Prince Ernst-August Jr. of Hanover got married without his dad’s permission

The civil ceremony of Prince Ernst August of Hanover and Ekaterina Malysheva

Do not “WHO?” at me. I will explain everything, because I actually saw these photos last week, I recognized the name and I was like, “Ooh, I wonder if anyone will be interested in this?” Many of you royal-gossipers are always begging me to branch out and cover royals beyond the Windsors, so this is your lucky day. The guy in these photos is Prince Ernst-August Jr. of Hanover, a residual German royal title which is barely even recognized IN Germany. He and his father, Ernst-August Sr., are distantly related to Queen Elizabeth II, and so the Hanoverian line still has some residual royal cachet. Plus, Ernst-August Sr. is married to Princess Caroline of Monaco – he is Caroline’s third husband, and long backstory short, Caroline homewrecked Senior’s first marriage, but Caroline and Senior’s marriage has been on the rocks for more than a decade – they are separated but not divorced, they live completely separate lives, and they barely see each other, despite the fact that they have a daughter together, Princess Alexandra (who is 17 now). I believe Alexandra just lives full-time with her mom in Monaco?

Prince Ernst-August Senior is a shady dude, and he’s had a lot of financial and tax-related issues. At some point, he passed his assets and property holdings to his son, Ernst Junior, who is now 33-years-old. Junior’s mother was Senior’s first wife, the one who got dumped when Caroline came along. Anyway, Junior got married last week. The photos in this post are from the civil service at the city hall of Hanover. He married Ekaterina Malysheva, his girlfriend of eight years. On Saturday, Ernst-August Junior and Ekaterina had a formal church wedding in Hanover too, and an evening reception at Marienburg Castle. According to People, many of Junior’s relatives were there, including his mother, his half-sister Alexandra, and his step-siblings, Charlotte Casiraghi, Andrea Casiraghi and Pierre Casiraghi. Pierre and Andrea even brought their wives. Princess Caroline did not attend, but since all of her kids were there, many took it as a sign that Caroline approved of her stepson’s marriage. Guess who didn’t approve? Ernst-August Senior.

Not all royal weddings go off without a hitch. Prince Ernst-August Jr. of Hanover — whose stepmother is Princess Caroline of Monaco — is set to wed Russian-born, Czech-raised Ekaterina Malysheva in a massive televised religious ceremony on Saturday, part of 10 days of planned festivities expected to draw dozens of young royals and aristocrats.

But the groom’s father has thrown a series wrench into things. On Monday, Prince Ernst-August V, head of the now-deposed royal House of Hanover in Germany and brother-in-law to Monaco’s Prince Albert, announced formal opposition to the marriage based on a very simple premise: He wants his castles back, along with family property deeded over to his son between 2004-2006.

The 33-year old London-based investment banker and the 30-year old fashion designer, who have been together for eight years, were engaged on a family vacation in Greece last summer. The bride, who designs skintight lamé catsuits, has opted for a traditional wedding route, and even her choice of a Sandra Mansour gown has been publicized for months.

Ernst Sr., who is still married to Caroline despite the couple’s longtime separation and his numerous scandals, told German newspaper Handelsblatt he opposes the marriage and is motivated by his desire to preserve family property, especially lands in Lower Saxony.

“The decision was not easy for me because it concerns my son,” he told the newspaper. “But I am constrained to preserve the interests of the House of Hanover and the property, including cultural property, which has been its property for centuries.” Through his lawyers, the twice-married, 63-year-old noble — who is cousin to Queen Elizabeth — has asked his son to return property passed over a decade ago when he arranged his own tax matters. At the time, Ernst-August’s wealth was estimated as high as $250 million; estimates valued the property as worth in excess of $100 million.

“I continue to hope that my son will eventually think of the best interests of our family and yield,” he said. “I am ready for discussion and reconciliation.”

Curiously, opposing a marriage seems a Hanoverian family trait. Ernst-August Sr.’s own father (Ernst-August IV) opposed his son’s marriage to first wife Chantal, a Swiss commoner.

[From People]

There are many, many people who know more about this than me. I’m just going to take People’s report at face value, because I don’t want to get sucked down the rabbit hole of reading about all of Senior’s shady arrangements. It’s not surprising to me that Senior turned over his assets to his son, just as it’s not surprising that Senior is apparently throwing a fit about his son not giving those assets back. There is no takesies-backsies in royalty!! From what little I do know, it’s widely believed that Senior is a little bit not-right, possibly due to certain defects in the German wing of the royal bloodline. In any case, I hope Senior’s ramblings didn’t get in the way of what seems like a lovely wedding.

