Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Princess Benedike of Denmark attended the International Horse show at Flyinge in Southern Sweden on Wednesday, November 04th 2009.

Click at the image to get to a gallery at Svenskdam.se

Princess Madeleine just returned home from her month-long stay in New York.
Yesterday the Princess attended a large horse show. Among the participants in the show was also Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, who competes in the World Cup in dressage. Nathalie is the daughter of Princess Benedikte of Denmark, who joined Madeleine.
The two Princesses arrived in a horse-drawn carriage in the large indoor riding school where the show was held.

You can find a gallery here.

Her_Majesty Danish Royals, German Royals, Swedish Royals Horses, Princess Benedikte, Princess Madeleine, Princess Nathalie, Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, Sport

Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Bavaria was born 150 years ago, on 22 October 1859, in the Royal Palace in Madrid.

He was the eldest son of Prince Adalbert of Bavaria (1828-1875) and his wife Princess Amalia, née Infanta of Spain (1834-1905); his paternal grandparents were King Ludwig I and Queen Therese of Bavaria, while his maternal grandparents were Infante Francisco de Paula and Infanta Luisa Carlotta of Spain; among his cousins were three Kings of Bavaria, Ludwig II, Otto and Ludwig III, and King Alfonso XII of Spain.

Prince Ludwig Ferdinand in 1906 - from Wikipedia

Prince Ludwig Ferdinand grew up firstly in Spain and later in Bavaria together with his four siblings, a brother, Prince Alfons, and three sisters, Princess Isabella, later Princess of Savoy and Duchess of Genova, Princess Elvira, later Countess von Wrbna, and Princess Clara.

Ludwig Ferdinand studied medicine in Heidelberg and Munich, following the example of Duke Karl Theodor in Bavaria, and took the government licensing examination in Surgery and Gynaecology; he also was member of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe (German Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics) and Cirujano honorario de la Real Academia Española (Honorary Surgeon of the Spanish Royal Academy); his devotion to the medicine was seen by his family as one of the many eccentricities of the members of the Bavarian Royal Family, but later it has been very appreciated, since the Prince used to practise his job of surgeon gratuitously. Read more…

MAfan German Royals, Historical Royals Anniversary, Bavaria, Biography, Birthday, Prince Ludwig Ferdinand

Fürstin Ruth Erika zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg died on October 15, aged 87.

Arms of Löwenstein-Wertheim

She was born June 25, 1922 at Schloss Buggenhagen, her family seat. Her parents were Hans Detlef von Buggenhagen and Ruth Baronin von Resenberg. When her only brother died in 1941, Ruth Erika devoted herself to running their family estate. However, after World War II, the territory of the estate was annexed into the territory of the newly created German Democratic Republic, and her family was forced to flee to West Germany.

After a brief courtship, she married Alfred-Ernst, the Hereditary Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenber on September 9, 1950. Prince Alfred-Ernst was the son of Udo VI Fürst zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg and Margarethe Gräfin zu Castell-Castell. After Fürst Udo’s death in 1980, Prince Alfred-Ernst became Alfred-Ernst VII Fürst zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg. The couple had 5 children:

1) Ludwig Udo Hans Peter Alfred Prinz zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg, born May 24, 1951. He married Verena von Stulpnagel-Dargitz in 1976. The marriage was childless and ended in divorce. In 1987, he married Elisabeth Pauline von Waldburg Gräfin zu Wolfegg und Waldsee, the daughter of Ludwig Karl von Waldburg Graf zu Wolfegg und Waldsee and Stephanie Pauline Prinzessin von Schönburg-Waldenburg. They are parents to 3 children: Sophie Prinzessin zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg (born September 1, 1988), Amelie Prinzessin zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg (born August 15, 1990) and Ludwig Prinz zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg (born June 30, 1994).

Read more…

Marsel German Royals Biography, Death, Fürstin Ruth Erika, Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg

  Yesterday evening, on 16 October 2009 in Rio de Janeiro, the wedding was celebrated between Count Alexander zu Stolberg-Stolberg and HRH Princess Isabel d’Orleans-Bragança.

The wedding took place at 7.30pm in the Imperial Irmandade de Nossa Senhora da Gloria do Outeiro, a church in Rio where several royal weddings of the members of the Brazilian Imperial Family took place, included the one of the parents of the bride, thirty-four years ago. A reception followed the ceremony in the Imperial Palace of Rio.

