Moniek Bloks's Blog, page 50

Royal Wedding Recollections – King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand and Suthida Tidjai

On 1 May 2019, there was a surprise announcement from the Thai royal court – Suthida Tidjai was officially announced as King Vajiralongkorn’s wife.

King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand had been married and divorced three times before. In 1977, when he was still the Crown Prince, he married his first cousin, Princess Soamsawali Kitiyakara, and they had one daughter together before divorcing in 1993. In the meantime, he had fathered five children with Sujarinee Vivacharawongse and married her in 1994, legitimising their children. This marriage ended in divorce as well, and Sujarinee Vivacharawongse later fled to the United States with their children. Only their daughter returned to Thailand and has retained her royal titles. In 2001, he married Srirasmi Suwadee, and they had one son together before divorcing in 2014.

Vajiralongkorn succeeded his father as King of Thailand upon his death on 13 October 2016. However, his coronation was postponed until 4 May 2019, which left plenty of time to find a new Queen.

Suthida Tidjai was born on 3 June 1978, the daughter of Kham Tidjai and Jangheang Tidjai. She graduated from Hatyaiwittayalai Somboonkulkanya Middle School and Assumption University with a bachelor’s degree in communication arts in 2000. She was a flight attendant with JALways from 2000 and 2003 and with Thai Airways International between 2003 and 2008.

In 2014, she was appointed commander of Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn’s household guard, but she may have known the Crown Prince as early as 2010. Over the years, she received several promotions and attended military training courses.

Suthida, also known by her nickname of “Nui”, became a well-known face in the Crown Prince’s entourage. Nevertheless, the announcement of her becoming Queen came as a surprise.1

During a ceremony on 1 May 2019, Suthida prostrated herself in front of the King and presented him with the traditional gifts associated with royal power. They later signed the marriage documents as some of the royal family looked on.

(Screenshot/Fair Use)

Just three days later, Suthida joined her new husband at his coronation.

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Weimar marks 200th birthday of Princess Sophie of the Netherlands

The city of Weimar in Germany is marking the 200th birthday of Princess Sophie of the Netherlands, Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, with a special exhibition.

Fotoatelier Held: Sophie von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach, 1888 © Klassik Stiftung Weimar

Princess Sophie was the daughter of King William II of the Netherlands and of his wife, Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia. She married her first cousin, Charles Alexander, Hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, in 1842. She was briefly heiress presumptive to the Dutch throne between the death of her brother, King William III, and her own death seven years later.

The exhibition “Sophie. Power. Literature – A regent inherits Goethe” will be held at the Goethe and Schiller Archive until 15 December 2024. Weimar is also one of the stops on the so-called Orange Route, which runs past 23 German cities connected to the House of Orange-Nassau.

Princess Sophie took the initiative to collect the complete works of Goethe, the so-called Weimar edition, and spearheaded the founding of the first literary archive in Germany, which also does scientific research.

A catalogue called “Sophie. Power. Culture” will appear in October 2024. Plan your visit here.

Manuscript room in the Goethe- en Schillerarchive, 1954 © Klassik Stiftung Weimar

 

 

 

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A first look at My Lady Jane

Prime Video has released a first look at My Lady Jane, a new series in an alternative fantasy Tudor world.

The series will premiere worldwide on 27 June 2024.

Click to view slideshow.

The series is inspired by the book My Lady Jane, in which King Edward VI does not die of tuberculosis, and Lady Jane Grey avoids the scaffold. Nevertheless, she is unexpectedly crowned Queen and becomes the target of villains.

Newcomer Emily Bader stars as Lady Jane, while Edward Bluemel stars as Guildford Dudley.

The synopsis reads, “Gird your loins for the tragic tale of Lady Jane Grey, the young Tudor noblewoman who was Queen of England for nine days and then beheaded in 1553… F*ck that. We’re retelling history the way it should have happened: the damsel in distress saves herself. This is an epic tale of true love and high adventure set in an alt-universe of action, history, fantasy, comedy, romance, and rompy-pompy. Buckle up.”

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Barbara of Austria – A charitable Duchess

Archduchess Barbara of Austria was born on 30 April 1539 as the daughter of the future Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. She was their eleventh child and eighth daughter.

