Yearly Archives: 2014

Princess Irene of the Netherlands

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Embed from Getty Images 

Princess Irene of the Netherlands

Princess Irene of the Netherlands (Irene Emma Elisabeth) was born on August 5, 1939, at Soestdijk Palace, in Baarn, the Netherlands. She was the second of four daughters of the future Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. At the time of her birth, she was third in the line of succession for the Dutch throne.

Irene has an older sister and two younger sisters:

In May 1940, during the German invasion of the Netherlands, the family was evacuated to the United Kingdom, where Irene was christened in the chapel at Buckingham Palace. Queen Elizabeth (later The Queen Mother) served as one of her godparents. Just weeks later, the family sailed for Canada. They settled at Stornoway, a private residence in Rockcliffe Park, a suburb of Ottawa, where they would remain until the end of the war. Here, Princess Irene attended Rockcliffe Park Public School along with her older sister, Princess Beatrix. The Royal Dutch Brigade – a group of Dutch soldiers who formed to fight alongside the Allies was given the name ‘Regiment Princes Irene’ by her grandmother, Queen Wilhelmina. Eventually, that group became the Garderegiment Fuseliers Prinses Irene and Princess Irene continues to serve as Ceremonial Chief.

 

The family returned to the Netherlands in August 1945. Irene attended school at The Children’s Community Workshop (Werkplaats Kindergemeenschap) and the Baarnsch Lyceum, graduating in 1957. She then studied at the University of Lausanne, in Switzerland, and the University of Utrecht, in the Netherlands, studying literature and languages – particularly Spanish. She later qualified as a Spanish interpreter.

Following university, Irene moved to Madrid to further absorb the Spanish language and culture. It was here that she met her future husband, Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma. Needless to say, the relationship was not without controversy. Irene secretly converted to Catholicism in 1963, which caused quite a stir in the Netherlands when it was made public. Then, the couple announced their engagement. Her mother Queen Juliana tried to have the engagement canceled, but the couple was determined to wed. Irene and Carlos returned to the Netherlands on February 9, 1964, and immediately began to meet with the Royal Family and the Dutch Government. It was finally announced that the wedding would take place and that Princess Irene would cease to be a member of the Dutch Royal House, and would relinquish all rights to the throne for herself and her descendants.

 

On April 29, 1964, Irene and Carlos married in the Borghese Chapel at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, in Rome, Italy. No members of the Dutch royal family attended. Following their honeymoon, they settled in Madrid, Spain. Before divorcing in 1981, the couple had four children, including twins Margarita and Jaime:

In 1980, Irene and her children returned to live in the Netherlands. Always interested in nature and its preservation, Irene published her first book, Dialogue With Nature, in 1995. A few years later, she established the Bergplaas Nature Reserve in Nieu-Bethesda, South Africa.  She also established NatureWise, an organization that connects elementary students to nature, and founded the Lippe-Biesterfeld Nature College Foundation in 2001. Princess Irene prefers to be known simply as Irene van Lippe-Biesterfeld and rarely particiaptes in any official events in the Netherlands.  However, she is almost always seen at family functions and maintains a very close relationship with her sisters and extended family.

 

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Infanta Margarita of Spain, Duchess of Soria

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Embed from Getty Images 

Infanta Margarita of Spain, Duchess of Soria, 2nd Duchess of Hernani (Margarita María de la Victoria Esperanza Jacoba Felicidad Perpetua y Todos los Santos de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias) was born in Rome, Italy on March 6, 1939, the third of the four children of Infante Juan of Spain, Count of Barcelona and his wife Princess María Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.  Infanta Margarita has been blind since her birth.

Margarita has three siblings:

 

Because the Spanish monarchy was in exile after the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed and the exile continued after Generalísimo Francisco Franco took power, Margarita spent much of her early life in exile. The family first lived in Cannes, France, and then moved to Rome, Italy. During World War II, the family lived in Lausanne, Switzerland.  In 1946, they settled Estoril, Portugal.

