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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

UK: Cambridge Baby

From the Telegraph...

Some have suggested that the Duchess may be due earlier than the July 13 date announced by Buckingham Palace but have kept the true date a secret, much like Princess Diana.
The Palace said she woud be having the baby in the Lindo Wing at St Mary's, Paddington, where Diana gave birth to both William and Harry.
Princess Diana had fooled the press by telling them her first baby was due on her birthday, July 1. William arrived 10 days earlier, on June 21.
The duchess declined to attend the wedding of Melissa Percy and Tom van Straubenzee in Northumberland at the weekend, in case she went into early labour.
The date means she and the Duke could become parents shortly after the Duke's own birthday, which falls in June, or at around the time of the Queen's official birthday, also in June.
St James’s Palace has also moved to end speculation over the gender of the baby by insisting the Duke and Duchess do not know the sex of their baby and have chosen not to be told until it is born.
As details about the arrangements for the birth were released to the media, aides confirmed that Marcus Setchell, the Queen’s former gynaecologist, will deliver the baby, aided by the Queen’s current gynaecologist Alan Farthing, the former fiance of the murdered BBC presenter Jill Dando.
Asked whether the Duchess had opted for an elective Caesarian birth, an option which has led to some mothers being dubbed “too posh to push”, palace sources said she intended to give birth naturally.
Continue reading...

ROMANIA: The Earl and Countess of Wessex Visit Romania

From HRH Prince Radu of Romania's Blog:

Their Royal Highnesses Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex arrived yesterday afternoon in Bucharest, on their first official visit to our country. Welcome!

Prince Edward and Countess of Wessex have done us the honor of passing the threshold Elisabeta Palace, where Crown Princess welcomed on behalf of King Mihai I.

As has become traditional,  the visitors planted  a "Memorial Tree" in the Elisabeta Palace's garden. From here on, the tree planted by Their Royal Highnesses will stand by those bearing the name of the Prince of Wales, King Simeon II, the Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein, Princesses Elena, Irina and Maria of Romania, Archduchess Maria Magdalena of Austria, Princess Muna of Jordan, Prince Nicholas of Greece, Princess Rym of Jordan, the Hereditary Prince of Baden and First Lady of Senegal.

In the evening, a splendid reception was held inside the Diplomat Room at the Athénée Palace Hotel. It was hosted by the "Duke of Edinburgh International Award" Romania, an organization which, on this occasion, has officially opened business in our country.

His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh created this foundation in 1956 to help perfecting the physical, mental and moral development of young people, especially those from less privileged backgrounds. Today, after nearly six decades of existence, the results of the foundation's work are exceptional. The organization, working in 144 countries worldwide, has programs that have benefited over 10 million young people.

Crown Princess Margareta is royal patron of "Duke of Edinburgh Award" Romania. Her Royal Highness is the cousin of the current Duke of Edinburgh, HRH Prince Philip. But Crown Princess Margarita is at the same time a great-great-granddaughter of the previous Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Alfred, Queen Victoria's second son, the father of famed Queen Marie of Romania.

The evening gala was attended by a large number of personalities from the diplomatic, economic and political spheres. Also present was Mr. Remus Pricopie, Minister of Education, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Programs for the  "Duke of Edinburgh International Award" will be implemented from now, in partnership with schools, high schools and colleges in the country. The National Education Minister will sign Tuesday, June 25, 2013, a protocol of the Foundation "Duke of Edinburgh International Award" Romania, for the promotion of the organization.














Photos © HRH Prince Radu of Romania

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Austria: Archduke Imre and Wife Expecting Their First Child

Archduke Imre and his American wife, Archduchess Kathleen (née Walker), who were married in Washington DC last year (a marriage covered in Eurohistory Issue XCI – February 2013), are expecting their first child.