The civil ceremony of Prince Ernst August of Hanover and Ekaterina Malysheva

The civil ceremony of Prince Ernst August of Hanover and Ekaterina Malysheva

Photos courtesy of WENN.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

157 Responses to “Prince Ernst-August Jr. of Hanover got married without his dad’s permission”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Megan says:

    If someone gives me a castle, I am absolutely keeping it.

  2. astrid says:

    Wow, that’s some seriously ugly wedding clothes. Couldn’t he at least have combed his hair?

    • LaraK says:

      Well, to each his own I suppose.
      But her dress does look like a cheap sleeping robe. Yes, I judge. I judge hard.

      • Danielle says:

        Well, she is a designer of lame catsuits. Hopefully she designs other things too, as that seems like a small market.

      • Pandy says:

        i know!!!!! I so love that she designs lame catsuits!!! That’ awesome. And priceless.

      • Pandora says:

        He also looks like he donned a suit for the first time in his life and I am also wondering if he cuts his own hair.

    • Megan says:

      That’s a photo from their civil ceremony. In Germany you must have a civil service even if you have a church wedding.

      • Cherise says:

        Presumably you dont nean that you have to have an actual service but rather that you have to sign the certificate in the presence of witnesses.

      • Sabrine says:

        He looks like a nice, quiet and boring dude who really needs a haircut.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Presumably Megan means what she wrote. A religious wedding ceremony in Germany doesn’t count legally. In order to be legally married, you have to have a civil ceremony in the local registry office.

      • Ariana says:

        no, Cherise is right, you don’t need to have a civil ceremony, you just need to sign the certificate with a witness to be legally married. my aunt and uncle hated the whole wedding idea, so they just went with their witnesses, signed the certificate and didn’t have a ceremony at all.
        however, you can also combine these two and basically have the certificate signed during you church wedding or have your actual wedding ceremony in the registry office. depends on where you live and how the office is equipped.

      • notasugarhere says:

        According to German websites I found, a civil ceremony is required. It is required in many countries in Europe with the religious ceremony not considered legally binding – a separation of Church and State that I envy.

      • Cee says:

        Same in Argentina. If you want to be married in a Church you need to be legally married first. State doesn’t recognise a marriage that’s not legally binding.

    • Amelie says:

      They have pictures from the actual religious wedding in Germany on People. She’s wearing a poofy princess type wedding dress. Not a huge fan but these are just from the civil ceremony which seem perfectly appropriate.

  3. Odette says:

    I love this story so much — and the last picture even more. Delicious gossip, with accompanying photos that bring the LOLs!

    • cherrypie says:

      Yep! Now THIS is gossip. So much shenanigans and back story breakups, marriages, shadiness, rebel prince…LOL

    • RoyalSparkle says:

      Lets see if King dad allow him to keep his royal Line. The Prince sounds like whiny middleton In laws.

      Who by the way – Carol and awful looking flat board pipa were rifhtfully dumped in – gasp! – separate seats behind the Royal Box at Wimbledon. Many respected deserving working athletes, producers – earning Royal seatis were present.

  4. Talie says:

    I love that the son got the assets and was like, whatevs, I’m getting married now! Haha

    I mean, I saw a lot of the photos on Instagram and it looks like that whole Eurotrash jet set society showed up, so it’s not like they are being ostracized.

    • WhatAmIGonnaDoWithAGunRack says:

      WHAT insta? I need this account in my life. P

      • SoulSPA says:

        @WAIGDWAGR, some instagram accounts here: royalwomenofeurope
        world.of.royals
        europeanroyalty_
        Enjoy :):)

  5. Nicole says:

    Well 8 years is a long time so congrats to them. Seems like the rest of the family (steps included) are happy for them. So who cares about his dad?
    Messy messy though

  6. Seraphina says:

    The groom really needs a haircut. That said, congrats.

    • Alix says:

      And a tailor. The pants of his wedding suit were a good six inches too long.

      Senior is an asshat. Caroline stays married to him because she enjoys being an HRH, even though Hanover, as a sovereign state, is long gone. Personally, I’d rather be a HSH in an actual *ruling* family than a courtesy-only HRH, but that’s just me.

      • CynicalAnn says:

        Yes-all that money and he can’t get a suit that fits??

      • notasugarhere says:

        If you look at the weddings of all of these deposed-or-not, who knew there were royals left in Italy, Romania, etc. events? They seem to try hard to wear bad clothing, often decades old designer gear.

    • Ange says:

      Every man in the pictures except for the balding one needs a haircut.

  7. LAK says:

    Several things:

    1. Consent might affect the inheritance of the children these newlyweds produce. Royals are big on consent. No consent = marriage isn’t recognised officially. Any children are automatically barred from inheritance. Don’t know if Hanover still holds to that rule, but the European royals, even the deposed ones, tend to hold onto these rules.

