Category Archives: Current Monarchies

Marie Juliette Louvet, mistress of Louis II, mother of Princess Charlotte

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Marie Juliette Louvet was the mistress of the future Prince Louis II of Monaco, and the mother of his only child, Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois. She is, therefore, the grandmother of Prince Rainier III, and the great-grandmother of Prince Albert II.

She was born on May 9, 1867, in Pierreval, France, to Jacques Louvet and Joséphine Piedefer. At the age of 17, she married a Parisian photographer, Achille Delmaet, with whom she already had a son, Georges. The couple later had a daughter, Marguerite, before divorcing in 1893.

It is believed that Marie Juliette and Prince Louis met while she was working as a hostess in a cabaret in Paris, France. By the following year, she was working as a seamstress in a military barracks in Constantine, Algeria, where Prince Louis was also based. Later that year, on September 30, 1898, Marie Juliette gave birth to the couple’s daughter, Charlotte. While Louis’ father, Prince Albert I, would not permit the couple to marry, their daughter Charlotte was later recognized as a member of the Monegasque Princely Family, and in 1919, was formally adopted by Prince Louis, becoming Princess Charlotte of Monaco, and Duchess of Valentinois. She would also later become heir to the Monegasque throne following her father’s accession in 1922, later relinquishing her succession rights in favor of her son, the future Prince Rainier III.

Marie Juliette Louvet lived the rest of her life in Paris, where she died on September 24, 1930.

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Ghislaine Dommanget, Princess of Monaco

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Ghislaine Dommanget, Princess of Monaco; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Princess Ghislaine of Monaco was the wife of Prince Louis II and the step-grandmother of Prince Rainier III. She was born Ghislaine Marie Françoise Dommanget in Reims, France, on October 13, 1900, to Robert Joseph Dommanget and Marie Louise Meunier.

From an early age, she was drawn to the stage and became an actress, working at the famed Comédie-Française in Paris. Before meeting Prince Louis, she was married twice – to Paul Diey and André Brulé – and had one son, Jean Gabriel Brulé, born in 1934.

In 1942, she met Prince Louis while on a tour of Monaco, and he later wrote that he knew instantly upon meeting that she would one day be his wife. The couple was married on July 24, 1946, in a civil ceremony (with a religious service held three days later), and she became The Princess of Monaco. Ghislaine was nearly 46 years old, while her husband was more than 30 years older. While Prince Louis was, by all accounts, very much in love with Ghislaine, the rest of the Monegasque princely family questioned her motives, viewed her as an opportunist and golddigger. Sadly, Prince Louis died less than three years later, in May 1949, and was succeeded by his grandson, Prince Rainier III. In his will, Louis had left half of his estate to Ghislaine, but Rainier and his sister Antoinette contested this, and the will was overturned. Ghislaine only received her jewelry and other gifts and retained a suite of rooms at The Prince’s Palace. She also received a small pension from the Monegasque government, later stopped by Prince Rainier.

The Dowager Princess returned to Paris, only occasionally returning to Monaco. In 1956, she attended the wedding of Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly. Despite a strained relationship with her step-grandson, Ghislaine developed and maintained a close friendship with Grace, who made efforts to include Ghislaine as part of the family. Later, Ghislaine returned to the stage, even appearing in Monaco (with the condition that she would not use her title of Princess of Monaco). Billed simply as “Ghislaine”, she appeared in three plays in Monaco – Ms. April in 1958, L’Aiglon in 1959, and Pea Flower in 1960.

 

Ghislaine then retired to Paris, where she wrote her memoirs – “Sois princesse” … dit-il (“Be Princess”… he said), which she dedicated to Princess Grace. In her later years, she only made two formal appearances in Monaco. In 1974, she attended the celebrations for Prince Rainier’s Silver Jubilee, and her last appearance was at the funeral of Princess Grace in 1982. Ghislaine, Dowager Princess of Monaco died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, on April 30, 1991. She is buried in the Passy Cemetery in Paris.

