the bride Charelene Wittstock

[Imdanny]

Oscar Heyman Bros. is another that's still around -- & even more rarely, still family owned & run. Magnificent skill & design. Check their website for a thrill -- or look them up in past Sotheby's & Christies auctions. Wow.

--- Laurie

I googled them, clicked on their homepage and went, 'Gasp!" I'm looking forward to exploring their site. Thanks!

 

[Imdanny]

Laurie, I hadn't seen any of their work until today (magnificent!!) but I just remembered where I heard the name. This was one of Elizabeth Taylor's favorite jewelers.

Fantastic site. Drool worthy.

I'm definitely going to look at the auction houses, google images, etc.!

Thanks again!

 

[LD]

I do believe that there's no smoke without fire. IF the rumours are to be believed, a third woman is about to come forward to claim that Albert has fathered her (unborn?) child. If that's the case, he hasn't been faithfull to Charlene and so one can't blame her if she was more than a little fed up before her wedding and considered calling it off. Interestingly, in the British press, it was clear that she had attempted to go to the airport but had to be "persuaded to stay". That has never been properly denied.

Albert is a creep and has denied each of his children until paternity testing has proved otherwise. He's not admirable man.

 

[centralsquare]

Did the results come back from the paternity test he took after the wedding? It's been about a month, no? Regardless...agree about where there is smoke there is fire. Even if he isn't the father, seems that he did have a relationship!

 

[AGBF]

I had not been reading about Prince Albert and other women since Laurie posted that reassuring photo of him with Charlene. I wanted to believe that it was all a lot of baloney. After all, it does sound very farfetched to think that anyone could keep Charlene prisoner in Monaco and force her to marry Albert!

But today, after having seen the above comments sitting in this thread for a while, I decided to do some reading.

It is clear that Prince Albert underwent paternity testing. Official sources in Monaco admitted he would do so. That was reported by several very reliable sources in the press. It wasn't just rumour.

Then there's the video of Charlene weeping during the ceremony. I hadn't seen that before. I hadn't seen the ceremony live. She does look unutterably miserable. And Albert does not look as if he is being very nice to her, just as the caption under the video warns. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, how much is 4 minutes of Charlene crying next to an impatient Albert worth?

I am convinced he is not treating her the way she desrves to be treated and I am saddened.

Here is an excerpt from an article about Prince Albert from, "The Telegraph".

"It has now been revealed that, following the couple's civil ceremony, a senior palace official confirmed rumours that Prince Albert is likely to undergo the test after claims that he has fathered a third child.

Albert already has a six-year-old son, Alexandre, through a former Togolese air hostess, Nicole Coste, and a 19-year-old daughter, Jazmin, with Tamara Rotola, an American estate agent.

Despite the development, none of Albert’s illegitimate children will have a claim to the throne under Monaco law, a source said. 'Even if a third or even a fourth child is confirmed Albert will not have an official heir until Princess Charlene bears him one,' he added.

The French magazine, Public, has claimed that Prince Albert fathered 'two new illegitimate children', saying one is understood to be 18 months old and the son of an Italian woman who is preparing to take her story to the press.

Other publications, including Voici, have suggested that Miss Coste could have had a second baby to the Prince. The 40-year old raised eyebrows on Thursday when she was pictured in Monte Carlo on the eve of the wedding."

Deb/AGBF

 

[centralsquare]

Oh, so the mother of the alleged 3rd illegitimate child is the mother of his first child? I haven't been able to find out whether the affair he had was while he was with Charlene or before? They had been together for a while, so I'm curious whether he cheated or whether the child is older.

 

[AGBF]

Oh, so the mother of the alleged 3rd illegitimate child is the mother of his first child?

No. I believe the paternity testing has been ordered by another woman, an Italian woman.

I haven't been able to find out whether the affair he had was while he was with Charlene or before? They had been together for a while, so I'm curious whether he cheated or whether the child is older.

Yes, he supposedly has an 18 month old child with an Italian woman and, perhaps, a second child with the woman with whom he has a six year-old as well, Nicole Coste.

Below is an exceprt from a South African newspaper.

