Countess Maria Felicitas von Schönburg-Glauchau (; 15 August 1958 – 27 January 2019), also known as Maya von Schönburg, was a German socialite.

Early life and family

Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau was born on 15 August 1958 to

Joachim, Count of Schönburg-Glauchau Joachim Heinrich Maria Carl Rudolf Franz Xaver Joseph Antonius Christophorus Hubertus Alfons Graf von Schönburg-Glauchau (4 February 1929 – 29 September 1998) was the nominal successor head of the former mediatised German Counts of Schönb ...

and his first wife, Countess Beatrix Széchenyi de Sárvár-Felsővidék. Her father was the nominal successor head of the mediatized German

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: ...

Schönburg-Glauchau. Her mother is the great-granddaughter of the Hungarian social reformer Count

István Széchenyi Count István Széchenyi de Sárvár-Felsővidék (, ; archaically English: Stephen Széchenyi; 21 September 1791 – 8 April 1860) was a Hungarian politician, political theorist, and writer. Widely considered one of the greatest statesme ...

. Maya was the sister of Count Carl-Alban, Count Alexander, and Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis. She was the half-sister of Countess Anabel from her father's second marriage to Ursula Zwicker. In the 1960s, Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau's family moved 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 ...

due to her father's profession as a journalist and foreign correspondent. They later moved to

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 ...

, where she was educated at an Italian missionary school 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 ...

. The family returned to Germany in 1970, residing 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, her father reclaimed the family's estates 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 by the

Soviets The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" (). Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...

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 ...

. Countess von Schönburg-Glauchau was the maternal aunt of Princess Maria Theresia, Princess Elisabeth, and Albert, 12th Prince of Thurn and Taxis.

Personal life

In 1985 Countess von Schönburg-Glauchau married

Friedrich Christian Flick Friedrich Christian Flick (born 19 September 1944), also known as Mick Flick, is a German art collector. Life Trained as a lawyer, he is one of the heirs to the Flick family industrial fortune, and the founder of the Friedrich Christian Flick ...

, founder of the Friedrich Christian Flick Collection and heir to the

Flick family The Flick family is a wealthy German family with an industrial empire that formerly embraced holdings in companies involved in coal, steel and a minority holding in Daimler AG. Friedrich Flick (1883–1972) was the founder of the dynasty, establis ...

fortune. They had three children: Friedrich-Alexander, Maria-Pilar, and Ernst-Moritz. They divorced in 1993. She later had a daughter, Maria Carlotta Beatrice (*2004), with her then-partner Stefan Hipp. The countess lived in Parkside House at

Englefield Green Englefield Green is a large village in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, approximately west of central London. It is home to Runnymede Meadow, The Commonwealth Air Forces Memorial, The Savill Garden,and Royal Holloway, University of L ...

, a former residence of

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

, before moving to Italy in 2011. In 2012, she was diagnosed with terminal

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

and moved back to Germany to receive treatment. A

Traditionalist Catholic Traditionalist Catholicism is a movement that emphasizes beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions and presentations of teaching associated with the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). ...

, Countess von Schönburg-Glauchau went on pilgrimages with her sister Princess Gloria to

Santiago de Compostela Cathedral The Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica ( Spanish and Galician: ) is part of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela and is an integral component of the Santiago de Compostela World Heritage Site in Galicia, Spain. The ...

and Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, to which she partially credited with her recovery from cancer. She stated in an interview with ''

Die Welt (, ) is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group and it is considered a newspaper of record in Germany. Its leading competitors are the ...

'' that at Christmas time her family does not celebrate Santa Claus, instead choosing to celebrate the Christkind. The countess was in a committed relationship with former

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

chairman Henry Wyndham. In 2008 Countess von Schönburg-Glauchau voiced her opinion on family life and a woman's role, stating that she believed women are meant to raise children and that mothers should not have careers. She was frequently photographed at fashion, art, and society events in Germany and in England.

Legal issues

In 2013, Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau faced a tribunal in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, England, and the county town of Berkshire. It is the United Kingdom's largest town, with a combined population of 355,596. Most of Reading built-up area, its built-up area lies within the Borough ...

, for the treatment of her former housekeeper, Teresa Filipowska, whom she had hired in 2008 while living at Parkside House. Filipowska alleged that she was fired for becoming pregnant without her employer's consent, and also claimed that she was overworked and mistreated by the countess. The tribunal ordered the countess to pay Filipowska £19,000 on the grounds of unfair dismissal, sex discrimination, and unpaid wages.

Death

Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau's lung cancer returned. On 27 January 2019 she died from complications relating to cancer while staying at her mother's home in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. She was buried in Northern Cemetery in Munich after a Catholic funeral service was held at the Cathedral of Our Lady on 2 February 2019.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schönburg-Glauchau, Maya von 1958 births 2019 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in Germany Flick family German socialites Countesses in Germany German Roman Catholics German traditionalist Catholics German people of Austrian descent German people of Czech descent German people of Greek descent German people of Hungarian descent German people of Polish descent German people of Russian descent German expatriates in England

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 ...

People from Berlin