Imre and Katie honeymoon in India

The normally quiet Archduke Imre doesn't seem to be disappearing from the news after his wedding to Kathleen Walker. Imre and Katie are enjoying the second stage of their honeymoon in romantic in India. The couple visited Fatehpur Sikri, Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. They have toured all of the traditional tourist hot spots and still plan a visit to the home of Mother Teresa.

While speaking to a reporter from The Times of India, Katie mentioned that she grew up hearing about India. Her grandfather Charles Kelly was stationed in Calcutta during WWII. It wasn't mentioned in the article but Imre's mother, Princess Marie-Astrid, accompanied by his youngest brother spent some time in India during the past few years. Princess Marie-Astrid was working in her official capacity (which she receives pitifully little recognition for). No doubt they shared many stories and photographs with Imre.

Unlike ordinary tourists, the couple are guests of the Maharajah of Jaipur's family. The Maharajah himself is only 13 years old. Imre and his wife are staying in the truly magnificent City Palace in Udaipur. The palace should be impressive even to someone who is accustomed to royal palaces and castles.

After reading about some of the recent intrigue, feuding, and dramatic family politics involving their host's family I suggest that Imre and Katie sleep with one eye open and employ a food taster for the remainder of their time in Jaipur.

The couple began their honeymoon in Greece there is no word if India is the final leg of their journey. The article in The Times of India features a photograph of the couple enjoying one of the destinations in "the Pink City."

Source: The Times of India

Presenting: Archduke Imre & Archduchess Kathleen of Austria

The newly weds Archduke Imre & Archduchess Kathleen

With Luxembourg's next royal wedding lurking just around the corner, it is a good time as any to have another look at the wedding of Archduke Imre of Austria, second child and oldest son of Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg and Archduke Carl-Christian of Austria, and his now wife née Kathleen Elizabeth Walker.

The couple exchanged vows in a Roman Catholic wedding ceremony, the subsequent mass was celebrated in Tridentine Rite. They were married in the St. Mary Mother of God Church in Washington D.C.'s Chinatown.

The groom awaiting his bride

The bride entering the church on her father's arm

Kathleen wore a white Pronovias wedding gown with added long sleeves and a moderate train, which she finished off with upswept hair and an antique lace veil, which belongs to her husband's family. The Habsbourg veil was most recently worn by Imre's sister Archduchess Marie-Christine on her wedding day to Count Rodolphe de Limburg-Stirum. The veil was anchored by three strings of pearls.

Imre's sister Archduchess Gabriella was among the bridesmaids, his brothers Archduke Christoph and Archduke Alexander as well as his cousin Prince Félix were his groomsmen alongside two friends.

Inside the church

The wedding was attended by some 300 guests. Among them many members of Imre's family like his cousins Prince Félix, whose girlfriend Claire Lademacher was also a guest, Prince Louis, Princess Alexandra and Prince Sebastien of Luxembourg, his aunt Princess Margaretha and her children Princess Marie-Astrid and Prince Josef, his uncle Prince Guillaume, his wife Princess Sibilla and their youngest son Prince Jean, as well as the children of Imre's uncle Prince Jean, Princess Marie-Gabrielle, Prince Constantin, Prince Wenceslas and Prince Carl. Naturally, a lot of other Habsbourg's and other royals and nobles were also in attendance.

Saying "yes"

Archduke Imre and his wife met on October 21st, 2010 at the very same church they got married in last Saturday. That day a Missa Cantata for Blessed Emperor Karl of Austria, the groom's great-grandfather, was held at the church in Washington D.C. A week before the wedding, a shrine at the church was dedicated to the last emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 

Joined together in holy matrimony

Archduke Imre was born in 1985 and grew up in Switzerland and Belgium. After having studied in St. Gallen (Switzerland) and Madrid (Spain), he recently earned his master's degree in European Studies from the College of Europe, Natolin Campus in Poland. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Archduchess Kathleen attended the Northern Kentucky University and received a bachelor's degree in journalism and political science. The oldest of seven children of Robert S. and Margaret M. Walker, Kathleen recently worked as Communications Director for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington. She is a pro-life activist (and let me add that even if one does not agree with her views, there is such a thing as freedom of speech and that everyone is entitled to their opinion and basic respect should be shown).

