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Sign up for The Court Jeweller Newsletter The Court Jeweller Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World 04.06.2017 by // Leave a Comment Since the sudden and unexpected death of Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg a few weeks ago the royal world has focused once more on some of the strange and disconcerting questions that surround the inheritance of the family’s titles and estates One of the sparkliest of the family’s possessions is today’s tiara: the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Fringe which hails from the central part of Germany they’re prominent mainly because of the 1968 marriage between Richard the 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Princess Benedikte of Denmark (daughter of King Frederik IX and sister of Queen Margrethe II) The family’s fringe tiara is from two generations earlier It was made for Prince Richard’s grandfather (also named Richard) by Koch in 1905 Princess Madeleine of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg The very sparkly fringe can also be taken off its frame and worn as a necklace The history of the family is unusually complicated served in the German military in World War II and went missing during a mission but the family waited nearly 25 years — until the birth of Richard and Benedikte’s son also named Gustav — to have him declared officially dead The minute that the family had Gustav Albrecht legally declared dead in 1969 baby Prince Gustav immediately inherited the family’s estates He didn’t get the title — that’s used only in pretense now and has no legal standing in Germany too — he’s the 7th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Prince Gustav is now head of the noble house The big problem for Prince Gustav is this: his longtime partner he would violate the terms of the will created by his long-dead grandfather Carina would get to be the Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg but they would lose the family fortune and properties to the next person in line who fulfilled the will’s conditions Prince Bernhart of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein.) Gustav clearly does not want to give up his family home or the other parts of his inheritance including Princess Benedikte and the rest of the Danish royals have dealt with the situation rather simply fully recognized by the SWB family and the Danish monarchy She’s even the chatelaine of the family schloss All of this brings us back to the tiara at the heart of today’s post Princess Benedikte has been the exclusive wearer of the family’s fringe tiara It is one of the few tiaras that she has not shared with her daughters though: Benedikte also got some fabulous tiaras from her mother and she’s been generous in letting her family members wear those including the diamond sparkler pictured above that don’t come from Benedikte’s collection at all It doesn’t automatically go to the holder of the title or the owner of the family estates — remember that Richard inherited it from his grandmother — so it’s possible that Richard willed it to Benedikte and that we’ll see her continue to use it exclusively Will we see Carina wear the tiara next time she attends a major royal event in Denmark (Even though they’re not legally married she is recognized fully as Gustav’s partner and she attends royal events in tiaras and jewels.) Seeing her in the grandest of the family’s tiaras would be just the latest in a long line of symbolic gestures that show that the family accepts her as Gustav’s partner — even if she’s not legally his wife Categories // denmark, germany Enter your name and email address below to subscribe to our weekly newsletter Sign up for my new subscriber-supported community, Hidden Gems, delivered directly to you each Saturday! Copyright © 2025 THE COURT JEWELLER LLC keep a safe distance from human visitors to their enclosure on the property of Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg in Germany's densely populated state of North Rhine-Westphalia A small herd of European bison will soon be released in Germany's most densely populated state the first time in nearly three centuries that these bison — known as wisents — will roam freely in Western Europe The project is the brainchild of Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg much of it covered in Norwegian spruce and beech trees in North Rhine-Westphalia five cows and two calves will fulfill a decade-old dream But the aristocrat's neighbors aren't all thrilled about his plan to release wisents which have been living in an enclosure on his property for three years They are slightly taller than their American cousins and weigh up to a ton Questions remain about who will foot the bill if the European bison damage property or injure someone "We were skeptical because we weren't given enough information," says Helmut Dreisbach a cattle farmer and vice chairman of the Farmers' Association of Siegen-Wittgenstein Will they stay in a particular area or will they move onto working farmland?" stand in front of their palace in Bad Berleburg The elder prince decided to reintroduce wisents into the wild in Germany a decade ago but opponents and red tape hampered his efforts until recently says it's unlikely the small herd will move far beyond the 220-acre enclosure they currently live in they have vast swaths of uninhabited forestland to roam in Prince Richard blames much of the criticism on centuries-old rivalries between his Protestant family and Catholic neighbors say they realized the importance of winning over local residents The younger prince says it was tough in the beginning there were public hearings with hundreds of people," the 44-year-old explains that the proponents "were nearly beaten up." But the princes say most people have come around after extensive efforts to educate residents about their plans and their getting necessary government approvals The project receives the equivalent of $1.6 million in