Well, I have to say that I am happy for this lovely couple. Anyway, the German magazine, Gala, has a new article about Prince Georg and Princess Sophie along with two new engagement photos. Information contained within the article is nothing really new for the seasoned royal watcher; however, I am sure there are some who are unfamiliar with the couple so the article from Gala is a decent CliffNotes version about Prince Georg and Princess Sophie.
Here is a translation:
Germany, along with England and Monaco, in 2011 will have it’s own magnificent and important Royal Wedding. Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia, the 34-year-old leader of the House of Hohenzollern announced, on Friday (January 21, 2011) his engagement to Sophie Prinzessin von Isenburg. The announcement was made through the official web site of the House of Hohenzollern.
The wedding between the Prince and Princess, who have known each other since childhood, will take place later this year and s expected to take place in Potsdam. The House and is currently celebrating 950th anniversary. Prince Georg Friedrich and Princess Sophie currently work as business managers. Funny coincidence: While he was training in Freiberg, Germany, she was studying in Freiburg.
The 32-year-old Sophie was born in Frankfurt, the daughter of Franz Alexander, Prince of Isenburg and Christine, Countess of Saurma. She has two brothers – Crown Prince Alexander and Prince Victor – and two sisters, Princess Catherine, who is married to Martin, Archduke of Austria and a son of ex-Emperor Karl I and Empress Zita, and Princess Isabel, a Prince of Wied married.
A potential problem, the young head of the House of Hohenzollern so out of the way: The fact that he married a noble-bred, there is no discussion will be about its position in the House of Hohenzollern. Two older brothers of his father, Louis Ferdinand, Jr could be unethical because of a wedding no successors.A second issue that has not been clarified to the public: Sophie von Isenburg comes from a Catholic family, the Prussian Hohenzollern are traditionally Protestant.
Source: Gala Magazine Photo courtesy of Picture Alliance for Gala Magazine.
I hope this is all genuine love and not convenience. His problem was that he had to find a real Princess to keep his name and fortune, and there were not that many left in Europe.
The article is translated by Babelfish & friends I guess? The text is really strange in some places….”Two older brothers of his father, Louis Ferdinand, Jr could be unethical because of a wedding no successors”
The problem with the German royals is that they are bound by the German equality laws which dictate that a royal heir must marry a women of “equal rank” that is from another reigning family. This was possible before World War I, since there was a plethora of reigning dynasties to choose a bride from. However, most of these were swept away during the revolutions in Germany, Austria, and Russia from 1917- 1918. Many of these families fell on hard times, and some have become extinct. Furthermore, the media makes it impossible to hide the problems of an arranged marriage from the public eye. The collapse of Charles and Diana’s arranged marriage made the surviving European royals reluctant to push their children into political marriages where incompatabilities fuelled by the media might lead to a decline in public support, or even a constitutional crisis. One or two German royal families have recently been forced to “de-morganatize” marriages to commoners in order to retain succession and inheritance rights (see the Bavarian Royal House). De-morganatization- usually approved by the surviving dynasts- is a convenient but important loop-hole in German traditional law which gives princes born to morganatic marriages a way to recover lost succession and heritance rights and, in some cases, ensure the very survival of royal and princely dynasties. Prince Georg Friedrich’s marriage is a compromise between strict equality and morganatic marriage. It will not effect his rights, nor should it. The Public have moved on from these extremely conservative marriage laws which completely ignored sexual and emotional compatability, and in the past sometimes led to illegitimacies in royal families. In England and Scotland, royal marriages were dynastic so long as they were approved by a reigning sovereign- so it should be among the other royal families of Europe- if they want to survive.
I like the photo. Prince Georg and Princess Sophie look like the perfect couple. I hope they live happy and fulfilled lives together.
Does anyone know if the wedding will be televised? If so, will translation into English be provided?
Hi William! 🙂
It is unknown if the entire wedding will be televised, but if I were to guess I don’t believe it would be. However, I have no doubt that the local German television networks will provide some sort of video news story along with newspaper articles from all the German newspapers.
If I hear anything, regarding whether or not the wedding will televised, I will definitely let everyone know.
🙂
I don’t speak German, but I think the marriage will be televised in Germany.
See: http://www.rbb-online.de/fernsehen/projekte/hochzeit/startseite/index.html
Hope this helps!
Eric.
That’s the correct link, Eric! Thank you very much! 🙂