Centenial of Prince Bertil of Sweden

Göran Alm, Head of the Bernadotte Library at the Royal Palace of Stockholm, writes a piece here about Prince Bertil.
 

The Crown Princely Couple, Gustaf (VI) Adolf and Margareta, had their fourth child on 28 February, 1912, a prince who was given the names Bertil Gustaf Oscar Carl Eugen at his christening. 

 The young prince was born and brought up in a family full of heritage and traditions. His father was successor to the Swedish throne and his mother the granddaughter of the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria. The Crown Prince family was also in many respects a modern family. One example of this was the fact that the nursery was located right next to the parental bedroom, and that Prince Bertil's mother regarded it as her principal duty to take care of, and see to the needs of her children herself. In the mass media of the time, Crown Princess Margareta was portrayed as the ideal image of the good mother, and the family symbolised healthy family life in the Kingdom of Sweden. Prince Bertil lost his mother at the age of eight when Crown Princess Margareta died suddenly in 1920.

His schooldays involved a great deal of sport, and at the age of sixteen the prince won, among other things, ice-skating competitions for Swedish school pupils. The headline in the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter read "Royal record in speed skating contest for school pupils". Prince Bertil skated 500 metres in 52.9 seconds. This paved the way for a life-long commitment to Swedish sport and Bertil became the sport prince, who in 1947 was elected Chairman of both the Swedish Sports Confederation and Sweden's Olympic Committee.

Prince Bertil was trained as an officer in the Swedish Navy and for part of the Second World War he served as Swedish naval attaché at the embassy in London. It was during this period that the prince met his future wife, Mrs Lilian Craig. The prince's life changed dramatically after peace was declared in 1945. In 1947, his older brother Gustaf Adolf died in a plane crash. Prince Bertil's grandfather King Gustaf V died in autumn 1950 and his father then became King Gustaf VI Adolf. The new Crown Prince, the current King Carl XVI Gustaf, was just four years old at the time. Prince Bertil was second in line to the throne after the young crown prince. Back then, Sweden's constitution did not allow a prince to marry, as the law expressed it, the daughter of a divorcee. It was not until after the succession of our current King that Prince Bertil was able to marry while retaining his position as Prince of Sweden. 

The wedding took place on 7 December 1976, and Mrs Craig became Princess Lilian.

Prince Bertil was chiefly a travelling goodwill ambassador for Sweden. He referred to himself as a travelling salesman for Sweden Ltd. A considerable number of industrial delegations on missions around the world were led by the prince. His representative capacity, combined with his natural approach and charm opened many doors for these delegations.

Prince Bertil died in 1997.

Prince Bertil's royal burial site, which is situated in Haga Park, is open to the public on Tuesday 28 February, 10.00 a.m. — 4.00 p.m.

A major exhibition on Prince Bertil will be opened at the Royal Palace on 6 June 2012.

http://www.kungahuset.se/royalcourt/royalfamily/latestnews/news/princebertilwouldhavecelebratedhis100thbirthday28february2012.5.70e7de59130bc8da54e800021204.html 

Official Medical Communiqué Concerning Prince Friso

The statement of the doctor:

Prince Friso was brought to Innsbruck university hospital by rescue helicopter at about 14:00 on 17 February, after being buried by an avalanche in Lech. He was covered for approximately 25 minutes. At the hospital, after receiving initial treatment in the reanimation unit, he was taken straight to the intensive care trauma unit. This unit specialises in treating the most seriously injured avalanche patients with the utmost medical and technical expertise. The unit's head is Dr Wolfgang Koller.

Our unit was notified of the patient's imminent arrival and we were able to prepare everything in advance. Prince Friso was brought to the hospital under reanimation conditions. Due to the length of time he was covered under the snow, his brain had been deprived of oxygen. The result was cardiac arrest, which lasted approximately 50 minutes. The patient had to be reanimated during this entire period. Fifty minutes is a very long time. One could say, too long. We hoped that the patient's mild hypothermic state had sufficiently protected the brain against excessive damage. Unfortunately, our hope was in vain.

Since last Friday, a team of specialists has been fighting to save Prince Friso's life. Yesterday, a first MRI-scan was possible, without bringing the patient into danger. Since this examination and the latest neurological tests yesterday evening it is clear that the oxygen deprivation has caused extensive damage to the patient's brain. At present it is not certain whether he will ever regain consciousness. In any event, rehabilitation will take months, if not years. Prince Friso's family will now look for an appropriate rehabilitation facility.

 http://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/nieuws/nieuwsberichten/2012/februari/zijne-koninklijke-hoogheid-prins-friso-24-februari-2012-1310/

Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich of Russia's Palace Goes Up in Flames

Earlier today, the St Petersburg palace of Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich went up in flames.

I have attached a link to youtube footage of the incident...the extent of the damaged caused by both fire and water used to fight the flames is not yet known!

