Alexander, Count of Schönburg-Glauchau (born August 15, 1969), known professionally as Alexander von Schönburg, is a German journalist and writer. He is, after his older brother Carl's abdication, the current head of the

comital Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

branch of the princely

House of Schönburg A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...

Early life and family

Alexander was born in 1969 in

Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

, to Joachim, Count von Schönburg-Glauchau, and his first wife, Countess Beatrix Széchenyi de Sárvár et Felsővidék (b. 1930). He is the youngest of four children from this marriage, after siblings

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

(b. 1958),

Gloria Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkins ...

(b. 1960), and Carl-Alban (b. 1966). Their parents divorced in 1986. Afterwards, Alexander's father married Ursula Zwicker, and their union produced a daughter, Anabel Maya-Felicitas. During the second half of the 1960s, Alexander's father's profession as a

foreign correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

took the family to

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

. They later moved to Somalia, returning to Germany to live in 1970. The family thereafter resided in

Meckenheim Meckenheim (; ) is a town in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Geographical situation Meckenheim is situated approximately 15 km south-west of Bonn and separated from the German former capital (1949� ...

, in the

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

. Following the

reunification of Germany German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the German Democratic Republic and the integration of i ...

in 1990, Alexander's father reclaimed the family's possessions in

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

which had been taken from them after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In later years, he was elected to the ''

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

''. Alexander's sisters, Maya and Gloria, famously wed wealthy trend setters: Maya was married to art patron Mick Flick until their divorce in 1993, while Gloria's husband was Johannes, 11th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, until his death in 1990. His father's younger brother, Count Rudolf ("Rudi", born 1932), wed Princess Marie Louise of Prussia (born 1945) in 1971, and succeeded

Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg Alfonso Maximiliano Victorio Eugenio Alejandro María Pablo de la Santísima Trinidad y Todos los Santos, Prinz zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg (28 May 1924 – 21 December 2003) was a Spanish businessman known for his promotion of the Spanish resorts of ...

as director of the

Marbella Club Hotel The Marbella Club Hotel is a hotel in Marbella, Spain. The hotel is located on the southern Spanish Costa del Sol, on the "Golden Mile" near Old Town Marbella and Puerto Banús. The Marbella Club Hotel was built in 1954 by Prince Alfonso o ...

, an aristocratic resort.

Activities as journalist and writer

By 1999, Alexander von Schönburg was widely known as a member of one of the so-called popular culture quintuplets, with

Christian Kracht Christian Kracht (; born 29 December 1966) is a Swiss author. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages. Early life and education Kracht was born in Saanen in the Canton of Bern. Kracht's father, Christian Kracht Sr., was chie ...

Eckhart Nickel Eckhart Nickel (born 1966) is a German author and journalist. Nickel was born in Frankfurt am Main.Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre (born 27 January 1975) is a German writer, journalist and television presenter. Life and career Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre was born in Bremen on 27 January 1975. He is the son of a pastor and belongs to the noble fam ...

and Joachim Bessing, associating him with

German pop literature German pop literature ( or ) has been a movement in German-language literature with multiple waves in the second half of the 20th century and early 21st century. It emerged in the 1960s, when it was heavily influenced by American beat literature, ...

. He worked as a freelance journalist and was featured in such publications as ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'', ''

Die Zeit (, ) is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The first edition of was ...

'', the Swiss periodical ''

Die Weltwoche ''Die Weltwoche'' (, "The World Week") is a Swiss weekly magazine based in Zürich. Founded in 1933, it has been privately owned by Roger Köppel since 2006. The magazine's regular columnists include the former president of the Social Democrati ...

'', and ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

''. He was editor in chief of lifestyle magazine ''Park Avenue'' in 2005. In 2006, he left this position, being replaced by Andreas Petzold. He continues to write as a columnist and German correspondent for '' Vanity Fair'' and the ''

Bild-Zeitung ''Bild'' (, ) or ''Bild-Zeitung'' (, ) is a German tabloid newspaper published by Axel Springer SE. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday; on Sundays, its sister paper '' Bild am Sonntag'' () is published instead, which has a differen ...