Prussia: Baptism of Prussian Twins

This Saturday, 22 June, the twin sons of Prince Georg Friedrich and Princess Sophie of Prussia are to be baptized. The ceremony will take place inside the Kristus-Kapelle at Burg Hohenzollern.

The twins, Carl Friedrich and Louis Ferdinand, were born in January.


Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Coburg: Prince Andreas Celebrates 70th Birthday

Last Saturday, June 15, Europe's Gotha gathered in Coburg to celebrate the 70th birthday of Prince Andreas, Head of House Saxe-Coburg & Gotha.

The Prince, who was born in Casel (his maternal grandfather's estate) on March 21, 1943, succeeded his father as Head of House in 1998. Prior to that date, Prince Andreas had been the manager of the family's properties and it is to his business acumen that the Coburgs owe the restoration of their once dilapidated finances, which suffered greatly during and after the Second World War.

Prince Andreas, who was raised in the USA, returned in his early twenties to Germany to begin preparing for his role as administrator of his family's estates. In 1971 he married Carin Dabelstein and one year later she gave birth to their first of three children, Stephanie. In 1975 Princess Carin gave birth to an heir, Hubertus, and two years later, a second son, Alexander, was born.

Some time ago, Prince Andreas retired from actively managing his family's vast properties. He is now retired and leading a peaceful existence in Coburg, while aslo visiting regularly some of the family's other estates, mainly in Austria.

To celebrate his 70th birthday, Prince Andreas invited the Gotha and local authorities to a party at Schloß Callenberg, where a museum is dedicated to the history of his illustrious family. A second museum located there is dedicated to the history of hunting and is maintained by the German National Hunting League.

Among the royalties present at the birthday party were: King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, the Duke of Brabant and Prince Laurent and Princess Claire of Belgium, Prince Michael Benedict and Princess Dagmar of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, the Fürst and Fürstin of Hohenzollern, Perincess Edda of Anhalt and her husband Albert Darboven, as well as several others.





Monday, June 17, 2013

Romanov: IRFE, a revival of a fashion house

Anywhere the moneyed of Eastern Europe shop, from Chelsea and Palm Beach to the Urals, you’ll find an Irfé boutique. Since 2008, the Paris-based Russian luxury-clothing label – praised by Alexa Chung as ‘clever, fluid and architectural’ – has been expanding its empire and is now sold in 80 outlets worldwide, with its owner and creative director, Belarussian ex-model Olga Sorokina, often snapped at parties in Cannes, Milan, Paris, Moscow and in Los Angeles at Oscar time.
She describes Irfé’s signature look as ‘aristocratic romanticism’. A slim silhouette on the lower body is typically offset by a voluminous upper half. Designs are inspired by Russian ballet, art and culture – the intricate styling of Fabergé jewels, traditional embroidery, firebirds and double-headed eagles – and reworked with a modern ‘baroque ’n’ roll’ feel.
It’s a look that appeals to rich young Muscovites yearning for a closer connection to Russia’s pre-communist heritage. The brand itself was born at the end of that era, founded in the 1920s by one of the country’s most glamorous and notorious aristocratic couples. 

Irina, princess of Russia, was the beautiful niece of the last tsar, and her handsome husband Felix Youssoupoff, once the richest man in Russia, was the playboy aristocrat who’d murdered the peasant mystic Rasputin. In exile after the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, the pair embarked on a dress-design business in Paris (the first two letters of their Christian names forming the title).

Irfé was a hit with American and British customers in Paris during the années folles, when fashion took its lead from Coco Chanel. Punters flocked to Irfé to look a murderer in the eye and buy clothes designed and modelled by a princess. They wanted to hear how Felix and fellow-conspirators, including his friend the Grand Duke Dmitri, had lured Rasputin to the cellar of his St Petersburg palace, in the vain hope that by killing the empress’s unpopular favourite they could save Russia from revolution. Felix would regale them with details of how they plied Rasputin with wine laced with cyanide, then shot him, before drowning him in the River Neva. The ineffectual tsar’s punishment was merely to send them out of town. 

