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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Monaco – Official Biography of Princess Caroline omits her first marriage

The Princely Family's website has an interesting biography of Princess Caroline of Monaco (aka HRH the Princess of Hannover).

I find it surprising that her first marriage to Philippe Junot, a French playboy with a plethora of amorous conquests, is not mentioned at all!




Princess Caroline, Louise, Marguerite, was born in the Princes Palace, on January 23, 1957.


She received her French Baccalaureat (high school or A level) degree in 1974 with honors and continued her studies at the Sorbonne in Paris where she received a diploma in Philosophy and minors in Psychology and Biology.
She speaks French, English, German, Spanish, and Italian.
In her free time she loves to ride horses, swim, snow and water ski.
During her youth she took ballet lessons at the Marika Besobrasova School of Dance in Monte-Carlo and studied both piano and flute.
In 1979 Princess Caroline was appointed by Her Father and Her Mother, to become the President of the Monegasque Committee for the International Year of Children.
The Princess is sympathetic to the needs of distressed youth and in 1981 founded the association Jeune J'Ecoute. The association has set up a 'youth hotline' where troubled youngsters can talk about their problems on the telephone with qualified people trained in dealing with all sorts of problems that are facing kids today.
Since April 1983, she has been the Honorary President of the Guides de Monaco, which became the l'Association des Guides et Scouts de Monaco in 1992. The Guides are the equivalent to the Brownies, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. As a youth she participated in the Guides and benefited from their activities.
Outside of Monaco Princess Caroline has also extended her High Patronage to the 'Peter Le Marchant Trust' located in England, which organizes free barge trips for the handicapped.
Prince Rainier III appointed Princess Caroline by decree on December 17, 1982 as the President of the Garden Club of Monaco, President of the Organizing Committee of the Festival of Monte-Carlo Arts and later renamed the Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo (Springtime Arts of Monte-Carlo) in 1984. It was also his decision she become the President of the "Princess Grace Foundation".
During a press conference in Paris in 1985 Princess Caroline officially announced the creation of the Ballet of Monte-Carlo realizing the wishes of her mother Princess Grace.
Then on March 4, 1988 Prince Rainier III appointed Her Serene Highness by decree as the President of the Board of the "Prince-Pierre Foundation". She has also been the President of the Literary Board of the same foundation since 1988. In 1992 she was appointed the President of the Artistic Board of the Prix International d'Art Contemporain (International Contemporay Art Prize).
In April 1993 Princess Caroline was appointed the President of l'AMADE Mondiale (Association Mondiale des Amis de l'Enfance) or (Worldwide Association of Children's Friends), Princess Grace created this charitable organization in 1963 to protect children from physical and psychological abuse.
On December 2nd, 2003, UNESCO Director General Koïchiro Matsuura has appointed Her Royal Highness the Princess of Hanover as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in recognition of Her personal commitment to the protection of children and the family, and of Her contribution to the promotion of UNESCO's programmes for the education of girls and women.
Princess Caroline married Stefano Casiraghi in 1983.
The couple had three children two boys and one girl : Andrea, Albert, Pierre Casiraghi who was born June 9, 1984, Charlotte, Marie, Pomeline Casiraghi who was born on August 3, 1986 and Pierre, Rainier, Stefano Casiraghi who was born on September 5, 1987.
In October 1990 her husband Stefano was killed in a boat race.
In January 1999 the Princess married His Royal Highness Prince Ernst of Hanover in the Princes Palace. This union resulted in the birth of Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra of Hanover on July 20, 1999.




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Prussia – A Hohenzollern Pastor

Doing a daily news check, I came across this piece, which I have translated using GoogleTranslate and my editing:

Birkenwerder (MOZ) – timid applause is heard, as the children sing. The strain differs from the face of the new pastor. Kiril Philip Prinz von Preussen has just finished his sermon, his six children sing polyphonic an English hymn and the congregation claps grateful. It was a long journey to this moment on Sunday afternoon, as the Prinz von Preussen in his position as pastor of the Lutheran congregation of Birkenwerder (Oberhavel) is introduced.