On October 12, 1972, Infanta Margarita married Carlos Zurita y Delgado, a medical doctor, at the Church of San Antonio in Estoril, Portugal, and renounced her succession rights. The couple had two children:

  • Alfonso Juan Carlos Zurita y de Borbón (born 1973), unmarried
  • María Sofía Emilia Carmen Zurita y de Borbón (born 1975), unmarried, mother of a son by artificial insemination

In 1979, when Margarita’s cousin, Manfredo de Borbón, 1st Duke of Hernani died, he willed his ducal title to Margarita. King Juan Carlos granted this request and she became 2nd Duchess of Hernani.  In 1981, King Juan Carlos granted her a higher dukedom for life and she became Duchess of Soria.  Her husband is styled His Excellency The Duke of Soria and Hernani.

Despite her disability, Infanta Margarita is an active woman who loves to be with her family and friends. She is an avid music lover and listens to everything from classical music to heavy metal music. In 1989, with her husband, Infanta Margarita created the Fundación Cultural Duques de Soria (The Duke and Duchess of Soria Cultural Foundation) based in the former Convent of Mercy in Soria, Spain. Margarita is also the honorary president of the Spanish delegation of UNICEF, the Fundación ONCE, the Spanish Heart Foundation, and the Spanish Federation of Hemophilia.

Carlos Zurita, Princess Margarita and Princess Pilar in 2014

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Infanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of Badajoz

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Infanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of BadajozCredit – Wikipedia

Infanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of Badajoz was born on July 30, 1936, in Cannes, France. Her full name is María del Pilar Alfonsa Juana Victoria Luisa Ignacia y Todos los Santos de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias. She was the eldest of the four children of Infante Juan of Spain, Count of Barcelona and his wife Princess María Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.  Infanta Pilar’s paternal grandparents were King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

Infanta Pilar had three younger siblings:

Because the Spanish monarchy was in exile after the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed and the exile continued after Generalísimo Francisco Franco took power, Pilar spent much of her early life in exile. The family first lived in Cannes, France, and then moved to Rome, Italy. During World War II, the family lived in Lausanne, Switzerland.  In 1946, they settled in Estoril, Portugal. She was styled as Her Royal Highness Infanta Pilar from birth and in 1967 Generalísimo Franco gave her permission to use the style in Spain.

On May 5, 1967, Infanta Pilar married Luis Gomez-Acebo y de Estrada, Viscount de la Torre, at the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon, Portugal. The couple had met at the home of former Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria whose wife Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela, was a cousin of Luis. The marriage was controversial because Luis was not royal and Pilar had to renounce her rights of succession to the Spanish throne. Shortly after the marriage, Pilar was created Duchess of Badajoz. Luis died of lymphatic cancer in 1991. Infanta Pilar and her husband had five children:

  • Simoneta Gómez-Acebo y de Borbón (born 1968), married and divorced José Miguel Fernández-Sastrón, had two sons and one daughter
  • Juan Gómez-Acebo y de Borbón (born 1969), married Winston Holmes Carney, had one son, a separation was announced in May 2019
  • Bruno Gómez-Acebo y de Borbón (born 1971), married Bárbara Cano y de la Plaza, had three sons
  • Luis Gómez-Acebo y de Borbón (born 1973), married (1) and divorced Laura Ponte y Martínez, had one son and one daughter, divorced  (2) Andrea Pascual Vicens, had one son
  • Fernando Gómez-Acebo y de Borbón (1974 – 2024), married Mónica Martín Luque, no children, divorced  (2) Nadia Halamandari, had one son, divorced

 

Infanta Pilar was President of the International Equestrian Federation from 1994 – 2005. She was a member of the International Olympic Committee from 1996 to 2006 and was then an Honorary member. She was also a member of the executive board of the Spanish Olympic Committee. In addition, Infanta Pilar was President of Europa Nostra, from 2007-2009. Infanta Pilar was fluent in English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Infanta Pilar died at the Ruber International Hospital in Madrid, Spain on January 8, 2020, at the age of 83. She had been ill with colon cancer, had surgery in February 2019, and had undergone chemotherapy. Infanta Pilar was admitted to the hospital three days before her death. Her remains were cremated on January 9, 2020, and her ashes were placed in her husband’s family mausoleum beside her husband at the Saint Isidore Cemetery in Madrid, Spain.