    2. Senior has had medical issues for some time plus i think he had or continues to have an alcohol problem. Properties were handed over for tax reasons, but Junior is refusing to had them back because of Senior’s medical issues.

    3. That second guest………major side eye.

    • bluhare says:

      The groom looks relatively happy in these photos as opposed to a few others I saw. She was smiling; he wasn’t.

      From what I have read about Hanover Sr. he’s got a serious alcohol problem. And he looks appalling; skin and bones.

      As for second guest . . . lol!!

    • Maria F. says:

      i think the only part i understand is that Senior wants to avoid that the title and certain properties go over to the widow if there are no kids in the marriage.

      She could remarry and take the title and run. I would rather compensate her with money.

      It might sound archaic, but if you have kept the title in the family for so long, I understand that worry.

      And this has got nothing to do with this bride in particular. Just my general observation.

      • LAK says:

        Under Royal rules, women are just incubators. She can not hold any properties in her own right as a widow if they are linked to the titles. And if marriage isn’t recognised, her kids can’t argue right to them.

        Ditto titles.

      • SoulSPA says:

        @LAK: very informative as always, thanks very much!

    • notasugarhere says:

      1a. House Laws can and have been upheld in the EU from what I understand, as has the Will that prevents Gustav and Carina marrying (unless they want to give up the cushy life). Not sure what the House of Hanover House Laws would say about this marriage.

      4. No pre-nup

      • RoyalSparkle says:

        This is the same Hanover that Caroline Gramaldi -2d marriage belongs to –

    • Elaine says:

      Lol @ LAK. Side-eye with a major case of shade.

      PippaTip: If you aren’t the bride, its best not to rub up against the groom. In front of the bride.

    • Lasso says:

      I dont think any of this matters here, LAK. Besides the fact that this is now a private family using inconsequential titles the only inheritance here is the personal property which is all happily in Juniors hands anyway. That aside, even if they were sitting monarchs, theres very little public appetite to see a monarch govern an adults private life. This is not the 1960s. A refusal to recognise a marriage today in a Western European country is exactly the kind of thing that would finally set the course to a republic.

      • LAK says:

        In the modern society that we live in, none of it matters, but in the royal world *they* live in, it does.

        It’s the reason Caroline won’t divorce Senior. She’s not giving up that HRH no matter how much Senior embarrasses her.

        There is a young royal in the houses of Belgium who married without consent and lost inheritance rights for their kids.

        In the Luxemborg, another young royal lost his rights after marrying a woman without royal blood.

        If i recall, both are in their early 30s or younger.

      • notasugarhere says:

        As LAK explains they do still matter legally, in this case with private citizens who aren’t taxpayer funded and aren’t representing governments. It is why Carina Axelson hasn’t married her long-time boyfriend Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. He’d lose either the titles or the money (can’t remember which) if he married someone against House Laws or his grandfather’s will. It was contested in court, it is openly racist, and the Will stood.

        Also why Gloria TNT happened in the 80s – because her husband was bound by those types of agreements to marry a woman who came from certain lineage or lose the inheritance. Jury is out on whether or not her son the rally car driver (who is worth 2 billion) can change those House Laws and marry anyone of his choosing.

        LAK, the Lux one (if you mean Louis) voluntarily gave up his place because their first son was born out-of-wedlock. After they married, they didn’t want their two sons treated differently. They have announced they are divorcing, not sure it has been finalized.

        Another one was Amedeo (of Belgium and Lux), who originally lost his place but it was restored by King Philippe. I think that was more of a “we are private citizens, we don’t care about lines of succession” move. It was publicly seen differently and Philippe restored his place after the wedding. Philippe’s eldest daughter-and-heir Elisabeth was one of the attendants and he and Mathilde attended the wedding.

      • Merritt says:

        @LAK

        That seems a little crazy since Caroline is a princess by birth.

      • Maria says:

        Nota,
        Didn’t Prince Henri of Lxemburg confer the royal title upon Tessy and her children after a couple of years. Of course now they are divorced, so I guess she will lose the title.

      • Maria says:

        Merritt, Princess Caroline was a Serene Highness by birth, now she is a Royal Highness. Supposedly better.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Yes, the boys were made Princes of Nassau later, and she was granted a title later which she will lose in the divorce. Louis and their sons remain out of the line of succession; that wasn’t undone.

      • LAK says:

        Merritt: The monaco house is a ‘Serene Highness’ royal house which is of low ranking in the royal club. When she married Senior, she was elevated to ‘Royal Highness’ which is a much higher status in the royal club.

