On February 26th, Ernst August von Hanover celebrated his 70th birthday. He looks back on an eventful life, which gains in glamor not least through the marriages and friendships of his two sons.
The Guelphs – they are always good for a surprise. For the first time in many years, some peace seems to be returning to the German aristocratic family. After pee scandals, physical attacks and disputes over gifts and possessions, Ernst August von Hannover celebrated his 70th birthday yesterday, Monday (February 26th).
It is doubtful whether there was a celebration. The Hanoverian gentlemen are considered divided. It’s a shame, after all, Ernst August Senior’s two sons in particular have built up an exciting and international network that would certainly have liked to join in the celebrations.
Hereditary Prince Ernst August Junior + Princess Ekaterina
On July 8, 2017, the eldest Guelph son Ernst August Junior, 40, who worked as an investment banker in London for many years, married his sweetheart Ekaterina Malysheva, 37. Two days earlier, the couple tied the knot at the registry office, then followed a brilliant and top-class wedding ceremony in the Hanover market church. The Lower Saxony state capital and especially Marienburg Castle are the family’s German headquarters. After their marriage, the young couple lived for some time in the Herrenhausen district of Hanover, but have since moved to Austria.
Before her wedding, the Russian-born Ekaterina lived in London first as a student and then as a fashion designer and over the years she became friends with all sorts of famous, rich and powerful upper class people. Her fashion label “Ekat” (her nickname), which produces colorful and skin-tight catsuits, is worn by stars like Miley Cyrus and Rita Ora and is an integral part of the legendary Glastonbury music festival. Alexa Chung, Galvan designer Anna-Christin Haas, Poppy Delevingne and Sienna Miller are among her circle of acquaintances. Today, Ekaterina’s design focus has shifted to children’s fashion; she designs chic children’s clothing with UV protection under the label “Lily & Klaus”. The couple is also well connected to supermodel Kate Moss through their friendship with Count Nikolai von Bismarck-Schönhausen.
England, Monaco, Greece: A royal jet set clique
Through their shared half-sister, the 24-year-old Princess Alexandra of Hanover (daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco and Prince Ernst August of Hanover senior), the Guelph brothers Ernst August Junior and Christian, 38, are still with Caroline after their father’s separation still closely linked to Monaco and the royal family.
Thanks to the same royal ancestors, the young royals from Great Britain – from Prince William, 41, and Prince Harry, 39, to Princess Beatrice, 35, and Princess Eugenie, 33 – are also welcome and regular guests. Especially with Andrea Casiraghi, 39, and his wife Tatiana Santo Domingo, 40, as well as Pierre Casiraghi, 36, and his wife Beatrice Borromeo, 38, the couple likes to travel or visit each other where they live. Of course, weddings and big birthdays are also a good reason to see each other again, as photographs show.
At the wedding of Prince Philippos of Greece and Nina Flohr in Athens, Ernst August Junior waits next to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Princess Beatrice and the society lady Sabine Getty greet the bride and groom.
© Dana Press
The “party princess” Maria-Olympia of Greece, 27, can often be seen in snapshots or paparazzi pictures of the royal clique. Like Ekaterina and Ernst August before, she lives in vibrant London and is well connected there. The Grimaldi family also includes celebrity stylist Caroline Sieber, 39, who is married to Londoner Fritz von Westenholz, 43, and Lauren Santo Domingo, 47, founder of the online shop Moda Operandi and homewear designer for Tiffany, in the jet set clique of the spouses.
The couple now lives with their three children Elisabeth, 6, Welf August, 4, and Eleanora, 2, on Lake Traunsee in Austria, where the noble Welf family also owns large estates. Ernst August Junior and Ekaterina are having a good time on a skiing holiday in St. Moritz these days on a skiing holiday together with Princess Beatrice, husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 40, and little Sienna Elizabeth, 2.
Prince Christian + Alessandra de Osma
Hereditary Prince Ernst August Junior’s younger brother, Prince Christian of Hanover, does an even better job of avoiding the spotlight. Christian lives in Madrid with his Peruvian wife Alessandra de Osma, 35, and their three children Nicolas, Sofia and baby number three, who has not yet been named. In November 2017, the couple exchanged vows at a London registry office, and in the summer of 2018 they celebrated a three-day wedding in Lima, the bride’s homeland.
Pictures of the couple are rarely made public, and you will also search in vain on the beautiful princess’ Instagram account. Only at glamorous appearances such as the Rose Ball in Monaco or the weddings of their international jet-set friends can you occasionally catch a glimpse of the attractive couple. Although Christian seems to network less actively than his older brother, he also maintains close ties to the royal families in Monaco, Greece and England.
Like her sister-in-law, Alessandra works in the fashion industry. She founded her own label under the brand name “Moi & Sass”, which even caught the attention of Vogue boss Anna Wintour. She named “Sassa,” as her friends call the beautiful brunette, an exciting newcomer to keep an eye on. Alessandra loves to showcase the elegant, timeless and sustainable designs herself and pose for her 141,000 Instagram followers.
Sources used: Dana Press, haz.de, ndr.de, bunte.de, Instagram