5 September 2013

Three weddings and a pregnancy

I haven't been able to update my blog lately, so here is a short summary of recent wedding and pregnancy news:
  • Prince Muhammad Ali of Egypt married Princess Noal Zaher Shah of Afghanistan at the Çirağan Palace in Istanbul, Turkey on Friday 30 August 2013. Prince Muhammad Ali, b. 1979, is the son of the former King Fuad II of Egypt and his former wife Fadila, née Dominique-France Loeb, while Princess Noal, b. 1978, is the only daughter of Prince Muhammad Daud Pashtunyar Khan of Afghanistan and his wife, Princess Fatima Begum. The bride's father is the fifth son of the late and last king of Afghanistan, Muhammad Zahir Shah (1914-1933-1973-2007). For photos, go here and here (the latter is King Fuad II's official Facebook page).
  • Andrea Casiraghi and Tatiana Santo Domingo Rechulski were married at the Princely Palace, Monaco on 31 August 2013. Andrea, b. 1984, is the eldest son of HRH The Princess of Hannover (Princess Caroline of Monaco) and the late Stefano Casiraghi, while Tatiana, b. 1983, is the daughter of Julio Mario Santo Domingo and  Vera Rechulski from Colombia and Brazil respectively. Andrea and Tatiana became parents to Sacha Casiraghi on 21 March 2013 in London. Upon marriage Sacha entered the line of succession to the Monegasque throne due to the rather liberal succession law. See Huffington Post and the Telegraph for photos and more information.
  • Gustaf Magnuson and Vicky Andrén were married at Ulriksdal Palace Chapel on 31 August 2013. Gustaf, b. 1975, whose full name is Carl Gustaf Victor Magnuson, is the eldest son of Princess Christina of Sweden and Tord Magnuson and thus a nephew of King Carl XVI Gustaf. Vicky Elisabeth Andrén, whose parents are Elisabeth Malm and Kenneth Andrén, is born in 1983. Among the many guests were King Carl Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip, his girlfriend Sofia Hellqvist as well as Queen Sonja of Norway, who is one of Gustaf's sponsors. See photos at Expressen and Svensk Damtidning.
  • The Royal Court of Sweden announced on 3 September 2013 that Princess Madeleine and her husband Chris O'Neill are expecting their first child in early March 2014: "Princess Madeleine and Mr. Christopher O'Neill are delighted to announce that The Princess is expecting their first child. The birth is expected to take place in beginning of March of 2014. No changes to the schedule of The Princess's engagements and work for Childhood are planned during the fall of 2013." (See also Expressen.se.) Princess Madeleine and Chris O'Neill were married at Stockholm Palacce Church on 8 June 2013. As of now the couple lives in New York City, and as far as I know the court has not revealed if the couple plans to move to Sweden before the birth. This could be interesting constitutionally speaking, as the Swedish Act of Succession Article 4 says among others that "princes and princesses of the Royal House shall be brought up [...] within the Realm". However, the poorly formulated article doesn't say anything about what consequence it would have if a prince or princess is brought up outside the realm. Then again, one might ask if the text should be taken literally. Will non-titled children be affected? Personally I would be surprised if the future child becomes a Prince of Princess, but surely we will get more information from the court on this in due time. The preparatory works to the changes to the succession law in 1979 (Prop. 1977/78 no. 71) mentions the possibility of conditional consent to marriage, but I haven't heard anything about such a clause in the marital agreement.

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