government subsidies and local officials have put up street signs pointing tourists to a second wisent herd that Prince Richard has on display says he hopes the wisents will jump-start the village's flailing tourist industry "We know them from the old Western movies," he says "My enthusiasm for these animals has grown To experience them in the wild will be fascinating." European bison are not the first animals Prince Richard has brought back to the region His estate is rife with gray geese and ravens which he says he reintroduced at the request of the German government Many of the animals on his land can be hunted Rows of antlers and horns hang on the prince's office wall The prince owns about 30,000 acres of vast forestland Prince Richard says his passion for animals is one he's cultivated since his youth He says American forces during World War II bombed his family home Prince Richard says he and other youth would steal American soldiers' cigarettes for trade Prince Gustav says his father was determined to create animal-friendly habitats on their estate and enlisted his son's help "For 20 years we've been shoveling ponds," the younger prince says I think we shoveled tons of earth for fish and for the big black stork and for the kingfisher." efforts to reintroduce American bison have met with varying degrees of success a professor of rangeland science and management at Montana State University keeping the German wisent herd moving will be paramount to ensuring it doesn't destroy habitat or become a nuisance to the community "We can't release either population onto a landscape and rub our hands with satisfaction and walk away," he says Ensuring they don't transmit diseases to local cattle or vice versa is also important The princes have been working closely with Polish scientists at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences to ensure the wisents are healthy and genetically sound That's where the official European bison registry is kept showing that there are currently about 4,500 European bison in captivity Prince Gustav says the outcome they are hoping for is a herd or two of 15 to 25 animals They and their project's managers will closely monitor the wisents and cull their numbers as needed "If it doesn't work we will have to take them away Become an NPR sponsor SUPPORT OUR JOURNALISM: Please consider donating to keep our website running and free for all - thank you Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg has divorced She is the daughter of Princess Benedikte and niece of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark The news has now been confirmed by the Danish royal court to the Danish weekly magazine “Billedbladet“ Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg married Alexander Johannsmann in May 2010 in a civil ceremony and a year later they were married religiously in the Evangelist Church in Bad Berleburg The couple had already confirmed their separation but now the final end of their marriage has been announced The couple’s wedding made headlines at the time as they married two months after welcoming their first child The princess and Johannsmann met through their shared interest in horses and equestrian sports during a horse show in the Danish city of Århus in 2006 Nathalie has represented Denmark in the Olympics several times as well as being national team coach for the Danish dressage team Konstantin Gustav Heinrich Richard and Louisa Margareta Benedikte Hanna The former has Crown Princess Mary of Denmark as her godmother Princess Nathalie and Alexander Johannsmann have already agreed on having joint custody of their two children As the daughter of Danish-born Princess Benedikte and niece of the Danish Queen Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg is considered a member of the extended Danish royal family Her father was the late German Princess Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Princess Benedikte was born during the Second World War during the reign of her grandfather The Princess was the second child of Crown Prince Frederik (IX) and Crown Princess Ingrid and Frederik VIII’s Palace at Amalienborg was the setting of The Princess’s childhood and adolescence the parents became The King and Queen of Denmark The Princess carried out her schooling at Zahles Skole in Copenhagen Princess Benedikte studied first at Benenden School in Kent Princess Benedikte concluded her education with a course in dressmaking and design at Margrethe-Skolen in 1965 Princess Benedikte became engaged to Prince Richard zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg in March 1967 The wedding took place the following year at Fredensborg Palace Church the couple settled in the north-western German city of Bad Berleburg at Schloss Berleberg Princess Benedikte and Prince Richard became the parents of His Highness Prince Gustav in 1969 of Her Highness Princess Alexandra in 1970 The birthday will be marked officially with the following events: 19 April: Birthday dinner at SølystThe organisation Dressurens Venner and a number of Princess Benedikte’s equestrian sport patronages have joined together to celebrate Her Royal Highness’s 80th birthday with a dinner at Sølyst Princess Benedikte has been engaged in riding and horses and The Princess has been the patron of the Danish Equestrian Federation since 1992 The Princess is the patron of the Danish Warmblood Association the organisation Hestens Værn and the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses 24 April: Official opening of the exhibition “Princess Dresses” at KoldinghusAs honorary patron of The Royal Danish Collection Koldinghus Princess Benedikte opens the exhibition “Princess Dresses” on the occasion of her 80th birthday Displayed here is a selection of The Princess’s gala dresses created through the years by Jørgen Bender and a selection of evening gowns to a maternity dress and The Princess’s wedding dress In addition to providing insight into Jørgen Bender’s detailed craftsmanship the exhibition also provides