Grave of Ghislaine Dommanget, Princess of Monaco. source: Wikipedia

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Principality of Monaco Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Prince Louis II of Monaco

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

source: Wikipedia

Prince Louis II of Monaco (Louis Honoré Charles Antoine Grimaldi) was born July 12, 1870, in Baden-Baden, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. He was the only child of Prince Albert I of Monaco and Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton, daughter of William Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton and Princess Marie of Baden. Shortly after his birth, his mother left her husband and took Louis to the Grand Duchy of Baden where he was raised until the age of 11. At that point, he returned to Monaco to begin preparing for his future royal role.

Louis attended the Saint-Cyr Military Academy in France, and then joined the French Foreign Legion. He served for 10 years and was awarded the Cross of the Legion of Honor. During this time, while serving in Algeria, Louis met Marie Juliette Louvet, a cabaret singer. The couple was deeply in love, but his father would not grant them permission to marry. A daughter was born in 1898:

Because Louis was unmarried and without an heir, the Monegasque throne was likely to pass to his first cousin once removed Wilhelm, the Duke of Urach, a German nobleman who was the son of his father’s aunt Princess Florestine of Monaco.  In order to avoid this, Louis’ father, Prince Albert I, had a law passed recognizing Charlotte as Louis’ heir and part of the sovereign family. However, this law was later ruled invalid under earlier statutes. So, in October 1918, another law was passed allowing for the adoption of an heir with succession rights. On May 16, 1919, Louis legally adopted Charlotte, giving her the Grimaldi surname. Her grandfather created her HSH Princess Charlotte of Monaco and Duchess of Valentinois. Upon Louis’ accession in 1922, Charlotte became the Hereditary Princess of Monaco.

During World War I, Louis again served with the French Army and eventually reached the rank of Brigadier General. Recognized for his outstanding efforts, he was elevated to Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor. His military career ended when he ascended to the Monegasque throne upon his father’s death on June 27, 1922. Some of his contributions during his reign were the establishment of the Monaco Football Club and the Grand Prix of Monaco which was first held in the principality in 1929. In 1931, he oversaw the establishment of the Ballet de l’Opéra à Monte-Carlo and the construction of the Stade Prince Louis II, a large football stadium in the center of the city. He was also a keen collector of items related to Napoleon, which later formed the basis for the Napoleon Museum which was housed at the Prince’s Palace for many years.

Following World War II – during which the principality had been occupied by both the Italians and Germans before liberation by the Allies – Prince Louis began spending most of his time in Paris and greatly ignored the principality. In 1944, his daughter Charlotte ceded her rights to the throne in favor of her son, Rainier, who would eventually succeed his grandfather. And in June 1946, Prince Louis married the French film star, Ghislaine Dommanget. The couple lived primarily at the Château de Marchais, their estate outside of Paris.

On May 9, 1949, Prince Louis II died at the Prince’s Palace in Monaco. He is buried at the Cathedral of Monaco.

Grave of Louis II, Prince of Monaco; www.findagrave.com

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Principality of Monaco Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Alice Heine, Princess of Monaco

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2015

source: Wikipedia

Alice Heine, second wife of Prince Albert I of Monaco

Alice Heine, Princess of Monaco, was the second wife of Prince Albert I of Monaco, and the first American woman ever to marry a reigning European sovereign.

She was born Mary Alice Heine on February 10, 1858, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Michel Heine and Amélie Marie Céleste Miltenberger, and had two younger brothers. Her father, a French banker and businessman, came from a prominent German Jewish banking family and was a cousin of German poet Heinrich Heine. Michel and his brother had established themselves as bankers in the United States.

In 1874, the family returned to France following the American Civil War and quickly established themselves amongst Parisian society. The following year, Alice married Marie Odet Richard Armand de La Chapelle de Saint-Jean de Jumilhac, 7th Duke of Richelieu. Jewish by birth, Alice had converted to Roman Catholicism prior to the marriage. The couple went on to have two children:

  • Marie Odet Jean Armand de La Chapelle de Saint-Jean de Jumilhac, 8th Duke of Richelieu (1875-1952)
  • Odile Chapelle de Jumilhac, later Princess of La Rochefoucauld by marriage (1879-1974)

In June 1880, the Duke of Richelieu died while on a trip to Athens, Greece. Widowed at just 22 years old, Alice became a very wealthy woman and soon established herself as one of the leading hostesses in European society. Several years later, while on the island of Madeira in Portugal, Alice met the future Prince Albert I of Monaco. From all accounts, the couple was immediately drawn to each other. Both had been married before and had children, and their personalities seemed to greatly complement each other. However, Albert’s father, Prince Charles III, did not approve of the match, and would not permit them to marry.