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Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2014

Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Albert Victor Christian Edward was born on January 8, 1864, at Frogmore House near Windsor Castle in Windsor, England. the eldest child of the then Prince and Princess of Wales, the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Queen Alexandra, born Princess Alexandra of Denmark. His mother, who had been participating in indoor and outdoor winter festivities, did not even realize she was in labor, and disregarded the twinges of pain she had been feeling. However, her lady-in-waiting, Lady Macclesfield, who had given birth to thirteen children, realized what was happening. She sent for the Windsor town doctor because the royal doctors would have arrived in time. Because the baby was two months premature, nothing was ready for the birth. Despite last-minute preparations, the 3 3/4 pound prince was born strong and healthy, with only the Prince of Wales, Lady Macclesfield, and the doctor in attendance.

Following the wishes of his grandmother Queen Victoria, the baby was named Albert Victor, after the Queen and her late husband Prince Albert. He was given the additional names of Christian, after his maternal grandfather King Christian IX of Denmark, and Edward, one of his father’s names. The prince was always known as Eddy in the family and later as Prince Eddy in the press.

The infant prince was christened in the Private Chapel of Buckingham Palace on March 10, 1864. His godparents were:

Prince Eddy with his mother and father; Credit – Wikipedia

When Eddy was seventeen months old, his brother George, the future King George V, was born. Because of their closeness in age, the two brothers were brought up and educated together.  Eddy had a total of five siblings:

Prince Eddy and his siblings; Credit – Wikipedia

Eddy, who was inattentive and lazy, never excelled in his studies. Perhaps this was due to his premature birth which can be associated with learning disabilities. When separating the brothers for the remainder of their education was considered, Eddy and George’s tutor John Neale Dalton recommended keeping them together because “Prince Albert Victor requires the stimulus of Prince George’s company to induce him to work at all.”

In 1877, Eddy and George joined the Royal Navy’s training ship, HMS Britannia.  The brothers remained aboard the Britannia for nearly two years before embarking on a three-year cruise on the HMS Bacchante.  Always accompanied by their tutor Mr. Dalton, the brothers visited the Mediterranean, the West Indies, South America, South Africa, Australia, China, and Japan.

In 1883, the brothers were separated and Eddy spent a short time at Trinity College, Cambridge. Eddy showed little interest in the intellectual atmosphere. His second tutor John Kenneth Stephens said, ” He hardly knows the meaning of the words to read.” Nevertheless, Prince Eddy received an honorary degree. Prince Eddy’s apathetic attitude and his lack of interest in anything serious caused great anxiety to his family especially since in the line of succession, he would inherit the throne after his father.

Prince Eddy and his brother Prince George; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Eddy’s family decided that finding a suitable wife might help correct his attitude and behavior. Eddy proposed to his cousin Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine (later Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia) but was rejected by her. Eddy then fell head over heels for French Catholic Princess Hélène of Orléans, who returned his love. However, Hélène’s father, the Comte de Paris, refused to allow his daughter to convert to Anglicanism and forbade the marriage.

It was at this time that, unbeknownst to her, Princess Mary of Teck was considered the most suitable bride for Eddy. Mary’s mother was a first cousin of Queen Victoria, Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, the youngest child of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (the seventh son and tenth child of King George III and Queen Charlotte). Eddy offered no resistance to this suggestion. Mary had been brought up to revere the British monarchy and to be proud that she was a member of the British Royal Family. The fact that Mary’s father was a product of a morganatic marriage could have presented difficulties for her in the marriage market. Despite Eddy’s shortcomings, Mary felt it was her duty to marry him.

Eddy proposed to Mary during a ball on December 3, 1891. The engagement was announced three days later and the wedding was set for February 27, 1892. The engagement was met with disdain by some German relatives who felt that dignified, well-educated Mary was unequal in rank due to her grandfather’s morganatic marriage. However, Queen Victoria approved wholeheartedly of the marriage.

eddy and mary

Prince Eddy & Princess Mary of Teck; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Amid the wedding preparations, Eddy developed a high fever on January 7, 1892, at Sandringham in Norfolk, England. His sister Victoria and other household members already had been ill with influenza, which Eddy also developed. Two days later, his lungs became inflamed and pneumonia was diagnosed. In his delirium, Eddy frequently shouted the name “Hélène”, the name of the woman he originally wanted to marry.