"Eish, new reports in French magazines today suggest that the Monaco rumours of the past week may have more truth to them than the palace let on, as it emerges that Prince Albert II may have to face more paternity tests for at least one child, allegedly fathered with an Italian woman.

It was alleged that Charlene Wittstock tried to flee home to South Africa a week ago to escape her wedding to Prince Albert II, and that police confiscated her passport at Nice airport as she attempted to run away from her fiance on a way-way ticket back home.

The South African’s alleged failed getaway was rumoured to have been triggered by new scandals surrounding Prince Albert II’s private life.

The Palace denied the rumours and the wedding went ahead, but if truth be told, Charlene didn’t look incredibly elated on her wedding day. It could have been bridal nerves, or that she was uncomfortable with the massive media attention. Or it could have been that she knew the Prince has to take another paternity test within the next few days.

French officials announced, on their wedding day, that the Prince will have to take a paternity test for what could be his third illegitimate child. He already has a son Alexandre (6) and a daughter (19) Jasmin. Neither were present at the wedding.

The magazines are reporting that Alexandre’s mother, Nicole Coste (40), could have borne the prince another child. She lives nearby to Monaco.

But the child at the centre of this rumour is said to be another one – an 18-month-old son of a woman from Italy. French magazine ‘Public’ claims that this lady is about to reveal all about her affair with the Prince. If this does turn out to be true, their affair would have taken place whilst the Prince was dating Charlene.

Even if none of the rumours are true, the gossip surrounding them is enough to make it an incredibly sad and lonely time for Charlene at a moment in her life which should be her happiest."

AGBF

 

[centralsquare]

Oh, wow. That's awful. So he clearly cheated. Why did Charelene marry him

 

[AGBF]

Well...it may be awful, but if it is happening, I want to know about it. I am curious. That is why, originally, I was interested in history. I read on-line that French newspapers were not picking up on a story that had been published in one obscure Italian newspaper that French Justice Minister Rachida Dati's 2 1/2 year old daughter, Zahara, had been fatherd by Albert. After reading about it, however, I absolutely couldn't believe that Rachida Dati would have anything to do with Prince Albert!

That led me to look at Italian newspapers, however, thinking that they might be more forthcoming than the French. I didn't find any smoking gun, but I did find this:

Le immagini della festa passano in secondo piano. Il mondo del gossip guarda già oltre le nozze. Basta farsi un giro sui principali siti web, nelle alcove del pettegolezzo, per capire che del matrimonio poco importa: il vero tormentone, adesso, è capire quale sia stato il motivo del misterioso tentativo di fuga (fallito) di Charlene su cui i giornali hanno ricamato per giorni. Secondo gli ultimi rumors, non sarebbe soltanto uno il figlio illegittimo che Alberto di Monaco avrebbe nascosto alla Wittstock, ma addirittura due. La scoperta che avrebbe provocato le ire della promessa sposa due giorni fa sarebbe proprio proprio quella di un bambino con una ragazza italiana. Secondo quanto riferito dal sito Atlantico, che riporta informazioni di Public.fr, «Alberto sarebbe padre di un bambino di 18 mesi. La mamma, una giovane italiana, avrebbe fin d’ora contattato la stampa del suo paese per vendere la sua storia e le foto del bambino al miglior offerente».

It says that what provoked Charlene's anger was learning two days before the wedding that there was not one illegitimate child, but two, and that the mother of an 18 month old child, who was a young Italian woman, was going to the newspapers with the story and picture of her baby looking for the best offer. It sounds as if the baby's mother timed it well! If a man had wronged me, I don't think I could have found a better time to find him vulnerable than two days before his wedding!

Deb/AGBF

 

[centralsquare]

I want to know about it. I am curious.:

ME TOO! I'm fascinated by it, actually. So he has clearly cheated on her and has a less-than-stellar track record. WHY did she marry him????? The tiara is nice, but the dude is horrendous!!

 

[centralsquare]

Apparently now Charelene won't let Albert see the mothers of his children: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...s-playboy-Albert-seeing-mother-lovechild.html.

I was horrified by this statement: Monaco insiders told the French media last month that a 'deal' had been brokered between the Prince and his reluctant bride after she fled to ensure she provides her new husband with a legitimate heir"

What kind of deal ?!?!

