European Royalty: What Are they doing now?

The days when European Royals ruled Europa are over. Doesnt mean that the royal families just up and disappeared tho.. They are still around; But what are they doing with themselves these days? Lets have a look and see what some of them are up to:

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
en.wikipedia.org...

Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke of Saxony (given names: Andreas Michael Friedrich Hans Armin Siegfried Hubertus; born 21 March 1943 in Kasel-Golzig) has been the head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and titular Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha since 1998. He is 275th in line to the british throne.

House of Braganza
en.wikipedia.org...

Dom Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza. Head of the House of Brganza; born 15 May 1945; is the 24th Duke of Braganza and a claimant to the throne of Portugal. Title(s): His Royal Highness, the Most Serene Lord, Duke of Braganza, of Guimarães and of Barcelos, Marquis of Vila Viçosa, Count of Arraiolos, of Ourém, of Barcelos, of Faria, of Neiva and of Guimarães, Sovereign of the Royal Order of Saint Isabel, Grand Master of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa, Grand Master by Birth of the Order of Saint Michael of the Wing, Judge of the Royal Brotherhood of Saint Michael of the Wing and Knight of the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece. Dom Duarte was a major campaigner for the independence of East Timor

House of Savoy: (disputed)
en.wikipedia.org...

Vittorio Emanuele Alberto Carlo Teodoro Umberto Bonifacio Amedeo Damiano Bernardino Gennaro Maria di Savoia (born 12 February 1937),Prince of Naples, was the last Crown Prince of Italy and, despite publicly having renounced any claims to the defunct Italian throne, is still considered by some to be a pretender. Vittorio Emanuele also uses the title Duke of Savoy and claims the headship of the House of Savoy. These claims are disputed by supporters of his third cousin, Amedeo, 5th Duke of Aosta. Vittorio Emanuele is a Bailiff Grand Cross of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and a Bailiff Grand Cross of Justice of the Constantinian Order of St George.

He also claims to hold several Russian dynastic orders, including the Order of Saint Andrew, Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky, the Order of the White Eagle, and the Order of Saint Anne. He is also a Knight of the Order of the Redeemer of Greece, and the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa. He is the heir to the Savoy claim to the title of "King of Jerusalem".

On several occasions he has been the centre of controversy in Italy and abroad due to a series of incidents, including remarks that were seen by some as anti-semitic. In France he was tried on a murder charge, of which he was cleared of unlawful killing but convicted of a firearms offence. More recently, Vittorio Emanuele was arrested on June 16, 2006, following an investigation started by Henry John Woodcock of the Public Prosecutor's Office in Potenza, Italy, on charges of criminal association, corruption and exploitation of prostitution.[1] A trial on these charges began in Potenza, Italy on December 21, 2009. He has been also listed among the members of the pseudo-Masonic illegal lodge called P2, accused by the magistrates to be a criminal organization

en.wikipedia.org...

Prince Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta, (born 27 September 1943) is a claimant to the headship of the House of Savoy, the family which ruled Italy from 1861 to 1946, as well as the heir to the short-lived Kingdom of Croatia during World War II with the name Zvonimir II. Until 7 July 2006 Amedeo was styled Duke of Aosta; on that date he declared himself Duke of Savoy. He is involved in various agricultural activities including the production of wine marketed under the name Vini Savoia Aosta. Since 1997 Amedeo has been president of the International Foundation Pro Herbario Mediterraneo. From 2003 to 2006 he was president of the committee responsible for the nature reserve on the island of Vivara.

Amedeo is a Knight of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation named by Humbert II , a Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, and a Knight of Honor and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of St. John of Jerusalem. He is an honorary citizen of the towns of Marigliano, Pantelleria, and Abetone.

House of Oldenburg/House of Schleswig-Holstein
en.wikipedia.org...

Christoph, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein (born 22 August 1949 at Schloss Louisenlund in Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, West Germany has been the head of the Ducal House of Schleswig-Holstein and the entire House of Oldenburg since 1980. Christoph is a founding member of the GLC Glücksburg Consulting Group and serves as Chairman of the Advisory Board. He resides in Schwansen where he has business interests in agriculture, forestry and real estate

House of Romanov(Disputed)
en.wikipedia.org...

Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia born 23 December 1953 (in Madrid), has been a claimant to the Headship of the Imperial Family of Russia and title Titular Empress and Autocrat of All the Russias, since 1992. She has used the title Grand Duchess of Russia, with the style Imperial Highness throughout her life, though her right to this title is disputed.

