Thurn und Taxis Jewellery

[micas]

Some1 have pics from this famely jewels? They semes have a very nice colection of jewels and some of them are very old and belong to a lot of famely. Itr semes they sell all the jewels recently
Some1 can post pics and tell a litle more about there jewels?

[reynard]

Originally Posted by micas

Some1 have pics from this famely jewels? They semes have a very nice colection of jewels and some of them are very old and belong to a lot of famely. Itr semes they sell all the jewels recently
Some1 can post pics and tell a litle more about there jewels?

Here's some pictures of Thurn und Taxis tiaras past and present

[hillary_nugent]

Who are the Thurn und Taxis? are they are royal house? what country are they from?

[hrhcp]

Originally Posted by hillary_nugent

Who are the Thurn und Taxis? are they are royal house? what country are they from?

They are (were?) one of the richest royal families in Europe. About 300 to 400 years ago, they got the concession from (?) to carry the mail between various cities in Europe, for I believe an unlimited length of time. It did end, and I gather they did get a payout, but have never been able to ascertain the extent of the payout. It must have been handsome.

I wonder how much of their concession grew from spying and/or serving other masters, while doing that ?

Thurn & Taxis is based out of Regensburg in Bavaria, Germany. Compared to the other royal families (prior to WW1), I don't think they controlled a large area of Bavaria. If that is the case, then they were one of the first royals to "dirty" their hands at a commercial trade, albeit a fantastic royal monopoly concession.

[StefanievonRantzau]

Originally Posted by hrhcp

They are (were?) one of the richest royal families in Europe. About 300 to 400 years ago, they got the concession from (?) to carry the mail between various cities in Europe, for I believe an unlimited length of time. It did end, and I gather they did get a payout, but have never been able to ascertain the extent of the payout. It must have been handsome.

Ruggiano de Tassis (Franz von Taxis) founded the postal service in Italy. In Innsbruck, in 1489, Jeannetto de Tassis (Taxis) was appointed Chief Master of Postal Services, and the family held its exclusive position for centuries. In 1516, the Thurn und Taxis family had a postal service based in Brussels reaching to Rome, Naples, Spain, Germany and France by courier. The Thurn und Taxis company lasted until the 18th century, when the postal service was finally bought by the heir to the Spanish throne.
The house of Thurn und Taxis is currently headed by HSH Albert Maria Lamoral Miguel Johannes Gabriel 12th Fürst von Thurn und Taxis, son of Gloria Princess von Thurn und Taxis. Since 1748 the family resides in St. Emmeran Castle in Regensburg. The family's brewery was sold to the Paulaner Group (Munich) in 1996, but still produces beer under the brand of Thurn und Taxis.

More information is available on the family's website:
http://www.thurnundtaxis.de/frs_home.html

[Reina]

Did they actually sell their jewelry. I would go mad!

[Mandy]

Pictures from www.fotomarktplatz.de

[Mandy]

Necklaces, earrings and brooches.

All pictures from www.fotomarktplatz.de

[reynard]

Originally Posted by Reina

Did they actually sell their jewelry. I would go mad!

THe last Prince married a much younger lady, countess Gloria. In the 80's she was known as the "Punk Princess". She would wear fabulous tiaras and jewels with punk, spiked, painted hair. She settled down a lot, especially after her husbands death. Their young son inherited a huge fortune, but his father must have had a lot of debts (I guess the wealth was all tied up in industry, etc.) So Gloria rolled up her sleeves and sold off some of the family heirlooms. Personally, I would have sold one of their MANY castles (prince Phillip is said to have jokingly complained about how FEW homes the queen had compared to the Thurn und Taxis family).

[hrhcp]

Originally Posted by reynard

THe last Prince married a much younger lady, countess Gloria.

I gather house rules stipulated that he had to marry an aristo, and she was young enough to be his daughter or granddaughter when they married. The old prince (Johannes?) had a reputation of swinging DC, so he had a bit of hard time to find some-one who would say yes. She came from an impoverished aristo family, so .....

In the 80's she was known as the "Punk Princess". She would wear fabulous tiaras and jewels with punk, spiked, painted hair.

Anything to dispell a myth or two.

She settled down a lot, especially after her husbands death.

The taint was gone. Sorry that I am so snippy, but I prefer the "real story".

Their young son inherited a huge fortune

that he did. Hope he hasn't inherited the vices genes from the men's side of his family.

, but his father must have had a lot of debts (I guess the wealth was all tied up in industry, etc.) So Gloria rolled up her sleeves and sold off some of the family heirlooms.

actually it had to be sold off to pay off the death tax, which is still present in Germany.

[PreDoc]

Originally Posted by Prince of Chota

party princes like Johannes and Gloria in the 1980s lived in such a way that it was as if they forgot the source of their fabulous wealth--the state (and ultimately its citizens). This, in my opinion, is one of the greatest psychological problems caused by the abolition of monarchy and the noble system.

