Princess Caroline and husbands part II

[Denville]

Hardlly a parent. She had one child by Ernest..and I find it hard to beleive that he was ever all that well respected, given how dreadfully he's behaved over many years.

 

[Stefan]

Correct. Before his public fall from grace the Prince of Hannover simply was a respected royal, welcome at all royal courts, representing a House firmly rooted in the highest echelons of the Almanach de Gotha, widely expanded into almost all royal families, from Britain to Greece, from Prussia to the Netherlands, etc.

As far as i remember Prince Ernst August did not attend much Events in the reigning Royal Houses in Europe before his marriage to Princess Caroline. perhaps the one or other Event in Spain and the UK because of his relations but i don't think he was present at royal Events in Denmark, or the Netherlands for example.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

As far as i remember Prince Ernst August did not attend much Events in the reigning Royal Houses in Europe before his marriage to Princess Caroline. perhaps the one or other Event in Spain and the UK because of his relations but i don't think he was present at royal Events in Denmark, or the Netherlands for example.

Yes he was. Prince Albert represented Monaco.
The Prince and Princess of Hannover were invited royal guests in Amsterdam as well: https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2D41TM5/p...e-kerk-church-reuterspaul-vreeker-2D41TM5.jpg

 

[fandesacs2003]

Before his marriage to Princess Caroline, he was hardly known to social celebrity observers. Maybe he was known to the very addicted royal observers and specialists, but not to the average ones.
As for his potential attendance we do not known if he just did not want to attend, but indeed was invited to. I don't believe that he suddenly became invited only just after his marriage to Caroline.
I remember also in the beginning of their marriage, Caroline was with him to many inside Germany events related to the different royal and princely houses of Germany. I don't think she was invited as Rainier's daughter.
Interesting to see if he was invited to Prince Charles wedding with Diana, furthermore since his father was still alive , maybe father was there to represent the House of Hannover.
One if the few and maybe last events, related to royals he went, was the celebration of 50 years marriage of King Konstantine of Greece, being his first cousin.

As far as i remember Prince Ernst August did not attend much Events in the reigning Royal Houses in Europe before his marriage to Princess Caroline. perhaps the one or other Event in Spain and the UK because of his relations but i don't think he was present at royal Events in Denmark, or the Netherlands for example.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

I find the assumption that Caroline WANTED to be accepted by the "highest levels of the Gotha" in the first place a bit of a stretch.

Her first two marriages give the lie to that theory.

She came very close to making a 3rd marriage to an actor, Vincent Lindon.

And by all accounts the 3rd marriage she did make was to a man she had known most of her life- Ernest von Hanover-but fell passionately in love with when she was approaching middle age. I doubt if the idea of being trotted out on his arm to high profile Royal weddings factored into her decision to marry him at all, based on her previous romantic choices.

In short...ALL of Princess Caroline's romantic choices seem to have been made with her heart and not her head.

As for her attendance at the 2012 Luxembourg Royal wedding of Guillaume and Stephanie, Caroline was indeed representing her brother Albert as he had been committed to a State visit (Poland?) at the time of the announcement of the wedding date. The fact that she was/is personally close to Grand Duke Henri and has known him since childhood made Caroline the perfect choice to stand in for Prince Albert at that wedding.

 

[Denville]

her behaviour has indeed been very odd. Her first two marriages were clearly love matches.. and then it was rumoured that she was in love with an actor.. but I never worked out why she didn't marry him. then she married Ernest who is "highly born" but far from a desiralbe husband. so it would seem that her main reason for marrying him MUST have been his "high birth".

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

I am sure Princess Caroline did not care so much about, as her first two marriages show indeed. But the point was: when she married the (now disgraced) Prince of Hannover her status changed from one of Rainier's children into that of The Princess of Hannover.

Were the two not estranged now and was Prince Ernst August not so problematic, we would have seen the couple at more royal events.

 

[fandesacs2003]

I don't think that Caroline wed EA because of his royal position. If this was true, she would grab on him already at their youth ages. And if true she would have kept being with him still now.
Furthermore, she liked the Royal life with EA, she has been raised to be comfortable with, and she appreciated. For instance her sister, never liked protocol and royal events, Caroline yes.
And I don't believe either that Caroline does not divorce because of keeping the HRH. They have their reasons not to divorce, reasons unknown for us, but certainly not for this.

 

[Denville]

Given that she was apparently in love with someone else, an actor, I think its rather surprising that she didn't wed the actor. There were rumour that Rainier didn't like the idea, and possibly she gave way on this and then got involved iwht Ernest on the rebound.... As for not getting a divorce, they may well have complicated financial arrangements that are hard to unpick... or she may wish to keep her HRH...

 

[fandesacs2003]

Absolutely agree to all you said

I am sure Princess Caroline did not care so much about, as her first two marriages show indeed. But the point was: when she married the (now disgraced) Prince of Hannover her status changed from one of Rainier's children into that of The Princess of Hannover.

Were the two not estranged now and was Prince Ernst August not so problematic, we would have seen the couple at more royal events.

 

[Stefan]

Yes he was. Prince Albert represented Monaco.
The Prince and Princess of Hannover were invited royal guests in Amsterdam as well: https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2D41TM5/p...e-kerk-church-reuterspaul-vreeker-2D41TM5.jpg

But that was after his Wedding Princess Caroline not before. Or did he attend dutch Royal Events before 1999?

 

[fandesacs2003]

Princess Caroline, before wedding EA attended zero royal events.
Prince EA we don't know as we barely knew him before he wed her.
So do you mean that all the royal events they attended together, after 1999, it was because she was invited and he accompanied her?
Attending Prince Felipe's wedding, (Queen Sofia and Prince EA are first cousins) was because Caroline was invited?
Same for Denmark, both are descendents of King Christian, is also because Caroline was invited?
The question is also, which major royal events took place in the period 1980 -1999? Out of the PoW marriage to Diana, I can remember the two Spanish infantas. I don't think Caroline was invited to one of them.
For Prince EA we need a search, as unknown to the celebrity press then.

But that was after his Wedding Princess Caroline not before. Or did he attend dutch Royal Events before 1999?

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Given that she was apparently in love with someone else, an actor, I think its rather surprising that she didn't wed the actor. There were rumour that Rainier didn't like the idea, and possibly she gave way on this and then got involved iwht Ernest on the rebound.... As for not getting a divorce, they may well have complicated financial arrangements that are hard to unpick... or she may wish to keep her HRH...

According to Lindon, there were too many obstacles proposed by Prince Rainier and not objected to by Caroline that caused the romance between the two to go sour.

There was of course an air tight prenuptial agreement but what Lindon apparently truly objected to were certain religious requirements demanded by Rainier that I am not clear about...but I assume concerned demands that any children of the marriage must be baptized and educated as Catholics.

The reason I am confused ( if this is true) is that Rainier apparently did not make the same demand of Prince Ernest. Princess Alexandra was baptized Lutheran and remained so, until she converted to Catholicism as an adult.

 

[Stefan]

Princess Caroline, before wedding EA attended zero royal events.
Prince EA we don't know as we barely knew him before he wed her.
So do you mean that all the royal events they attended together, after 1999, it was because she was invited and he accompanied her?
Attending Prince Felipe's wedding, (Queen Sofia and Prince EA are first cousins) was because Caroline was invited?
Same for Denmark, both are descendents of King Christian, is also because Caroline was invited?
The question is also, which major royal events took place in the period 1980 -1999? Out of the PoW marriage to Diana, I can remember the two Spanish infantas. I don't think Caroline was invited to one of them.
For Prince EA we need a search, as unknown to the celebrity press then.

I thought that he was maybe invited to the spanish Royal Wedding's in 1995 and 1997 as there where plenty of german relatives of queen Sofia present but not really noticed by the Press and photographers.

I think after his marriage to Princess Caroline he was invited because of his marriage to her, because at the Weddings in Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Madrid she wasn't representing Monaco as Prince Albert went also to all of them.

 

[fandesacs2003]

Yes, she wasn't representing Monaco. She was accompanying her husband who was the real invitee.

I thought that he was maybe invited to the spanish Royal Wedding's in 1995 and 1997 as there where plenty of german relatives of queen Sofia present but not really noticed by the Press and photographers.

I think after his marriage to Princess Caroline he was invited because of his marriage to her, because at the Weddings in Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Madrid she wasn't representing Monaco as Prince Albert went also to all of them.

 

[Denville]

According to Lindon, there were too many obstacles proposed by Prince Rainier and not objected to by Caroline that caused the romance between the two to go sour.

There was of course an air tight prenuptial agreement but what Lindon apparently truly objected to were certain religious requirements demanded by Rainier that I am not clear about...but I assume concerned demands that any children of the marriage must be baptized and educated as Catholics.

The reason I am confused ( if this is true) is that Rainier apparently did not make the same demand of Prince Ernest. Princess Alexandra was baptized Lutheran and remained so, until she converted to Catholicism as an adult.

Well, if true, it doesn't look good, does it? Caroline jettisoned a man whom she was in love with, because of her father's demands.. and then married someone who wasn't a Catholic, not even a member of a ruling family, and who was certainly not a very likable individual. His only plus was that he was "royal".. albeit from a family that hadn't been ruling for almost a hundred years.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

His title was not his only plus. He was also fabulously wealthy and could maintain Caroline in even grander style than what she was accustomed to with great
castles and estates all over Europe and Africa.

At least no one could accuse the guy of gold digging.

 

[Denville]

His title was not his only plus. He was also fabulously wealthy and could maintain Caroline in even grander style than what she was accustomed to with great
castles and estates all over Europe and Africa.

At least no one could accuse the guy of gold digging.

Right.. so he had a lot of money and a "noble heritage".

 

[JR76]

Let's not forget that a big reason for Caroline marrying Ernst August was that they were a few months pregnant at the time of the wedding.

 

[capri]

Let's not forget that a big reason for Caroline marrying Ernst August was that they were a few months pregnant at the time of the wedding.

She probably wanted to get pregnant.

 

[fandesacs2003]

Correct, he was extremely wealthy, handsome man, of very high lineage, close to her all the time, and they had a beautiful baby daughter. He had all ..except one bad point. He was alcoholic, and unfortunately his marriage and life were destroyed from this.
As per the pregnancy I don't believe it was the reason she married him. She just wanted him, and she got pregnant.
Don't forget that also while marrying Stefano she was pregnant to Andrea.

 

[JR76]

I find that some of the opinions shared in this thread is borderline misogynistic. It is possible to love someone who suffers from an addiction enough to marry them even if they are rich. Caroline has never seemed one who's impressed by status or wealth. She has bucket loads of that herself. If anything both her first marriage and her life after she became a widow shows that she did not care for marrying someone suitable or that she craved a public life. Instead she fought all the way up to the European Court of Human rights for her right to be left alone.

 

[lazuli]

I find that some of the opinions shared in this thread is borderline misogynistic. It is possible to love someone who suffers from an addiction enough to marry them even if they are rich. Caroline has never seemed one who's impressed by status or wealth. She has bucket loads of that herself. If anything both her first marriage and her life after she became a widow shows that she did not care for marrying someone suitable or that she craved a public life. Instead she fought all the way up to the European Court of Human rights for her right to be left alone.

JR76 you said it all...

 

[Denville]

I find that some of the opinions shared in this thread is borderline misogynistic. It is possible to love someone who suffers from an addiction enough to marry them even if they are rich. Caroline has never seemed one who's impressed by status or wealth. She has bucket loads of that herself. If anything both her first marriage and her life after she became a widow shows that she did not care for marrying someone suitable or that she craved a public life. Instead she fought all the way up to the European Court of Human rights for her right to be left alone.

So if she's not impressed by wealth, why did she not marry the actor whom she was supposed to be in love with?

