERHJ also includes a Royal News section, this time with news from the royal, princely and aristocratic houses of Albania, Luxembourg, Norway, Prussia, Serbia (Yugoslavia), Isenburg, Stolberg-Stolberg, Wurmbrand-Stuppach, Medinaceli and Westminster.

The publisher of The European Royal History Royal can be reached at erhj [at] eurohistory.com.

For earlier articles on the magazine, please go here, while the ERHJ blog can be read here.

Memorial service for Princess Margarita of Baden

A memorial service for Princess Margarita of Baden, who died on 15 January 2013, was held at the Serbian Orthodox Church of St. Sava in London today, 24 January 2013.

In attendance were, cf. the Office of Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, among others:

• Prince Nicholas (Nikola) of Yugoslavia (son of Princess Margarita)
• Princess Maria (Marija) of Yugoslavia (daughter of Prince Nicholas)
• Princess Katerina of Yugoslavia
• Victoria de Silva (daughter of Princess Katerina) 
• Sir Desmond de Silvia (former husband of Princess Katerina)
• Margrave Maximilian (Max) of Baden (brother of the deceased)
• Margravine Valerie of Baden
• Princess Marie Louise of Baden (daughter of the Margrave)
• Hereditary Prince Bernhard of Baden (eldest son of the Margrave)
• Hereditary Princess Stephanie of Baden
• Prince Leopold of Baden (younger son of the Margrave)
• Prince Michael of Baden (younger son of the Margrave)
• Prince Ludwig of Baden (brother of the deceased)
• Princess Anna Maria (Marianne/"Mandi") of Baden (wife of the former)
• Prince Berthold of Baden (son of Prince Ludwig)
• Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia (Serbia)
• Crown Princess Katherine of Yugoslavia
• Prince Philip of Yugoslavia
• Prince Philip of the United Kingdom (the Duke of Edinburgh) (uncle of the deceased)
• Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes
• Princess Sarvath of Jordan with her two daughters

The service was officiated by Bishop Dositej of Great Britain and Scandinavia and Bishop Andrej, Vicar Bishop of the Patriarch Irinej of Serbia.

Crown Prince Alexander delivered a speech during the service and said among others:

I first met Margarita when I was a young boy after her marriage to my uncle Prince Tomislav, the middle brother my father King Peter II. I would stay with my uncle and aunt at their farm in Sussex and we would were very close. I learnt a lot about Yugoslavia and our Royal House from my uncle while my aunt Margarita offered me practical advice about problems I was likely to encounter in life.They were very good to me and helped me grow up. Margarita was like a mother to me, having married a then Yugoslav Prince …

... Margarita became interested in all things Yugoslav, especially in the Serbs and the Serbian orthodox church. She was very approachable – she was a real Serbian people’s princess. My family and I and the Serbian people shall miss her greatly. May dear Margarita rest in peace! VJEČNAJA PAMYAT!

 The funeral service and internment - the date is unknown to me at present - will be held at Salem Palace (Schloss Salem) in Germany.

Updated on Thursday 24 January 2013 at 23:45 (spellings).

HRH Princess Margarita of Baden (1932-2013): Obituary in The Telegraph

Princess Margarita of Baden, who was married to Prince Tomislav of Yugoslavia from 1957 to 1981, died on 15 January 2013 in her home in Farnham, Surry, England.

Her obituary was published in The Telegraph (Telegraph.co.uk) on Sunday 20 January 2013.

Princess Margarita of Baden (1932-2013)

Princess Margarita of Baden, b. Salem, Germany 14 July 1932, died at Farnham, Surrey, England on Tuesday 15 January 2013, 80 years old, after a long illness, cf. the announcement by the Office of Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia (Yugoslavia) and the German newspaper Südkurier (Suedkurier.de).

Princess Margarita was the oldest child of Margrave Berthold of Baden (1906-1963) and Margravine Theodora of Baden, née Princess of Greece and Denmark (1906-1969). Her younger brother. Margrave Maximilian (Max), b. 1933), is today the head of the Grand Ducal House of Baden. Princess Margarita's mother Princess Theodora was the 2nd daughter of Prince Andreas of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Greece and Denmark, née Princess of Battenberg. Princess Margarita was thus a nice of Prince Philip, of Edinburgh, and a first cousin of the Prince of Wales.

Princess Margarita married in 1957 Prince Tomislav of Yugoslavia (1928-2000), the second son of King Alexander of Yugoslavia and Queen Marie of Yugoslavia, née Princess of Romania. The princess was at the time she met Prince Tomislav working at a hospital in England, and continued to live there after the wedding. The couple divorced in 1981. In the last years the princess lived in Farnham, Surrey. Prince Margarita and Prince Tomislav had two children together - Prince Nicholas and Princess Katarina. She also left behind two grandchildren and one great grandchild.

The funeral service will take place at the Serbian-Orthodox Church of St. Sava in London, while her last-resting place will be at Salem Palace (Schloss Salem).

Updated on Thursday 17 January 2013 at 10 p.m. (more exact place of death added, cf. Eurohistory 16 January 2013).

Christmas break summary

I left Oslo on Saturday 22 December in order to celebrate Christmas with my family in Sandefjord, and even though I was connected to the Internet most of the time (too often, perhaps) during the Christmas weekend, I had decided to take a break from blogging and website updating. I had long days at work on Thursday 27 and Friday 28 December, so here comes finally a short summary of the events I find worth mentioning.

1. The Swedish Royal Court announced on Sunday 23 December 2012 - the 69th birthday of Queen Silvia, by the way - that Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill's wedding date was set for 8 June 2013. The wedding will take place in the Palace Chapel in Stockholm. The couple's engagement was announced on 25 October 2012. The wedding date announcement can also be found on Princess Madeleine's Facebook page, which was launched on 7 December.
2. Several European held their traditional Christmas speech on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden's speech can be read, viewed and/or listened to here (in Swedish). A summary by The Local can be read here. See also Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom's Christmas Broadcast on SkyNews. An English summary of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg's speech can be read here, while King Albert II of the Belgian's speeech can be read in Dutch or French. Finally, King Juan Carlos of Spain's speech was broadcasted on Christmas Eve and can be read (in Spanish only) at Casareal.es.
3. Archduke Christoph of Austria married Adélaïde Drapé-Frisch at the city hall in Nancy, France on Friday 28 December 2012. The religious ceremony took place at the Basilica St. Epvre on Saturday 29 December. Archduke Christoph, who is the second son of Archduke Carl Christian and Archduchess Marie-Astrid, née Princess of Luxembourg, had his brother Imre and his first cousin Prince Louis of Luxembourg as witnesses. Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, the bridegroom's uncle and godfather, was also in attendance, among many other guests. See the blog Luxembourg. All things grand ducal for more details.