In the early morning of January 14, 1892, a chaplain was summoned to Eddy’s bedroom at Sandringham. There, surrounded by his parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, his brother George, his sisters Louise, Victoria, and Maud, his fiancée Mary, and her mother the Duchess of Teck, Eddy died at 9:35 a.m. Eddy’s funeral was held at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor and he was buried in the Albert Memorial Chapel in St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, England. Mary’s wedding bouquet of orange blossoms lay on his coffin.

eddy_tomb

Tomb of Prince Albert Victor (Eddy); Credit – www.findagrave.com

After the death of Prince Eddy, Mary and Eddy’s brother George, now second in the line of succession, spent much time together. As time passed and their common grief eased, there was hope that a marriage might take place between them. George proposed to Mary beside a pond in the garden at his sister Louise’s home, East Sheen Lodge, on April 29, 1893. The engagement was announced on May 3, 1893, with the blessing of Queen Victoria. The couple married on July 6, 1893, and eventually became the beloved King George V and Queen Mary.

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.

Recommended Book

  • Prince Eddy: The King Britain Never Had – Andrew Cook

Alexandra of Denmark, Queen of the United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Alexandra of Denmark, Queen of the United Kingdom; Credit – Wikipedia

Queen Alexandra, the wife of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, was born Princess Alexandra of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (full name Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia) on December 1, 1844, at the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was the eldest daughter and the second of the six children of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel and was known in the family as Alix. In 1853, Alix’s father was confirmed as the successor of the childless King Frederik VII of Denmark and she was then Princess Alexandra of Denmark. Upon the death of King Frederik VII of Denmark in 1863, Alix’s father became King Christian IX of Denmark. Three of Alix’s five siblings became a monarch or a consort of a monarch.

King Christian IX of Denmark and his family (Front Row: Dagmar, Valdemar, Queen Louise, Thyra, Alexandra; Back Row: Frederik, King Christian, Vilhelm); Credit – Wikipedia

Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert were seeking a bride for their eldest son Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, known in the family as Bertie. Victoria and Albert’s eldest daughter Victoria, Princess Royal, Crown Princess of Prussia, known as Vicky in the family, was enlisted to help with the search. Princess Alexandra had originally been fifth on the list of potential brides. Vicky thought Alix would be the perfect match for Bertie and she sent back glowing reports of her to Victoria and Albert. Prince Albert concluded that Alix was “the only one to be chosen. Vicky then arranged the first meeting between Alix and Bertie in Speyer Cathedral on September 24, 1861. On September 9, 1862, after the death of his father in December 1861, Bertie proposed to Alix at the Royal Palace of Laeken, the home of his great-uncle King Leopold I of the Belgians.  The couple was married at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on March 10, 1863. Queen Victoria, in perpetual mourning for Prince Albert, watched the ceremony from Catherine of Aragon’s Closet overlooking the left side of the altar.

Bertie and Alix on their wedding day; Credit – Wikipedia

Within seven years, Alix had given birth to six children. All of Alix’s children were born prematurely. Late in her third pregnancy (with Louise), Alix became ill with rheumatic fever.  She safely gave birth without the use of the painkiller chloroform which her doctors thought would worsen her condition.  The bout of rheumatic fever continued after the baby’s birth and Alix was in such pain that she had to be constantly comforted by her lady-in-waiting, Lady Macclesfield. The rheumatic  fever threatened her life and left her with a permanent limp

 

As the Prince and Princess of Wales, Bertie and Alix lived at Marlborough House near Buckingham Palace in London and Sandringham House in Norfolk, England.  Sandringham House, purchased by Queen Victoria for Bertie and Alix, is still a privately owned residence of the British monarch.

Sandringham House; Credit – Wikipedia

Alix was a popular Princess of Wales and undertook many duties in support of her mother-in-law Queen Victoria, in the words of the Queen, “spare me the strain and fatigue of functions.” Queen Victoria further said of Alix, “She opens bazaars, attends concerts, visits hospitals in my place … she not only never complains, but endeavours to prove that she has enjoyed what to another would be a tiresome duty.” However, Alix’s increasing deafness caused by hereditary otosclerosis led to social isolation and she spent more time at home with her children and pets.