After four years, Prince Charles III died and Albert ascended to the Monegasque throne. Just seven weeks later, Alice and Albert married on October 30, 1889. Along with her two young children, Alice also brought an extensive collection of jewels and a massive dowry of six million dollars.

Albert II, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Hugely welcomed by the people of Monaco, Alice quickly became instrumental in the development of the principality. Her advanced business sense (as well as her large dowry) helped to restore the nation’s financial stability, and Alice then set out to turn Monaco into more than just a small principality dominated by its casino. An avid supporter of the arts, Alice brought the theater, opera, and ballet to Monaco, and is often credited with turning Monaco into one of the cultural hotspots in Europe.

While her husband supported her efforts in the arts, Alice never fully supported or understood Albert’s love of the sea and oceanography. Their mutual lack of support drove the couple apart, and Alice embarked on an affair with the composer Isidore de Lara. Despite his own affairs, Prince Albert was devastated by his wife’s infidelity, but the couple continued to put on the facade of a happy marriage. However, it came crashing down in 1901. On the opening night of the opera, Prince Albert publicly accused Alice of her affair with the composer, in front of the entire opera hall, going as far as slapping her across the face. Humiliated, Alice left the opera immediately and left Monaco the next morning. Her husband quickly banned her from ever returning to Monaco, and made every effort to strip her from Monaco’s history. The couple was granted a legal separation in 1902 but never divorced.

AliceHeine

Alice settled at Claridge’s in London, England where she established herself in the upper echelons of British society, entertaining extensively and continuing to patronize the arts. While in London, she became a close friend of Queen Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom.

Several years after her estranged husband’s death, Alice, now the Dowager Princess of Monaco, died in Paris, France on December 22, 1925, at the age of 67. She is buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France.

Grave of Alice Heine, Princess of Monaco; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg; Credit – Wikipedia

Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg was born as His Highness The Hereditary Prince of Nassau on April 22, 1852, at Biebrich Palace in Wiesbaden, Duchy of Nassau, now in Hesse,  Germany, and was given the name Wilhelm. He was the eldest child and the eldest son of Adolphe, Duke of Nassau (later Grand Duke of Luxembourg) and his second wife Princess Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau.  Wilhelm had four siblings, but only he and his sister Hilda reached adulthood:

The Duchy of Nassau supported the Austrian Empire in the Austro-Prussian War (1866). After Austria lost the war, the Duchy of Nassau was annexed to Prussia and Wilhelm’s father Adolphe lost his duchy. Adolphe did make an agreement with Prussia for a severance payment and was also able to keep several of his palaces.

In September 1867, Wilhelm entered the Royal Cadet School of Saxony in Dresden. After a stay in Switzerland, he passed the examination required to be an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1871. In 1888, Wilhelm ended his military career with the rank of Major General.

During its history, Luxembourg has been a part of several different countries. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Luxembourg was made a Grand Duchy and united with The Netherlands. In 1839, following the Belgian Revolution, the Treaty of London partitioned territories and created the new Kingdom of Belgium and the new Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was still united with the Netherlands and King Willem I of the Netherlands was still the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. This rule continued until the death of King Willem III of the Netherlands in 1890. His successor was his daughter Wilhelmina, who could not inherit the throne of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg due to the Salic Law which prevented female succession. Through the Nassau Family Pact, Wilhelm’s father Adolph became the Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Wilhelm became His Royal Highness The Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg on November 23, 1890.