 

[AGBF]

I haven't been reading, let alone posting on, any of the Jewelry Pieces fora for several weeks now (due to the interference of my regular life! I use the term, "regular" loosely.). I have barely been able to read Hangout, the forum I read most regularly! Therefore I am not up to date with what has been said about royals...and I know that the thread on royal jewels sometimes covers a lot about the lives of members of royal familes!

So if this is old news, forgive me! I did see today that there is a rumor (yes, I know that there are always rumors) that Princess Charlene is pregnant. Somehow this one seemed credible to me, though. I'm not sure why. The link below provides pictures of her with Prince Albert at a recent (as in a day or so ago) event.

Earlier in the thread Laurie and I promised to alert each other if we learned Charlene was pregnant. I hope that if she is, that a baby will bring happiness.

http://www.financierodigital.es/genteyespectaculos/Charlene-Alberto-Monaco-embarazada_0_1066693904.html

Deb/AGBF

 

[JewelFreak]

Because she wore a loose dress to a ceremony? Wow, "rumor" is right! Wouldn't surprise me either way. As you say, Deb, there are always rumors, especially about them. I'm glad to see all the nuttiness before their wedding finally dying down; none of that made sense. As mentioned in the article, Charlene seems to be having some discomfort adjusting to her new role (so did Grace, even when paparazzi & tabs were nothing like now) -- adding a baby to a new marriage, new country, new language & becoming royalty would be tough for me. Maybe it would make her feel more satisfied & secure.

Because Kate turned down a taste of peanut butter, speculation exploded that she's pregnant too. Thin evidence! Maybe she is, or maybe she just hates peanuts, lol.

Thanks for the heads up! Hope your life simplifies & you can come back more often.

--- Laurie

 

[Imdanny]

Ok, this has nothing to do with Charlene (my mother's name, how nice it's become "royal") but this seems like as good a place as any to bring this up.

I read once (I have no idea where!) that other royal houses consider the Grimaldi family to be "minor nobility." I do have to repeat that whoever wrote this could have had no idea what he was talking about or could have had an ax to grind, or whatever, I don't know, BUT...

has anyone else ever heard this?

It doesn't seem true at all to me.

 

[Imdanny]

I haven't been reading, let alone posting on, any of the Jewelry Pieces fora for several weeks now (due to the interference of my regular life! I use the term, "regular" loosely.). I have barely been able to read Hangout, the forum I read most regularly!

Hugs!!!! Hang in there and please don't leave us. I would miss you terribly.

 

[AGBF]

has anyone else ever heard this?

Yes. When Princess Caroline of Monaco married Prince Ernst August of Hanover, who has absolutely no manners (he urinates in public, assaults people at regular intervals, and insults Caroline by his public flings with other women), she was considered to be be, "marrying up". He is a great grandson of the last German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II. He is related to Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and was supposed to obtain her consent before marrying Princess Caroline (presumably because he is technically a member of the royal family). She was, of course, far, far more famous, but he was considered to have higher connections.

If one looks at some of the marital choices made by the Grimaldis, they are hardly ladies and gentlemen. On the other hand, neither are the Grimaldis. So whether Prince Ernst is a new low for a Grimaldi (in my opinion, he is) or not, is in the mind of the observer. This discussion may belong in the Royal Jewels thread for want of a better place!

Deb/AGBF

 

[Imdanny]

This discussion may belong in the Royal Jewels thread for want of a better place!

Deb/AGBF

Perhaps! I like to keep my posts at royal jewels focused on royal jewels. It's just my personal opinion, but I feel it's become a free for all to talk about royals, and I'd rather do that at the royal forums (non-PS site, I'm sure you know the one- I've never posted there).

Hanover was just a small part of Germany but it's the "big deal" because the kings and queens of the UK are all direct relations of Sophie, Electress of Hanover, by law.

We just found out Sara is a princess. How exciting. I'm afraid, though, that royal forum type people would be very strict about she'd have to marry a prince to be an actual (aka as "the") princess, as with that whole Diana was and wasn't a princess, was divorced from the RF and was a member of it business. That whole business annoyed me to no end. Once a Princess, always a Princess in my book. The whole thing about princess of the blood, not Princess X, only X, Princess of Wales, whether HRH or not. I find all that stuff rather pretentious!