(His choice, apparently, caused much concern among the flock) There had been four appeals against the election of the 44-year-olds. They were rejected for legal reasons by the Council of Churches of the Evangelical Church of Berlin's North-East district.

The great-great-grandson of the last German emperor is controversial for his statements and writings. He writes for the conservative weekly magazine "Junge Freiheit", referred to by political scientists as the "voice of the New Right with a bridge to extremism." In a television broadcast with Frank Plasberg Pastor Prinz von Preussen has spoken publicly in the past year for the restoration of the monarchy. Also, due to his consistent stance against abortion, he is criticized.

Philip Prinz von Preussen feels unfair prejudiced. Yes - he suports the protection of all life and does so based on the Fifth Commandment: "Thou shalt not kill." And no - he was not in principle hostile to women and not against women in the priesthood. Also he is concerned about ecumenism - the exchange between the Christian churches.

The congregation of Birkenwerder now is still divided. About 30 community members have re-registered or retired from active church life, it is said by critics of the new pastor. "I cannot imagine that my son is confirmed by the Prinz von Preussen," says a woman who has found a new spiritual home in the neighboring town of Borgsdorf. Numerous members of the church choir have also left the congregation. The reason lies not only in the choice Philip, but also by problems faced by his predecesor, Pastor Kroll, who was the complete opposite from the new pastor. In his youthful exuberance, Kroll even jumped on the altar during the sermon. That was just "too much" for some members of the congregation!

Yet, the sound of wrangling has been quite loud in recent months. Heike Richter, the deputy superintendent who Pastor Philip into office, says that the people have to be willing to give the young pastor a chance. PhilipPrinz von Preussen declared, "We have had a lot of wrestling with each other - but they will return," as he breathes deeply and smiles around the table.


© MZV
Pastor Philip Kiril Prinz von preussen


The reader may recall where Philip Kiril Prinz von Preussen fits in the Hohenzollern Dynasty. He is the only son of Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia and of his first, and morganatic wife, the late Waltraut Freydag (1940-2010).

Friedrich Wilhelm's marriage to his first wife (he has been married twice more since the couple's divorce and has three children from his second wife) not only caused deep concern to monarchist supporters of the Hohenzollerns, but also seriously affected his parents, Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia and his wife Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna of Russia. She died, from a stroke, just seventeen days after her eldest son's shocking marriage and while visiting her brother's French home, Ker Argonid, in St. Briac-sur-Mer.

Philipp Kiril was born without dynastic rights to the Prussian throne, as were also his siblings. He is married to Anna Christine Soltau and they have six children, two sons and four daughters.





Tuesday, March 12, 2013

UK: The Wales' in Jordan


We get lots of quality British royal time, but what about the chic queens and princesses abroad? Thankfully Queen Rania is out and about these days, spending time with the Duchess of Cornwall in Jordan.
Camilla and Prince Charles (oh yeah, he's there too) are in the midst of a royal tour of the Middle East, kicking off the trip with a three-day stay in Jordan. The trip is intended to bolster diplomatic relations between Jordan and Great Britain, but also gives us the fun perk of checking out what Queen Rania's been wearing lately -- she is, after all, a HuffPost Style fave.
Continue reading...


