Gloria, Dowager Princess of Thurn and Taxis (''Mariae Gloria Ferdinanda Joachima Josephine Wilhelmine Huberta''; born Countess Gloria von Schönburg-Glauchau, 23 February 1960) is a German socialite, businesswoman, Catholic activist, art collector, and artist. Through her marriage to Johannes, 11th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, she acquired the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

Princess Consort Princess consort is an official title or an informal designation that is normally accorded to the wife of a sovereign prince. The title may be used for the wife of a king if the more usual designation of queen consort is not used. More informal ...

Thurn und Taxis The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis (, ) is a family of German nobility that is part of the ''Briefadel''. It was a key player in the mail, postal services in Europe during the 16th century, until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, and ...

Early life and family

Gloria Gräfin von Schönburg-Glauchau was born on 23 February 1960 in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. Her father, Joachim, Count of Schönburg-Glauchau, was the nominal head of the

Glauchau Glauchau (; , ) is a town in the German federal state of Saxony, on the right bank of the Mulde, 7 miles north of Zwickau and 17 miles west of Chemnitz by rail ( its train station is on the Dresden–Werdau line). It is part of the Zwickau dist ...

branch of the German 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 ...

, a mediatised dynasty within the former

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. Her mother, Countess Beatrix Széchenyi de Sárvár-Felsővidék, was a member of the

Széchenyi family The House of Széchenyi or Széchényi is the name of a wealthy Hungarian noble family which produced many politicians, landowners, and influential figures within Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is not to be confused with the other Szécsényi family ...

and a descendant of Count István Széchenyi. Her parents divorced in 1986 and her father married Ursula Zwicker. Gloria is one of five children from her father's two marriages. She has two brothers, Carl-Alban Count von Schönburg-Glauchau (born 1966), formerly head of the family, who renounced his rights after his marriage to Juliet Helene Beechy-Fowler, daughter of Nicholas Beechy-Fowler and Countess Jutta von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth; and

Alexander, Count of Schönburg-Glauchau 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 branch of the ...

, a writer and the nominal head of the Schönburg-Glauchau branch of the family, who is married according to the rules of the house to 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 ...

, grandniece 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

Queen 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. ...

. One of her sisters was the socialite Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau. Gloria was baptized as an infant and raised in the Catholic faith.

Childhood and adolescence

When she was a child, Gloria and her family moved to Africa, living in

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 ...

and

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 her father worked as an author and a journalist. Although they are descendants of

German nobility The German nobility () and Royal family, royalty were status groups of the Estates of the realm, medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain Privilege (law), privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the Ger ...

, her family had little wealth as a result of Communism in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. In 1945 the

Soviet government The Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was the executive and administrative organ of the highest body of state authority, the All-Union Supreme Soviet. It was formed on 30 December 1922 and abolished on 26 December 199 ...

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 ...

seized her family's ancestral homes, castles Wechselburg, Hinterglauchau, Forderglauchau, Rochsburg, Alt-Penig, and Neu-Penig. She moved back to Germany with her family in 1970 and enrolled at the Konrad-Adenauer-Gymnasium 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� ...

, later studying at Kloster Wald, a girls' boarding school in a Benedictine convent. As a teenager she worked as a waitress at a ski resort in

St Moritz St. Moritz ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in the administrative region of Maloja in the Swiss ...

, Switzerland.

Marriage and issue

In 1979, at age 19, Gloria met Johannes, Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis, age 53, at a luncheon he hosted at Nürnberger Bratwurst Glöckl 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 began a relationship with him soon thereafter and they married on 31 May 1980 in a Catholic ceremony in

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. At the time of their marriage Johannes was estimated to be worth between $2 and $3 billion. Gloria and her husband are fourth cousins twice removed, both descendants of

Karl Alexander, 5th Prince of Thurn and Taxis Karl Alexander, 5th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full German language, German name: ''Karl Alexander Fürst von Thurn und Taxis'' (22 February 1770 – 15 July 1827) was the fifth Thurn und Taxis, Prince of Thurn and Taxis, head of the Thurn-und-Ta ...

. Upon their marriage Gloria became the Hereditary Princess of Thurn and Taxis. When her father-in-law, Karl August, 10th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, died in 1982, her husband became the 11th Prince of Thurn and Taxis.Willis, Daniel. The Descendants of King George I of Great Britain. Clearfield, 2002, Baltimore, US. p. 516. . The couple had three children: * Princess Maria Theresia Ludowika Klothilde Helene Alexandra, born 28 November 1980 in

. On 13 September 2014, she married Hugo Wilson, a British artist, in

Tutzing Tutzing is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district of Starnberg (district), Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany, on the west bank of the Starnberger See. Just 40 km south-west of Munich and with good views of the Alps, the town wa ...