She has been awarded: Order of St. Andrew the First-Called , Dame Grand Cross Order of St Catherine , Order of St. Alexander Nevsky , Order of the White Eagle , Order of St. Anna 1st Class , Order of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker 1st Class , Order of Saint Stanislaus 1st Class, Dame Grand Cross Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Order of St. Olga 1 Class (Patriarch Alexius II, Russian Orthodox Church), Order of St. Paraskeva 1 Class(Moldovan Orthodox Church) , Dame Grand Cross Order of Saint Michael of the Wing (Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza), Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Queen of Sheba (Crown Council of Ethiopia) , Order of the Republic (Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic) , Lady of the Grand Collar of the Order of the Eagle of Georgia and the Seamless Tunic of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Irakli Bagration of Mukhrani) , Cross of Russian Nobility Association 1st Class.

Maria Vladimirovna lives in France and Spain. She is fluent in Russian, English, French, and Spanish, she is also able to speak and read German, Italian and Arabic. Maria is also in the line of succession to the British throne.

en.wikipedia.org...

Nicholas Romanovich Romanov, Prince of Russia born 26 September 1922 is a claimant to the headship of Imperial House of Romanov and President of the Romanov Family Association. Although he is undoubtedly a descendant of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, his claimed titles and official membership in the former Imperial House are disputed by those who maintain that his parents' marriage violated the Laws of Imperial Russia. Prince Nicholas and his wife live in Rougemont, Switzerland for seven months every year, usually in the winter. During the rest of the year they stay in Italy with their daughters.[4] The prince still uses the Julian calendar and is fluent in French, Russian, Italian, and English. He is also able to read Spanish.

House of Orleans
en.wikipedia.org...

Prince Henri Philippe Pierre Marie d'Orléans, Count of Paris, Duke of France (comte de Paris, duc de France), born on 14 June 1933, is a claimant to the French throne. If he were king, he would be Henry VII. For the Orléanists, he is the heir of Louis-Philippe, King of the French; for unionists, the heir of Henri, comte de Chambord, and so of Charles X, King of France. He is also the 77th in the Legitimist line of succession to the French throne.

Henri has written a number of books. Henri is also a painter and has launched his own brand of perfume. In addition, he ran in the European elections of 2004, which he lost.

House of Bonaparte(Disputed)
en.wikipedia.org...

Jean Christophe, Prince Napoléon (Jean Christophe Louis Ferdinand Albéric Napoléon; 11 July 1986) is a claimant to headship of the House of Bonaparte. Jean Christophe has studied at the Institut IPESUP and the HEC School of Management

en.wikipedia.org...

Charles, Prince Napoléon (Charles Marie Jérôme Victor Napoléon Bonaparte) (born 19 October 1950) is a French politician, and the father of the current head of the Imperial House of France, Jean-Christophe, as male heir to the rights and legacy established by his great-great-grand-uncle, Emperor Napoléon. In 2000, Charles stood for election as mayor of Ajaccio, the historical seat of the Bonapartes in Corsica. Subsequently, he served as a member of the Ajaccio City Council, and in 2004 he held the post of deputy mayor in that city. In early 2008, Charles announced plans to stand for election in March 2008 as mayor of Nemours, where he actually leads a union list called "Ensemble Pour Les Nemouriens" with local personalities, such as Ginette Tardy. Charles has worked professionally as a banker, financial planner, and real estate developer and is currently a visiting professor for the American Institute on Foreign Policy

To be Continued... (please no posts yet)

[edit on 31-3-2010 by TheCoffinman]

[edit on 31-3-2010 by TheCoffinman]

House of Bourbon(Disputed)
en.wikipedia.org...

Prince Louis Alphonse de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou (Luis Alfonso Gonzalo Víctor Manuel Marco de Borbón y Martínez-Bordiú; born 25 April 1974, Madrid) is a claimant to the French throne, and considered to be the head of the French Royal House by legitimists who consider the renunciation of Philip V of Spain as invalid. As king, he could be named Louis XX of France.

He is a great-grandson of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and first cousin once removed of King Juan Carlos I of Spain. He is also a great-grandson of Francisco Franco. Louis Alphonse studied Economics at University. He worked several years for BNP Paribas, a French bank in Madrid

He is currently the Head of the House of Bourbon, and claims the following titles:
Titular Duke of Anjou
Titular Duke of Burgundy
Titular Duke of Touraine
Titular Duke of Bourbon
Titular King of France
Titular King of Navarre
Head of the House of Bourbon
Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Order of Malta

en.wikipedia.org...
see House of Orleans

en.wikipedia.org...
King Juan Carlos I of Spain

en.wikipedia.org...

Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma and Piacenza (born 8 April 1930 in Paris, France) is the current titular duke of Parma and the head of the House of Bourbon-Parma (a branch of the House of Bourbon). Carlos Hugo is also known as having been a Carlist pretender to the throne of Spain under the name Carlos VIII. As duke of Parma, he claims the headship of the Constantinian Order of Saint George, although it was not tied to the ducal throne of Parma, but is adjudicated by the church of Rome to follow the male primogeniture. In February 2008 it was revealed that he was being treated for cancer

en.wikipedia.org...