As a mother, Alix was extremely possessive, demanded complete devotion from her children, and insisted that they call her “Motherdear.”  Her three daughters were much plainer than their beautiful mother and very shy. Family members referred to them as “the whispering Walses.” Princess Victoria was never allowed to marry as her parents considered all her suitors unsuitable. She was destined to spend her life attending her mother who would ring a bell at all hours of the day and night to summon Victoria to her side. Princess Victoria’s cousin, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia, described her as little more than “a glorified maid.”

On January 22, 1901, Queen Victoria died and Bertie, at the age of 59, finally became King. The coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra was held at Westminster Abbey on August 9, 1902.  Originally scheduled for June 26, it had to be postponed because the new king developed appendicitis.  Bertie and Alix began the idea of the royal family’s public appearances as we now know them during Queen Victoria’s withdrawal after her husband’s death, and they continued this during Bertie’s reign.

Queen Alexandra and King Edward VII on their coronation day; Credit – Wikipedia

During his marriage, Bertie had many mistresses. Alix knew about many of them and accepted them. Among the women, Bertie socialized with were: the actress Lillie Langtry; Lady Randolph Churchill (born Jennie Jerome in the USA, was the mother of Winston Churchill); Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick; actress Sarah Bernhardt; and Alice Keppel who was his last mistress.  Alice Keppel is the great-grandmother of Queen Camilla. When Bertie was on his deathbed, Alix sent for Alice Keppel and arranged for her to see the king during one of his periods of consciousness. When Bertie died on May 6, 1910, Alix quipped, “Now at least I know where he is.”

Toward the end of her life, Alix became almost completely deaf and suffered from mild senile dementia. She died of a heart attack at her beloved Sandringham House on November 20, 1925, just eleven days short of her 81st birthday. She was the longest-lived queen consort since Eleanor of Aquitaine and held that record until the death of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother who died at the age of 101. Alix’s remains were brought to London and the cortege proceeded through the streets in a snowstorm. Queen Alexandra was buried with her husband in a tomb on the south side of the sanctuary of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

 

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House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Princess Michael of Kent

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

 

Baroness Marie-Christine Anna Agnes Hedwig Ida von Reibnitz was born on January 15, 1945, in Carlsbad, then in the German-controlled Sudetenland, now known as Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. Her father was Baron Günther von Reibnitz and her mother was Countess Maria Anna Szapáry von Muraszombath, a descendant of the House of Windisch-Grätz. Marie-Christine has an older half-sister Margarita from her father’s first marriage and an older brother Friedrich. In 1985, Princess Michael acknowledged that her father had been a member of the Nazi party and held the rank of Major in the SS (Schutzstaffel).

After her parents divorced, her father moved to Mozambique where he became a farmer and big game hunter, and her mother took Marie-Christine and her older brother to Sydney, Australia where she ran a hair salon. In 1968, Marie-Christine settled in London, England where she worked in architecture, carpentry, and advertising. She studied the history of fine and decorative art at the Victoria and Albert Museum and then had her own successful interior design company, Szapar Designs.

On September 14, 1971, Marie-Christine married English banker Thomas Troubridge, the younger brother of Sir Peter Troubridge, 6th Baronet. The couple separated in 1973 and divorced in 1977. The Roman Catholic Church formally annulled the marriage in May 1978. On June 30, 1978, Marie-Christine married Prince Michael of Kent, a grandson of King George V and a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, in a civil ceremony at the Rathaus (City Hall) in Vienna, Austria. On June 29, 1983, the couple married in a Roman Catholic ceremony, at the Archbishop’s House in London after receiving the permission of Pope John Paul II.

 

Because his wife was Roman Catholic, Prince Michael forfeited his place in the line of succession under the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701. When the Succession to The Crown Act 2013 went into effect, eliminating the exclusion of anyone who marries a Roman Catholic, Prince Michael was returned to his place in the line of succession.

Upon her marriage, Marie-Christine’s style and title became Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent. Traditionally, all wives of male members of the British Royal Family take the style and title of their husbands. Princess Michael could not be called Princess Marie-Christine, as she is not a princess in her own right. See Unofficial Royalty: Their Royal Highness Prince and Princess

The couple had two children, who were raised in the Church of England, and therefore retain their place in the line of succession to the British throne:

 

Neither Princess Michael nor her husband have official royal duties or receive public funds. However, they occasionally represented Queen Elizabeth II at events abroad. Princess Michael works as a writer, historian, lecturer, interior designer, and art consultant. She has authored three non-fiction books: Crowned in a Far Country: Eight Royal Brides, Cupid and the King – Five Royal Paramours, and The Serpent and The Moon – Two Rivals for the Love of a Renaissance King and two novels: The Queen Of Four Kingdoms and Agnès Sorel: Mistress of Beauty.