        Rankings from the top, excluding the pope, per the Almanach de gotha go as follows:
        1. Imperial and Royal Majesty (eg Queen Victoria to George 6, Shah of Iran)
        2. Imperial Majesty (eg Emperor of Japan)
        3. Majesty (eg Elizabeth 2)
        4. Imperial and Royal Highness (eg Hapsburg Archdukes past and present)
        5. Imperial Highness (eg members of Japan and Russia royal houses, past and present)
        6. Royal Highness( eg British royal family + Several European royal families)
        7 – 13. other rankings that have fallen out of usage, including Sultanic Highness and Grand Ducal Highness.
        14. Serene Highness (eg Monaco royal family)
        15 – 18. Other rankings including ‘Eminence’ and ‘Excellence’

        And as silly as all these rankings are, see how Diana fought to have her HRH restored to her when she realised the loss of status after voluntarily giving it up for a better divorce settlement.

        When they all meet up, they enforce those rankings, even in private.

      • Maria says:

        Nota, is there is still male primogeniture in Lux? If so, it would be prince’s Felix’s son who would eventually inherit, since at this point the heir Prince Guillaume has not produced children yet. Of course that will probably come, Stephanie is still young.

      • notasugarhere says:

        They removed male primogeniture in 2011. It goes Guillaume, Felix, Amalia, Liam, Alexandra, Sebastian.

        She said they’d wait at least three years before discussion of kids. As the youngest of eight, maybe she honestly isn’t interested in having kids. Plenty of others in line and the throne would go to Felix after his elder brother.

      • SoulSPA says:

        I don’t know how Caroline of Monaco would stick on to the “royal” title acquired through marriage. The Monegasque royal house is alive and well. The German monarchy lives off old and new money and past history. She probably stays in the marriage for money and the inheritance of the daughter she has with her husband. Can’t fathom the inner works of royal houses.

      • LAK says:

        Soulpa: HSH Caroline of Monaco’s married name is HRH Caroline of Hanover. That HRH gives her higher status than her HSH siblings in the royal club. And Caroline loves her status so she will remain legally married, though unofficially separated to hold onto that HRH. A divorce would demote her back to HSH and that is worse than any money she may or may not receive.

        Her daughter is HRH in her own right, being born of the body of HRH title in legitimate marriage. Like Anne of UK. A divorce wouldn’t affect the daughter’s rights.

      • Bridget says:

        Not to mention, Caroline had a drop in status with Albert’s marriage and ascension to Prince. Where she once was the de facto First Lady of Monaco (and rumored to cherish the hope of becoming ruler herself) she is NOT happy with her drop in status within the family itself. Trust, that HRH is a big deal, because it means that she outranks all of them.

      • L84Tea says:

        I find all of these royal rankings absolutely fascinating. They are in a sense, as my father calls it, “complete horse shit”, but it’s still fascinating!

  8. Bug says:

    That last picture of the group is hilarious. They look like the cast of some Italian reality tv show.

    • Odette says:

      That last picture is GOLD!!! No, no — it’s Bedazzled!!! Can’t stop chuckling!!!! Along with the detail that the bride designs “skintight” cat suits!

      Hands down, the best gossip story of the day.

      • Zondie says:

        I want to know what demographic buys “skintight” catsuits!

      • Odette says:

        LOL, @Zondie! This! I mean, a lam-AY catsuit designer — who, by the way, looks EXACTLY like Anna from Downton Abbey……it’s…..perfect!

    • Giddy says:

      “They look like the cast of some Italian reality tv show.” What a great description! I really want to know who these people are: guy with perfect stubble, girl with giant bow who is thrilled to be there, guy on right end who took casual dress literally.

    • notasugarhere says:

      Some of them are an Italian reality show, when you factor in the Boromeo family.

    • Jaded says:

      Total eurotrash.

    • minx says:

      I know, I’m dying!

  9. Jamie42 says:

    The bride is a designer of tight lamé catsuits? I guess that helps to explain the wedding dress.
    If they’ve been together eight years it seems fine; if she wants to marry into that family, then more power to her.

  10. Erinn says:

    “I continue to hope that my son will eventually think of the best interests of our family”

    Hahah – well, maybe you should have thought about what was best for your family, you old jerk. Complains about his son marrying a woman he clearly loves, after his own two failed marriages and shady dealings.

    Also the bride is beautiful. She’s genuinely very pretty – and not super over the top done-up, fake looking.

    • Lucy says:

      I don’t get this, is he afraid his son will sell the properties? I’m sure if he hasn’t by now he probably won’t, he was raised an Aristocrat so I’m sure he knows the value of keeping and passing property down the line.

