CastleMemory: Schloss Cecilienhof

Visiting Schloss Cecilienhof in Potsdam, 
the home of the last crown prince of the German Empire, 
in 2005.

Currently popular posts...

CastleTalk: The Curious Case of the Thurn und Taxis Inheritance

Image
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…
Read more

Royal Wedding in Hanover: The Guests (Part 1)

Image
Today in Hanover, Hereditary Prince Ernst-August of Hanover married Ekaterina Malysheva. Here are some of the guests, in no particular order... Margrave Max and Margravine Valerie of Baden, née Archduchess Valerie of Austria, with their son Prince Michael and his wife Princess Christina of Baden.  Count Friedrich of Ortenburg and his wife Countess Christine, née Baroness of Wangenheim, with their sons Max and Albert, who were two of the page boys. Count Karl of Solms-Laubach and I presume one of his daughters.  Andrés and Lauren Santo Domingo. Another picture of  Andrés and Lauren Santo Domingo.  Prince Georg-Friedrich of Prussia and his wife Princess Sophie, née Princess of Isenburg. Another picture of the couple. Prince Heinrich of Hanover, uncle of the groom, his wife Princess Thyra, née von Westernhagen, and their sons Prince Albert and Prince Julius.  Another picture of Prince Heinrich and Princess Thyra of Hanover. Prince Andreas and Princess Alexandra of Leiningen. She is a bo…
Read more

Royal Wedding in Hanover: The Guests (Part 3)

Image
Wednesday night is a night as good as any for the my third post about the guests of last weekend's royal wedding of Ernst-August and Ekaterina of Hanover, so without further ado, let's go... Princess Olga of Hanover, aunt of the groom, in the middle together with her brother Prince Heinrich and his son Prince Albert. Prince Constantin of Salm-Salm and his wife Princess Friederike, née Gumberz von Rhonthal, who apparently had their fifth child recently. Princess Milana of Fürstenberg. Another picture of Princess Milana of Fürstenberg (middle) and on her right Lord Edward Spencer-Churchill.  Two of the ushers: Princess Hermann of Leinigen on the left and Prince Berthold of Baden on the right. Prince Georg and Princess Victoria of Hanover, possibly with their daughter Princess Nora of Hanover and a granddaughter.  Page boy Arcadj Hadey and flower girl Noa Hadey and their parents. Dirk Rossmann, owner of Europe's second largest drugstore chain, on the left, his wife Alice and…
Read more