 

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Prince Michael of Kent

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Prince Michael of Kent; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Michael of Kent was born on July 4, 1942, at Coppins, his family’s country house in Iver, Buckinghamshire, England. He is the youngest of the three children of Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina of Greece, and one of the nine grandchildren of King George V. Because Prince Michael was born on American Independence Day, the Duke of Kent asked President Franklin Roosevelt to be one of his son’s godparents. President Roosevelt accepted and the baby prince was named Michael George Charles Franklin. See Unofficial Royalty: Born on the Fourth of July.

Michael was christened on August 4, 1942, at the Private Chapel in Windsor Castle. His godparents were:

 

Michael has two elder siblings:

Sadly, six weeks after his son’s birth, on August 25, 1942, the Duke of Kent died in a Royal Air Force plane crash in the service of his country. In 1947, Prince Michael served as a page boy at the wedding of his cousins, Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten.

Prince Michael was educated at Sunningdale School in Sunningdale, Berkshire, England and Eton College in Eton, Berkshire, England. He attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was commissioned into the 11th Hussars (Prince Albert’s Own).  Prince Michael served in Germany and Hong Kong and was part of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus in 1971. He had a twenty-year career in the military which included serving on the Defense Intelligence Staff.

Prince Michael does not carry out any official duties, although he occasionally represented Queen Elizabeth II, his first cousin, at events abroad.   Because he receives no public funds, Prince Michael had the permission of the Queen to earn a living and has his own consulting company.

Prince Michael attends the reburial ceremony for Empress Maria Feodorovna at the Cathedral of the Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg, 2006

Prince Michael had a strong interest in Russia and was the first member of the British Royal Family to learn Russian. Three of his grandparents were first cousins of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia and it has been said that Michael bears some resemblance to Nicholas. Prince Michael has qualified as a Russian interpreter and has traveled frequently to Russia. He has represented his cousin, Queen Elizabeth II, at Romanov-related events including the 1998 burial of Nicholas II and his family and the 2006 reburial of Empress Maria Feodorovna.

On June 30, 1978, Prince Michael married Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz, now known as Princess Michael of Kent, in a civil ceremony at the Rathaus (City Hall) in Vienna, Austria. Because his wife was Roman Catholic, Prince Michael forfeited his place in the line of succession under the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701.  When the Succession to The Crown Act 2013 went into effect, eliminating the exclusion of anyone who marries a Roman Catholic, Prince Michael was returned to his place in the line of succession.

 

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent have two children who were raised in the Church of England and are in the line of succession:

 

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“Much Ado About Nothing?” – Pondering Richard III’s DNA

by The Laird o’Thistle
December 4, 2014

The announcement this week that DNA evidence has shown, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the car-park bones from Leicester are those of Richard III is most welcome. But, it was the other news about Richard’s DNA that is garnering the headlines, mostly variations of, “DOUBT CAST ON ROYAL ANCESTRY!”

It appears that Richard III’s male-line descent from the Plantagenets has been disproven. Somewhere in the family line a husband was cuckolded by an adulterous wife (or, an infertile husband found a willing stand-in to father an heir for him). Speculation is rife as to the “who-what-when-where” this break in the royal line occurred. Most of the speculation, however, gets a failing grade in historical research!

A quick and simple look at Wikipedia (no less) indicates that there has been speculation, apparently since the fifteenth century, that the paternal grandfather of Edward IV and Richard III was illegitimate. He was known as Richard of Conisburgh (1375-1415). Richard of Conisburgh was ostensibly the son of Edmund of Langley, Duke of York, the fourth son of King Edward III. (Edmund’s two elder brothers were Lionel, Duke of Clarence, and John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, of whom more, anon.) Richard of Conisburgh’s mother was Isabella of Castile. His elder brother was Edward, the second Duke of York in the Plantagenet line. (Edward was the highest ranking English casualty at the battle of Agincourt, dying there in October 1415. He had no children.) Richard of Conisburgh married Anne Mortimer in 1408, and they had two surviving children, a son and a daughter. Their son, Richard (1411-1460), became the third Duke of York after the death of his uncle, and was the father of Edward IV and Richard III. In the summerof 1415 it was discovered that Richard of Conisburgh was part of a plot to assassinate King Henry V, and, after a hasty trial, Conisburgh was executed.

