On December 7, 2010, Miss Charlene Wittstock attended the Action Innocence in Monaco; a benefit were various Christmas trees were auctioned off for charity.
According to the French newspaper, Nice-Matin, all twenty-nine trees were decorated with jewelry, sweets, and gifts.
Photo courtesy of Nice-Matin
To read more about this event please visit http://www.nicematin.com/article/monaco/vente-aux-encheres-plus-de-100-000-euros-en-sapins-precieux
A week or so ago I wrote an article about Miss Carina Axelsson, the 40-something American woman residing at beautiful Schloss Berleburg, who is not actually a real princess, but the permanent partner of His Serene Highness Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. Since then I have received a couple of emails wondering if there were any American women who have married into royal or princely houses.
So to answer the curious question: Yes. Yes, there is. Recently, in fact.
In May 2009, Miss Kelly Rondestvedt married one of the most eligible bachelor’s in the world. His name: His Highness Prince Hubertus, The Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha. Now, you may have heard of the House of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha before; however, if you have not here are several important facts you should know.
First, Her Majesty Queen Victoria of Great Britain married His Highness Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha. They produced a lot of children. As a result, many of them married into all the important royal as well as princely houses in Europe. Second, during World War I there was an immense despise for everything German and the British royal family is, after-all, completely German bloodline-wise. As a result, Lord Stamfordom convinced His Majesty King George V of Great Britain (Queen Victoria’s son) to change the family name from the House of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha to the House of Windsor. If Lord Stamfordom had not recommended this change to the King the British royal family’s name, today, would be the House of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha.
Other royal houses tied to the House of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha include the Belgian and Bulgarian royal families and the House of Braganza (Portugal). His Majesty King Carl Gustaf of Sweden is also related to the house via his mother, Her Highness Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha who became Queen of Sweden when she married HRH Prince Gustav Adolf of Sweden.
Overall, the House of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha is extremely important… historically.
Now, back to the American Princess.
Miss Kelly Rondestvedt hails from San Diego, CA and by all accounts she is an incredibly intelligent woman who obtained her Bachelor of Arts as well as an MBA from UCLA. In 2002, she moved to New York City where she took up a job as an investment banker. In the Fall of 2008, Kelly and Prince Hubertus spoke with iTV Coburg months before their wedding. During the interview, Miss Rondestvedt explained how she met the handsome German Prince, “I was at a restaurant with my girlfriends, and I saw Hubertus from across the room and thought he was so handsome…” Sparks flew and eventually the couple began to date.
A year (or so) later His Highness Prince Hubertus proposed to Kelly at his family’s palace, Schloss Callenberg, in Coburg, Germany.
The couple first had a civil ceremony on May 21, 2009. Days later on May 23, 2009 the couple had their religious ceremony at the St. Moritz Church in Coburg, Germany. It was a beautiful day, as seen by the photos as well as video, and many princely families from Germany attended. Their Majesties King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden and Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid of Belgium also attended the ceremony.
Today, Their Highnesses live in New York City where His Highness Hereditary Prince Hubertus works for a German bank and Her Highness Hereditary Princess Kelly still works as an investment banker. However, the couple mentioned that they would eventually move back to Schloss Callenberg in Coburg, Germany in the future.
On June 19, 2010, Their Highnesses attended the royal wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden to Mr. Daniel Westling. It was during this occasion that we finally had a chance to see the princess in the Saxe-Coburg und Gotha HH Victoria Adelheid’s Button Tiara (which hasn’t seen the light of day since… I don’t know… forever.) Also, there may be a chance that we will see the couple at the upcoming wedding of His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales to Miss Catherine Middleton this April 29, 2011.
Hopefully, there will be more news about the couple in the future. So stay tuned. 🙂
To watch the engagement interview with Their Highnesses Prince Hubertus and Princess Kelly with iTV Coburg please click here.
To watch part of their wedding on iTV Coburg please click this link: Video
That seems to be the question many have wondered these past few months. Unfortunately, for Charlene there was another major wedding coming in 2011. Ever since HRH Prince William of Wales announced his engagement to Catherine Middleton the media has been quite enamored by the couple. Including the all important major question: Who will design the future Queen of England’s wedding dress? While poor Prince Albert of Monaco and his fiancée, Charlene Wittstock, have been pretty much forgotten by the international press.
Nevertheless, there are many royal watchers who are interested to know which designer will have the honor of working with Miss Wittstock regarding the design of her wedding gown. There are two well-known designers who are the top contenders at this point: Mr. Karl Lagerfeld and Mr.Giorgio Armani.