      • ria says:

        More likely that Senior would sell the Properties if he had the Chance.
        He wants to get back in Control.
        He gave the Properties to Junior because of Mighty Tax Problems, but was still Head of the Family Trust.
        Then Senior was kicked out of Power from the Family trust, too much Party, Alcohol and Sex.
        Junior is in Control of the Money, with the help of the Trust Managers.
        Daddy wants everything back under his Control.
        Old news in Germany but Senior is totally degenerated, which is a shame for the Family, he is a living Embaressment, peed in the Public, hit a couple of People in the Public, etc.
        The Family is one of the oldest Noble Families in Germany, more than 1000 years old, they are for sure will be happy when he will be dead and gone.

        By the Way, Congratulations to the happy Couple.
        Junior really had bad luck with the Genetics. He looks way older than 33.
        Nonetheless, best Wishes.

    • AnnaKist says:

      “How many times I tol’ you, Ernst? Never trrrust anybahdy, not eefen your son…” 👑

  11. Scal says:

    I think Caroline didn’t attend because she didn’t want to run into her sort of ex-or the first wife. I liked that the groom had all of various siblings. That tells me a lot about who he is.

    The pictures from the religious ceremony are lovely. I liked her dress and thought it was classy and elegant. His suit (esp the pants!) look awful.

    The civil ceremony? Meh-esp the witnesses. They look like they are on the way out to brunch.

    • Lasso says:

      He does control the money so the siblings are probably well advised to attend. Although I do agree he seems like a man they like and respect.

      • Bridget says:

        The Grimaldis are step siblings and were never going to get any money from the Hanover side, but both sons married incredibly wealthy women anyhow.

  12. Tess says:

    Yay! Thanks for this tidbit!

  13. OriginallyBlue says:

    I love Royal gossip. It’s so fun and dramatic and almost every one involved seems a little trashy.

  14. Em' says:

    Funny coincidence. I saw Caroline on Saturday in Provence. She was shopping with a group of friends 🙂

  15. Maria says:

    Senior is a major piece of work. Drinking problem in addition to other things. He peed against the wall of the Japanese pavilion a few years back. Each girlfriend since Caroline gets younger and younger.
    The story is that when Princess Grace was still alive, she went through a list of potential husbands for her eldest daughter, and she picked Ernst of Hanover as a possible choice. Of course that was before Caroline hooked up with Junot, husband #1. Ernest is Royal, so Caroline would have been and now still is her Royal Highness and not Her serene highness.

    • notasugarhere says:

      I think the title is one of the main reasons for no divorce, the other being what she would or would not get in a divorce settlement since Jr has the money now. Royal Highness beats Serene Highness.

      • Maria says:

        Nota,
        So Alexandra is also her royal highness, but the Casiraghis have no title, is that right?

      • notasugarhere says:

        Yes that’s my understanding, although since it is a German title it isn’t really “real” anymore. Like all the Hapburgs running around calling themselves “Archduke” and “Archduchess” are just play acting since the titles were lost/made illegal post-WWI.

      • Sharon Lea says:

        I never thought before that the reason they hadn’t divorced was because Ernst gave all properties to his son, great point. Maybe Caroline doesn’t want to pay alimony either, or whatever it is called for these wealthy types. Wasn’t it rumored she inherited $850 million ?!, Albert received over a billion and poor Stephanie a few million.

      • Bridget says:

        Caroline and Alexandra outrank the rest of the Grimaldis, as they are HRH. Doesn’t matter if the Hanovers are deposed or not, the House is still in existence. At least unlike the deposed Greeks, the Hanovers have major $$$. Caroline is never going to divorce Ernst and go back to simply being Serene Highness, and be outranked in her family.

      • Maria says:

        The one who outranks them all, in terms of money is Tatiana Santo Domingo who inherited 2 billion from her father/grandfather. Lucky Andrea.

      • Bridget says:

        Money, yes. But no title at all. And among these folks that matters.

      • ELX says:

        If Sr and Caroline got divorced it would be very expensive and then the family would probably end up having to deal with some random side piece bimbo as the official widow–no one wants that.

      • Bridget says:

        It looks like a case where neither party wants to be together, but neither want to divorce – Ernst doesn’t have to pay out, and Caroline doesn’t lose the title.

    • CynicalAnn says:

      Caroline does not have good taste in men.

  16. teacakes says:

    Eight years is a long time and they do look happy. Love the bride’s dress, it’s one of the v few times I’ve liked the look of satin.

  17. thaliasghost says:

    Now, now, now – you couldn’t possibly post a story about Ernst August Senior withouth mentioning the infamous public pissing incident now, could you?

    • notasugarhere says:

      Kaiser’s just starting to dip a toe into non-British Royals, so she may not have a lot of background on Sr.