Irfé’s customers were also intrigued by the killer’s wife, who married the charming cross-dresser as an innocent 18-year-old (too young to understand the word homosexual). But anyone hoping for the tears of a princess was left disappointed: in the many photographs of Irina in Irfé designs, or out and about with her husband, her expression is always serene.
People continue to enjoy the story behind the label, but in a country whose richest citizens still worry about being exiled themselves (a fate that has befallen several oligarchs at odds with the modern Kremlin), it is Irina’s story that resonates.

Continue reading...


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-2340226/Irf--Russian-fashion-label-murderous-past-.html#ixzz2WW3v7e2Q
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook


Princess Irina Alexandrovna of Russia.

UK: The Duke of Edinburgh Leaves Hospital

The Duke, 92, looked relaxed as he walked unaided out of the private London Clinic clutching a large book after spending 11 nights there.
He said goodbye to senior staff from the hospital before getting into a waiting vehicle.
Buckingham Palace had said when he was admitted that he was expected to be there for up to two weeks.
Sources said he is not expected to need any more treatment for the mystery complaint which led to the exploratory surgery on June 7. No further details are being released about the nature of the Duke’s condition.
A Palace source said: “He is in good spirits and he is very keen to leave, and very grateful to the medical staff and all the well-wishers who have sent him cards.

Continue reading...(with short video)




Sunday, June 16, 2013

Serbia: Interview with HRH Crown Prince Alexander

Four wooden coffins lie in a row, each draped in a subtly different red and blue standard. Behind them, an ornate iconostasis rises 20 feet to the cupola of the royal chapel. In front of them, crucifixes in Cyrillic script record the names of the coffins’ inhabitants. “This is my father, my mother, my grandmother, and my uncle,” says the crown prince, gesturing at each in turn.
Republics do not often throw state funerals for royals, still less for four at once. Nor do they have princes, princesses and palaces. But Crown Prince Alexander II, heir to the throne of what for a short time before World War II was the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and is now a mosaic of republics in sometimes unhappy coexistence, is untroubled by such apparent contradictions. After a decade of lobbying, he succeeded last month in burying four members of the Karadjordevic dynasty in what was once their kingdom.
On an overcast May morning in Oplenac, an hour’s drive west of Belgrade, thousands of Serbs queued for hours to get a glimpse of the prince as he arrived for the service. He stood to kiss a crucifix held aloft by Patriarch Irinej, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, before watching men in national costume bear the coffins to the royal mausoleum, where one day he, too, will be buried.
The sun finally appeared just before he emerged to address the crowd, interrupting their chants of “Long live the King!”
“The Karadjordevics’ lives are the reflection of what happened to their people and their homeland,” he said. “Their wanderings and their exile lasted for too long. Today they are in Oplenac, among their family and among their Serbs.”

Continue reading...


©Geoff Pugh




Friday, June 14, 2013

Spain: The Centennial of the Count of Barcelona

The late don Juan, Count of Barcelona, would have been 100 years old on June 20.

The fifth child, third son of King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia (née Battenberg), Infante don Juan of Spain was born at La Granja de San Ildefonso Palace, near Segovia. He was the third child of the Spanish monarchs to have been born in the palace, Jaime and Beatriz being the other two. The couple's three other children (Alfonso, María Cristina and Gonzalo) were born at the Oriente Palace, a massively beautiful architectural complex in Madrid.

The third son of Alfonso XIII, Juan was the only one of the King's legitimate sons to be free of any ailments. Alfonso, Prince of Asturias, was a hemophiliac, as was Gonzalo, the youngest member of the family. Jaime suffered from auditory problems caused by a botched ear operation. Hence, when the Spanish throne fell and the Royal Family found itself living in exile, King Alfonso XIII had a succession problem at hand. Alfonso Jr's decision to marry a Cuban commoner guaranteed his ouster from the line of succession. He died in 1938 from internal bleeding after a car accident. Jaime's speech and hearing inadequacies made it impossible for him to effectively become a messenger for the Crown's restoration.