Bishop Paul Loverde presenting a letter by the Pope

The couple, who will live in the Belgian capital Brussels after their honeymoon, was presented a letter from Pope Benedict XVI. on the occassion of their nuptials.  Through the wedding, which was, not very surprisingly, approved by the head of the Habsbourg family, Archduke Karl, the former Miss Kathleen Elizabeth Walker is now officially styled as HI&RH Archduchess Kathleen Elizabeth of Austria. As Austria has abolished nobility, she would be legally known as Kathleen Elizabeth Habsburg-Lothringen there. Her new father-in-law Archduke Carl-Christian and his older brother Archduke Rudolf as well as their descendants were incorporated into the Belgian nobility with the title "Prince de Habsbourg-Lorraine" and the style of "Serene Highness" by the late King Baudouin of the Belgians.

At the reception

After the wedding a reception was held at the St. Regis Hotel. During his speech the groom's father Archduke Carl-Christian said, among other things, that it does not matter from what family you are from, as every family has their history and that the history of the one family is just better documented. All pictures are by Craig Spiering of Spiering Photography.

A Busy Grand Duke

With another school year over and university starting soon, it was time for the Grand Duke to receive Luxembourg's best at the palais grand-ducal. Like every year, the students with the best high school diploma had an audience with the head of state himself.

From the cozy warmth (naturally, I'm assuming here cause I've never been there) of the palace, he made his way to into the pouring rain to commemorate the 1952 Olympic gold medal of 1500m runner Josy Barthel at a sporting event. Manuel Dias was on hand to snap a few shots, RTL had a report about it in their news.

Being on a roll, Grand Duke Henri named a police station for himself today. The Cité policière Kalchesbréck is now proudly named Cité policière Grand-Duc Henri and was toured by its new name giver, who was able to have an ensuring look that his castle still stands.

Meanwhile, if you haven't seen enough wedding pictures of Archduke Imre and Archduchess Kathleen, I can recommend a few more links: Revue basically has bigger version of the Tageblatt pictures, so better hop over to the website of Craig Spiering, the official wedding photographer, who has amazing pictures. Also, the Washington Post and Hola have articles about the wedding.

Oh, and of course the Grand Duke was in London for the closing ceremony of the Paralympics Games in London on Sunday. He was accompanied by his son Prince Louis and his daughter-in-law Princess Tessy.


Sources: Cour grand-ducale, Wort

An American Archduchess

There were no carriages, no white horses or glittering tiaras but make no mistake this was a fairytale just the same: this was the day a pretty American girl became an Imperial Archduchess.

Once upon a time, on a warm Saturday morning, a black car pulled in front of a lovely church.  While the day had saw the arrival of a gushing groom, his proud and loving parents, and many of his friends and family no arrival was so anticipated as that which was now at hand.  The excitement was palpable. When the car stopped the wedding planner, the doorman, and  the protocol and liason officer rushed quickly to the back passenger door. The door opened to reveal a beautiful, smiling face immersed in a sea of satin and lace. 

Accompanied by her mother and father, Kathleen Elizabeth Walker was helped out of the car.  Her hair was swept up and adorned with three strings of pearls and a long snow white veil of lace. The driver opened the trunk and the mother handed her a bouquet of flowing white, pink, and pale pink roses.  Her dress now properly situated the bride, exuding elegance and poise becoming of the position she would soon acquire, began her march up the stairs. 

 

 

Before entering the church, Kathleen paused, turned and faced her father who was behind her and sweetly said "come on dad".  Inside awaited her handsome husband-to-be, Archduke Imre of Austria, her family and friends and members of no less than five royal  families.

 

The young woman entered the big brown doors as an ordinary American girl called Katie and exited them as Her Imperial and Royal Highness Archduchess Kathleen of Austria--an American Archduchess!

It was a pleasure to see this personally and I join Lux-arazzi and its readers in congratulating  TIRH Archduke Imre and Archduchess Kathleen as they embark on a long, happy and blessed life together.

Guests at the Wedding of Archduke Imre

I went through the pictures of the wedding of Archduke Imre and new Archduchess Kathleen of Austria taken by Marlene A. Koenig from the Royal Musings blog (in case you've hadn't had a look you, I encourage you to do so: "Archduke Imre and Archduchess Kathleen of Austria" and "Washington's Imperial Wedding: Archduke Imre and Kathleen Walker") to see who attended the wedding.

The groom's parents Archduke Carl-Christian of Austria and Archduchess Marie-Astrid of Austria (née Princess of Luxembourg) and their children Archduchess Marie-Christine, Archduke Christoph, Archduke Alexander and Archduchess Gabriella. Archduchess Marie-Christine's husband Count Rodolphe de Limburg-Stirum was also among the guests.