      I hope she jumps right in to the royal pool, because most of these royal families have loads of Celebitching potential.

      • L84Tea says:

        Some of the most awesome Royals are not British. Queen Maxima’s puffy sleeves and neon jewelry choices alone would make for entertaining posts. Princess Mary of Denmark is, in my opinion, the best dressed royal out there and could wipe the floor with Waity.

        My vote is in….MORE NON BRITISH ROYALS!!

      • Maria says:

        Me too. Lots of material there.

      • notasugarhere says:

        I wish she’d covered the eurotrash Maria-Olympia and her father’s dual birthday party, even though they’re deposed royals (or secondarily Danish). Maxima, Mette-Marit, and Felipe were all caught in some of the social media pictures.

      • CynicalAnn says:

        Those Miller sisters and their progeny are fascinating!

      • Maria says:

        I thought that party for Maria Olympia was so over the top.

      • notasugarhere says:

        CynicalAnn – Gettys, von Furstenburgs, and deposed Greeks. They are their own Three Ring Duty Free Circus.

        Rumor is MC and Pavlos are moving back to New York. I thought she (and the rest of the Miller family) renounced their US citizenships in 2011?

      • Seraphina says:

        NOTA, agreed. Major gossip potential. Like that trashy party the Greek ex-royals three. 5021.

    • littlemissnaughty says:

      Oh there is so much about this douche that has yet to be mentioned here. Dive in! He had a terrible toddler phase where he just kept beating people up. He’s infamous and even the German tabloids were a little “What?” when Caroline married him.

      I have no doubt that the family has issues from all the incest over centuries. There’s that particular “royal” look I can’t describe. The alcohol rumours sure don’t help.

      • Maria says:

        Well Caroline was pregnant when she married him. Pregnant when she married Stefano Casiraghi. Seems to be a tradition in the Grimaldi clan. With the exception of Pierre who married first (gasp!) then had a child.

      • Tigerlily says:

        I’m positive that in order to marry within the strict confines of their “peers” there was a great deal of in-breeding over the years. That probably explains most of these old Royal House’s looks and behavior. Something us peasants wouldn’t understand.

  18. Maria says:

    There is a YouTube on the formal wedding which was the following day. Marie–Chantal is wearing the identical dress to the one Pippa wore at a wedding recently.
    By the way, since the Monarchy was abolished in Greece, what, in the sixties, why is the “Greek Royal Family” still parading around Royal circles with their titles? I mean, we have Crown Prince Pavlos, er, there is no crown, so why do they go on with this nonsense?

    • notasugarhere says:

      Because like the Hapsburgs they refuse to recognize reality. As others have said, they’d turn up at the opening of a royal envelope. Interesting no other royals showed up at this, including any mystery Italian and other hidden royals that pop up at other events (ex. Amedeo and Lili’s wedding).

    • Bridget says:

      It helps that they’re related to other royal houses and well-liked, but a huge part of what keeps them afloat is the Miller money when Marie-Chantal and Pavlos got married. Personally, I’ve always found them ridiculous too – the Greeks are never getting their thrones back, and there are no hereditary lands or anything like that, so they’re just carrying around an empty title.

      • LAK says:

        Rumour that Marie – Chantal brought with her a £200M dowry on her marriage.

      • notasugarhere says:

        That would go a long way towards Constantine liking her. I suspect she quietly bought the old family tiara back out of hock (Queen Sophie’s diamond tiara), which she debuted a few years ago. If Constantine still had that one in his possession before, I don’t think they would have hid it for so long.

      • Maria says:

        Queen Sophie was Queen Victoria’s granddaughter. Is that the one you mean?
        Queen Elizabeth went to their wedding (Pavlos and MC), so there is a connection.

      • Bridget says:

        Reportedly no one actually likes Marie-Chantal, but the rest of the Greek family is well liked and she’s just obscenely wealthy. LAK I think that was the rumored figure. Daddy bought MC a title, even if it’s just one of the deposed Greeks.

    • magnoliarose says:

      At one time the Miller sisters were everywhere and like an old fashioned story they had each made brilliant matches! They were everywhere for a time.

      https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/be/e7/4a/bee74a30b9ae6dc1b2943d9d13c7695f–wallpaper-for-mobile-princess-alexandra.jpg

      Pia snagged a Getty, MC got Pavlos and Alexandra married Prince Alexander von Furstenberg.
      Pia and Alex are divorced and Pavlos has interests elsewhere. It was a Victorian trade off of money for prestige and titles. Duty free was very lucrative. Trump wanted to be part of their social group because he thought he and imagined himself to be in the same league as Robert Miller. He actually thought his children were going to elevate the family socially in a similar manner. He is still angry he was shunned.
      The way MC acts you would think she was a real Queen of some important nation. They were kicked out of Greece and Constantine was stripped of everything. He tried to sue but was awarded a fraction of what he asked for. So it is absolutely absurd they traipse around pretending to be royal when they aren’t even citizens and not welcome.
      The marriage did solve their money problems for sure. To get Pavlos it was 200 million dollars. Each of them took the same into their marriages.