King Alfonso asked his son to sacrifice his position in the line of succession to guarantee that the best (meaning healthiest of his sons) candidate, Juan, would be the Royal Family's standard bearer. Jaime signed away his rights and was married off to Emanuela Dampierre, an aristocrat lacking the necessary pedigree for their union to be consider equal. Their two sons, Alfonso and Gonzalo, were later to become a thorn on the side of both their uncle Juan and cousin Juan Carlos.

In 1935, don Juan, who royalists recognized as Prince of Asturias, married his cousin Princess doña María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, (1910-2000), herself the daughter of Infante don Carlos and of his wife Luisa, born Princess d'Orléans. María de las Mercedes's siblings included: Carlos (who died in the Spanish civil war), María de los Dolores (who married Prince Czartorisky) and María de la Esperanza (who in 1944 married Prince dom Pedro Gastão d'Orléans-Braganza, elder brother of Bebelle (Isabelle), the Countess of Paris). Doña María, as María de las Mercedes was known, also had two half-siblings from her father';s first marriage to King Alfonso XIII's eldest sister, María de las Mercedes, and they were: Infante don Alfonso, who married Princess Alicia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, and Infante Isabel Alfonsa, who married Count Zamoisky, a distant cousin on the Sicilian side.

Between 1936 and 1941 doña María gave birth to four children: María del Pilar (b. 1936), don Juan Carlos (b. 1938), doña Margarita (b. 1939) and don Alfonso (1941-1956).

In 1941, don Juan succeeded his father as Head of House, taking the title of Count of Barcelona, one of the sovereign tiles held by the Spanish monarch. He eventually moved his family from Rome to Switzerland and thence to Estoril, Portugal, where the family lived until the late 1970s. His final residence in Estoril, the Villa Giralda, in due time became a place of obligatory pilgrimage for Spanish aristocrats and royalists who labored for the restoration of the Count of Barcelona as King Juan III of Spain. This, of course, never happened since in 1969 General Franco, much to the chagrin of the "Juanistas" (Barcelona's supporters), chose don Juan Carlos as his successor with the title of King. Hence, when Franco died in November 1975, Barcelona's son became King Juan Carlos I of Spain. This caused a rift within the Royal Family, a schism that was finally healed by the spirited intervention of doña María, an indomitable matriarch, with keen political insight and what the Spanish call "pelotas." (balls!)

In late 1970 internal peace was restored within the Royal Family when the Count of Barcelona renounced his dynastic rights and recognized his son as King of Spain.

Eventually, don Juan and doña María relocated to Madrid, where all their surviving children lived.

Don Juan suffered bouts of cancer (he was a heavy smoker) and finally his valiant struggle against the disease was lost in 1993. he died in pamplona, Spain, while undergoing medical treatment, on April 1, 1993. Doña María, an old school Royal matriarch, survived her husband nearly seven years. She passed away on January 2, 2000, surrounded by her family while on vacation on the Canary Islands.

The Zarzuela Palace has announced that the centennial of the birth of don Juan, Count of Barcelona, will be commemorated with a mass at which most of his descendants are expected. This is a fitting, yet quiet, tribute to a great man...one who would have been a fantastic King!

Infante don Juan of Spain. 


The Counts of Barcelona in old age. 

Don Juan and his son don Juan Carlos enjoying their favorite pastime, sailing.
Both father and son loved the sea and were expert sailors. 

The Counts of Barcelona circa 1960 at the time of their Silver Wedding Anniversary.
In spite of myriad challenges, they remained married for nearly six decades. 