Women should be elevated to the status of "royal" husbands, period, imo. Yes, I know courtly societies always have all these complicated rules, but it irks me. I think it's kind of misogynistic.

I will say that Princess Grace made Caroline beautiful and Caroline's daughter is stunning.

I'm not a fan of Prince Albert. I just think he's a sleaze to have had so many illegitimate children, "gay" scandals, and corruption scandals. My goodness, how hard do you have to work to be a born to his position. He had everything handed to him on a silver platter imo and yet he leads such a seemingly dissolute life.

I like this thread; "Re: the bride Charlene Wittstock." I think it's an excellent idea to start threads about specific royals. I think hangout would be the best forum for it but we can't seem to get our star royal jewels poster Bobby to venture away from that single thread, so maybe you're right. Maybe we should just talk about royals there.

However, if we get too far along (as I have) on the path of criticizing the royals we do get reprimanded. It's a fine line to talk about them and not criticize them for something, lack of taste in jewelry, their looks, their dress, their lifestyles, their personalities... I do want to follow the rules so I'm just not going to chance loosing control and saying some of the negative things I think about some of them. HM is exemplary. I'm sure William will be great. And, well, I guess if it's going to be King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla, that will be OK.

The truth is for me personally that Diana touched my heart and her death broke my heart.

Thanks, Deb!

I know you might not want to talk about your off line life sometimes but please know I and many others care about you. If you ever need to talk, I feel confident that you will have a sounding board here. I do find myself wanting to get to know you better, but it's hard to do without PM's sometimes.

Danny

 

[JewelFreak]

You & Deb are right, Danny. Other European royal houses consider the Gramaldis nobility rather than royalty. They haven't intermarried w/reigning royal families in their past & no ancestral Grimaldi was monarch of a country. They were originally Genoese & kind of grabbed Monaco & hung on during medieval inter-nobility wars around Genoa. In at least 2 instances their rulership of Monaco has passed through the female line, with the husband adopting the Grimaldi name. As Deb mentioned, a good many of their spouses have been somewhat grubby, as have some heirs themselves.

One indication of their standing among European royalty is that England has sent 3rd tier representatives to major ceremonies -- Princess of Wales instead of the Prince of Wales, the heir to the throne, to Grace's funeral; Prince Andrew to Rainier's. The Belgian King attended both burials & Juan Carlos (maybe they were friends, don't know), but even Reagan sent Nancy & didn't come himself when Rainier died.

I agree that Albert is a sadly seedy character. His behavior in trying to avoid responsibility for his 2 illigitimate kids disgusts me -- his having fathered them at all is just plain stupid. I keep hoping Charlene will manage to bring out a better side of him, but it's too early to tell; she's still an unknown quantity herself, though I feel much sympathy for her in some ways. I'm getting the impression so far that she's not a strong character one way or the other, but it remains to be seen. Kind of a shame to think of Grace's son as so sleazy.

--- Laurie

 

[Imdanny]

Laurie, thanks. I totally agree that Charlene is an unknown quantity. I'm sorry to say it but there seems to be something very "blank" about her personality. She's not like Diana was, a strong personality who distinguished herself in her own right, although Diana was very young when she married Charles and came into her own. Maybe Charlene will do the same, but I just don't see any signs of it yet.