She was born in Vienna, but following the death of her mother in 1547, she and her other unmarried sisters were sent to live in a monastery in Innsbruck. Her education had a special focus on religion, which resulted in many charitable activities towards the Jesuits.

In 1560, she was the subject of a marriage negotiation with Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, but he ended up marrying her elder sister, Eleonor. In 1562, several suitors came for the hand of her younger sister Joanna, and Barbara became engaged to one of them – Alfonso II d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio. At the time, she was described as, she “cannot be called beautiful, she cannot be called ugly”, and she was “very small, pale and with a long, wrinkled face and that raised lip that almost all those of the house of Austria have.” 1

A marriage did not take place immediately, and in July 1565, Alfonso came to Innsbruck to meet Barbara. She and Joanna moved to Trento in November, where they were to have a double wedding ceremony. Joanna would marry the future Francesco I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. However, the ceremony was postponed after a conflict over precedence, and the weddings instead took place in Ferrara and Florence, respectively.

Barbara reached Ferrara on 1 December 1565, and the wedding celebrations lasted from 5 to 9 December. Barbara did not speak the language, but she managed to endear herself to her new subjects with her charitable acts. She remained pious and kept close ties with the Jesuits. Despite their religious differences, she became close to her mother-in-law, Renee of France. After an earthquake in 1570, she took care of orphaned girls.

Barbara had become ill with tuberculosis shortly after her wedding. The disease was exacerbated after she was forced to live in a tent after the earthquake. She died on 19 September 1572. She and her husband had not had any children. Her husband had reportedly become unable to conceive following a fall from a horse.2 Alfonso obtained special permission to have her buried in the Jesuit church of Ferrara.Six years later, her husband remarried Margherita Gonzaga, who was Barbara’s niece.

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Looking back at the Queen’s Day 2009 attack

What was meant to be a lovely day turned into a nightmare.

On Queen’s Day 2009, a man drove his car through the celebrating crowds towards the bus carrying the Dutch Royal Family – killing seven people and eventually himself.

The royal family celebrated the day in Apeldoorn. As the open-top bus made its last turn towards Het Loo Palace, the car made its way through the crowd and slammed into De Naald, an obelisk-shaped monument.

Just seconds later, first responders were on the scene, trying to save the many injured people as the royal bus sped up. The royal family could be seen gasping and visibly shocked as they were driven to safety. They spent the afternoon in Het Oude Loo on the estate. In addition to the fatalities, ten people were injured, of which two were seriously injured.

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The driver, who was initially conscious, told police the attack had been directed at the royal family. His death the following day ended any possibility of prosecution.

That evening, then Queen Beatrix addressed the nation with the words, “What started out as a beautiful day has ended in a terrible tragedy that has shocked all of us. People who were standing nearby, who saw it happen on television, all those who witnessed it, must have been watching in astonishment and disbelief. We [the royal family] are speechless that something so terrible could have happened. My family, myself, and, I think, every person in the country feels for the victims, their families and friends, and all who have been affected by this incident.”

 

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Royal Wedding Recollections – Princess Irene of the Netherlands & Prince Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma

On 29 April 1964, Princess Irene of the Netherlands married Prince Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma, future titular Duke of Parma, without her family by her side.

Princess Irene, the second daughter of the then Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, had met Prince Carlos Hugo during her studies in Madrid. He was the eldest son of the Carlist claimant to the Spanish throne, Xavier. She secretly converted to Roman Catholicism in the summer of 1963. This news only became public after a photo was released showing her receiving communion.1 A plane was sent to bring Irene home, but it ended up returning to the Netherlands without her. While a conversion did not necessarily remove her from the line of succession, the family is known to be traditionally protestant.

Rumours soon circulated that she was to marry a Spanish nobleman2, which along with the conversion, caused quite an uproar in the Netherlands. Eventually, the news was released that Princess Irene was to be married to Prince Carlos Hugo and that she would not ask parliamentary permission for the marriage, which would exclude her from the line of succession. The New York Times wrote, “Princess Irene renounced her rights to the Netherlands throne and decided to live in exile rather than give up marriage to the man of her heart, a Roman Catholic Spanish prince.”3

Queen Juliana and her husband, Prince Bernhard, said, “We rejoice ourselves full-heartedly in her happiness and that of her future husband, and our best wishes will always accompany them.” 4

The wedding took place on 29 April 1964 in the Borghese Chapel at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, but none of her family felt it was appropriate to attend. Shortly before the wedding, Irene announced her intention to support her future husband’s claim to the Spanish throne. The family reportedly watched the ceremony on television. Pope Paul VI received the newlyweds in a private audience afterwards.