At the Zarzuela Palace, don Juan renounces his rights and swears allegiance to his son King Juan Carlos. Witnessing this important dynastic event are Queen doña Sofía and the Countess of Barcelona with her son-in-law, the Duke of Badajoz to her right.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Prussia: The Lutheran Minister

Subconsciously, I think young Germans wants something they can orientate towards,” said Prince Philip. The 45-year-old father of six may work as a Protestant vicar, but he has become one of the loudest voices out of those who want to see Germany revive its monarchy.

Since Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated in 1918, the country has been without amonarchy. But Prince Philip believes that a royal family with divine right conferred by God could offer Germany what it is missing. 

“When a leader answers to himself, and not God, an atheist-led country ends in disaster. Look at Hitler, Pol Pot and Stalin,” he told The Local. Religion, “tames the selfishness naturally present in all of us.”

For the prince, a country guided by politicians and a ceremonial president means not only is there no strong family to look up to, nor is there anyone to rally up enthusiasm for family life. “A presidential head of state is not enough...what Germany needs is moral guidance and a friendlier face,” which, he added, “people do not get, and shouldn't expect, from politicians.”

Indeed, this appears to be what increasing amount of young Germans want, after a survey for news agency DPA revealed last month that as many as one in three 18-24-year-olds would like the Kaiser back on the throne. Jump to the over-50s, and this figure dropped to one in six.

“Looking up to a king or queen would be much better for Germany's young people than to pop stars or football players,” Prince Philip said. He lamented that people were putting too much value on consumerism and material goods instead of having children – something desperately needed as Germany faces a demographic implosion.

“I am astonished that so many young people said they would be in favour,” he admitted, acknowledging that general public opinion towards the monarchy in Germany was not that positive. 

He cited the increasingly popular face of European royalty as being partially responsible for boosting interest among younger Germans. Though on the surface, young people may be drawn to the glamorous lifestyle of princes and princesses, the traditional of family is what they are yearning for deep down, he said. 

“A crown prince would be the role model from which the country could seek inspiration, as it would be expected from him to get married, have children and stay faithful.” 

For the prince, a presidential head of state simply does not cut it. 

Being voted in “doesn't deign them the same respect” as a king, who is chosen by God. This is why he thinks his career as a protestant vicar would mix well with being royal. “All people are born equal but some are born to lead, and others to follow. This is not a human made concept, but a God-made one.” 

Continue reading...

http://www.thelocal.de/society/20130606-50147.html



Saturday, June 8, 2013

Sweden: Princess Madeleiene's Wedding – Images (6)

Enjoy!


The Newlyweds 

Denmark's Crown Princely Couple 

The Hereditary Prince and Princess of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha. 

Prince Manuel and Princess Anna of Bavaria. 

Prince Pierre d'Arenberg.

Sweden: Princess Madeleine's Wedding – The Wedding Program (5)

A nice collectible!



http://www.kungahuset.se/download/18.4ea495e313c19c119aa6cc2/Vigselprogram_130608.pdf


Sweden: Princess Madeleine's Wedding – The Cortege Route

Cortège route

Cortège map (click on the image to enlarge)
Cortège map (click on the image to enlarge)
After the wedding, there will be the opportunity to see the bride and groom outside the South Gate.
The bride and groom will be taken by horse and carriage from the Royal Palace of Stockholm to Riddarholmen. The cortège will leave the Royal Palace of Stockholm at approximately 17:50.
The cortège will travel past the Outer Courtyard and along Slottsbacken, Skeppsbron, Strömbron, Strömgatan, Norrbro, Slottskajen, Myntgatan and Wrangelska Backen to Evert Taubes Terrass on Riddarholmen. 
From Evert Taubes Terrass, the bride and groom and their invited guests will travel by boat to Drottningholm Palace for dinner. The first boat will arrive at Drottningholm Palace at approximately 18:30.
The Swedish Armed Forces will parade along the route of the cortège and on arrival at Drottningholm.
Please note that Riddarholmsbron will be closed from 17:00.