Courtesy of anp-photo.com

The list of the guests is quite impressive, since a lot of European and Brazilian royals and aristocrats were expected to attend the wedding; among them, several uncles and aunts of the bride: HIH Prince Dom Luiz d’Orleans-Bragança, Head of the Imperial Family, Prince Dom Antonio and Princess Dona Cristina d’Orleans-Bragança, Prince Michel and Princess Eleonore de Ligne; Prince Dom Duarte Pio and Princess Dona Isabel of Portugal, Duke and Duchess of Bragança; Prince Jean d’Orleans, Duke of Vendome; Prince Luitpold of Bavaria; Prince Jaime of Bourbon-Parma, Count of Bardi, and his sister Princess Maria Carolina, Marchioness of Sala; Fürst Jost-Christian zu Stolberg-Stolberg and other members of his family; members of the most prominent Belgian noble families, like Merode and Arenberg.

The groom, Count Alexander zu Stolberg-Stolberg, is the oldest of the five children of Count Franz and Countess Jacqueline, née Florin de Duikinberg; he was born in Frankfurt in 1974. Now he lives in Bruxelles, where he works in the financial field.

The bride, Princess Isabel d’Orleans-Bragança, is the 31-years-old eldest daughter of Prince Dom Fernando d’Orleans-Bragança and his wife Princess Maria de Graça, née Baere de Araújo; due to the morganatic marriage of her parents and the renounce of her father to his rights to the Brazilian throne, Isabel is not considered as a dynast into the Brazilian Imperial Family.

Now, the newlyweds will live in Bruxelles, where Alexander already lives and works.

To know more about this wedding, please read this thread.

MAfan Brazilian Royals, German Royals Count Alexander, Orléans-Bragança, Princess Isabel, Stolberg-Stolberg, Wedding

 Her Royal Highness Magdalene, Princess Hubertus of Prussia, died on Saturday, 10 October 2009, in Schloss Löwenstein in Kleinheubach. She was 89 years old.

Click to see at preussen.de

Princess Magdalene Pauline Reuss zu Köstritz was born at Leipzig on 20 August 1920, the eldest daughter of Prince Heinrich XXXVI Reuss zu Köstritz and his wife Hermine, née Princess von Schönburg-Waldenburg; Princess Magdalene had a younger sister, Caroline, Countess von Wedel. On 5 June 1943 Magdalene married Prince Hubertus of Prussia in Schloss Prillwitz. Hubertus was the third son of Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia and of his wife Crown Princess Cecilie, née Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and grandson of the last German Emperor Wilhelm II; Prince Hubertus was previously married to Baroness Maria von Humboldt-Dachroeden, from whom he had divorced some months before the wedding to Magdalene.

Hubertus and Magdalene had together two children, both daughters: Princess Anastasia and Princess Marie Christine. The eldest, Anastasia, was born in 1944, and is married since 1965 to Fürst Aloys-Konstantin zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg; the youngest daughter, Marie Christine, was born in 1947, and died aged 19 in 1966 from the injuries resulting from a car accident. Prince Hubert died of appendicitis in 1950 in South Africa, aged 41, leaving Magdalene alone with their two daughters; Magdalene never remarried.

Princess Magdalene will be buried next to her husband in the St.Michaels Bastei, near to Burg Hohenzollern.

To learn more about the Prussian Royal Family look at this thread; to read the announcement of her death look at the official website of the Prussian Royal Family (in german).

MAfan German Royals Death, Princess Magdalene, Prussia

Click at the image to see an article at Aftonbladet

Princess Anni-Frid “Frida” Reuss, former singer of the Swedish pop-group ABBA, is one of the member of the “Swedish Heros” (Svenska Hjältar) jury this year. “Svenska Hjältar” is a gala, where celebrities are sitting in the audience and ordinary people, who did something unusual or heroic, are celebrated on the stage. On Monday, December 14th, six heroes will be celebrated at a grand gala at the cirkus in Stockholm.

In an interview the Princess Reuss was asked if she has a personal “hero of all heroes”: “My grandmother who took me and moved to Sweden when I was two years old. She had no idea what was waiting. She had style, emotion and pride. It is now at later age that I only realise what deed she did.” Frida was raised by her grandmother after her mother’s death.

Furthermore the Princess was asked to describe a hero in 3 words: “Heart, caring, courage.”

You can find a thread about the Princely House of Reuss here.

Her_Majesty German Royals ABBA, Anni-Frid Lyngstad

HRH Princess Benedikte, the Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, has recently completed an official visit to South Korea, which begun early last week.

On Wednesday September 9th, Princess Benedikte was awarded an honorary doctorate in literature from the Seoul Women’s University at a ceremony presided over by the University’s president, Rhee Kwang-ja. The Princess was awarded the doctorate due to her work with young women, and promoting their education.

Princess Benedikte is also in South Korea to attend the 2009 Olave Baden-Powell Society Annual Event for the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, an organisation she has been patron of since 1984. She attended a media round-table on Saturday September 12th, where she told the press her passion comes from “motivating young women to become stronger.”