'', among others. He has authored several books in German, including the 2005 best seller ''Die Kunst des stilvollen Verarmens'' ("The Art of Growing Poor Stylishly"), in which he discussed the lessons of dearth after years of decadence.''Die Kunst des stilvollen Verarmens''
Werbetext des

Rowohlt Verlag Rowohlt Verlag is a German publishing house based in Hamburg, with offices in Reinbek and Berlin. It has been part of the Georg von Holtzbrinck Group since 1982. The company has been dissolved and restarted twice since its creation in 1908. Hi ...

s Some of his other book titles read in English are "Encyclopedia of Superfluous Things" and "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Kings, But Were Afraid to Ask".

Dynastic activities

In 1995, his older brother, Carl-Alban, married a commoner and formally renounced his rights of dynastic succession.Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XV. "Schönburg". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1997, pp. 390, 412-415. (German). . Alexander thereby became the recognized successor to his father's familial headship. Upon the death of their father in 1998, he became head of the comital branch of the formerly sovereign House of Schönburg. As a member of the comital branch of the House of Schönburg, Alexander is historically entitled to the

style of address Address terms are linguistic expressions used by a speaker to start conversation or call someone. George Yule defines address form as a word or phrase that is used for a person to whom speaker wants to talk. Address forms or address terms are soc ...

Illustrious Highness His/Her Illustrious Highness (abbreviation: H.Ill.H.) is the usual English-language translation of the German word , a style historically attributed to certain members of the European nobility. It is not a literal translation, as the German word ...

''. Although

German law The law of Germany (), that being the modern German legal system (), is a system of civil law which is founded on the principles laid out by the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, though many of the most important laws, for example ...

ceased recognition of the status or styles of noble houses in 1919, historical titles henceforth became their legal surnames.

Almanach de Gotha The ''Almanach de Gotha'' () is a directory of Europe's royalty and higher nobility, also including the major governmental, military and diplomatic corps, as well as statistical data by country. First published in 1763 by C. W. Ettinger in ...

, ''Deuxième Partie'', (Gotha:

Justus Perthes Johann Georg Justus Perthes (11 September 1749 – 2 May 1816) was a Germans, German publisher and founder of Justus Perthes (publishing company), the publishing house that bears his name. Life He was born in the Thuringian town of Rudolstadt, t ...

, 1942), p. 171, (French).

Marriage and children

On April 30, 1999, Alexander married Princess Irina of

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

(b. 1 April 1971, Munich, Bavaria), in a civil ceremony in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. They were married religiously in

Heusenstamm Heusenstamm () is a town of over 19,000 people in the Offenbach district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Heusenstamm is one of 13 towns and communities in the Offenbach district. The town li ...

, Hesse on May 29, 1999. The new Countess of Schönburg-Glauchau was born Princess Irina, the second child of Prince Karl Adolf Andreas of Hesse (b. 1937, Berlin) and his Hungarian wife, Countess Yvonne Szapáry von Muraszombath, Széchysziget und Szapár (b. 1944,

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

). Irina's grandparents were

Prince Christoph of Hesse Prince Christoph of Hesse (Christoph Ernst August; 14 May 1901 – 7 October 1943) was a nephew of Kaiser Wilhelm II. He was an SS-Oberführer in the Allgemeine SS and an officer in the Luftwaffe Reserve, killed on active duty in a plane crash ...

and his wife

Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark (; 26 June 1914 – 24 November 2001) was by birth a Greek and Danish princess, as well as a princess of Hesse-Kassel and a princess of Hanover through her successive marriages to Prince Christoph of Hess ...

, elder sister of

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

, consort of

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. She is a

second cousin A cousin is a relative who is the child of a parent's sibling; this is more specifically referred to as a first cousin. A parent of a first cousin is an aunt or uncle. More generally, in the kinship system used in the English-speaking world, ...

Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse Donatus, Prince and Landgrave of Hesse (legally ''Heinrich Donatus Philipp Umberto Prinz und Landgraf von Hessen''; born 17 October 1966) is a German businessman and the head of the House of Brabant and the House of Hesse. Background He is the ...