Sweden: Princess Madeleine's Wedding: Royal Guests (3)

H.M. KONUNGENS FAMILJ
• Prinsessan Margaretha, Mrs Ambler
• Baroness Sybilla von Dincklage
• Mr James Ambler och Mrs Ursula Ambler
• Mr C. Edward Ambler och Mrs Helen Ambler
• H.K.H. Prinsessan Birgitta
• Mrs Désirée von Bohlen und Halbach och Mr Eckbert von Bohlen und Halbach
• Prinsessan Désirée, Friherrinna Silfverschiöld och Friherre Niclas Silfverschiöld
• Friherre Carl Silfverschiöld
• Friherre Hans De Geer och Friherrinnan Christina Louise De Geer
• Civilekonom Hélène Silfverschiöld och Herr Fredrik Diterle
• Prinsessan Christina, Fru Magnuson och Generalkonsul Tord Magnuson
• Civilekonom Gustaf Magnuson och Fröken Vicky Andrén
• Industridesigner Oscar Magnuson och Fru Emma Magnuson
• Herr Victor Magnuson och Fröken Frida Bergström
• Grevinnan Marianne Bernadotte af Wisborg
• Grevinnan Gunnila Bernadotte af Wisborg

DANMARK
• DD.KK.HH. Kronprins Frederik och Kronprinsessan Mary
• DD.KK.HH. Prins Joachim och Prinsessan Marie

GREKLAND
• TT.RR.HH. Prince Nikolaos och Princess Tatiana
• H.R.H. Princess Theodora
• H.R.H. Prince Philipos
• TT.RR.HH. Crown Prince Pavlos och Crown Princess Marie-Chantal

JAPAN
• H.I.H. Princess Takamado

LUXEMBURG
• TT.RR.HH. Hereditary Grand Duke och Duchess of Luxembourg,
Prince Guillaume och Princess Stéphanie

MONACO
• H.S.H. Princess Charlene

NORGE
• DD.KK.HH. Kronprins Haakon och Kronprinsessan Mette-Marit
• Prinsessan Märtha Louise och Herr Ari Behn

STORBRITANNIEN
• TT.RR.HH. The Earl och Countess of Wessex

TYSKLAND
• H.K.H. Prinsessan Benedikte
• TT.RR.HH. Prince Manuel och Princess Anna of Bavaria
• TT.HH. Hereditary Prince och Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
• H.H. Prince Andreas of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
• TT.RR.HH. Prince Leopold och Princess Ursula of Bavaria


Sweden: Princess Madeleine's Wedding (2)

Live feed:

In German:

http://www.bild.de/


In Swedish:

http://www.tv4play.se/program/singelprogram-n%C3%B6je?video_id=2373658


Sweden: Princess Madeleine's Wedding (1)

The Bride

The Wedding Dress


Princess Madeleine's wedding dress was created by the Italian designer Valentino Garavani. The wedding dress is made from pleated silk organza with appliquéd ivory-coloured Chantilly lace. The upper section of the bodice is lace with a deep-cut back. Narrow vertical pleats open up from the accentuated waist, above the wide skirt, which ends with a four-metre-long train.


The veil is also silk organza, and is edged with tulle scatted with point d'esprit dots and small Chantilly lace orange blossom. The Princess's shoes are ivory white organdy with woven point d'esprit dots.
The Princess's tiara is privately owned, decorated with sprigs of orange blossom.
The Princess's hair and make-up are by Rick Ljung and Sara Denman.

The bridal bouquet


Princess Madeleine's bridal bouquet consists of classic white garden roses: Austin roses, Schneewittchen, Winchester Cathedral and Alabaster, as well as lilies of the valley and the traditional myrtle from Sofiero. All the flowers are white, and the bouquet is tied into a round shape.


