Princess Miriam al-Ghazi (born Miriam Ungría y López; born 2 September 1963), known during her first marriage as The Princess of Tarnovo, is a Spanish

gemologist Gemology or gemmology is the science dealing with natural and artificial gemstone materials. It is a geoscience and a branch of mineralogy. Some jewelers (and many non-jewelers) are academically trained gemologists and are qualified to identify a ...

and jewellery designer. She served as the Director of Fine Jewellery for the Spanish brand Carrera y Carrera, later forming her own brand, MdeU, in 2014. Through her first marriage to Kardam, Prince of Tarnovo, the eldest son and heir of

Simeon II of Bulgaria Simeon Borisov von Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ( bg, Симеон Борисов Сакскобургготски, translit=Simeon Borisov Sakskoburggotski, ; born 16 June 1937) is a Bulgarian politician who reigned as the last tsar of the Kingdom of Bul ...

, she became a member of the Bulgarian royal family. After her husband's death in 2015, her son Prince Boris became the

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to the defunct Bulgarian throne. In September 2022, she married

Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad (born 15 October 1966) is a Jordanian prince and a professor of philosophy. He is the son of Prince Muhammad bin Talal of Jordan and his first wife, Princess Firyal of Jordan, Princess Firyal. He is a grandson of King T ...

, a first cousin of

Abdullah II of Jordan Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein ( ar, عبدالله الثاني بن الحسين , translit=ʿAbd Allāh aṯ-ṯānī ibn al-Ḥusayn; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of t ...

, becoming a member of the Jordanian royal family.

Early life

Miriam was born Miriam Ungría y López on 2 September 1963 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

to Bernardo Ungría y Goiburu and María del Carmen López y Oleaga. She is of

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

descent.

Career

Miriam has a degree in history and geography, with a concentration in art history, from the

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, links=no, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; la, Universitas Complutensis Matritensis, links=no) is a public research university loca ...

. She later studied gemology, jewellery manufacturing, wax molding, gemstone setting and jewellery design at the

University of Oviedo The University of Oviedo ( es, Universidad de Oviedo, Asturian: ''Universidá d'Uviéu'') is a public university in Asturias (Spain). It is the only university in the region. It has three campus and research centres, located in Oviedo, Gijón ...

's European Centre of Gemology and Jewellery. In 1991 she launched her first jewellery collection and founded the Spanish Jewellery Appraiser's Association, serving as the association's president. In 2000 she joined Carrera y Carrera as the brand's director of fine jewellery. She launched the ''Garden of Roses'' collection in New York in July 2002. In 2014 she launched own jewellery line, MdeU. Her collection, including rings, pendants, bracelets and earrings, is sold at

El Corte Inglés El Corte Inglés S.A. (), headquartered in Madrid, is the biggest department store group in Europe and ranks third worldwide. Its primary source of sales is from department stores, followed by internet sales. It is a family business, with most s ...

. In 2017, with support from members of the Jordanian royal family, she opened an exhibition of jewels and MdeU pieces at the

Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts The Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts is a major contemporary art museum located in Amman, Jordan. The Official inauguration of the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts (JNGFA) was held under the patronage of the late King Hussein and Queen Noor ...

. In February 2017 Miriam presented her jewellery design collections in Bulgaria for the first time, with a three-day exhibit titled ''Miriam de Ungria: Exquisite Touch'' at the Radisson Blu Hotel.

Personal life

On 11 July 1996 she married Kardam, Prince of Tarnovo, the eldest son of

and Doña Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela and heir to the defunct throne of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, in an

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

ceremony at St. Andrey and St. Dimitar Orthodox Church in Madrid. Her wedding dress is on display in an exhibit in the Museo del Traje. Upon their marriage, Miriam was titled as Princess of Tarnovo and Duchess in Saxony. They have two sons, Prince Boris and Prince Beltrán. On 15 August 2008 Miriam and her husband were involved in a serious car accident in El Molar. Miriam was taken to the

Hospital Universitario La Paz The Hospital Universitario La Paz, HULP, is a general tertiary hospital situated in the neighbourhood that takes its name from the hospital in the northern city district of Fuencarral-El Pardo in the city of Madrid in Spain. It is affiliated to the ...

to be treated for her injuries. Her husband sustained a serious brain injury. Miriam's husband died in 2015. She lives in

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. On 3 September 2022, Miriam married

, a first cousin of King

, at

Raghadan Palace Raghadan Palace is a crown palace located in the Royal Court compound of Al-Maquar in Amman, Jordan. Constructed in 1926, the property became the residence of King Abdullah I who would go on to order the construction of several more palaces in the ...

Honours

Portuguese Royal Family The Most Serene House of Braganza ( pt, Sereníssima Casa de Bragança), also known as the Brigantine Dynasty (''Dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese origin which reigned in Europe and the Ame ...

: ** Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Saint Isabel

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miriam, Princess al-Ghazi 1963 births Living people Jordanian princesses House of Hashim Dames of the Order of Saint Isabel Bulgarian princesses Princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha German duchesses Princesses by marriage House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Bulgaria) 20th-century Spanish nobility 20th-century Spanish women 21st-century Spanish women 20th-century Spanish historians 21st-century Spanish historians Spanish women historians Spanish people of Basque descent Gemologists Jewellery designers Complutense University of Madrid alumni University of Oviedo alumni