Infante Carlos of Spain, Prince of the Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria (Carlos Maria Alfonso Marcel de Borbón-Dos Sicilias y de Borbón-Parma) (born 16 January 1938 in Lausanne) is the son of Don Alfonso of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria (1901–1964) and Princess Alicia of Bourbon-Parma (born 1917).

Carlos lives in Madrid with his family. He possesses agrarian properties in Toledo and Ciudad Real, as well as shares in important companies like Repsol and Telefonica.

Infante Carlos is Dean-President of the Royal Council of the Military Orders of Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara and Montesa and Grand Master of the Hispano-Neapolitan branch of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, Grand Master of the Order of Saint Januarius, Grand Commander of the Military Order of Alcántara, Protector of the Real Cuerpo de la Nobleza of Madrid, Maestrante of Sevilla, Zaragoza, Granada, Valencia and Ronda[2], Member of the Real Cuerpo de la Nobleza of Catalonia, Member of the Cofradía del Santo Cáliz of Valencia, and Patron-President of the Foundation of the Military Order's Hospital of Santiago de Cuenca (Patrono-Presidente de la Fundación de las Ordenes Militares Hospital de Santiago de Cuenca). He was appointed a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1964, of which he is the doyen, and has been decorated with the Grand Cross of the Spanish Orders of Military Merit with White Distinction, of Naval Merit and of Agricultural Merit, the Grand Cross of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, and has received the Banda of the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle among other Orders. Infante Caelos is also President of the Spanish Foundation of the United World College[3], President of the Patronato of the Naval Museum, President of the Spanish Confederation of Foundations[4], President of the Iberoamerican Confedration of Foundations [5], President of the Foundation of San Benito de Alcántara[6], and President of the Foundation for the Protection of Nature (Fundación Fondo para la Protección de la Naturaleza).

en.wikipedia.org...

Prince Charles of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro (born 24 February 1963) is one of two claimants to the headship of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Charles claims the disputed Grand Mastership of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, the Order of Saint Ferdinand and Merit, the Order of St. Januarius, the Order of Saint George and Reunion, and the Royal Order of Francis I.

Charles has been decorated with several dynastic and state honours. Charles was educated firstly at the Institute of the Marist Fathers at Toulon, France. He went on to study at a namesake of the Collège Stanislas de Paris located in Nice, France. After studying at an international university in Paris, he spent three years working for a public relations firm in Manhattan. He is fluent in Italian, French and English.

en.wikipedia.org...
Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg

House of Hanover/House of Brunswick/House of Welf
en.wikipedia.org...

Ernst August V, Prince of Hanover, Prince of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick (born 26 February 1954 in Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany), is a German aristocrat, the head of a deposed royal dynasty. Ernst August is the third and present husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, heiress presumptive to the throne of Monaco. Ernst August is an alcoholic and has had moments of controversy. In 1998 he was fined £30,000 after breaking the nose of a television cameraman, and has had other scuffles with photographers and with a police officer. He was photographed urinating on the Turkish Pavilion at the Expo 2000 event in Hanover, causing a diplomatic incident and a complaint from the Turkish Embassy accusing him of insulting the Turkish people. He sued those who published (Bild-Zeitung) the photo for invasion of privacy. He was awarded 33,900 euros. The paper had previously published a photo of the prince urinating outside a hospital in Austria. As of September 2009, it is reported in the French and English press that he is living separately from his wife Caroline, who has returned to Monaco

House of Wittelsbach
en.wikipedia.org...

Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Herzog von Bayern (born 14 July 1933, as Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Prinz von Bayern), styled as His Royal Highness The Duke of Bavaria, is head of the Wittelsbach family, the former ruling family of the Kingdom of Bavaria. He is also the current senior co-heir-general of King Charles I of England and Scotland, and thus is considered by Jacobites to be the heir of the House of Stuart and the rightful ruler of England, Scotland, France and Ireland as King Francis II, though he himself does not advance the claim.

Franz is the current Grand Master of the Royal Order of Saint George for the Defense of the Immaculate Conception.[6] He is also Grand Master of the Order of Saint Hubert and the Order of Saint Theresa (for Ladies).[6] He is a Senator of the University of Munich and an Honorary Member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. He holds many honorary positions in civic and religious organisations in Bavaria. Franz lives in an apartment in Nyphenburg Palace, the former summer palace of the kings of bavaria, Munich.

House of Württemberg
en.wikipedia.org...

Carl, Duke of Württemberg (born 1 August 1936) is the current Head of the House of Württemberg.

House of Hohenzollern
en.wikipedia.org...