The Belosselsky-Belozersky Palace is a Neo-Baroque palace at the intersection of the Fontanka River and Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The mauve-colored palace mirrors the Stroganov Palace, designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli in the 1750s and situated on the opposite site of the Nevsky.

The first Belosselsky-Belozersky Palace was built on Nevsky Prospekt in 1747 for Prince Mikhail Andreevitch Belosselsky (1702-1755) during the reign of Tsarina Elisabeth Petrovna; the building, far smaller than it is today, was designed in the French style with a large private garden and a launch onto the canal, stuccoed and painted in imitation of Parisian limestone.
Inherited by his son - Prince Alexander Mikhailovitch Belosselsky (1752-1809) - it was he that bought a plot of land in 1800 which allowed the building to be greatly extended. Prince Alexander Mikhailovitch was a close friend, supporter and devoted servant of Tsar Paul I. Due to the relationship between the two, Paul I allowed the revival of, in 1800, the ancient title of Prince of Belozersk. It was from then on that the family would be known as the Belosselsky-Belozersky family. The Rurikid princely double name Belosselsky-Belozersky is also given to their palace.

Alexander Mikhailovitch' second wife, Anna Grigorievna (born Kozitskaya; father was a Secretary of State to Catherine II, Gregory Vassilievich Kozitsky; he was also rector of Moscow University. Anna Grigorievna's portrait by the well-known French and Russian court portrait painter Vigee Le Brun is in Washington DC's National Museum of Women in the Arts, was an heiress of a great fortune through her mother, Ekaterina Ivanovna Myasnikova. This allowed further purchases of land in St. Petersbug, including the Krestovsky island as well as further additions to the Belosselsky-Belozersky palace. The palace passed down the family line to Esper Alexandrovitch Belosselsky-Belozersky (son of Alexander Mikhailovitch) who died at a young age. His widow, Princess Elena Pavlovna Belosselskaya-Belozerskaya (ne'e Bibikova) was the owner of the palace until the majority of Konstantin Esperovitch Belosselsky-Belozersky (the only son of Esper Alexandrovitch and Elena Pavlovna).

It was from Elena Pavlovna that the palace gained its present lavish appearance. In addition to the Belosselsky-Belozersky wealth, stemming from their south Urals metal works, Elena Pavlovna also inherited a fortune from her own family, the Bibikovs (and from her father's mother, born Tatiana Jakovna Tverdychev, whose father was the brother of the original Urals mining and metals entrepreneur Ivan Borisovich Tverdychev, the founder of the same above noted Urals' fortune and originator of the Tverdychev-Myasnikov's family partnership). She decided to update and reconstruct the palace to suit her taste. She had the old building knocked down and had a new palace built under the control of one Andreas Stackensneider the court architect of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. In order to do this, the princess had to petition Emperor Nicholas I for permission to commission his services. She got permission from the Emperor and the palace was the only private commission of Stackenscheider in the city. The princess remarried to Prince Vassili Viktorovich Kochubey, son of Viktor Kochubey, and grand-son of the first Prince Kotchubey, Viktor Pavlovich.

When the son of Princess Elena Pavlovna, Prince Konstantin Esperovitch Belosselsky-Belozersky gained his majority he inherited the palace and lived there with his wife (née Nadezhda Dimitrievna Skobeleva) and their many children. The prince more often living at a smaller home on Krestovsky Island (Krestovsky Ostrov), the vast Belosselsky-Belozersky Palace was a huge drain on the family resources, which had seen better days.

The palace was put up for sale around the time of the engagement of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia to Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and the Rhine in 1883. The couple, who needed a suitable residence in the city, found the building and it was made their principal residence after its purchase by Sergei Alexandrovich. It was he who gave the palace its present red exterior.

Under the ownership of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, the palace had yet another extensive remodeling and the interior was redone. The redecorating included adding a vast library and a Slavic revival chapel. The couple never had children of their own, but their Il’yinskoye estate was usually filled with parties that Elizabeth organized especially for children. They eventually became the foster parents of Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, Sergei’s niece and nephew through his younger brother., Paul Alexandrovich.

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich was a radical conservative and his policies made him a polarizing figure. In 1892, as the governor of Moscow, he executed the state's order and expelled the large portion of the Jewish population from the city. He was assassinated by a terrorist bomb at the Kremlin on February 17, 1905. The palace was then the property of his widow who became a nun in 1909. She went to live at the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent and willed the palace to her ward Grand Duke Dmitri. He in turn sold the palace just prior to the outbreak of the Russian Revolution.

Footage of the fire...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jomp5vsl7Y0

Centenial of the Death of Grand Duke Guillaume IV of Luxembourg

This past  Saturday, the Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg visited the town of Weilburg an der Lahn, Germany, to mark the centenary of the death of Grand Duke Guillaume IV of Luxembourg, who died on 25 February 1912 at Castle Colmar-Berg.