Myrtle worn in the hair or used in the bridal bouquet


Princess Margareta, who married Gustaf (VI) Adolf in 1905 in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England, brought a myrtle bush to Sweden with her. The bush grew and was originally tended at Sofiero Palace. It is now at Ulriksdal Palace. Since 1935, a sprig from this bush has traditionally been used in royal bridal bouquets or worn in the hair in some form. Princess Ingrid, who married the Danish heir to the throne in 1935, took a cutting from the bush to her new home country. Since then, the Danish Royal Family has upheld the same tradition, using myrtle from Princess Margareta's original bush.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Facebook: Join the Eurohistory Facebook Group!

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UK: The Duke of Edinburgh Hospitalized for Operation

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Prince Philip was taken to a London hospital on Thursday for a planned operation on his abdomen,Buckingham Palace said, in the latest round of medical treatmentfor Queen Elizabeth's 91-year-old husband.
The British monarch's consort of more than 65 years, who turns 92 on Monday, is expected to spend two weeks at the London Clinicafter undergoing "an exploratory operation following abdominal investigations", the palace said in a statement.
A palace spokesman said the prince's admission had been planned and was not an emergency. He was driven to hospital in his own car and walked into the building.
Earlier in the day, the prince, who also has the title of the Duke of Edinburgh, attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace with his 87-year-old wife. Television footage showed him in a grey top hat and tails, smiling as he chatted to guests.
Royal aides said there would be regular updates on his condition but asked media to refrain from speculating about the operation and the length of stay in hospital.
Philip has needed hospital treatment four times since Christmas 2011, including for a bladder infection during the queen's Diamond Jubilee a year ago, which took some of the gloss off nationwide celebrations for the generally popular monarch.
He spent Christmas 2011 in hospital where he underwent an operation to clear a blocked heart artery after suffering chest pains.
Continue reading...




Toerring-Jettenbach: Schloß Winhoering Interview with Hereditary Count Ignaz

For those of you who know German, this is a fascinating documentary about Schloß Winhoering, the country estate of the Toerring-Jettenbach family.

It is simply lovely...enjoy!

http://www.br.de/fernsehen/bayerisches-fernsehen/sendungen/blaues-blut-gruener-daumen/blaues-blut-suesskind-toerring-jettenbach-100.html




Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Hesse: More Photos of Royals at Landgraf Moritz's Funeral

Our photographers have began sending us photos taken at the funeral of Landgraf Moritz of Hesse, held in Kronberg on June 3.

Among those present were:

 Count Hans Veit zu Toerring-Jettenbach, Countess Angelina and Count Hermann zu Stolberg-Wernigerode, the Margrave of Meißen.

 Hereditary Prince Bernhard of Baden and the Fürst of Oettingen-Spielberg.
Behind them Count Alexander of Schonburg-Glauchau and the Fürstin of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

 The Fürst of Hohenzollern.

 The Hereditary Prince and Princess of Lippe.


The Fürst and Fürstin zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn. 


Prince Ludwig and Princess Marianne of Baden. 

Duchess Donata of Mecklenburg-Schwerin with her son. 

Duke Christoph and Duchess Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein. 
Behind them is his mother Dowager Duchess Marie Alix and Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia.

 Prince Michael of Baden with the Fürst and Fürstin of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

Duke Carl of Württemberg, the Prince of Naples and Prince Michael
Benedict of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

 King Simeon of Bulgaria and his first cousin Princess Elisabeth of Hesse.

 A group of royals mourners, among them: King Constantine II of the Hellenes,
Queen Sofía of Spain, Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, the Margrave and Margravine
of Baden and the Hereditary Prince and Princess of Baden.

Duchess Edwina of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and husband Konrad von Posern. 

The coffin containing the remains of Landgraf Moritz of Hesse. 

 The Hereditary Prince and Princess zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn and
Prince Berthold of Baden.

Count Alexander and Countess Irina of Schonburg-Glauchau.

©Eurohistory
(Photographers: Marianne van Dam and Lilian van Reijen)