The groom's cousins, and children of Grand Duke Henri, Prince Félix, Prince Louis, Princess Alexandra and Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg also attended the wedding.

The groom's aunt Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein (née Princess of Luxembourg) and her children Princess Marie-Astrid and Prince Josef of Liechtenstein were present as well.

While the twin brother of Princess Margaretha, Prince Jean, was not in Washington D.C., his children and thus cousins of the groom Princess Marie-Gabrielle, Prince Constantin, Prince Wenceslas of Nassau and Prince Carl of Nassau were.

The groom's uncle Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg, his wife Princess Sibilla and their youngest son Prince Jean were also among the guests.

From the other side of his family tree, Archduchess Marie-Hélène of Austria (née de Villenfagne de Vogelsanck), wife of Archduke Rudolf, who is the older brother of the groom's father, and her children Archduchess Priscilla, Archduke Franz-Ludwig and Archduke Michael were pictured.

Archduke Carl-Christian's sister Archduchess Alexandra of Austria and her husband Héctor Riesle Contreras came with their son Felipe Riesle de Habsbourg-Lorraine.

Archduke Simeon of Austria, who is a cousin of Archduke Carl-Christian, was also among the guests.

As were Archduke Simeon's sister Archduchess Maria-Anna of Austria, a married Princess Galitzine, and her children Princess Tatiana and Prince Ioann Galitzine.

Archduke Simeon's and Archduchess Maria-Anna's younger half-sister Archduchess Catharina-Maria, married Countess Secco di Aragona, was also in attendance.

Archduchess Maria-Beatrice of Austria (married Countess of Arco-Zinneberg), another cousin of Archduke Carl-Christian, and her daughter Countess Margherita of Arco-Zinneberg made their way to Washington D.C. with another few members of the Arco-Zinneberg family.

Prince Alois-Konstantin of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, who is a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, and his wife Princess Anastasia of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (née Princess of Prussia) were among the guests.

From Portugal there were the Duke of Branganza and the Duchess of Braganza.

Other guests I could indentify were Prince Jean-Christophe Napoleon, Princess Maria-Luisa of Bulgaria, Duchess Marie-Thérèse of Croy and Prince Carl-Philipp of Croy.

Further guests included Adélaïde Drapé-Frisch, fiancée of Archduke Christoph, and Claire Lademacher, girlfriend of Prince Félix.


Source: The accumulated knowledge of me and my fellow Luxaholics, thanks to the photos of Marlene A. Koenig from  Royal Musings.

Archduke Marries American

Today, Archduke Imre of Austria and his new wife née Kathleen Elizabeth Walker were married in a tridentine mass at the St. Mary Mother of God church in Washington D.C. This will just be a short event round-up to let you know, who of the immediate maternal family of the groom attended. But watch this space in the days to come as we will be having a first hand report of a fellow Luxaholic, who was at the wedding.

Of course Imre's parents Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg, oldest child of Grand Duke Jean, and Archduke Carl-Christian of Austria were present for the wedding of their oldest son. Imre's two brothers Archdukes Christoph and Alexander were his groomsmen, with his cousin Prince Félix also in for the job. Félix' longtime girlfriend and probable fiancée Claire Lademacher was also in attendance, as were his sister Princess Alexandra and brothers Princes Louis and Sébastien. Imre's sister Archduchess Gabriella was one of the bridesmaids; naturally, his older sister Archduchess Marie-Christine and husband Count Rodolphe de Limburg-Strirum were also at the wedding. The groom's uncle Prince Guillaume, his wife Princess Sibilla and one of their sons were also in Washington D.C. for the occassion, as was his aunt Princess Margaretha with her children Princess Marie-Astrid and Prince Josef. Imre's cousins Princes Constantin, Wenceslas and Carl and Princess Marie-Gabrielle, children of Prince Jean, were also in attendance. Adélaïde Drapé-Frisch, fiancée of Archduke Christoph, was also among the guests.

Sadly, the bride did not wear a tiara as she opted for a long-sleeved beautiful whitish dress, a pearl headband and what appears to be the same long white lace veil worn by the groom's sister, Archduchess Marie-Christine, at her wedding. Kathleen, better known as Katie, wore her hair up. The bridesmaids wore royal blue dresses with flowers in their hair, the flower girls mirrored that look by wearing white dresses with a satin blue sash, while the ring bearers wore all white. The groom and his groomsmen wore morning dress.