      • Maria says:

        I didn’t know about Pavlos’s exracurricular activities. Do tell.

      • Bridget says:

        Robert Miller employed matchmakers specifically to set up his girls with titles, eligible bachelors (who let the Getty in the mix), and am I crazy, or isn’t the rumor that he was hoping to set MC up with Felipe of Spain?

    • Tigerlily says:

      They (Greek “Royals”) have ties to Brit royals, Danish royals & Spanish royals so I guess they need to keep up with the Jones or Windsors. The current Duke of Kent’s late mother was a Greek princess, “Queen” Anne Marie of Greece was born a Danish princess & the former Queen of Spain (Sophia married to King Juan Carlos) was a Greek Princess~”King” Constantine’s sister. And of course there is the Duke of Edinburgh’s former title of Prince of Greece.

  19. OTHER RENEE says:

    What exactly is senior’s beef with the bride?

    • notasugarhere says:

      Possibly against House Laws, might mean the loss of the whole kit-and-caboodle inheritance by his son, and the rumored lack of a pre-nup.

  20. Sullivan says:

    This was a fun read and the photos are priceless.

  21. Sharon Lea says:

    It seems so blatantly obvious that Ernst passed everything to the eldest for tax reasons if he now wants them back, how would any judge or federal board rule in favor of him getting them back? Why can’t Ernst see this is a lost cause?

  22. Bridget says:

    The Hanovers aren’t just a minor Euro royal – they’re HRHs and massively wealthy, and the British royal family is essentially just re-named House of Hanover. The Grimaldis may be more famous (courtesy of their mother/grandmother) but the Hanovers outrank them. It’s why Caroline and Ernst aren’t divorced – she’s not giving up the HRH, even if Ernst is awful.

    • ria says:

      EXACTLY!

    • L84Tea says:

      Wow, I did not know this. Fascinating!

    • Alix says:

      The Hanovers may outrank the Grimaldis on paper, but their titles are meaningless relics; Senior has no authority over anything (including Junior, it seems). The Grimaldis are an actual RULING family — Albert is, incredibly, an absolute head of state. His word is law in Monaco..

      • Bridget says:

        Doesn’t matter. In those circles, the HRH will always outrank, and even if Albert’s word is law in Monaco it’s basically just a several square mile casino.

      • LAK says:

        What Bridget said.

    • spacelab says:

      @bridget: thank you for at last mentioning this. hannover branch from the guelfes, one of europe’s oldest and most powerful ruling families. they were german emperors, kings and electors for centuries and never really lost their standing. for 300 years hannovers have been ruling britain, including queen victoria, prince albert and their offspring. they only changed their name to windsor because of anti-german resentment at the beginning 20th century. LAK knows more detail.
      besides, what’s with the “eurotrash” epithet around here?

  23. MinnFinn says:

    Are these Hanovers related to Albert, hubby of Britain’s Queen Victoria?

    • ria says:

      Hanover is the Family Name of Queen Victoria’s Daddy ,Vicky was the Last British Hanover on the Throne.
      German Hanover Line only accept male Heirs as Head of the House.

      Albert was not only Victorias Hubby but also her Cousin (House Saxe-Coburg and Gotha).
      Later renamed in Windsor at the Time of WW I.

      Victorias mom was a Saxe-Coburg.

    • pf says:

      The Hanovers are descended from King George III through his fifth son Ernest Augustus. Senior’s grandmother was Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, the only daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm, the oldest grandchild of Victoria and Albert…so there’s the familial connection.

    • LAK says:

      They are related to Victoria AND Albert. Their eldest daughter, also named Victoria, married the Emperor of Prussia. This couple are Senior’s great, great grandparents.

  24. MacScore says:

    Yes, more Euro-trash/Euro-Royals stories, please! The potential here is YUGE. (Great story, hysterical pics.. best gossip of the day!).

  25. Vinot says:

    I love her dress!! Would have picked different shoes though. Toot!

  26. Keely says:

    Best royal thread ever, please more of this. These people are fascinating, so many stories, so much scandal. Thank you to the likes of nota, LAK, Maria,ria, Bridget… for the information. Every time I try do any research into all the different royal houses, it just ends up confusing me, so much to understand. I find this stuff so interesting so this lovely crash course is bliss.