Wilhelm on the right with his father; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1884, Wilhelm had fallen in love with Infanta Maria Ana of Portugal, daughter of former King Miguel I of Portugal and Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg.  Maria Ana grew up mostly in Austria and Germany due to her father’s exile from Portugal. Wilhelm’s father had opposed the marriage because his family was Lutheran and the Infanta’s family was Roman Catholic. In 1890, when Wilhelm’s father Adolphe became the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, he became the sovereign of a Catholic country and he revised his opinion and gave his permission in 1893.

Wilhelm and Maria Ana were married on June 21, 1893, in Schloss Fischhorn in Zell am See, Austria. On July 22, 1893, the young couple arrived in Luxembourg. They chose Berg Castle  as their residence and it is there that five of their six children, all princesses brought up as Catholics, were born:

Maria Ana with her six daughters; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

On April 4, 1902, Grand Duke Adolphe appointed his son Lieutenant-Representative and Wilhelm took over some duties for his father. Adolphe died on November 22, 1905, and his son succeeded him. Usually, Wilhelm is styled using the French for Wilhelm, Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. At that time, the succession in Luxembourg was Salic, meaning a woman could not become the sovereign, and the new Grand Duke only had daughters. When it became clear that Maria Ana would not have further children, Wilhelm named his would-be successors the Counts of Merenburg (products of a morganatic marriage) to be ineligible for the throne. His eldest daughter Marie-Adélaïde became her father’s heir.

In 1898, Wilhelm suffered a minor stroke and by 1906, his health was deteriorating. On March 19, 1908, Wilhelm informed the government that his condition was deteriorating and he appointed his wife, Grand Duchess Maria Ana, his Lieutenant Representative. Eight months later, Wilhelm’s health did not allow him to continue to participate in any duties. On the proposal of the State Council, the Chamber of Deputies named Grand Duchess Maria Anna Regent. On September 15, 1911, Wilhelm returned to Berg Castle, whose renovations had just been completed. There Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg died on February 25, 1912, at the age of 59. He was buried at the burial chapel (link in German) at Schloss Weilburg,  the former residence of the House of Nassau and Dukes of Nassau-Weilburg, in Weilburg, Germany.

Schloss Weilburg, burial place of Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg; Photo Credit – Wikipedia, photo by Oliver Abels

His successor Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde was 17 at the time of her father’s death, so her mother Grand Duchess Maria Ana remained Regent until she reached her 18th birthday. Marie-Adélaïde abdicated in 1919 in favor of her sister Charlotte, from whom the current Luxembourg grand ducal family descends.

Maria Ana and her daughters in 1920; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Grand Duchess Maria Ana survived her husband for 30 years. After fleeing Luxembourg when the German Army invaded during World War II, Maria Ana went to live in New York City where she died in 1942 at the age of 81. She was temporarily interred at Calvary Cemetery in Queens in New York City. Her remains were later repatriated and buried at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.

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Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Photo Credit – Wikipedia

The second wife of Grand Duke Adolphe of Luxembourg, Princess Adelheid-Marie was born on December 25, 1833, in Dessau, Duchy of Anhalt, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. She was the eldest of the three daughters of Prince Friedrich Augustus of Anhalt-Dessau and Princess Marie Luise Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel.  Her mother Princess Marie Luise Charlotte was the elder sister of Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel, the wife of King Christian IX of Denmark. Therefore, Adelheid-Marie was the first cousin of Princess Louise and King Christian IX’s children: King Frederick VIII of Denmark, Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, King George I of Greece, Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia, Thyra, Crown Princess of Hanover, and Prince Valdemar.

Adelheid-Marie’s sisters:

On 23 April 1851, Princess Adelheid-Marie married Adolphe, who was then Duke of Nassau. Six years earlier, Adolphe’s first wife Grand Duchess Elisabeth Mikhailovna of Russia had died in childbirth along with her daughter. Adolphe and Adelheid-Marie had five children, but only two lived to adulthood:

The Duchy of Nassau supported the Austrian Empire in the Austro-Prussian War (1866). After Austria lost the war, the Duchy of Nassau was annexed to Prussia and Adolph lost his duchy. Adolph did make an agreement with Prussia for a severance payment and was also able to keep several of his palaces.

