Princess Marie-Gabrielle of Luxembourg (Marie-Gabrielle Aldegunde Wilhelmine Louise; born 2 August 1925) is a Luxembourgish princess, the third daughter and fourth child of

Grand Duchess Charlotte Charlotte (Charlotte Adelgonde Elisabeth Marie Wilhelmine; 23 January 1896 – 9 July 1985) reigned as Grand Duchess of Luxembourg from 14 January 1919 until her abdication on 12 November 1964. She acceded to the throne on 14 January 1919 foll ...

(1896–1985) and

Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma Prince Félix of Bourbon-Parma (later Prince Félix of Luxembourg; 28 September 1893 – 8 April 1970) was the husband of Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg and the father of her six children, including her successor Jean, Grand Duke of ...

(1893–1970).

Early life

Princess Marie Gabrielle was born at

Berg Castle Berg Castle ( lb, Schlass Bierg, ; french: Château de Berg; german: Schloss Berg), also called Colmar-Berg, is the principal residence of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. It is situated in the town of Colmar-Berg, in central Luxembourg, near the con ...

Colmar-Berg Colmar-Berg ( lb, Colmer-Bierg, german: Colmar-Berg) is a commune and town in central Luxembourg, in the canton of Mersch. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Attert and Alzette. Colmar-Berg is the site of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg' ...

, Luxembourg, as Princess of Luxembourg, Princess of Nassau, Princess of Bourbon-Parma. Facing the German invasion in 10 May 1940 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg The Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg constitutes the House of Luxembourg-Nassau, headed by the sovereign Grand Duke, and in which the throne of the grand duchy is hereditary. It consists of heirs and descendants of the House of Nassau-Weilburg, w ...

left the country to find refuge in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, after receiving transit visas from the Portuguese consul Aristides de Sousa Mendes, in June 1940. They arrived at Vilar Formoso on 23 June 1940. After travelling through Coimbra and Lisbon, the family first stayed in

Cascais Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourism in Portugal, tourist de ...

, in Casa de Santa Maria, owned by Manuel Espírito Santo, who was then the honorary consul for Luxembourg in Portugal. By July they had moved to Monte Estoril, staying at the Chalet Posser de Andrade. On 10 July 1940, Princess Marie Gabrielle, together with her father Prince Félix, her siblings, Hereditary Grand Duke Jean, Princess Elisabeth, Princess Marie Adelaide,

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

and Princess Alix, the nanny Justine Reinard and the chauffeur Eugène Niclou, along with his wife Joséphine, boarded the ''S.S. Trenton'' headed for New York City. In order not to void the United States' then neutrality, the family moved to Canada and then to Great Britain, where Princess Marie Gabrielle and her sisters volunteered with the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...

. After the family returned to post-war Luxembourg, Princess Marie Gabrielle studied sculpture with Auguste Tremont: in 1950, exhibited her works at the

Salon des Animaliers Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (Pa ...

in Paris, under the pseudonym, Mlle de Clervaux.

Marriage and family

Princess Marie Gabrielle met her future husband Count Knud of Holstein-Ledreborg (2 October 1919 – 25 June 2001) at the 1947 wedding of her cousin Jacques de Borbon Parma to Knud's sister Birgitte. They married in November 1951 at Colmar-Berg. The family settled in

Ledreborg Ledreborg is a palatial mansion near Lejre, to the southwest of Roskilde on the Danish island of Zealand. Today's Baroque building was completed in 1746 by Minister of State Johan Ludvig Holstein (1694–1763) who commissioned J.C. Krieger to c ...

. They had seven daughters: * Countess Monica (born 1952), Countess of Holstein-Ledreborg, m. Henrik de Dompierre de Jonquières * Countess Lydia (born 1955), Hereditary Countess of Holstein-Ledreborg, m. Prince Erik of Bourbon-Parma (1953–2021) and had issue * Countess Veronica (born 1956), m. François de Pottere * Countess Silvia (born 1958), m. John Munro of Foulis * Countess Camilla (1959–2010), m. Baron Eric Bertouch-Lehn * Countess Tatiana (born 1961), m. Mark von Riedemann * Countess Antonia (born 1962), became a nun in 1992.

Ancestry

References

Luxembourgian royalty Luxembourgian princesses Princesses of Bourbon-Parma 1925 births People from Colmar-Berg {{Europe-royal-stub