    • Bridget says:

      You want the good gossip? HRH Caroline. She is the pinnacle of royal gossip. She is all glamour and scandal.

      • Maria says:

        LOL! Where do we start?

      • CynicalAnn says:

        Yes! I’m old enough to remember when she married that handsome cad, Phillipe Junot, against her parents’ wishes.

      • Keely says:

        Please gimme more. I thought Princess Stephanie was the scandal prone Grimaldi daughter, had no idea about HRH Caroline, I mean I’ve seen stuff here and there. Once upon a time I found the Casiraghi siblings really beautiful and fascinating, I found Charlotte exquisite, then something happened to Andrea. I remember being very confused about the HRH vs HSH stuff , then reading up on that and discovering the Grimaldi’s despite their billions are of a lesser house. HRH Caroline’s sons have both made seriously good matches though in terms of money. So much to learn, then this stuff about the Greek, Windsor related royals. I keep seeing stuff about Queen Maxima…

  27. SugarMalone says:

    “The bride, who designs skintight lamé catsuits…” is the best thing I’ve read all day!

    Is there a lot of design work that goes into a skintight catsuit? Aren’t they all essentially the same?

    And she only works with lamé? No other fabric will demonstrate her vision in the same manner?

  28. OTHER RENEE says:

    I love this story. More like this please. Honestly I’m tired of the same William is Lazy Kate is dressed all wrong Harry is lazy too stories. And the comments are always the same. I’ve stopped reading. I want some fresh dish. Even the Meghan Markle story isn’t all that dishy because the rest of the cast remains the same. And I really don’t care for endless stories about Kate vs. Meghan which is what’s gonna happen.

    • Elisa the I. says:

      ITA!
      And my 2 cents, as the Habsburg family gets mentioned on this thread several times: part of the family are (still) rich AF. I’m from the south of Austria and they own huge properties there.
      Also, please mind the spelling: it’s Habsburg! Every time I read Hapsburg, I cringe. Thanks! 🙂

  29. Maria says:

    Kaiser, you’ve started something.

  30. seesittellsit says:

    Is she that small or is he that tall, or both? Gosh, if there is a truly sleazy future fella out there, Caroline will find him and her sister and elder daughter seem to have inherited the same “attraction gene”. I wonder if Senior has turned over the pages of a calendar recently and realized what century this is? Very entertaining, though. And I totally agree, a relief from Waity and Willie and Harry and Meghie.

  31. minx says:

    Am I the only one who thinks she looks pregnant?

  32. Feeshalori says:

    I heard rumors that EA Sr. might be also be suffering from porphyria, the same disease that King George III suffered from.

    • LAK says:

      It wouldn’t surprise that it is still in the family. The late William of Gloucester, HM’s cousin, had it.

  33. magnoliarose says:

    This story is truly funny. He has strange hair and she designs catsuits? For Ice Dancers maybe? Then that photo with the lady who looks like she rolled in from a cocktail party and that odd blonde man with 80s hair looking spacey is absurd.
    I enjoy these little gossip jaunts off the beaten path. I would have never learned that designing catsuits was actually a thing.

    I hope he keeps everything and ignores his father.

  34. Maria says:

    I thought that too. But since they’ve been together eight years, I guess it doesn’t matter.

  35. Zondie says:

    Thank you for covering this! I was intrigued by Ernst Senior when he began dating Caroline. I read an article some time ago referring to a rare genetic disorder, usually caused by inbreeding. Some symptoms include violent and unpredictable behavior, as well as urine that has a violet hue. I’m not kidding. Anyway, the article speculated that Senior may have this disease.

    • LAK says:

      Porphyria. Same as Britain’s George 3 aka Mad King George. Also our present Queen’s cousin had it. Unclear if rest of family have it.

      • Maria says:

        LAK, whatever happened to Hemophilia which so many Royal males suffered from? I know there are treatments now but as far as we know no one is even being treated for it.

      • LAK says:

        Maria: if anyone is suffering from it, they are keeping it very quiet. They barely acknowledged William of Gloucester’s porphyria and he died in 1972!!!

  36. Emma33 says:

    That blond guy looks like he drew his stubble on in Photoshop.

  37. Canadian Becks says:

    The younger brother, Prince Christian, is very conventionally attractive. Good bone structure, and a normal-sized head.

    Christian’s long-time girlfriend is a brunette…does anyone know of that other female is her? And who is the other male?

    • Maria says:

      A normal-sized head! LOL!
      There are several you -tube videos on Prince Christian and his brunette girlfriend. At the religious wedding. They are also engaged.

  38. Kaz says:

    Oh best thrread for ages!! More please, let’s have a scandalous. Summer break from the deeply boring Windsors!