Kathleen arrived with her parents in a black car and was led to the altar by her father. The couple shared a kiss after they left the church and reportedly looked very happy. Together with the bridal party, the newly weds left the church to go to the reception at the St. Regis Regency Hotel in a Stretch Hummer.

The couple gave fans with crosses out as their wedding favours.

Archduke Imre and Archduchess Kathleen will be moving to the Belgian capital Brussels soon.

Venture over to Marlene Eilers Koenig's Royal Musings blog to sneak a peak of some of the guests and the bridal party.

Thanks a lot to Ambrosia for the first quick notes! I'm sure everyone's looking forward to your report in the days to come. So dear readers, make sure to check back in the upcoming days!

Tomorrow's Wedding

Archduke Imre of Austria, oldest son of Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg and Archduke Carl-Christian of Austria, will marry his American fiancée, Kathleen Walker, in Washington D.C. tomorrow. It's the first Luxembourg related wedding this year. Imre's cousin Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume will marry in October, while his brother Archduke Christoph will tie the knot in December.

The couple first met in October 2010 at a Missa Cantata in honour of Blessed Karl of Austria, Imre's great-grandfather. The Missa was held in the same church where they will marry. The archduke and the former communications director of the Arlington Diocesan Catholic Charities and well known pro-life activist announced their engagement in December of last year.

Together with a friend of Imre's, his brothers Archdukes Christoph and Alexander will act as groomsmen. Their younger sister Archduchess Gabriella will be one of the bridesmaids alongside two sisters of the bride and two friends. Another friend of Kathleen will be her maid of honour, while another sister will be the flower girl. Two brothers of the Archduchess-to-be will round up the wedding party as ring bearers.

Kathleen, more commenly known as Katie, is the oldest of several children of Robert S. and Margaret M. Walker. At the time of Katie's birth, her mother was single and unwed.



Source: Hanni at All Things Royal, Other

A Shrine for Blessed Emperor Karl

On next Sunday, Archduke Imre of Austria, oldest son of Luxembourg's Princess Marie-Astrid, will present a first class relic to the parish of the Saint Mary Mother of God church in Washington D.C. On the same day, the shrine of the church will be dedicated to Blessed Emperor Karl, Imre's great-grandfather and last ruler of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and Imre will take part in the dedication ceremony. It is the very same church where the Archduke will marry his American fiancée Kathleen Walker in just nine days.

Although the archduke in question is called "Emry", I'm pretty sure it is our Imre.


Source: Saint Mary Mother of God

Wedding News

The wedding of Archduke Imre of Austria, oldest son of Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg and Archduke Carl-Christian of Austria, is only little more than a week away and it has become known that Imre and his American fiancée Katie Walke will get married in a Tridentine Mass. The two will get married at a St. Mary Mother of God church in Washington D.C.

A Tridentine Mass is the old form of mass in the Catholic church and was used before the second Vatican Council. The most obvious difference to a "normal" Catholic mass is that it is held in Latin.


Source: Canterbury Tales

About Holidays, Partners In Crime and More

RTL has a short report about the grand ducal couple's, Princess Alexandra's and Prince Sebastien's recent visit to Cuba.

The last blog entry about Archduke Alexander and Prince Wenceslas participating in the Sovereign's Parade has now been updated with a gallery of visuals.

Meanwhile, a few new pictures of Alex's brother Archduke Imre and his fiancée Kathleen Walker taken in the D.C. area have become available.

Tomorrow not only the Grand Duke celebrates his 57th birthday, his youngest son Sebastian will also turn 20. To mark his birthday, the cour released a statement containing something like an interview with the prince. In case you weren't aware yet, after finishing school last year, Sebastien is now studying marketing and communication at an US-American university. He describes his relationship with his parents and siblings as good though as the youngest of the family, he grew up very protected. Seb says that he sees his oldest brother Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume as an example and that, despite their a little more than ten years age difference, they are partners in crime. Gui does seem to have a lot of accomplices...

Random Tidbits

Since it was a slow news week, well, a slow news year really, a few (not so) random things about the extended grand ducal family.

Engagement news... As the newest issue of Point de Vue - Images du Monde: Spécial Mariage is letting us know, Archduke Imre, the eldest son of Archduke Carl-Christian of Austria and Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg, and his fiancée Kathleen Walker will will make their way down the aisle before his younger brother Archduke Christoph and his soon-to-be-wife Adélaïde Drapé-Frisch will tie the knot. Both weddings are scheduled to take place in 2012 though no specific dates have been published yet.

