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.)

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.