During its history, Luxembourg has been a part of a number of countries. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Luxembourg was made a Grand Duchy and united with The Netherlands. In 1839, following the Belgian Revolution, the Treaty of London partitioned territories and created the new Kingdom of Belgium and the new Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was still united with the Netherlands and King Willem I of the Netherlands was still the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. This rule continued until the death of King Willem III of the Netherlands in 1890. His successor was his daughter Wilhelmina, who could not inherit the throne of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg due to the Salic Law which prevented female succession. Through the Nassau Family Pact, Adolph became the Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Adelheid-Marie became the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg on November 23, 1890.

Adolphe and Adelheid-Marie; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Adolphe died on November 17, 1905, at the age of 88. Adelheid-Marie survived him by 11 years dying on November 24, 1916, at the age of 82 in Königstein im Taunus, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Hesse, Germany. She was buried with her husband at the burial chapel of Schloss Weilburg, the former residence of the House of Nassau and Dukes of Nassau-Weilburg.

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Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Grand Duke Adolphe of Luxembourg

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Born on July 24, 1817, in Biebrich Palace in Wiesbaden, Duchy of Nassau, now in Hesse, Germany, as Adolf Wilhelm August Karl Friedrich, His Highness The Hereditary Duke of Nassau. Adolphe was the eldest son and the third of the eight children of Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau and his first wife Princess Louise of Saxe-Hildburghausen.

Adolphe had three brothers and four sisters:

From his father’s second marriage to Princess Pauline of Württemberg, Adolphe had four half-siblings:

Adolphe before 1830; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 20, 1839, Adolph’s father died and Adolph began a 27-year reign of the Duchy of Nassau. Adolph married Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mikhailovna of Russia, daughter of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich of Russia and granddaughter of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia, on January 31, 1844. The couple was very happy and delighted when Elizabeth soon became pregnant with their first child, but the happiness did not last. On January 28, 1845, 18-year-old Elizabeth died while giving birth to a daughter who also died. With the blessing of Elisabeth’s uncle Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia, the grief-stricken Adolphe used Elisabeth’s dowry to build the Russian Orthodox Church of Saint Elizabeth in Wiesbaden where Elisabeth’s remains were buried.

Grand Duchess Elisabeth Mikhailovna of Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

On 23 April 1851, Adolphe married for a second time to Princess Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau. They had five children, but only two lived to adulthood:

Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau; Credit – Wikipedia

The Duchy of Nassau supported the Austrian Empire in the Austro-Prussian War (1866). After Austria lost the war, the Duchy of Nassau was annexed to Prussia and Adolph lost his duchy. Adolph did make an agreement with Prussia for a severance payment and was also able to keep several of his palaces.

During its history, Luxembourg has been a part of a number of countries. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Luxembourg was made a Grand Duchy and united with The Netherlands. In 1839, following the Belgian Revolution, the Treaty of London partitioned territories and created the new Kingdom of Belgium and the new Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was still united with the Netherlands and King Willem I of the Netherlands was still the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. This rule continued until the death of King Willem III of the Netherlands in 1890. His successor was his daughter Wilhelmina, who could not inherit the throne of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg due to the Salic Law which prevented female succession. Through the Nassau Family Pact,  Adolph became the Grand Duke of Luxembourg on November 23, 1890.

Grand Duke Adolphe and Grand Duchess Adelheid-Marie of Luxembourg; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

73-year-old Adolphe was a Protestant in a Catholic country and knew little about Luxembourg, so he left the governing to his prime minister. On November 17, 1905, at the age of 88, Adolphe died at his summer home Schloss Hohenburg in Lenggries, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. Grand Duke Adolphe was buried at the burial chapel of Schloss Weilburg, a former residence of the House of Nassau and Dukes of Nassau-Weilburg, now in the German state of Hesse.