In other news... Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein, the husband of the Grand Duke's younger sister Princess Margaretha, has attended a new year's reception at Vaduz Castle in Liechtenstein on January 13th, sadly for us, his wife did not accompany him. In case you are not aware, Prince Nikolaus is the brother of the current Prince of Liechtenstein, Hans-Adam II. As a former ambassador of his home country to Belgium and current ambassador to the Holy See, Nikolaus frequently attends Liechtenstein-related events all over the world, though I wish that his yummy son and his gorgeous daughters would accompany him more often. Anyway, pictures of the new year's reception can be found at Liechtensteiner Vaterland (just click "13.01.2012 Neujahrsempfang 2012" under "Veranstaltungen") and Volksblatt.


Sources: Point de Vue - Images du Monde, Liechtensteiner Vaterland

And as every so often thank you Iza, you rock!

Engagement Pictures

As rumoured before, there were many more pictures taken at the double engagement party of Archduke Imre and his future wife Katie Walker and Archduke Christophe and his future wife Adélaïde Drapé-Frisch. They were taken by Jean-Claude Ernst for Luxpress and the first of them can be found on the website of Revue.

As mentioned in an earlier post, there was an engagement party that was attended by four of the Luxembourgish cousins Alexandra, Felix, Louis and Sebastien, as well as Queen Fabiola of Belgium and various family members like Princess Margaretha and her daughter Marie-Astrid or Princes Carl and Constantin, two of the sons of Prince Jean, plus many other Habsburgs.

But pictures of all those family members weren't the only treasures we got... The first official pictures of little Léopold, the young son of Archduchess Marie-Christine, Imre's and Christoph's older sister, and Count Rodolphe of Limburg-Stirum, were released. In the first picture you can see Léopold Menno Philippe Gabriel François-Xavier Marie Joseph Ghislain with his parents and grandparents, in the second one with his aunt and godmother Archduchess Gabriella, the other being his paternal uncle Count Philippe of Limburg-Stirum.

Double Engagement Announced!! ***

Yesterday in Brussles, the two eldest sons of Archduke Carl-Christian of Austria and his wife Archduchess Marie-Astrid (nee Princess of Luxembourg) announced their engagements.

Archduke Imre is engaged to Kathleen Walker a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. In 2008, she graduated cum laude from Northern Kentucky University with a degree in journalism and political science. She is the communications director for the Catholic Charities of the Arlington Virginia Diocese and is a member of the board of the Catholic Business Network of Northern Virginia. If you google her you will find quite a bit of information, as she is a prominent Pro-Life activist. The Archduke and Miss Walker met in October 2010.

Archduke Christoph has finally made his long expected engagement to 22 year old Adélaïde Drapé-Frisch official. Adélaïde is a graduate of the International School of Belgrade, Serbia and Institut Philanthropos in Fribourg, Switzerland. She is the daughter of Philippe Drapé-Frisch, a French diplomat assigned to the embassy in Saudi Arabia, and his wife Odile. The Archduke and Mlle. Drapé-Frisch have known each other since at least 2007.

Among the notable guests present for the announcement were prominent relatives of the Archdukes'; their paternal grandmother Archduchess Yolande, born Princess of Ligne; their great aunt, Queen Fabiola of Belgium; their maternal aunt, Princess Margaretha and her daughter Princess Marie-Astrid of Liechtenstein. Their paternal uncle Archduke Rudolf was accompanied by his wife, Archduchess Helene. Several their children were also recognizable from the photographs; Archduchess Pricilla, Archduke Franz Ludwig, Archduke Michael and Archduke Carl-Christian along with his wife Archduchess Estelle. Their Luxembourgish cousins Princess Alexandra, Prince Felix, Prince Louis, Prince Sebastien, Prince Carl, and Prince Constantin were in attendance. The bridegrooms siblings Archduke Alexander, Archduchess Gabriella and Archduchess Marie-Christine, who was accompanied by her husband Count Rodolphe and their son Count Leopold de Limburg-Stirum, were on hand to celebrate the momentous occasion.

Revue has published a few additional photos. For additional information about the couples and their short term plans I recommend visiting Stéphan Bern's website (you may have to go a few pages back in the news section).

Both ladies appear to have been given sapphire and diamond engagement rings very similar to the one their father presented to their mother.

My fellow Luxaholics and I hope that both couples are blessed with happy unions.

We'll keep you posted as information and photos continue to become available.

Please don't send me messages about the grammatical mess of a paragraph where I listed the names of the relatives present. :)

Source: Tageblatt, Revue