I think I read that Grace was somewhat unhappy, I don't know, maybe she felt kind of trapped and constricted (who wouldn't?) and I think she wanted to return to acting and was somewhat frustrated that she couldn't. It seems that marrying a prince is a fairy tale, but the way it's worked out for many of these women, I wonder that anyone would want to do it. I have to say I don't have a good "reading" on Kate, either. It seems like she wanted to marry into the royal family, but it seems she has yet to define her role or her style. The one thing the RF seems intent upon is portraying William and Kate as a "normal" couple, not having servants when Charles has about 150, but I don't believe that the servants don't come in to clean the house. I don't think Kate is doing the dishes and cleaning the bathroom, somehow. I also didn't buy the photo op of her shopping at a grocery store. She's not going to shop for their groceries. That's ridiculous. I think (and one would have thought after Diana's eating disorder) Kate is unhealthily thin. She doesn't seem to put her hair up when that would look very nice and also appropriate as many of us have mentioned. She looks much too thin to me, more informal than I would expect from someone in her exalted social position, and I suppose mostly to the point of our interest, she's shown no particular talent or coherent personal style as far as wearing jewels. I'm not trying to be "mean" about this. It's just that at 30, Diana was so far along with how she performed her pubic role and how she presented herself. She only lived about six 6 years longer than Kate's current age. Maybe part of it is because the world is a less formal place and the younger generations seem to grow up more slowly. I do think William and Kate are comfortable together and I think that's a big plus. They have that going over Charles and Diana who were never really in sync in my opinion. I totally cannot see how anyone is going to follow HM. HM is the definition of what a queen regnant should be in my opinion. Charles does seem kind of distracted somehow by his eccentricities and personal life. Charles' and Diana's marriage was an absolute mess. Diana was a world renowned beauty and humanitarian. I'm just so disappointed we didn't get to see her become the Queen of England. She just would have been so great in that role. I haven't followed all of the details of Albert's "illegitimate" children but it is juicy gossip. I do intend to read more about him but he's not someone I could respect or admire.

I think I do remember reading that Caroline married "up" but even that marriage seems to be an unhappy one. These royal fairy tales just don't seem to be working out very well.

 

[JewelFreak]

Danny, I kind of agree w/you about Kate. In fact, she & William bore me. It isn't fun if royalty is just like the 30-yr-old couple next door. Yawn.

I try, but truly can't understand why a young woman in the prime of her beauty & health would not want to wear the timeless jewels available to Kate & Charlene. Most of the time when I see a photo of either one, I'm itching to plunk a mondo diamond brooch smack in the middle of her bodice. A quadruple string of pearls around the neck. Sparkling earrings, blinding tiara. Geeze! It just seems unnatural to me.

You can carry being "one of the people" too far. If the glamor & mystery aren't there, why bother with royals at all? I don't want to see someone just like me.

Many of their marriages don't work out well; I think it's easy to underestimate the stress on a relationship of living in the public eye, constrained by royal duties & protocol. We commoners don't drink that discipline with our mother's milk as royalty does & much as you think you can handle it, I'm sure living that way every day, every minute, takes a toll. Marriages in "olden days" were seldom happy either in the ways we expect today -- but the royalty involved didn't expect them to be, & there's the difference -- they'd never consider bailing out. It was the way it was.

Some have worked well, though -- Princess Mary & Frederik; Maxima & Willem; Letizia & Felipe; Victoria & Daniel. They seem to have solid marriages. Grace's reasons for marrying Rainier were complicated, some psychological, some perhaps a Cinderella dream. I've wondered if she didn't see it on one level as another neat role to play. She was apparently confident she could return to acting & very unhappy when the Monagasques wouldn't hear of it. Big misjudgment on her part; of course they didn't want their Princess swanning around w/other men on screen. I've read she was not happy much of the time, though she hid that in public & did an admirable job of making the best of the bargain.

Caroline has awful taste in men. Her marrying Ernst-August was a shock at the time; he's been a raving alcoholic for decades, with no desire to change. I can't imagine what she was thinking -- she's known him all her life & the stories of his horrendous behavior are famous. He's gonna kill himself eventually with the booze. They don't live together & from what I've read, rarely speak to each other. Can't help pondering what sort of father figure Rainier was, with his daughters involved with one lounge lizard after another & his son an alley cat.

--- Laurie

 

[prince.of.preslav]