The Grand Duke was greeted by the mayor, Hans-Peter Schick, whose city is also twinned with Colmar-Berg. He then reviewed the Weilburger Bürgergarde, founded in 1813 by his ancestor, the Duke Wilhelm of Nassau (1792-1839), father of the first independent Grand Duke of Luxembourg and grandfather of Guillaume IV.

The grand ducal couple then visited the chapel of Weilburg for a mass in memory of Grand Duke Guillaume IV who ruled Luxembourg from 1905 to 1912. Until 1816, this castle was the residence of the dynasty of Nassau-Weilburg before they moved to the Castle Biebrich, which then became the official residence of the Duchy of Nassau.

The castle chapel has a crypt where many representatives of the House of Nassau-Weilburg. since the late sixteenth century are resting for eternity.

It is in this place that is also located the body of Grand Duke Guillaume IV. Other former members of the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg in it include: the Grand Duke Adolphe (moved here in 1953) and his second wife, the Grand Duchess Marie-Adelaide, as well as couple's three children: Prince Friedrich (1854-1855), Princess Marie (1857) and Prince Franz (1859-1875).

After Mass, the grand-ducal couple has gathered to his ancestors in the crypt.

First official photos of Princess Estelle!

Released by the royal palace in Stockholm!

Enjoy!

Countdown to Revolution – Versailles!

"Lavish drama-documentary chronicling the final days of the Bourbon dynasty under the ill-fated Louis XVI and his Queen, Marie Antoinette.

Unlike his highly-sexed forebears, it takes Louis seven years to consummate his marriage - and his performance as ruler of France is no more."

Continue watching...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpDTqmWiQ40&feature=youtu.be

For the Dutch Royal Family...Tough Choices Ahead

His life was one which many would envy. A successful London financier, with a beautiful loving wife and two young daughters, Johan Friso seemed to have the world at his feet as he set off on his annual ski holiday.

But the businessman, better known as Prince Friso of the Netherlands, the second son of Queen Beatrix, was on Saturday night fighting for his life in Austria after an avalanche left him without oxygen for up to 20 minutes. And the Dutch royal family are now facing up to the agonising realisation that the 43-year-old may never recover from his injuries.

His wife, Princess Mabel, a highly-respected human rights specialist and CEO of Nelson Mandela's Global Elders group, has been keeping a vigil at his bedside since the accident. His mother, who has reigned for 22 years, has been seen looking tearful outside the hospital in Innsbruck, her eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses.

"The members of His Royal Highness Prince Friso's family need to come to terms with the prince's situation, and to reorganise their lives accordingly," said the royal household in a statement.

Continue reading...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/netherlands/9105994/Prince-Friso-a-ski-accident-and-the-terrible-trauma-facing-the-Dutch-royal-family.html

The Duke of Palma de Mallorca Gave Testimony in Corruption Scandal

Iñaki Urdangarín, Duke of Palma de Mallorca, husband of the Infanta Cristina of Spain, went to on Saturday morning to the Courthouse of Palma de Mallorca to be heard as part of a broad investigation of alleged corruption of the Institute NOUS. 

For security reasons, it was decided that the Duke would arrive via car,  but instead arrived with his lawyer and told the media that he intended to illuminate the truth of the facts and defend his honor.  

Palma de Mallorca arrived from Washington DC, where he resides with his family. The Duke and his wife the Infanta landed on the island of Palma yesterday and lodged in the Palace of Marivent. The Infanta will not testify to the court, as she is not involved in the corruption investigation. However, she wanted to be with her ​​husband, silencing rumors of separation.

Swedish Royal Family Attend Te-Deum for Princess Estelle's Birth

King Carl XVI Gustav, Queen Silvia, accompanied by Prince Carl Philip and their son-in-law Prince Daniel attended a Te-Deum to celebrate the birth of Princess Estelle of Sweden, Duchess of Ostergötland.

More on Prince Friso's Sad Fate...

Doctor Wolfgang Koller said on Friday that it took nearly 50 minutes to reanimate the prince, who is the second son of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

MRI scans have showed his brain suffered "massive damage" in the avalanche in Lech on Feb. 17 in which he was buried for at last 15 minutes.

"It is clear that the oxygen starvation has caused massive brain damage to the patient," he said. "At the moment, it cannot be predicted if he will ever regain consciousness."

Prince Friso, 43, who is married and has two young daughters, will be moved at a later date to a private clinic for further treatment but it may take years before he awakens, if ever.

He was among a group of five skiers who went off-piste despite an avalanche warning of level four out of a maximum five in Lech, an upmarket town that is a popular destination with the Dutch royal family.

Continue reading...

©Press Association

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/netherlands/9103335/Dutch-prince-unlikely-to-regain-consciousness-after-skiing-accident.html