By Jack de Nijs for Anefo – CC0 via Wikimedia CommonsBy Anefo – CC0 via Wikimedia Commons

Princess Irene wore a white silk gown trimmed with Dutch lace made by Pierre Balmain. She wore a tulle veil, which was secured with a diamond tiara which belonged to her husband’s family. It had been made in 1884 for Carlos Hugo’s grandmother, Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal.5

Princess Irene and Prince Carlos Hugo went on to have four children together: Carlos (born 1970), Margarita (born 1972), Jaime (born 1972) and Carolina (born 1974). The marriage ended in divorce in 1981.

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Taking a look at Princess Benedikte as she turns 80

Princess Benedikte of Denmark was born on 29 April 1944 as the second daughter of King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid of Denmark (née of Sweden), who were the Crown Prince and Crown Princess at the time. Her elder sister reigned as Queen Margrethe II from 1972 until 2024, while her younger sister Anne-Marie was Queen of Greece as the wife of King Constantine II.

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At the time of her birth, Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany, but members of a Danish resistance group nevertheless performed a 21-gun salute. Her baptism took place on 24 May 1944 at Holmen Church. Her godparents were her paternal grandparents, King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine, Prince Gustav of Denmark, King Gustav V of Sweden, Sigvard Bernadotte, Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark, Princess Ingeborg of Denmark, Princess Margaretha of Sweden, Sir Alexander Ramsay and Queen Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother).

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Princess Benedikte and her two sisters grew up at Frederik VIII’s Palace at Amalienborg, and they often spent the summer at Gråsten Palace in Southern Jutland. Her father became King Frederik IX of Denmark upon her grandfather’s death on 20 April 1947. At that time, King Frederik IX had just three daughters and no sons and women were not allowed to rule in their own right. A new Act of Succession paved the way for Margrethe to eventually succeed her father. It operated on the basis of male-preference primogeniture so that if a younger brother had been born, he would have taken precedence over his sisters. This was eventually changed to absolute primogeniture in 2009. Following the new Act, Princess Benedikte became second in the line of succession.

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Princess Benedikte received her education at a private school in Copenhagen, but she also attended a boarding school in England and a finishing school in Switzerland.

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On 3 February 1968, Princess Benedikte married Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg at Fredensborg Palace. She wore an off-white diamond satin gown with matching lace. Her lace veil had previously been worn by both her mother and her two sisters. After the wedding, they went to live at Schloss Berleburg in Germany.

Photo by Moniek Bloks

The couple went on to have three children: Prince Gustav (born 1969), Princess Alexandra (born 1970) and Princess Nathalie (born 1975). Although Princess Benedikte retained her place in the line of succession, her children are not included as they were not raised in Denmark. Princess Benedikte was widowed in 2017.

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Princess Benedikte still performs royal duties in Denmark and is the patron of many charities and other organisations. She can also act as a regent in the monarch’s absence. She is currently tenth and last in the Danish line of succession.

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Book News Week 18

*contains affiliate links*

Book News Week 18 – 29 April – 5 May 2024

Power and Glory: Elizabeth II and the Rebirth of Royalty 

Hardcover – 30 April 2024 (US)

Thorns, Lust and Glory: The betrayal of Anne Boleyn 

Kindle Edition – 2 May 2024 (US & UK)

Forgotten Women of the Wars of the Roses: The Untold History Behind the Battle for the Crown 

Hardcover – 30 April 2024 (US)

Homecoming: The Scottish Years of Mary, Queen of Scots 

Mass Market Paperback – 2 May 2024 (UK)

Stephen and Matilda’s Civil War: Cousins of Anarchy 

Paperback – 30 April 2024 (UK)

The Afterlife of Mary, Queen of Scots 

Hardcover – 30 April 2024 (UK & US)

Kateryn Parr: Henry VIII’s Sixth Queen 

Hardcover – 30 April  2024 (US)

Sisters of Richard III: The Plantagenet Daughters of York 

Hardcover – 30 April 2024 (US)

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Taking a look at Princess Rajwa of Jordan on her 30th birthday

As the wife of Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan, Princess Rajwa is on track to be the next Queen of Jordan. To celebrate her 30th birthday, we take a look at her life so far.