The Duchess of Cornwall and Queen Rania of Jordan
(Photo: ©Getty)


Sunday, March 10, 2013

Sweden: More on Princess Lilian's Death


STOCKHOLM -- She was one of the better kept secrets of Sweden's royal household: a commoner and divorcee whose relationship with Prince Bertil was seen as a threat to the Bernadotte dynasty.
In a touching royal romance, Welsh-born Princess Lilian and her Bertil kept their love unofficial for decades and were both in their 60s when they finally received the king's blessing to get married.
Lilian died in her Stockholm home on Sunday at age 97. The Royal Palace didn't give a cause of death, but Lilian suffered from Alzheimer's disease and had been in poor health for several years.
She met Sweden's Prince Bertil in 1943, but his obligations to the throne and Lilian's status as a divorced commoner prevented them from making their love public. The couple's sacrifices and lifelong dedication to one another gripped the hearts of Swedes.
"If I were to sum up my life, everything has been about my love," the witty, petite princess said of her husband when she turned 80 in 1995. "He's a great man, and I love him."
Born Lilian Davies in Swansea, Wales, on Aug. 30, 1915, she moved to London at 16 to embark on a career as a model and an actress, showcasing hats and gloves in commercials and taking on small roles in movies. She met British actor Ivan Craig, whom she married in 1940.
After World War II broke out, Craig was drafted into the British army while Lilian stayed behind in London, working at a factory making radio sets for the British merchant fleet and serving at a hospital for wounded soldiers.
At the time, Prince Bertil was stationed at the Swedish Embassy in the British capital as a naval attache. The couple first laid eyes on each other in the fancy nightclub Les Ambassadeurs shortly before Lilian's 28th birthday in 1943. Lilian then invited him to a cocktail party in her London apartment. But it wasn't until he fetched her with his car following an air raid in her neighborhood that the romance blossomed, Lilian recalled in her 2000 memoirs, "My Life with Prince Bertil."
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Princess Lilian of Sweden
Princess Lilian of Sweden
 Prince Bertil and Princess Lilian of Sweden

Princess Lilian of Sweden



UK: Diaries of The Prince of Wales (Edward VII)


King Edward VII (1841-1910) enjoyed the company of countless mistresses throughout his married life, yet after 60 years as heir to the throne, he only ruled as king for nine years. But what was Queen Victoria’s eldest son like as a young man?
A journal he kept during a trip through southern Europe and the Middle East in 1862 reveals Edward — who was 20 years old and the Prince of Wales at the time — was fascinated by travel, culture, and not surprisingly, women.
On Friday, the British Royal Collection Trust published online the young prince’s handwritten diaries to mark the opening of “Cairo to Constantinople: Early Photographs of the Middle East,” an exhibition of works by British photographer Francis Bedford, who accompanied Edward on his journey.
As the first photographer to be embedded on a royal tour, Bedford documented the group’s travels through Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon and Greece. He watched as the 20-year-old Prince of Wales met with rulers and politicians from far-off lands, documenting the trip in a collection of photos that have not been displayed together in public since Bedford’s debut exhibition in 1862. The photos he took of the young prince are some of the earliest shots ever taken of a member of the Royal Family.
Continue reading...

Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/03/09/royal-diaries-reveal-the-life-of-edward-vii-in-the-1800s/#ixzz2NAJVWJ00


©Eurohistory Archive

+ Princess Lillian of Sweden (1915-2013)

HRH Princess Lilian of Sweden (née Davies), widow of Prince Bertil (1912-1997), himself an uncle of King Carl XVI Gustaf, passed away at home today.

http://www.kungahuset.se/royalcourt/royalfamily/latestnews/latestnews/hrhprincesslilianhaspassedaway.5.4ea495e313c19c119aa3326.html