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Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Countess Georgina von Wilczek, Princess of Liechtenstein

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Photo Credit – Wikipedia

The wife of Franz Josef II, Prince of Liechtenstein, Georgina Norberta Jane Marie Antonie Raphaela, called Gina, was born on October 24, 1921, in Graz, Austria. She was the daughter of Count Ferdinand von Wilczek and Countess Norbertine (Nora) Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau. Her mother Nora founded a hospital in Austria at the outbreak of World War I. She then became a Red Cross nurse working in a Russian prisoner-of-war camp that held captured soldiers from the Austrian-Hungarian Empire and the German Empire. In 1916, Nora traveled to Siberia with a Russian officer visiting sixteen prisoner-of-war camps and fifteen labor camps to check on human rights violations. In the midst of the Russian Revolution, Nora made a dramatic escape and returned home to Austria in the summer of 1918. She married Count Ferdinand von Wilczek in 1921 and gave birth to Gina two years later. Sadly, Nora died in 1923 during the birth of her second child, who also died.

In 1942, Gina became engaged to Franz Josef II, Prince of Liechtenstein. On March 7, 1943, the wedding took place at St. Florian Cathedral in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. It was the first royal wedding in Liechtenstein’s history that took place in the principality.

 

The couple had five children:

Franz Josef II Liechtenstein family

Franz and Gina with their four eldest children; Credit – lux-arazzi.blogspot.com

During World War II, Princess Gina, like her mother, had concerns for prisoners of war. On June 22, 1945, she founded the Liechtenstein Red Cross, and was president from 1945 to 1984, when she handed over the position to her daughter-in-law Princess Marie, wife of her eldest son Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein. Princess Marie has since handed over the position of president to her daughter-in-law Hereditary Princess Sophie, wife of her eldest son Hereditary Prince Alois.

 

Princess Gina died on October 18, 1989, in a hospital in Grabs, Switzerland, six days before her 68th birthday after a long battle with cancer. Her husband Franz Josef died 26 days later. The couple was buried in the Princely Crypt at St. Florian Cathedral in Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

GeorginavonWilczek

Tomb of Princess Gina; Photo Credit – www.findagrave.com

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Principality of Liechtenstein Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Franz Josef II, Prince of Liechtenstein

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Franz Josef II, Prince of Liechtenstein (Franz Josef Maria Aloys Alfred Karl Johannes Heinrich Michael Georg Ignatius Benediktus Gerhardus Majella) was born August 16, 1906, at Schloss Frauenthal in Steiermark, Austria. He was the eldest of the eight children of Prince Aloys of Liechtenstein and Archduchess Elisabeth Amalie of Austria, who was the half-sister of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, whose assassination was one of the factors that led to World War I.

Franz Josef had five brothers and two sisters:

  • Princess Maria Theresia (1908 – 1973), married Count Arthur Strachwitz von Gross-Zauche und Camminetz, had issue
  • Prince Karl Alfred (1910 – 1985), married Archduchess Agnes Christina of Austria, had issue
  • Prince Georg Hartmann (1911 – 1998), married Duchess Marie Christine of Württemberg, had issue
  • Prince Ulrich Dietmar (1913 – 1978), unmarried
  • Princess Marie Henriette (1914 – 2011), married Count Peter von Eltz genannt Faust von Stromberg, had issue
  • Prince Aloys Heinrich (1917 – 1967), unmarried
  • Prince Heinrich Hartneid (1920 – 1993), married Countess Amalie von Podstatzky-Lichtenstein, had issue

Franz Josef was named after Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria who was his mother’s paternal uncle and his godfather. He grew up in the Austrian castles of the Princely House of Liechtenstein where he developed his love of nature which influenced his future studies. Franz Josef’s father, Prince Aloys of Liechtenstein was the son of Prince Alfred of Liechtenstein and Princess Henriette of Liechtenstein, daughter of Aloys II, Prince of Liechtenstein. On February 26, 1923, Prince Aloys renounced his rights to the succession in favor of his son Franz Josef. At the time, Prince Aloys was the second in the line of succession behind his childless uncle Franz who succeeded to the throne in 1929 as Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein.

In 1925, Franz Josef graduated from the Schottengymnasium in Vienna, Austria. He then enrolled at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna, Austria where he studied forestry. In 1930, Franz Josef graduated with distinction from the university as a forest engineer. He used his forestry skills on the family-owned farms, then in Czechoslovakia, now part of the Czech Republic.