Hi, AGBF!
I think that The Prince of Hanover's (lack of) manners is rather irrelevant here. Ernest-August (IV) is the head of a royal house (albeit not a reigning one) and in other circumstances he would've been King of Hanover. Socially he is treated as a Royal Highness. Caroline, on the othe other hand, belongs to the Princely family of Monaco and as such was a mare Serene Highness (which is two steps lower than RH). At the time of her marriage she was second in line to the throne, now she the heiress presumptive.
The Prince of Hanover seeked consent for the marriage from The British Queen as at the time he was in line to the British throne (HRH's a descendant of both George III and Queen Victoria) and there is one act - The Royal Marriages Act of 1772 - according to which a marriage of a person who's in line to the Briths throne is legal in the UK only if the peron is granted consent from the British Monarch. Because of the fact that The Prince has many properties in the UK, this was obligatory for him. HRH is in no way seen as a member of the British Royal Family.
So, technikally Princess Caloline of Monaco was marrying up.
The Grimaldis can not be considered minor nobility, as Danny said, first and foremost because they are not nobility. In the past (pre-Renier III) they were seen as a second class monarchy (a tax haven, celebreties, being dependant on France, etc), but that has changed with the years and we can now see the Grimalds mingling with other royals at various (happy) occasions.

Bobby

 

[prince.of.preslav]

The one thing the RF seems intent upon is portraying William and Kate as a "normal" couple, not having servants when Charles has about 150, but I don't believe that the servants don't come in to clean the house. I don't think Kate is doing the dishes and cleaning the bathroom, somehow. I also didn't buy the photo op of her shopping at a grocery store.

Actually, Danny, The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge don't have staff in their cottage in Anglesey. I'm most sure that whenever they are in London and reside in Clarence House they do use The Prince of Wales' staff. The same applies to Balmoral and Sandringham and just every other residence that has some sort of domestic staff.
Long ago there was a photo of The Duchess doing the grocery shopping with a trolley. Perhaps the odd police officer also does some shopping, but theseare details which I think we should better not know.
Call me silly, but I do believe in these stories.

Bobby

 

[JewelFreak]

Hi, AGBF!
I think that The Prince of Hanover's (lack of) manners is rather irrelevant here.

Bobby, you mean irrelevant to where he comes in order of precedence, don't you? Not irrelevant to the conversation, which I don't think is true.

Ernest-August (IV) is the head of a royal house (albeit not a reigning one) and in other circumstances he would've been King of Hanover. Socially he is treated as a Royal Highness.

Members of non-reigning royal houses, even HRHs, are lower in precedence than those of monarchs w/a throne. At ceremonial occasions the HRHs of ruling families precede them. Technically, they should have to bow or curtsey to a reigning RF member, right?

This, from the Royal Forums, explains it well: "He is no longer a Royal Highness because the noblility is formally abolished in Germany. He is granted the courtesy of his rank and title among the European royal houses, but never precedence, as the family no longer reigns." We've discussed this before, I know.

I'm also somewhat dubious about the Grimaldis' not being included in many royal occasions because of Monaco's reputation (which, I've read, is fairly grubby again now). Protocol is protocol & it seems to me that when they are not invited, it is because they do not rank among true Royals. (They aren't related to the European RFs, so can't be included as "family" either.) I'm interested to see if Albert & Charlene appear at functions of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee -- I rather imagine so. As to Ernst-August, he must get invitations to big shindigs where all royalty is asked, but I doubt to much else in the royal realm. Nobody wants him around; he does truly harrowing things. Would bet he has little desire to go.

--- Laurie

 

[AGBF]

The Prince of Hanover seeked consent for the marriage from The British Queen as at the time he was in line to the British throne (HRH's a descendant of both George III and Queen Victoria) and there is one act - The Royal Marriages Act of 1772 - according to which a marriage of a person who's in line to the Briths throne is legal in the UK only if the peron is granted consent from the British Monarch. Because of the fact that The Prince has many properties in the UK, this was obligatory for him. HRH is in no way seen as a member of the British Royal Family.

Ernst August lost his place in the line of succession by marrying Caroline, unless she renounced her Roman Catholicism somewhere along the way, due to The Act of Settlement. Not that I think Great Britain was in any danger of his inheriting the throne prior to that!

Deb/AGBF

 

[prince.of.preslav]

Bobby, you mean irrelevant to where he comes in order of precedence, don't you? Not irrelevant to the conversation, which I don't think is true.

Indeed!

Members of non-reigning royal houses, even HRHs, are lower in precedence than those of monarchs w/a throne. At ceremonial occasions the HRHs of ruling families precede them. Technically, they should have to bow or curtsey to a reigning RF member, right?