Questions about Richard of Conisburgh’s paternity have existed for years. He received no lands from his “father”, and was not even mentioned in Edmund’s will. It is believed that he may have been the offspring of an adulterous liaison between Isabella of Castile and John Holland, the first Duke of Exeter. Although passed over by his father, Conisburgh was favored by his mother who, in her will, appealed to King Richard II (Conisburgh’s godfather) to grant her son an annuity… which he did. This may be notable because, besides being Richard of Conisburgh’s godfather, Richard II was the maternal half-brother of John Holland. (Holland’s mother was Joan, the “Fair Maid of Kent”, a granddaughter of King Edward I. John Holland was a son of Joan’s first marriage. Her second marriage was to Edward III’s eldest son, Edward the “Black Prince” of Wales. Richard II was the offspring of that second marriage.) After the deposing of Richard II in 1399, Conisburgh “received no favors” from the Lancastrian Henry IV.

So much for Richard of Conisburgh. It seems likely to me that the new DNA discovery will eventually be found (if they can get evidence from the Holland family) to confirm the old speculation. What all the articles that I have seen thus far fail to take into account, however, is that the House of York’s primary claim to the throne – putting them ahead of the Lancastrians – was not based on their male-line descent from Edmund of Langley. It was based on their descent through Richard of Conisburgh’s wife, Anne Mortimer, who was the heiress of Edward II’s second son, Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence. The question of Richard III’s male-line descent… and that of Edward IV… is moot, so long as their father was their father, the son of Anne Mortimer.

Anne Mortimer (1390-1411) was the daughter and eventual heiress of Roger Mortimer, fourth Earl of March, and Eleanor Holland. (Eleanor was a grandniece of John Holland, above.) Roger Mortimer was, in turn the son and primary heir of Philippa of Clarence, the only child of Lionel of Antwerp. Roger Mortimer was widely, though not officially, recognized as the “heir presumptive” to the childless King Richard II. Mortimer, however, was slain in Ireland in 1398, and the family claim was shunted aside by Henry IV’s coup the following year. Mortimer’s elder surviving son and daughters were not well treated by the Lancastrians, and Anne Mortimer was the only one to have issue. Anne’s marriage to Richard of Conisburgh occurred without parental consent, but it was validated by the Pope in 1408. Anne died shortly after the birth of her son Richard, the eventual third Duke of York, in 1411.

Anne Mortimer was the key to the House of York’s claim to the throne, over against the Lancastrians. It was her claim that was being pressed in the Wars of the Roses. It was her claim that passed through her son to King’s Edward IV and Richard III. It was her claim that passed through Edward IV’s daughter, Elizabeth of York, to the Tudors with Elizabeth’s marriage to Henry VII. The question of the male-line descent of Edward IV and Richard III is moot… as is the question being asked by some about legitimacy in the Lancastrian line. While the English laws of succession… until the recent change prior to Prince George’s birth… practiced male primogeniture, they never excluded descent via the female line. England was never a land where the Salic Law (allowing only male-line descent) was recognized. (Ironically, Shakespeare includes a notable discussion of the Salic Law in his Henry V.)

It is fairly safe to assume, then, that despite the sensational headlines of the moment, there is no actual threat to the legitimacy of the British royal line, past or present, in this Richard III news. There may be a newly confirmed anomaly, but the legitimacy of the historic succession is not in question here.

Best wishes to all for a Merry Christmas, and a “Gude New Year” to ane and ‘a!

Yours aye,
Ken Cuthbertson

New study on Richard III’s DNA published

Memorial to King Richard III in the choir of Leicester Cathedral; Credit – Wikipedia

A study with more details about the DNA testing on King Richard III’s remains was published on December 2, 2014. The study concluded that the remains found under the parking lot are undoubtedly those of Richard III, he apparently had blond hair and blue eyes, and there appears to be some infidelity somewhere in Richard’s maternal line.