Benedikte also praised the South Korean girl scouts, stating “I think Korea’s [girl scout movement] is the most active. I feel this country acts as the leader [for girl scouts worldwide].”

HRH is an active patron of Denmark’s two highest scouting organisations, the Green Girl Guides of Denmark and the Danish Guide and Scout Organisation, as well as the OB-PS.

Click here to view Princess Benedikte’s current events thread.

JessRulz Danish Royals, German Royals Official Visit, Patronage, Princess Benedikte, Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, Scouting, South Korea

Click for the photo at royaltyguide.nl

Hereditary Prince Christian zu Solms-Hohensolms-Lich and Countess Christina Douglas married in a religious cerimony in Lich on Saturday, 5 September 2009. They had previously married in a civil ceremony in Vienna on 13 December 2008.

The 34-years-old groom is the eldest of the four children and heir of Fürst Philipp-Reinhard zu Solms-Hohensolms-Lich and his wife Fürstin Marie, née Fouché d’Otrante.
The bride, who is 2 years older then her husband, is the eldest child and only daughter of Count Patrick Douglas (a grandson of Count Robert Douglas, the second husband of Queen Auguste Viktoria of Portugal) and of his former wife, Baroness Alexandra von Berlichingen.

The religious marriage took place on the first birthday of their son Louis, born on 5 September 2008.

Both Christian and Christine are related to the highest european (but mostly german) aristocracy: Christian is a first cousin once removed of Fürst Richard zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, whose wife Princess Benedikte of Denmark attended the wedding, while Christina is a distant cousin of Duchess Elizabeth in Bavaria, née Countess Douglas, and of Count Archibald Douglas, the husband of Archduchess Walburga of Austria,

The wedding was attended by several members of the german aristocracy: Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Hereditary Prince Heinrich-Donatus and Hereditary Princess Floria-Franziska of Hessen and their son Prince Moritz, Fürst Alexander and Fürstin Gabriela zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, Prince Ludwig-Ferdinand and Princess Yvonne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, Fürst Albrecht and Fürstin Marie Luise zu Castell-Castell, Fürst Wolfgang-Ernst and Fürstin Leonille zu Ysenburg und Büdingen with their daughter Princess Felizitas, former German President Roman Herzog and his wife Alexandra.

More infos can be found in this thread and in this website; pictures of the cerimony can be found in this website.

MAfan German Royals Hereditary Prince Christian, Hereditary Princess Christina, Solms-Hohensolms-Lich, Wedding

Continuing with her two-day visit to Germany, HM Queen Margrethe II yesterday was still in Dresden. She and her sister, Princess Benedikte, first attended a luncheon at Eckberg Palace. This was also attended by the Saxon Governor Stanislaw Tillich, and his wife Veronika.

Click to see the Getty Images gallery

The two sisters then opened an art exhibition at the Princes Gallery of Dresden Castle, entitled “With Fortuna Over the Sea. Saxony and Denmark Marriages and Alliances in the Mirror of Art (1548-1709)”. The exhibition, which contains art from the Royal Collection at Rosenborg Castle in Denmark and the State Art Collection in Dresden, is being held to mark the 300th anniversary of King Frederik IV’s month-long visit to Saxony, which took place in 1709. The King visited Augustus II the Strong, the Elector of Saxony between 1694 and 1733.

At the opening, Queen Margrethe and Princess Benedikte also got to met King Christian IV (ruler of Denmark for the period 1588-1648) – in bust form, however.

Click here to read the thread about Margrethe and Benedikte’s visit to Germany.

JessRulz Danish Royals, German Royals Exhibition, Germany, Margrethe II, Official Visit, Princess Benedikte, Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg

HM Queen Margrethe II is currently on a two-day visit to her southern neighbour, Germany. She arrived earlier today in Berlin, where she was greeted by the German President, Horst Köhler. The pair had a brief meeting before the Queen had her first engagement.

Click to see the Getty Images gallery

A move to Dresden and the city’s Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) was the site of this engagement, and Margrethe was fascinated by the church’s beauty. She spoke with HE Jochen Bohl, the State Bishop of Saxony, and pointed out several items on the church’s ceiling which captured her attention. The Queen was accompanied by the Governor of Saxony, Stanislaw Tillich, and his wife Veronika.

Princess Benedikte, the Queen’s younger sister, joined in the visit tonight for a dinner at the Zwinger Art Museum, in honour of Queen Margrethe. This was followed by the duo attending a performance of the ballet Giselle at the Semper Opera.

Queen Margrethe’s visit concludes tomorrow.

Click here to view the thread regarding the visit.

JessRulz Danish Royals, German Royals Germany, Margrethe II, Official Visit, President Köhler, Princess Benedikte, Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg