CastleMemory: Neues Schloss Herrenchiemsee

Today, a walk down the memory lane to Neues Schloss Herrenchiemsee,
the never completed Versailles-style palace of Bavaria's swan king, Ludwig II.
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The Stuff Legends Are Made Of: The Mystery of the Amber Room

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Few castles ever become legendary in themselves: Versailles, Neuschwanstein, maybe a handful more. Probably even fewer rooms of a castle share the same status and when German Baroque sculptor and architect Andreas Schlüter was commissioned to design a room made of amber for Schloss Charlottenburg in 1701, nobody knew what a legend it would become. Constructed by Gottfried Wolfram, master craftsman to the Danish court of King Frederik IV of Denmark, with the help of amber masters Ernst Schacht and Gottfried Turau from Danzig, the room wasn't even installed at its originally intended place but instead at the Stadtschloss in Berlin.
It was at the city palace where Tsar Peter the Great first lay eyes on the creation and liked it. Eager to please, King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, gifted the room to his Russian counterpart. In return, he got a Russo-Prussian alliance against Sweden as well as a bunch of really tall guys, yes literally, for his army. Pretty good deal, eh? Peter'…
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CastleTalk: The Curious Case of the Thurn und Taxis Inheritance

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The death of Richard Fürst zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg earlier this week saw a surge in interest in my take on the (in)famous will of inheritance looming over the family. One point about the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg inheritance that many seem to find especially curious is the fact that the late Prince Richard never actually owned his family's fortune but that it was instead passed from his father - who went missing during World War 2 - to a yet unborn grandson - who was born in 1969 - (or anyone else, really, who would inherit after Prince Richard). The German nobility, however, isn't short of interesting inheritance constructions - case in point: The Thurn und Taxis inheritance.
The Thurn und Taxis family isn't just famous for their fabulous wealth, estimated at around $ 2.5 billion today - even though Princess Gloria of Thurn und Taxis says it less than a billion - but also for their lifestyle to go along with it. In fact, Princess Gloria of Thurn und Taxis may si…
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Leiningen/Prussia Wedding in Amorbach: The Guests (Part 1)

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On Saturday, Hereditary Prince Ferdinand of Leiningen and Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia celebrated their religious wedding in the German city of Amorbach. As is the case when two royals get hitched, there were loads of royals and nobles in attendance. So without further ado, here's my first of - I'm sure - many, many posts of the wedding guests.  Prince Christian and Prince Philipp of Prussia, twin sons of Prince Adalbert.  On the left: Prince Christian-Ludwig of Prussia, son of Prince Christian-Sigismund.  Countess Marie of Limburg-Stirum.  Count Michael of Hochberg.  Prince Andreas and Princess Louise of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. From left to right: (Probably) Princess Olga of Hanover, Prince Otto of Hanover, Prince Heinrich of Hanover, Princess Thyra of Hanover, Countess Marie of Hochberg (née Princess of Hanover), Princess Theresa of Leiningen and Princess Cecilia of Leiningen.  Another shot of the group.  Prince Otto of Hanover and Princess Theresa of Leiningen.  Prince…
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