The heir to the Kaiser of Germany, a Mr. Georg Prince of Prussia, got married today to Miss Sophie Princess of Isenburg.
Georg and Sophie ride in a landau to their wedding reception at Sanssouci Palace.
Never heard of them? Join the club. Which shows that you really can set aside your ruling families and things will smooth out in a few generations. Just leave them with some money and estates and they’ll go quietly.
No longer royals, now aristocrats, the deposed German families still take their lineage seriously. The groom would have been ousted as head of the Hohenzollern family if he had married a commoner.
Is it because Germany was on the other side in both World Wars that our hearts don’t leap at the sound of Kaiser Wilhem II’s name, and we don’t get goosebumps at the thought of his great-great-grandson marrying a German princess?
Or is it the Kaiser Wilhelm II helmet problem?
Oh wow. I didn’t even know about that helmet. I meant this one.
Maybe that’s the reason it was easy to get excited about the Monaco royal wedding — Monaco’s not threatening, unless you’re in a competition for conspicuous consumption. Prince Albert can drape Princess Charlene in lashings of diamonds and elegant evening gowns; it’s harmless fun for the rest of us.
TSH Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco. Photo: The Jewellery Editor
The German bridal couple offer less on glam and more on gravitas. They work as financial consultants in Berlin and have been friends since childhood. The new Mr. and Mrs. Prince of Prussia (not kidding about those names) adopted a coy attitude toward the publicity around their wedding, holding the ceremony and reception in the most regal settings, but giving limited access to the press.
Georg and Sophie after the religious ceremony. Photo: Reuters/Daylife
The bride’s family tiara (they got to keep their jewels too) topped her heirloom veil.
The blue and white floral theme of the wedding carried on into the reception, with guests dining on Bleu Mourant china, a favorite of King Frederick the Great of Prussia, made by Royal Porcelain of Berlin.
Bleu Morant china. Photo: Royal Porcelain Berlin
This Yank’s catching a tiny, troubling whiff of restoration wistfulness in the wedding week.
Note: In March of 2012, Prince Philip Kiril of Prussia called for the restoration of the German monarchy.
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