Foto: Janerik Henriksson/Scanpix




Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Spain: A Right Royal Mess


The elderly man who sold me my apartment was clear about Spain's King Juan Carlos. "He is a traitor," he said.
That was more than a decade ago, and it was a shocking – almost blasphemous – thing to say. Only diehard republicans and even harder-headed former Francoists criticised the monarch. Heliodoro was one of the latter, an unreconstructed extremist who never forgave Juan Carlos for using the powers he received from General Francisco Franco in 1975 to usher in democracy. Few would have agreed.
These days, however, Madrid seethes with discontented talk about the monarchy. The upset is proportional to the awed respect once accorded by almost everyone, including journalists who decided Juan Carlos was untouchable after he stopped a coup when civil guardsmen stormed the parliament in 1981.
As the 75-year-old monarch lies in a hospital bed this week, recovering from his fourth operation in 10 months, there is talk of both abdication and of controlling his use of taxpayers' money. The king is not as weak in mind or body as Pope Benedict, but in Madrid there is also a feeling that an old institution needs shaking up – possibly with a new face.
How did it get to this? The hard-working king with the common touch was onceEurope's most popular monarch – a virtuous contrast to Britain's distant and dysfunctional royals. I recall once getting lost and driving freely through the deer park surrounding his modest Madrid palace. The royal guards were completely unconcerned when I eventually reappeared in the wrong place.
Yet, as Spaniards endure double-dip recession, government austerity and 26% unemployment, royal privileges suddenly seem less understated. The king's luxuriesare beginning to grate.
Reminders of the royal lifestyle were plastered all over newspapers again this week. Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, a stylish 48-year-old who uses a German ex-husband's title to call herself "princess", gave several interviews about her relationship with the monarch. This, she assured doubting Spaniards, was purely professional. She complained, indeed, that his family scandals were now damaging her business as a go-between in deals involving companies and governments – including in the oil-rich Middle East. "This is doing a lot of damage to my professional reputation," she said.
Continue reading...


http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/04/spain-king-juan-carlos-scandal/print

©Eurohistory

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Royal Europe: The Last Meeting of the "Heirs'

Last month Europe's royal heirs traveled to the Netherlands for a visit to Apeldoorn, where the Prince and Princess of Orange hosted them.

Present were, from left: Guillaume and Stéphanie of Luxembourg, Prince Daniel and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, the Prince and Princess of Asturias, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, the Princess and Prince of Orange, the Duchess and Duke of Brabant, and Crown Prince Haakon of Norway.

Absent from the gathering of this very exclusive group were: Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway (a shopping spree in NYC kept her from this historica event), Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark (busy on official business), and Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein. No one represented Monaco since the principality's rulers lack any children and the succession is unclear.

https://www.facebook.com/Kungahuset

©Jeroen van der Meyde/RVD

Romania – Royal Orders Conferred


On Thursday, February 28, 2013, HRH Crown Princess Margarita, in the presence of Their Royal Highnesses Prince Radu and Prince Nicholas of Romania,  decorated several national and international personalities.

Crown Princess Margarita, on behalf of His Majesty the King, conferred the "Crown Order of Romania – Knightly level" to Ms. Liana Greavu, Mr.. Catalin Popescu, Mr. Sebastian Brinzas, Mr.. Andrei Dumitriu, Mr.. Dinu Zamfirescu Ms. Catherine Sofianou, Mr..Andrew Pippidi, Bishop Sophronius, Master Nicholas Licaret, Ms. Doina Uricariu, Ms. Danielle Nobs and HSH Prince Wenceslas of Lobkowicz.

During the same ceremony, HRH conferred the royal decoration "Nihil Sine Deo" to  Master Victor Rebengiuc, Mr.. Dr. Raed Arafat, Mr. Michael Flaks, Maestro Cristian Badea, Mr. Vladimir Zamfirescu, Princes Anne de Ligne and Marquis Olivier de Trazegnies.

The ceremony was followed by an extraordinary concert of the Royal Choir, composed of young talented students from the Faculty of Music in Bucharest. During the ceremony from The Peles Castle, Royal Choir received the High Patronage of HRH Prince Radu.


©http://www.familiaregala.ro/

Monday, March 4, 2013

New Book: Russia and Europe – Dynastic Ties

Our newest book, Russia and Europe – Dynastic Ties, by Galina Korneva and Tatiana Cheboksarova, is off to the printer!

The Eurohistory version of this magnificent production is 320 glossy pages and contains nearly 100 photos more than the Russian version!

We expect it here in early April 2013!