a survey of four decades of fashion history as the dresses selected were created during the period of 1968 until 1999 2 May: The Princess holds a reception for her patronages at Rosenborg CastleIn the Great Hall of Rosenborg Castle Princess Benedikte hosts a reception for The Princess’s patronages and others Princess Benedikte is the patron of a number of Danish and foreign organisations that work for humanitarian or artistic purposes or sports Metal Shock Finland conducted an interview with IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain at this year's NAMM show A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET) Nicko: "I left [Sonor] in '92 and went with Premier and I was basically left without a drum company in the middle of last year 'I've gotta speak to Karl-Heinz Menzel at Sonor and see if they'll take me back.' Because I've now kind of got my hat in my hand So I called Karl and I told him what had happened we'd love to have a meeting with you.' And I went over in September we went over and spent the night there in Bad Berleburg [Germany] and we just talked… And the weirdest thing about it was that it was as though I'd never been away 'Exactly what I had twenty-two years ago: same sizes very special that they've done for me on this drum kit I think it's probably gonna top the 'Somewhere In Time' kit which was made… And that's thirty years ago that Karl actually made that drum set for me; he So I'm really blessed to be able to feel this bond I still have with the brand Nicko: "Every album we make is the best album we've ever made It's the best album we've ever made.' Well this is definitely the best album we've ever made If not in terms of people's interpretations of the music 'The Number Of The Beast' was better than that and this and that and the other.' You have your favorites It was in terms of the way we made it and the bond that we had After all these years in the studio making records together we had the best fun in William Tell studio in Paris to do this record vocals] would kind of sort things out and go Let's do that bit again.' We all had a hand on what we wanted to hear in the finished backtrack which is the first time we've ever actually done that We have written songs in the studio — like when you go in to do an album and you've only got six tracks out of nine and you've gotta write three songs on the way But this is… The whole album was written in the studio having shifted 75,000 equivalent album units in the week ending September 10 first achieved with 2010's "The Final Frontier" The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA) 3 on the Top Album Sales chart with first-week sales of 74,000 copies This marked MAIDEN's best sales week since Nielsen Music started tracking sales in 1991 2015 through Parlophone Records (Sanctuary Copyrights/BMG in the U.S.),"The Book Of Souls" was recorded in Paris France with producer Kevin "Caveman" Shirley in late 2014 with the finishing touches added last year IRON MAIDEN announced in May 2015 that touring plans to support the album wouldn't happen until 2016 to allow singer Bruce Dickinson time to fully recuperate after his successful cancer treatment Industry news and insights from Europe and around the World Keep up-to-date with the latest new products and technology GERMANY: Engie Deutschland has acquired German air conditioning and ventilation company OTTO Luft- und Klimatechnik The deal was reached with OTTO’s majority shareholders the private equity firm Equistone Partners Europe who acquired the business in 2014 A minority investment was retained by Hartmut Otto Jr OTTO was founded in 1967 and has established itself as a market leader in Germany In addition to its headquarters in Bad Berleburg the company operates a further 11 locations across Germany The company generates annual revenues of approximately €120m and employs 700 people the business strengthened its presence through the opening of multiple new locations in Germany increasing revenues and output by more than 50% and doubling the number of employees The range of services includes indoor air system solutions for comfort and industrial buildings as well as clean rooms and tailor-made service and maintenance services In addition to engineering and planning expertise the company also has a high level of added value in assembly most of which is carried out with its own specialist staff Engie Germany is one of the leading companies for technical building equipment industrial refrigeration technology and energy services in Germany The company is part of the global Engie Group and generated sales of €1.9bn in 2017 with around 3,000 employees Cooling Post is the leading online resource covering latest news and developments in the cooling industry air conditioning news and the latest heat pump developments Privacy & Cookie Policy © Copyright 2025, Cooling Post Ltd - All Rights Reserved | Website by Capital Web Their 2010 wedding made headlines in her native Denmark, coming just two months before the birth of their first child, but now Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and her husband of 12 years, Alexander Johannsmann, are calling it quits.  Princess Nathalie von Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg of Denmark during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games A keen horsewoman, Nathalie has competed in multiple Olympics for Denmark, winning a bronze in 2008, and landing fourth place in 2012. Like her mother, she owns a stud farm in Germany. It was through their shared love of horses that she met her husband, who is also a breeder and competitive show jumper.  The princess and her ex-husband share two children, a son, Konstantin and a daughter, Louisa, who are 12 and seven respectively. The birth of Konstantin, two months after their wedding, made headlines at the time. They had previously announced their separation.  