Not always. Lokk at the seating aragement for Crown Princess Victoria's wedding - all royals were sitting together, regardles of whther they were from ruling families or not. It was strange, but this is what the Swdish court had decided.
I don't agree that royals from non-raigning families should bow/courtesy to members of raigning houses, except where one's position demands it. See f.i. The Princess of Asturias and Queen Anna-Maria.

This, from the Royal Forums, explains it well: "He is no longer a Royal Highness because the noblility is formally abolished in Germany. He is granted the courtesy of his rank and title among the European royal houses, but never precedence, as the family no longer reigns." We've discussed this before, I know.

Yes, legally he is a private citizen, just like you and me. As a German national from a former royal house he has the surname Prinz von Hannover. Yet, this is only his legal status. Socially Herr Ernst-August Prinz von Hannover is known as Prince Ernst-August, or as The Prince of Hannover. I doubt many people would adress him as Herr Prinz von Hannover; most would go for his title. And this also counts for members of other former German rulling families.

I'm also somewhat dubious about the Grimaldis' not being included in many royal occasions because of Monaco's reputation (which, I've read, is fairly grubby again now). Protocol is protocol & it seems to me that when they are not invited, it is because they do not rank among true Royals. (They aren't related to the European RFs, so can't be included as "family" either.) I'm interested to see if Albert & Charlene appear at functions of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee -- I rather imagine so. As to Ernst-August, he must get invitations to big shindigs where all royalty is asked, but I doubt to much else in the royal realm. Nobody wants him around; he does truly harrowing things. Would bet he has little desire to go.

--- Laurie

Well, that's what I've read. I don't know if it's 100% true. Lets not forget that The Prince & Princess of Monaco (Renier III & Grace) attended the wedding of Princess Sophia of Greece & Denmark and Infante D. Juan Carlos of Spain and the Persepolis in Iran, also The Princess and her son were among the guests for The Prince of Wales & Lady Diana's wedding.
We just have to see the guest lists for Renier III's funeral, for the current Prince's Inaguratian and later for his wedding to see that things have changed and that the Gramaldis are now considered to be part of the lot of European royals (much of this is owed to Renier, I believe).
I think The Prince of Hanover's absence from the royal scene is due to the fact that there isn't a really close personal relationship between him and other royals. I think that the last major royal event at which Ernst-August was present was the wedding of Prince Philip of Hesse to Laetitia Bechtolf in 2006. The Princess of Hanover also attended it. Before that we've seen them at the weddings of The Prince of Asturias and The Crown Prince of Denmark.

Bobby

 

[prince.of.preslav]

Ernst August lost his place in the line of succession by marrying Caroline, unless she renounced her Roman Catholicism somewhere along the way, due to The Act of Settlement. Not that I think Great Britain was in any danger of his inheriting the throne prior to that!

Deb/AGBF

He most certainly did, but before the wedding he was in line to the throne (however low in it) and that's what matters.

Bobby

 

[Imdanny]

The prince doesn't get along with other royals- starting with his wife.

And the poor serene Highnesses of the world- so lowly! My heart breaks for them!

 

[AllThingsLuxury]

She looks very pretty indeed.

 

[Imdanny]

The one thing the RF seems intent upon is portraying William and Kate as a "normal" couple, not having servants when Charles has about 150, but I don't believe that the servants don't come in to clean the house. I don't think Kate is doing the dishes and cleaning the bathroom, somehow. I also didn't buy the photo op of her shopping at a grocery store.

Actually, Danny, The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge don't have staff in their cottage in Anglesey. I'm most sure that whenever they are in London and reside in Clarence House they do use The Prince of Wales' staff. The same applies to Balmoral and Sandringham and just every other residence that has some sort of domestic staff.
Long ago there was a photo of The Duchess doing the grocery shopping with a trolley. Perhaps the odd police officer also does some shopping, but theseare details which I think we should better not know.
Call me silly, but I do believe in these stories.

Bobby

Huh? The details would prove whether they live like normal people or whether it's an act. Normal people who really don't have staff really do their own shopping and scrub their own toilets. If you really believe she does the shopping and nobody goes into that cottage and cleans after them more power to you.

 

[JewelFreak]

I don't want them to live like normal people! What fun is royalty if they're just like me?