Franz Josef took on various official roles on behalf of the elderly Prince Franz I. On March 30, 1938, Franz I named Franz Josef regent. Although he cited old age as his reason for the regency, it is widely believed that it was because he had no desire to be ruling if Nazi Germany invaded his small principality. Franz I died on July 25, 1938, and was succeeded by his grandnephew, Franz Josef II.

During World War II, Liechtenstein remained officially neutral. Family treasures from Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia were taken to Liechtenstein for safekeeping. At the end of World War II, Czechoslovakia and Poland seized all of Liechtenstein’s property in Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia which included large areas of farms and forests and several family castles and palaces. Prior to World War II, the family burial place was the Princely Mausoleum which was in Vranov, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) after the war. The Princely Mausoleum was also seized after World War II. Since then, the Czech Republic has refused to return the property to the Princely Family of Liechtenstein, and there has been no preservation or restoration of the tombs and mausoleum.

Franz Josef was the first sovereign prince to live full-time in the principality and made his home at Vaduz Castle.

Vaduz Castle; Photo Credit – Wikipedia, photo by Michael Gredenberg

On March 7, 1943, Franz Joseph married Countess Georgina von Wilczek (Gina) at St. Florian Cathedral in Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

 

The couple had five children:

Franz Josef II Liechtenstein family

Franz and Gina with their four eldest children; Credit – lux-arazzi.blogspot.com

After World War II, the economic, social, and cultural progress of Liechtenstein was Franz Josef’s chief concern. The family often resorted to selling family art treasures, including the portrait “Ginevra de’ Benci” by Leonardo da Vinci, which was purchased by the National Gallery of Art of the United States in 1967 for $5 million ($35 million in 2015 dollars), then a record price for a painting. By the late 1970s, Liechtenstein used its low corporate tax rates to draw many companies to the country, becoming one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Today, Liechtenstein has the second-highest per capita income in the world.

 

In 1984, Franz Josef II handed over most of his powers to his son Hans-Adam. After 46 years of marriage, Princess Gina died on October 18, 1989, at the age of 68 after a long battle with cancer. She had once said. “My husband and I have become one. Everyone believes we are not able to exist without the other.” Only 26 days after the death of his wife, Prince Franz Josef II died on November 13, 1989, in a hospital in Grabs, Switzerland at the age of 83. The couple was buried in the Princely Crypt at St. Florian Cathedral in Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

Franz Josef II Liechtenstein tomb

Tomb of Franz Josef; Photo Credit – www.findagrave.com

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Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Queen of the Netherlands, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Queen of the Netherlands, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg; Credit – Wikipedia

Her Serene Highness Princess Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont (Adelheid Emma Wilhelmina Theresia) was born on August 2, 1858, at Arolsen Castle in the town of Arolsen, the capital of the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont. Today the town is known as Bad Arolsen and is located in the Waldeck-Frankenberg district of Hesse in Germany. Her parents were George Victor, Sovereign Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Princess Helena of Nassau. Through both of her parents, Helena was a descendant of Anne, Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of King George II of Great Britain.

Helena, the fourth of seven children, had five sisters and one brother. Her brother Friedrich was the last reigning Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont. One of her sisters married a future king and another married Queen Victoria’s youngest son. Emma’s father married again after her mother died in 1888, and the only child of that marriage, Emma’s half-brother Wolrad, died in action during World War I.

Emma’s siblings:

Emma had one half-brother from her father’s second marriage to Princess Louise of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg:

Emma at 12 years old (1870); Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Emma’s family lived mostly at Arolsen Castle, a Baroque-style home built during 1713-1728. The Scottish philosopher, historian, and writer Thomas Carlyle was a great friend of Emma’s mother and a frequent visitor to Arolsen Castle. Carlyle described life at Arolsen Castle as a “pumpernickel court.” Emma had a Lutheran education from a very liberal-minded pastor. With her English governess, Emma studied crafts, drawing, and French literature. She traveled with her family to France, England, Italy, and Scandinavia. In an interview in 1929, Emma said that her mother was at the center of the family life and very active in her children’s education.