That seems to be an unusual and provocative opinion. Thank you Chota!

[joon112]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but in the set of pictures posted by brnbg68, isn't the first picture actually Gloria in fancy dress?

[StefanievonRantzau]

Originally Posted by reynard

Their young son inherited a huge fortune, but his father must have had a lot of debts (I guess the wealth was all tied up in industry, etc.) So Gloria rolled up her sleeves and sold off some of the family heirlooms. Personally, I would have sold one of their MANY castles (prince Phillip is said to have jokingly complained about how FEW homes the queen had compared to the Thurn und Taxis family).

From worldroots.com:
"After Prince Johannes' death, the Thurn und Taxis empire almost collapsed under the weight of death duties and adventurous financial speculation. The princely couple's extravagance also contributed to their mounting debts. Princess Gloria was forced to open the doors of her husband's castles and hold auctions. She also sold off most of the enterprises that were in deep financial straits, while reducing the family's expenditures. The Princess' actions to safeguard the future of her son's inheritance has raised the ire of many members of the family, yet she did not have other options. Johannes' death did not allow him time to prepare his affairs and thus reduce the amount of tax levied on the Thurn und Taxis empire by the German government. Princess Gloria's activities in favor of her son's future seem thus far to have saved a large portion of the family's patrimony. Long-gone are the endless parties, the constant thundering of nightclubs and the nasty encounters with paparazzi. These days, Princess Gloria spends most of her time dedicated to the upbringing of her children and to the dutiful restructuring of the Thurn und Taxis legacy."

I'm surprised that Prince Johannes hadn't planned ahead. Didn't he have a heart transplant?

[hillary_nugent]

wait why did they sell their jewels in the first place, when they're one of the richest royal families?

[Warren]

wait why did the Thurn und Taxis sell their jewels in the first place, when they're one of the richest royal families?

Like many old Princely and aristocratic families, they were rich in assets.
The T 'n T family had extensive land holdings in the Habsburg Empire, especially Bohemia. They had the foresight to transfer the moveable assets (eg furniture, art) to the safer family seat in Regensburg, Bavaria.

Although they, like the Liechtensteins and others, lost their estates in Soviet-occupied Eastern Europe, they had valuable assets securely stored away. The T 'n T "headquarters", St Emmerams in Regensberg is a huge complex. Princess Gloria was quoted as saying that the rooms were stuffed with excess furniture.

So when Prince Johannes died, and death duties had to be paid and the family companies re-organised, these "surplus" assets, plus a number of fabulous jewels from their extensive collection, were sold to raise the cash.

Princess Gloria did not need to sell any of their TWELVE castles/schloss in Germany.

Here is the link to the Thurn und Taxis website: http://www.thurnundtaxis.de/frs_home.html
.........
The pic below is (part of) St Emmerams in Regensberg, Bavaria.
.

[Reina]

Did Gloria have to sell the yacht? Does one have info on the other homes they own?

[Warren]

When Gloria took control of the family enterprises the yacht was one of the first things to go.

A post script to the previous post: St Emmerams, the family seat in Regensburg, has more rooms than Buckingham Palace.

Some years ago in the televised version of Robert Lacey's "Aristocrats" some of the Thurn und Taxis schloss were shown, but it is hard to find a definitive list of what the family owns.

I know this is actually the T 'n T jewellery thread, but a couple of "homes" will have to do.

Schloss Hohenberg - left
Schloss Taxis - right

[hillary_nugent]

Whoa, they have 12 castles?!?! O___O that's alot more than most well known royal families isn't it?!?! wow, it must cost heaps to maintain all of them!!!

[EmpressRouge]

There's a book out there that has a nice profile of the von Thurn und Taxis' jewelry:
Famous Jewelry Collectors by Stephano Papi. I think it's been translated into other languages, for sure into French.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846

[Warren]

Originally Posted by EmpressRouge

There's a book out there that has a nice profile of the von Thurn und Taxis' jewelry:
Famous Jewelry Collectors by Stephano Papi. I think it's been translated into other languages, for sure into French.

This book's not bad, but it's not strictly a "Royal Jewels" book.
It is divided into three sections: Screen Actresses, Aristocracy, and Society.

The best part is 'Aristocracy':

Cornelia, Countess of Craven (includes ruby & diamond tiara from the French Crown Jewels)
Gladys, Duchess of Marlborough
King Umberto II of Italy
The Princess Royal, Countess of Harewood
The Princes von Thurn und Taxis (gasp! see it to believe it!)
The Duchess of Windsor (OK if you like heavy and clunky)

'Society' includes:

Countess Mona Bismarck (fabulous diamonds & rubies)
Lydia, Lady Deterding (very classy)
Daisy Fellowes (more heavy and clunky)
Barbara Hutton (includes Grand Duchess Vladimir's emerald and diamond necklace with the 100 carat [yes] hexagonal emerald)

Some of the jewels are very well photographed and presented.
.