. The couple have three children: * Countess Maria-Letitia Jolanta (b. 30 July 2001) * Count Maximus Carolus Joachim Maria (b. 25 May 2003, Berlin) * Count Valentin Polykarp Josef Maria (b. 23 February 2005, Berlin) Though descended from

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

through her granddaughter

Princess Margaret of Prussia Margaret of Prussia (; 22 April 1872 – 22 January 1954) was the youngest child of Frederick III, German Emperor, and Victoria, Princess Royal. She was also the younger sister of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, Emperor Wilhelm II and the granddaught ...

Landgravine Landgrave (, , , ; , ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title, rank of nobility used in the Holy Roman Empire, and its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), and ' ("count palatine") are of roughly equal rank, subordinate to ' ("du ...

Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, also known as the Hessian Palatinate (), was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. The state was created in 1567 when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided upon t ...

, Irina and her children are excluded from

succession to the British throne Succession to the British throne is determined by descent, sex, legitimacy, and religion. Under common law, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest Collateral descendant, collateral line. The Bil ...

because they are Roman Catholic.

Notable published works

*''Das Beste vom Besten. Ein Almanach der feinen Lebensart'' (mit Reinhard Haas und Axel Thorer). Econ, Düsseldorf 1989, *''No. 1. Die besten Seiten des Lebens von A–Z'' (mit Reinhard Haas und Axel Thorer). Econ, Düsseldorf *''In Bruckners Reich''. Erzählung. In:

(Hrsg.): ''Mesopotamia. Ernste Geschichten am Ende des Jahrtausends''. DVA, Stuttgart 1999, *''Tristesse Royale: Das popkulturelle Quintett mit Joachim Bessing, Christian Kracht, Eckhart Nickel, Alexander v. Schönburg und Benjamin v. Stuckrad-Barre'', hrsg. von Joachim Bessing. Ullstein, Berlin 1999, *''Karriere''. Theaterstück. Hannover, 2001 *''Der fröhliche Nichtraucher. Wie man gut gelaunt mit dem Rauchen aufhört''. Rowohlt Taschenbuch, Reinbek 2003, *''Die Kunst des stilvollen Verarmens. Wie man ohne Geld reich wird''. Rowohlt Berlin, Berlin 2005, *''Lexikon der überflüssigen Dinge''. Rowohlt Berlin, Berlin 2006, *''Alles was Sie schon immer über Könige wissen wollten aber nie zu fragen wagten''. Rowohlt Berlin, Berlin 2008,

Ancestry

References and notes

Sources

''Die Kunst des stilvollen Verarmens''
Werbetext des

s
Andreas Petzold übernimmt Chefredaktion von Park Avenue
Pressemitteilung des Verlagshauses

Gruner + Jahr Gruner is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Dov Gruner (1912–1947), Jewish Zionist leader * Eduard Gruner, Swiss engineer * Elioth Gruner (1882–1939), Australian painter * Gottlieb Sigmund Gruner (1717–1778), Swiss ca ...

vom 22. August 2006
''Weniger ist mehr''
Alexander von Schönburg erläutert seine Philosophie in der ''

Welt am Sonntag ''Welt am Sonntag'' (German for ''World on Sunday'') is a German Sunday newspaper published in Germany. History and profile ''Welt am Sonntag'' was established in 1948. The paper is published by Axel Springer SE. Its head office is in Berlin. ...

'' vom 13. März 2005

External links

Official Blog of Alexander von Schönburg
*

Alexander von Schönburg erläutert seine Philosophie in der ''

'' vom 13. März 2005
Rezension zu ''Die Kunst des stilvollen Verarmens''
auf schoenerlesen.de
Webpräsenz Alexanders von Schönburg
(in Bearbeitung) {{DEFAULTSORT:Schonburg, Alexander Von German journalists German male journalists Counts in Germany 1969 births Living people Alexander of Schonburg-Glauchau

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

People from Mogadishu Somali people of German descent German male writers German people of Austrian descent German people of Belarusian descent German people of Hungarian descent German people of Polish descent German people of Russian descent Bild people