In 1877, Queen Sophie, the first wife of King Willem III of the Netherlands died, and Willem was eager to marry again to ensure the future of the House of Orange. One of his three children (all sons), Prince Maurits, had died in 1850 and neither of the other two sons was married. King Willem’s reputation was not a good one. He had many mistresses and many illegitimate children. Queen Sophie had lived apart from him from 1855 until her death. Willem’s ministers had decisively rejected a marriage with a French opera singer and then two eligible princesses refused to marry him. At the suggestion of his only sister, he got in touch with the royal couple of Waldeck and Pyrmont, who had several marriageable daughters. In July 1878, Willem visited the family at their summer home where he met 23-year-old Princess Pauline and 20-year-old Princess Emma. His eyes first fell on Pauline, but soon he chose Emma and proposed to her. Willem was 61 years old, 41 years older than Emma. Emma had lessons in the Dutch language and history before her marriage because she wanted to come to her new country Dutch. The couple was married on January 7, 1879, in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont, now in Hesse, Germany. Emma had a positive influence on Willem and the marriage was extremely happy. The last decade of Willem’s life was definitely the best years of his reign.

Willem and Emma; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

In September 1879, Willem’s eldest son Prince Willem died, leaving only one son.  A year later Emma and Willem’s only child, a daughter, was born:

The Netherlands followed the Sem-Salic Law which allowed for female succession only if there were no male dynasts alive. At the time of Wilhelmina’s birth, her half-brother Prince Alexander and the King’s uncle Prince Frederik were alive, so Wilhelmina was third in the line of succession. Prince Frederik died in 1881 and upon the death of Prince Alexander in 1884, Wilhelmina became the heir presumptive to the Dutch throne, and Emma was appointed to be Regent if Wilhelmina came to the throne before her majority.

Queen Emma and Princess Wilhelmina in June 1885; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1888, King Willem’s health began to decline. When it became apparent that Willem could no longer reign, Emma was sworn in as Regent on November 20, 1890. Three days later King Willem III died and ten-year-old Wilhelmina became Queen. Emma took over as Regent for her daughter until Wilhelmina’s eighteenth birthday in 1898. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg could not be inherited by a woman at that time and it passed to a distant cousin Adolphe, Duke of Nassau who was also Queen Emma’s maternal uncle.

Emma and Wilhelmina in 1890; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Emma took her position of Regent seriously. She met personally with every government minister at least once every two weeks and strictly adhered to the rules of the constitutional monarchy. She was open to anyone who wanted to talk to her and insisted that she personally open and handle as much mail as possible. In addition to her administrative duties, Emma paid great attention to her daughter’s education. When Wilhelmina reached the age of 16, Emma considered her childhood over and Wilhelmina spent the next two years being prepped for her job as a reigning queen.

Emma and Wilhelmina in 1897; Credit – Wikipedia

As a reigning queen, the young Queen Wilhelmina insisted on making her own way and tried to resist any pressures from her mother. Occasionally, Wilhelmina had to rely on the extensive knowledge of Emma in protocol matters. Initially, the two queens lived together in Noordeinde Palace, but when Wilhelmina married, Emma retired to the Palace Lange Voorhout. Emma was active in the fight against tuberculosis, then the number one disease. She had lost her sister Sophie to tuberculosis.

In 1909, when Wilhelmina’s only child Juliana was born, planning for an unexpected regency during the minority of Juliana occurred. Wilhelmina’s husband Prince Hendrik (born Prince Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin) was found unsuitable by the government to act as Regent. Those in the government had fond memories of Emma as Regent and Wilhelmina agreed. Emma was appointed as Regent from 1909 to the majority of Princess Juliana in 1927.

The royal family of the Netherlands in 1930. From left to right: Queen Mother Emma, Princess Juliana, Prince Hendrik, and Queen Wilhelmina; Credit – Wikipedia

Emma died on March 20, 1934, at the age of 75 from pneumonia. She first had a cold which developed into bronchitis and then because there were no antibiotics yet, the bronchitis developed into fatal pneumonia. Her remains were buried in the crypt at the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, the Netherlands.

The access to the royal crypt in the foreground; Credit – By Sander van der Wel from Netherlands – Royal grave tomb and the grave of Willem van Oranje, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28146859

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

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