The Ninetieth Birthday of Countess Beatrix von Schönburg-Glauchau, A Doyenne of the German Gotha

Embed from Getty Images

Today, Countess Beatrix of Schönburg-Glauchau celebrates her 90th birthday.

Count Bálint Széchényi and Princess Maria Pavlovna Galitzine

Beatrix's mum: Princess Maria Pavlovna Galitzine

On 30 January 1930, Countess Beatrix Maria Valeria Therese Emerica Széchényi de Sárvár-Felsövidék was born at Hegyko, Hungary. Beatrix was the fourth daughter and last child of Count Bálint Széchényi de Sárvár-Felsövidék (1893 - 1954) and his wife Princess Maria Pavlovna Galitzine (1895 - 1976), who had married in 1921. Beatrix joined three older sisters: Marianne (1923 - 1999; married in 1952 to Olivér de Harisi), Alexandra (1926 - 2018; married in 1958 to Baron Dietrich-Eberhard von Wrede), and Eva (1928 - 1997). Beatrix's parents Bálint and Maria divorced in 1931.

Newlyweds: Count Joachim and Countess Beatrix von Schönburg-Glauchau

In October 1957, Beatrix married Count Joachim von Schönburg-Glauchau (1929 - 1998). The couple had four children during the course of their union: Countess Maya (1958 - 2019), Countess Gloria (b.1960), Count Carl-Alban (b.1966), and Count Alexander (b.1969). Beatrix and Joachim divorced in 1986. Beatrix never married; Joachim wed the mother of his youngest child the same year that his divorce from Beatrix was finalised.

Beatrix with her daughter Fürstin Gloria von Thurn und Taxis and her grandson Fürst Albert in 2003.
Photograph (c) Presse-Foto-Seeger

Countess Beatrix with her elder sister Countess Alexandra in 2003.
Photograph (c) Presse-Foto-Seeger 

Beatrix with her late daughter Maya in 2003.
Photograph (c) Presse-Foto-Seeger

Over the years, all of Beatrix's children married, and she now has numerous grandchildren. Her eldest daughter, Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau, married German industrial heir Friedrich Christian "Mick" Flick (b.1944) in 1985. Maya and Mick had three children: Alexander, Maria-Pilar, and Ernst-Moritz. The couple divorced in 1993. Maya went on to have another daughter by her partner Stefan Hipp: Carlotta. After some years of illness, Countess Maya died of breast cancer in 2019 at the home of her mother.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

In 1980, Beatrix's youngest daughter, Mariae Gloria, married eventual Fürst Johannes von Thurn und Taxis (1926 - 1990). Gloria and Johannes had three children: Princess Maria Theresia (b.1980), Princess Elisabeth (b.1982), and current Fürst Albert (b.1983). Maria Theresia married British artist Hugo Wilson in 2014; the pair have two daughters, Mafalda (b.2015) and Maya (b.2017).

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Count Carl-Alban, Countess Juliet, and their sons Counts Hubertus (the taller) and Benedikt (the smaller) in 2012.
Photograph (c) ALAMY / Ursula Dueren

Beatrix's eldest son Carl-Alban married Juliet Beechy-Fowler (b.1966) in 1995. At the time of his marriage, Carl-Alban gave up his rights to the Schönburg-Glauchau title; these passed to his younger brother Alexander. Carl-Alban and his wife Juliet have two sons: Hubertus (b.1996) and Benedikt (b.1999).

Count Alexander von Schönburg-Glauchau and Princess Irina of Hesse on their wedding day

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

The benjamin of the family, Count Alexander, married Princess Irina of Hesse (b.1971) in 1999. Irina is the daughter of Prince Karl of Hesse and his wife Princess Yvonne. Irina's grandparents were Prince Christoph of Hesse and Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark, a sister of the Duke of Edinburgh. Alexander and Irina of Schönburg-Glauchau have three children: Countess Maria-Letitia (b.2001), Count Maximus (b.2003), and Count Valentin (b.2005). Alexander has worked as a columnist for Vanity Fair.

Embed from Getty Images

Countess Beatrix von Schönburg-Glauchau, born a Countess Széchényi de Sárvár-Felsövidék, makes her home in Munich. We hope that her family and friends celebrate with her today, especially.