Funeral of Otto von Habsburg, Archduke of Austria

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Otto Archduke of Austria, Otto von Habsburg

Otto of Habsburg has been interred in the Capuchins’ Crypt, the traditional resting place for members of the Habsburg dynasty. His wife, who died last year, was buried alongside him. According to his personal wishes and family tradition, Habsburg’s heart will be transferred in an urn for burial at the Benedictine Abbey at Pannonhalma in western Hungary.

European royals and political leaders, many from nations that his family ruled over, attended the service. Among them were Sweden’s king and queen; the ruling grand duke and grand duchess of Luxembourg; Liechtenstein’s ruling duke and duchess; King Michael of Romania, King Simeon of Bulgaria, and representatives of the British, Belgian and Spanish ruling houses.

Seven bishops from nations of the former Austro-Hungarian empire — seven countries plus parts of modern-day Montenegro, Italy, Poland, Romania and Serbia and Ukraine — assisted Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn.

Royal Tombs & Graves: Prince Alexander Battenberg Mausoleum in Sofia

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Battenberg Mausoluem, Bulgarian Royal Family, Graves, Prince Alexander Battenberg, Royal Tombs and Graves, Tombs

Prince Alexander Battenberg died on 23 October 1893 in Graz, Austria. His remains according to his last wish were brought in Sofia in November 1893 and were temporarily placed inside St George Church.

St. George Church (Rotunda)

On 3 January 1898, his remains were interred in a purpose built mausoleum.

The Times’ correspondent in Sofia on 27 November 1893 describes Alexander’s funeral:  ’Prince Ferdinand [of Bulgaria] with his military and civil suite and a host of notables, met the body at the station. Premier Stambuloff made an eloquent address, after which the coffin was removed. The senior officers of the First Infantry Regiment, which bears the dead Prince’s name, deposited the coffin on the gun carriage. The procession was long and imposing. The Prince’s charger followed the coffin. Then came prince Ferdinand, between Prince Alexander’s brothers. The Princess Ferdinand awaited the cortège at the cathedral. A requiem was sung and the body was then placed temporarily in the Church of St.George, where another service was held and |Prince Ferdinand delivered a brief oration. The Bulgarian troops which took part in the procession afterwards defiled past Prince Ferdinand and Prince Alexander’s brothers’.

 

The coat of arms of the House of Battenberg

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Maria of Hohenzollern, the Romanian daughter of King Carol I

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Balkans, Carmen Sylva, Eastern Europe, European royal families, Familia regala, Graves, History, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, King Carol I, Maria Hohenzollern, Monuments, Queen Elizabeth of Romania, Regele Carol, Regina Elisabeta, Romania, Romanian Royal Family, Royal Tombs and Graves, Royalty, Tombs

Maria of Romania together with her English nurse and minder - ©Diana Mandache collection

Maria Hohenzollern, the only child of  Carol I and Elizabeth of Romania, was born on 8 September 1870 and baptised in the  Orthodox Greek rite, as are the majority of ethnic Romanians. She was meant to be the first scion born on the native soil of the new dynasty, in effect the first Romanian Hohenzollern. Sadly she died at the infant age of nearly 4, on 9 April 1874, a victim of scarlet fever, like so many children from the Victorian epoch. The funeral service took place at the Cotroceni Church within the grounds of the Cotroceni Royal Palace. The coffin was covered with white satin, criss-crossed with silver lace ornaments and was as large as one for an adult, because the infant princess’ body was enclosed in several decreasing size caskets placed one inside another. After the religious service in the Romanian Orthodox rite, the cortege walked through the palace gardens to the burial place next to the palace church. Those gardens were the favorite playing grounds for the young princess, where only half a dozen days previously she played with her nurse. On the headstone were engraved the words of St. Luke viii.53: “”Weep not, for she is not dead, but sleepeth”.