Scanning through various fashion sites I really didn’t find much from these two amazing designers, but I did find some interesting couture gowns that could be a wedding gown for Miss Wittstock:
Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel Couture Spring 2010. Okay, so, it’s not all that flattering, but the design is memorable… and every bride wants to look unforgettable, no?
Giorgio Armani for Armani Prive. It is already well-known that Miss Wittstock is the Ambassador for Armani Prive and a close friend of the designer (well, Mr. Armani may think so, but remember Charlene mentioned in the Tatler interview that she only has two friends. Whether or not that includes Mr. Armani is unknown at this time.)
Of course, there is always Mr. Elie Saab… a favorite among many royals including HRH Crown Princess Victoria and HM Queen Rania of Jordan.
Now, John Galliano for Christian Dior is a long shot, but I think he would be a perfect to design Charlene’s dress, don’t you?
Monique Lhullier is another brilliant designer (at least I think so. I adore many of her wedding gown designs.) Like Mr. Galliano and Mr. Saab, Monique is a long shot for the gig.
Now, for some seriously tacky dresses from some designer who is always on that cheesy show on TLC Say Yes to the Dress. From what I have heard, these dresses are quite popular with strippers. Miss Wittstock, the future Princess of Monaco, would never wear such vile looking dresses.
Photos courtesy of Style.com, Kleinfeld’s, and Daylife.
On December 6, 2010, Clarence House finally released the official Christmas card for HRH Charles the Prince of Wales and his wife Camilla The Duchess of Cornwall.
The image was taken on the Balmoral Estate in January 2010. The happy couple were “…cross country skiing on private land at the Balmoral Estate while they were staying at Birkhall”, according to Clarence House.
Photo credit: Clarence House/PA Wire
Since the holidays are now upon us many royal houses will begin to slow down their official duties. With that being said, I thought I would discuss various royal palaces. Today I will begin with the Grand Ducal Palace located in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Mainly used for official duties the palace was redecorated by the late Grand Duchess Charlotte in the 1960s and again in the early through mid nineties. It’s a beautiful palace that I hope to see one day.
Grand Ducal Palace, Luxembourg
Images within the palace are rare; however, during National Day 2010 RTL.lu (Luxembourg’s television network) provided a behind the scenes biography of the preparations of National Day 2010. Moreover, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa was prominently featured.
Video of the Luxembourg’s National Day 2010 preparations: http://tele.rtl.lu/waatleeft/replay/v/20100628/0/21699/
On November 16, 2010 I’olani Palace had a royal birthday to celebrate. His Majesty King Kalakaua’s birthday that is.
The royal guards marched in front of his amazing palace, centered in downtown Honolulu, as Prince David Kawananakoa and Princess Regina Kawananakoa looked on from the palace balcony. Even though the Hawaiian monarchy ceased to exist on January 17, 1893, thanks to the illegal overthrow, descendants of the royal Hawaiian bloodline are still respected and dearly loved by the people of Hawaii.
HM King Kalakaua, also known as the Merrie Monarch, would have been 174 years young.
If you ever have a chance to visit Oahu I highly recommend that you take a day to visit I’olani Palace. It is an amazing place.
More information, history, and news about Hawaii and its former monarchy to come soon. So stay tuned!
Good Afternoon fellow royal watchers and casual peeps who happen to stumble upon this new blog by sheer accident!
Welcome to The Royal Correspondent!
The purpose of The Royal Correspondent is to share daily news, information, gossip, and of course fashion from the various royal houses around the world for an American audience. We will provide you the royal news they way it should be: Unbiased, upfront, and when warranted a little snark thrown in the mix. There are many blogs out there dedicated to one or perhaps two specific royal houses; however, this blog will hopefully be different.
The Royal Correspondent (TRC) will focus on the Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, and Spanish Royal houses, the Grand Ducal House of Luxembourg, as well as the Princely Houses of Monaco and Liechtenstein. Non-reigning houses from Germany, France, and Hawaii will also be discussed. But don’t fret, dear royal watchers, occasionally we will report on the daily happenings with the British Royal Family.
With TRC you will be able to read daily news articles that are translated into English along with photos as well as videos. Every Friday, starting November 26, 2010, there will be a weekly fashion review entitled This Week in Royal Fashion. It is a weekly wrap-up of all the hits and misses from the royals. From time to time we will also review various books from biographies to historical fiction.
More will be added to The Royal Correspondent in regards to content so stay tuned!
~Alexandra
The Royal Correspondent 