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Richard III’s remains will be interred on March 26, 2015 at Leicester Cathedral.
BBC, August 7, 2014 : Richard III reinterment date announced

Princess Alexandra, The Honorable Lady Ogilvy

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Princess Alexandra, The Hon. Lady Ogilvy

Princess Alexandra Helen Elizabeth Olga Christabel of Kent was born on December 25, 1936, at No. 3 Belgrave Square, her parent’s London home. She is the daughter of Prince George, Duke of Kent (son of King George V) and Princess Marina of Greece. At the time of her birth, she was sixth in the line of succession for the British throne. Through her father, Alexandra is a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, and through her mother, she is a first cousin once removed of The Duke of Edinburgh.

Princess Alexandra was christened in the Private Chapel at Buckingham Palace on February 9, 1937. Her godparents were:

Alexandra has an elder brother and a younger brother:

  • Marina, Duchess of Kent with her three children, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra and Prince Michael on his first birthday in 1943

    Along with her siblings, Alexandra grew up at Coppins, the family’s country home in Iver in Buckinghamshire, England. In 1942, her father was killed in a plane crash, just weeks after the birth of her younger brother. Alexandra attended Heathfield School, near Ascot, England. She was the first British princess to attend an ordinary school, instead of being taught privately at home. She later studied French and music at a finishing school in Paris and took a nursing course at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, England.

     

    In the late 1950s, Princess Alexandra began to take on royal duties, supporting her cousin, Queen Elizabeth II. She often represented The Queen on trips overseas, including the 1960 independence ceremonies in Nigeria. Alexandra was one of the most active members of the royal family, undertaking well over 120 engagements each year. From 1964 until 2004, she served as Chancellor of Lancaster University.

     

    In November 1962, it was announced that Princess Alexandra had become engaged to The Honorable Angus Ogilvy, second son of David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie and Lady Alexandra Coke, daughter of Thomas Coke, 3rd Earl of Leicester. At the time of the marriage, the 12th Earl of Airlie served as Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The couple married on April 24, 1963, at Westminster Abbey, and their wedding was televised around the world. Sir Angus died in December 2004.

    They had two children:

    • James Robert Bruce Ogilvy (1964), married Julia Rawlinson, had two children
      • Flora Alexandra Ogilvy (born 1994)
      • Alexander Charles Ogilvy (born 1996)
    • Marina Victoria Alexandra Ogilvy (1966), married and divorced Paul Mowatt, had two children
      • Zenouska May Mowatt (born 1990)
      • Christian Alexander Mowatt (born 1993)

  • The family resided at Thatched House Lodge in Richmond Park in London, England. Despite being offered a grace-and-favor residence by Queen Elizabeth II, the couple instead chose to lease Thatched House Lodge from the Crown. Princess Alexandra continues to live at Thatched House and maintains an apartment at St James’ Palace in London, England

    In April 2013, Buckingham Palace announced that Princess Alexandra was suffering from polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), and had canceled future public appointments indefinitely. She was not seen for much of the year but returned to royal duties later in the year. In recent years, Princess Alexandra has not been seen often. In May 2023, she appeared with other working members of the royal family in photos in the Throne Room and on the Buckingham Palace balcony following the coronation of King Charles III, which she had attended. In February 2024, she was seen using a wheelchair at the thanksgiving service for the late King Constantine II of Greece at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

    The Princess holds several royal appointments:

        • Patron, Alzheimer’s Society
        • Patron, St Christopher’s Hospice
        • Patron, CancerBACUP
        • Patron, MIND
        • Patron, Mental Health Foundation
        • Patron, Cystic Fibrosis Trust
        • Deputy President, British Red Cross Society
        • Patron, Guide Dogs for the Blind Association
        • Patron, Action for Blind People
        • President, Sight Savers International
        • President, Alexandra’s Rose Day
        • Patron, English National Opera
        • Patron, Blackie Foundation Trust
        • Patron, London Philharmonic Choir
        • Patron, Nature in Art Trust
        • Patron, London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
        • Patron, Royal Alexandra Hospital for Sick Children
        • Patron, Children and Families Across Borders
        • Patron, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama

       

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