Georg Friedrich Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia, (born 10 June 1976) is the current head of the Imperial House of Hohenzollern. Georg Friedrich is also the heir of the Prussian claimants of the title of Prince of Orange. As a descendant of the United Kingdom's Queen Victoria, Georg Friedrich is in the line of succession to the British throne. He is also related to all of the current monarchs in Europe.

en.wikipedia.org...

Frederick William, Prince of Hohenzollern(born 3 February 1924) is the head of the Princely House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. Prince Frederick William will likely inherit the rights of succession to the Romanian throne.

en.wikipedia.org...

Michael (born 25 October 1921) reigned as King of the Romanians ("His Majesty Michael I King of the Romanians") from 20 July 1927 to 8 June 1930, and again from 6 September 1940, until forced to abdicate by the communists backed up by orders of Stalin to the Soviet armies of occupation on 30 December 1947. He is also a Prince of Hohenzollern. A great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria by both of his parents and a third cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, he is one of the last surviving heads of state from World War II. He now lives partly in Switzerland at Aubonne and partly in Romania, either at Săvârşin Castle in Arad county or in an official residence in Bucharest—the Elisabeta Palace—voted by the Romanian Parliament by a law concerning arrangements for former heads of state.

King Michael retaining his dignity as fons honorum is Grand Master of the Romanian Royal Orders, such as

The Order of Carol I (Romania)
The Order of Michael the Brave
The Order of Ferdinand I
The Order of the Crown (Romania)
The Order of "Bane Merenti" of the Ruling House

The King also received numerous foreign Honors and decorations among those are:

Grand Cross of the Légion d'honneur
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit
Grand Cross of the Order of The Redeemer
Grand Cross of the Order of George I

House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
en.wikipedia.org...

Borwin, Duke of Mecklenburg (born 10 June 1956) has been the head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz since 1996. With the death of the last male member of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 2001, Strelitz is the only remaining line of the House of Mecklenburg, the dynasty which ruled in Mecklenburg until 1918. In politics, Duke Borwin is a former local party chairman for the Christian Democratic Union in the village of Hinterzarten in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district of Baden-Württemberg, leaving his post in May 2009. Duke Borwin is the patron and protector of the Order of the Griffin which was revived in September 1984. The order was founded by Grand Duke Frederick Francis III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin on 15 September 1884.[6] He has also served on the Almanach de Gotha's Comité de Patronage.

House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach/House of Wettin
en.wikipedia.org...

Michael, Prince of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (born 15 November 1946) is a German prince and the current head of the Grand Ducal House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, as well as senior agnate of the entire House of Wettin. Michael is in the Line of succession to the British throne, being a great5-grandson of Princess Augusta granddaughter of King George II

House of Colonna
en.wikipedia.org...

The Colonna family have been Prince Assistants to the Papal Throne since 1710, though their papal princely title only dates from 1854.

The family residence in Rome, the Palazzo Colonna, is open to the public.

The Princely family is represented by H.E. Prince Marcantonio Colonna di Paliano, Prince and Duke of Paliano (b. 1948), whose heir is Don Giovanni Andrea Colonna di Paliano (b. 1975).

House of Borghese
en.wikipedia.org...

Current head H.E. Prince Don Camillo Prince Borghese, 13th Prince of Sulmona, 14th Prince of Rossano, etc. - (b. 1927).

House of Karađorđević
en.wikipedia.org...

Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia, also known as Alexander Karađorđević ( born 17 July 1945), is the last crown prince of the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Alexander is the only child of Peter II, the last king of Yugoslavia, who was from the Karađorđević dynasty, and Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark.

en.wikipedia.org...
Listed in the above link is a list of all the pretenders of royalty.

thanks for your interest.

[edit on 31-3-2010 by TheCoffinman]

Absolutely great. I find this type of thing fascinating. I've never understood how these titles are given or handed down and what goes to who and how lineages work. I mean, so many are claimants to the same throne and then the guy who could be King of Scotland, England, Ireland and France. How does that work? And what about Wales?

S&F for the post and for giving me something to look into.

Speaking of Wales... when I read the title I had a mental image of William Wales sneaking into the Tower at night to try on the crown

Thank you for all this interesting information!

reply to post by itchy_tartan_blanket


The pretender for the welsh crown and that of the ancient kingdom of Gwynedd en.wikipedia.org... is Evan Vaughan Anwyl. the Anwyl of Tywyn Family are the male heirs of the ancient House of Aberffraw which were the native royal dynasty in the Kingdom of Gwynedd and the principal royal dynasty in Wales since the time of Rhodri Mawr.

en.wikipedia.org...

What a great thread! So many of them have so many titles its ridiculous, and truly fascinating! Thanks for putting all this stuff together, great job.