His Highness Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg has died at the age of 82 This was announced Tuesday morning by the Danish Royal Court His Highness Prince Richard Casimir Karl August Robert Konstantin was the 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Germany and had been the head of the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg since the death of his father in 1969 He is the husband of Princess Benedikte of Denmark the younger sister of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark says: It is with great sadness that I on behalf of Her Royal Highness Princess Benedikte must announce that His Highness Prince Richard has passed away His Highness died suddenly at the castle Berleburg yesterday evening Her Royal Highness Princess Benedikte has travelled back home to Berleburg Tuesday morning after a short stay in Denmark Photo: Dutch National Archives via Wikimedia Commons has been in Denmark for most of the last week and throughout the weekend because she has been on official duties for the Danish monarchy The Princess participated in the opening of the Copenhagen International School and met with the Girl Scout’s Confederation in Copenhagen She also participated in the Danish Warmblood Stallion Show from last Friday to Sunday Berleburg Schloss is a castle in the town of Bad Berleburg in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany Photo: Kurt Wichmann via Wikimedia Commons His Highness was the head of the family business which owns more than 13,000 hectares of land and has ownership in a number of firms Prince Richard is seated at the family castle Princess Benedikte and Prince Richard have three children Prince Richard was appointed Knight of the Elephant Order in 1968 but it should be noted he was a Highness and not a Royal Highness he was His Serene Highness by courtesy title or His Highness I was very sad to read of Prince Richard’s passing By all accounts he was an excellent husband and devoted father died in June 1944 while serving in the German Army in Belarus on the Russian Front during WWII he was Missing in Action until his family had him declared dead in 1969 after the birth of Prince Richard’s first son Princess Nathalie was born on 2 May 1975 in Copenhagen and is the daughter of Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and hence is the niece of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark she likes horses and has had an illustrious career in dressage She began her training in 1994 when she was nineteen and four years later was part of a Danish team that won a bronze medal at the European Championships two years later she was only a reserve rider for the 2000 Danish Olympic Team she did win team bronze medals at the 2001 European Championships and the 2002 World Championships when she finished fourth Nathalie has competed in a couple of Olympics for Denmark finished in twelfth place in the individual competition Breeding horses have also turned into a family business in some ways like the British Royal Family do and her mother this was more connected with horse racing rather than eventing and dressage Her mother Princess Benedikte breeds horses and Nathalie set up her own stud farm in 2005 in Bad Berleburg she became engaged to Alexander Johannsmann a German horse-breeder and son of the showjumper They had a civil marriage in May 2010 with a religious ceremony the following June in the main church in Berleburg The couple now has two children Konstantin and Louisa Neither Princess Nathalie or her children are part of the Danish royal succession her father King Frederick IX decreed that in order for any children to be part of the succession they must be brought up in Denmark Princess Nathalie has represented Denmark on a few occasions The year 2017 did not start well for Nathalie; sadly her father Prince Richard passed away on 13 March 2017 The Danish Royal Family has announced the arrival of a new member the Royal Court confirmed that Princess Benedikte has a fifth grandchild The sister of Queen Margrethe is celebrating after her son Their baby was born with the help of a surrogate and arrived safely on May 26th 2023 in the United States The little prince has been named Gustav Albrecht Prince Gustav and Princess Carina expect to return to their home in Germany in the weeks ahead to begin their new life as a family with their son Prince Gustav is the only son of Princess Benedikte and Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg he has been head of the house which is governed by semi salic primogeniture meaning that the title that Gustav now holds has to pass to a son Prince Gustav has no succession rights in Denmark It was agreed at the time of his parents’ marriage that their children would only have a claim to the Danish throne if they lived and were educated in Denmark during their early years It isn’t clear whether the new prince would enter the Danish succession if his parents were to raise him in the country although it is unlikely they will choose that path There has also been no formal announcement on whether a child born with the help of a surrogate is allowed to succeed to either the German title that Prince Gustav holds or to the Danish throne Surrogacy is illegal in Germany while in Denmark it can only happen as part of an altruistic arrangement in which the surrogate mother receives no direct payment for having a baby Children born to a surrogate are usually adopted by one or both of the parents who have sought help to have a baby married in Bad Berleburg in 2022 after a relationship of almost 20 years They had previously been prevented from marrying by a clause in the will of Gustav’s grandfather which stipulated his descendants would lose their inheritance if they wed a commoner That will was made almost eighty years ago Gustav’s grandfather served in the German army during World War Two and went missing in action He wasn’t declared legally dead until 1969 and the birth of Prince Gustav the problems that will caused them in marrying and the impact it had on their lives hasn’t deterred Gustav and Carina with the grandfather who almost stopped the marriage