 

[fandesacs2003]

We cannot know what happened inside a couple, consequently we cannot know why they did not marry.
In this case, Caroline started her relationship with Vincent Lindon (the actor) after she had lost her 2nd husband, and was in a very delicate and difficult situation, widow with 3 very young kids.
She escaped Monaco and the limelight and went to leave to the countryside, in Saint Remy. They were approached in very special and sensitive period for her, and relationship lasted some years. Furthermore, when Caroline jumped back to her previous way of life, it was not obvious that Vincent could/ wanted to fit to this life.
Don't forget that both Stefano and after EA, fitted to Caroline's life in Monaco, official representations, first Lady etc. When she was better and returned back, differences started to appear. In top of that, apparently it was the religion's issue, as Vincent Lindon I think was not christian. Not to compare with EA who is christian Lutheran.

So if she's not impressed by wealth, why did she not marry the actor whom she was supposed to be in love with?

 

[Denville]

that all seems very confusing. If she wasn't the type of person to care about "royal life" and having great wealth and mixing with the upper set, why not marry the man she loved. Yes there were religious differences but if she was truly in love with him, surely they could have been overcome? Esp as there were religious differences between her and Ernest?
One minute people are saying that Rainier said that " at least Ernest is one of us".. others are saying that Caroline didn't care about "being one of us", and was more concerned iwth her private life and having a man she loved.

 

[fandesacs2003]

We all agree that Caroline has always followed her heart. Furthermore, we cannot know the exact paths her heart followed.
Understand that the question was why she choose EA and not Vincent Lindon. But they were not in the same period. The relationship with Vincent was before, it lasted for years, and has worn out as many relationships after some years. Adding also the life difference. And then EA arrived, they shared feelings, but so same conception of life.
I think is easy to conceive.

 

[Florestane]

that all seems very confusing. If she wasn't the type of person to care about "royal life" and having great wealth and mixing with the upper set, why not marry the man she loved. Yes there were religious differences but if she was truly in love with him, surely they could have been overcome? Esp as there were religious differences between her and Ernest?
One minute people are saying that Rainier said that " at least Ernest is one of us".. others are saying that Caroline didn't care about "being one of us", and was more concerned iwth her private life and having a man she loved.

We don't actually know that Rainier actually said that although it was reported at the time. Personally, I've always been a bit dubious about that given his own personal relationships (Gisèle Pascal and Princess Grace) as well as the various partners of his children and other relatives that he accepted.

The relationship with Vincent Lindon ran its course - as much on his side as on hers. At a certain time of her life she wanted privacy for herself and her children, given the tragedy they had gone through.

As for wealth, Vincent Lindon may not have been as rich as Caroline or Ernst but he wasn't short of money - he is a member of a very wealthy family. Caroline's tastes in men in terms of social status and wealth have always been pretty similar - rich, successful, educated and from within her own social circle. She isn't like her sister who has seemed to seek out the exact opposite.

The situation changed, she realised she didn't mind the society life as much as she had immediately after being widowed. The children were coming up to their secondary education which would have involved some changes anyway.

How is it confusing? A lot of people have different moments in life when what they want changes with circumstances.

Just my opinion, of course.

 

[Denville]

The problem is that Ernest is a very unattractive character.. he is an alcoholic who is capable of violent and dreadful behavior. Its difficult to see what could attract anyone to him, other than ambition... Even if she was for some reason infatuated with him some years ago and had an affair and became pregnant that was a LOOOOONG time ago and he's deteriorated since then. The family dont seem to have any problems with getting divorced so why has she stayed married to him? Her daughter is grown up, she is not living iwth EA any more, why not end the marriage?

 

[Florestane]

The problem is that Ernest is a very unattractive character.. he is an alcoholic who is capable of violent and dreadful behavior. Its difficult to see what could attract anyone to him, other than ambition... Even if she was for some reason infatuated with him some years ago and had an affair and became pregnant that was a LOOOOONG time ago and he's deteriorated since then. The family dont seem to have any problems with getting divorced so why has she stayed married to him? Her daughter is grown up, she is not living iwth EA any more, why not end the marriage?

Probably a mixture of complex reasons to which we will never be party. He could also divorce her but he doesn't - my guess is the situation suits them both.