Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Royal Marriage: Toerring-Jettenbach-Austria

April 10, 1956

A "pretty countess" married an archduke today in the "tiny chapel of a Bavarian castle 10 centuries old," reports Reuters.  Members of eight of Europe's royal families attended the marriage of Countess Helene zu Toerring-Jettenbach, daughter of the late Princess Elisabeth of Greece, sister of the Duchess of Kent, and Archduke Ferdinand of Austria.

The 37-year-old bridegroom and the 18-year-old bride exchanged vows in the tiny chapel at Seefeld, outside Munich. 

The archduke, a nephew of the late Emperor Karl, works for a steel company in the Ruhr.

There was no music during the wedding as the chapel "lost its organ in World War II, and there was no room for musicians.  The Duchess of Kent was among the 72 guests who were present in the baroque building.  More than 260 guests attended a pre-wedding reception.

Other guests included former King Umberto of Italy, Archduke Otto of Austria, pretender to the Austrian throne,  Duke Albrecht of Bavaria, and the children of the Count and Countess of Paris.   

The couple were married in a civil ceremony last week.   Countess Helene is younger of two children of Carl Theodor, Count zu Toerring-Jettenbach, and Princess Elisabeth of Greece and Denmark.  The new bride's older brother, Count Hans-Veit, 21, is unmarried. 

Princess Elisabeth died on January 11, 1955.

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