Rajwa Khaled bin Musaed bin Saif bin Abdulaziz Al Saif was born on 28 April 1994 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to the late Khaled bin Musaed bin Saif bin Abdulaziz Al Saif (a businessman) and Azza bint Nayef Abdulaziz Ahmad Al Sudairi. The youngest of their children, Rajwa has three older siblings: Faisal, Nayef and Dana.

She has royal links – she is a first cousin, twice removed, of King Salman of Saudi Arabia through her mother. Additionally, her family can be traced back to the Subai tribe, who were sheikhs of Al-Attar since the reign of King Abdulaziz Al Saud (the founder and first King of Saudi Arabia).

Rajwa’s secondary education took place in Saudi Arabia, but her post-secondary education took her to the United States, where she studied at the School of Architecture at Syracuse University in New York. She later obtained a designation degree in Visual Communications from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles.

Before her marriage, she worked at an architecture firm in Los Angeles and later in Riyadh at the Designlab Experience design studio.

Rajwa’s engagement to Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan (the son of King Abdullah and Queen Rania) was announced on 17 August 2022. Their engagement ceremony took place at her family’s home in Riyadh with the King, Queen, male members of the Jordanian Royal Family and Al Saif family in attendance.

Photo: Royal Hashemite Court

Queen Rania later hosted the traditional Henna party for her future daughter-in-law at Madareb Bani Hashem.

The pair wed on 1 June 2023 in a Muslim ceremony at Zahran Palace in Amman. King Abdullah issued a Royal Decree on the wedding day granting Rajwa the title of Princess of Jordan.

Rajwa wore a custom white asymmetrical neckline gown by Elie Saab and a new tiara with “Rajwa min Allah” (Hope from God) written in Arabic in a diamond scroll. Queen Rania’s Office told me last year that the tiara was inspired by the Queen’s remarks at Rajwa’s Henna party when she called Rajwa the “perfect answer” to her prayers for her son.

Less than a year after her wedding, Rajwa’s successful businessman father died on 18 February 2024 at the age of 71. King Abdullah ordered the Royal Hashemite Court to mourn for three days in memory of the Princess’s father.

The Royal Hashemite Court announced that Hussein and Rajwa are expecting their first child in the summer of 2024, although an exact due date was not revealed. If the child is a boy, he will be second in line to the Jordanian throne. However, if it is a girl, she will not be in the line of succession, as Jordan does not allow women to reign in their own right.

The Princess has undertaken royal duties inside and outside of Jordan since marrying Crown Prince Hussein, but as she is new to the royal fold, her engagements have been limited. As she grows into her role, she is expected to begin undertaking more and more duties.

It remains to be seen what causes she will champion, but with a mother-in-law like Queen Rania to guide her, she’s sure to bring awareness and help many organisations and people.

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Lady Helen Taylor at 60

Lady Helen Taylor was born Lady Helen Windsor on 28 April 1964 as the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and the Duchess of Kent. She is their second child, and only daughter. A younger brother, Lord Nicholas, was born in 1970, followed by a stillborn brother in 1977.

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At the time, the New York Times wrote, “The Duchess of Kent gave birth tonight to a seven-and-a-half-pound girl, her second child. The baby, whose father is a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, is 12th in succession to the throne but will become 13th when Princess Margaret has her second baby soon.1

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As a result of the 1917 Letters Patent, which limits the title of Prince(ss) and HRH to “the children of any Sovereign of the United Kingdom and the children of the sons of any such Sovereign and the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales”, Helen is styled as the daughter of a Duke as Lady.

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Lady Helen was educated at Eton End School, St Mary’s School and Gordonstoun.

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She married Timothy Verner Taylor on 18 July 1992 at St. George’s Chapel. They went on to have four children, who follow her in the line of succession: Columbus (born 1994), Cassius (born 1996), Eloise (born 2003) and Estella (born 2004).

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Although she does not perform royal duties, she is the patron of the CLIC Sargent Children’s Cancer Charity. She is currently 47th in the line of succession.

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