, Germany. They have two daughters. * Princess Elisabeth Margarete Maria Anna Beatrix, born 24 March 1982 in Regensburg. * Prince Albert Maria Lamoral Miguel Johannes Gabriel, born 24 June 1983 in Regensburg, who succeeded his father in 1990 as both principal heir at law and nominal head of the former German princely House of

Thurn and Taxis The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis (, ) is a family of German nobility that is part of the '' Briefadel''. It was a key player in the postal services in Europe during the 16th century, until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, and beca ...

according to the traditional rules of the legal affairs committee of the Association of German Nobility.

Later life

Gloria and her husband were known for their lavish lifestyle, becoming social and fashion icons in the 1980s. She became part of the European

jet set The jet set is a social group of wealthy and fashionable people who travel the world to participate in social activities unavailable to ordinary people. The term was introduced in 1949 and replaced " café society"; it reflected a style of life ...

and was referred to in the media as the "

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

princess" and "Princess

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

". When her husband died in 1990, Gloria was left to settle his debts, which totaled $500 million. Her son, Albert, became the 12th Prince of Thurn and Taxis upon Johannes's death. She acted as the trustee for Albert, taking over management of the family estate, Saint Emmeram's Abbey. She went into isolation from society, studying finance, accounting, and estate management and selling off family property, including art, jewelry, castles, cars, and land to preserve the family fortune. During this time she undertook a spiritual pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in

Lourdes, France Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a f ...

, emerging as a Roman Catholic activist. After her sister, Maya, was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2012, Gloria accompanied her on pilgrimages to

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a ...

and

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 ...

in Spain. Gloria has become a successful artist, focusing mainly on oil paint and pastel portraits. The

Hotel Chelsea The Hotel Chelsea (also known as the Chelsea Hotel and the Chelsea) is a hotel at 222 West 23rd Street in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Built between 1883 and 1884, the hotel was designed by Philip Hubert in a styl ...

asked her to do a series of pastels of its most famous denizens—a gallery show that brought her much acclaim as a painter. She has called herself a "dilettante" and cited her art collection as inspiration for her style of portraiture. In 2015 she had a solo show at the National Exemplar Gallery in New York. She also paints freelance. A devout Catholic, Gloria works closely with conservative

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). ...

leaders, including Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, Cardinal Raymond Burke, Monsignor Wilhelm Imkamp, and

Steve Bannon Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist for the first seven months of president Donald Trump's first ...

. Bannon suggested her palatial home, Schloss Thurn und Taxis, as a potential site for a school to educate and train right-wing Catholics, but no firm plans have been made. Gloria is a personal friend of

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

, and was one of a dozen women to attend her 2016 birthday party.

Controversies

Comments on AIDS and Africa

In 2001, Gloria sparked significant outrage after making offensive remarks on German television. She claimed that

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

is widespread in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

because "blacks like to copulate 'schnackseln''a lot." These comments met with widespread criticism, and she expressed similar views in 2008, attributing sexual behavior in Africa to the continent's hot climate.

Association with right-wing figures

Gloria has established connections with several right-wing and conservative personalities, such as former

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

adviser

and Cardinal Raymond Burke, positioning herself with conservative Catholic movements. These political alliances sparked controversy, leading to the cancellation of an exhibition of her work at El Museo del Barrio's 50th anniversary gala in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

in 2019. In 2024, she delivered a speech at the National Conservatism Conference in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, where she advocated for traditional Catholic values and criticized the religious stance of

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

Honours

In accordance with the

Weimar Constitution The Constitution of the German Reich (), usually known as the Weimar Constitution (), was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era. The constitution created a federal semi-presidential republic with a parliament whose ...

of 1919,

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 ...

recognises hereditary titles only as part of surnames. Members of the Thurn and Taxis family include the title as part of their surname in the form ''Prinz/essin von Thurn und Taxis''.

Dynastic

Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Perfect Friendship ( House of Thurn und Taxis) * Dame 1st Class of the Order of the Starry Cross ( Austrian Imperial and Royal Family)

National

Officer's Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

(

) **

Recipient of the Bavarian Order of Merit (

)

Foreign

Dame Commander with Star of the

Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (; ) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of the five Papal order of knighthood, orders of knighthood of th ...

(

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

) *

Dames Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...

(

)

Ancestry

Notable published works

* ''Unsere Umgangsformen. Die Welt der guten Sitten von A-Z'' - with Princess Alessandra

Borghese The House of Borghese ( , ) is a family of Italian noble and papal background, originating as the Borghese or Borghesi in Siena, where they came to prominence in the 13th century and held offices under the '' commune''. During the 16th century, t ...

- (2000). * ''Gloria: Die Fürstin - Im Gespräch mit Peter Seewald'' (2005). * ''Die Fürstin und der Kardinal'' - with Cardinal Joachim Meisner - (2008).

References

External links

The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thurn und Taxis, Gloria von Living people 1960 births 21st-century German painters 21st-century German women artists Dames Commander with Star of the Order of St. Gregory the Great Dames of Malta Countesses in Germany German philanthropists German portrait painters German landowners German Roman Catholics German socialites German traditionalist Catholics German women painters Hereditary princesses of Thurn and Taxis House of Schönburg-Glauchau Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Artists from Stuttgart Princesses by marriage Princesses of Thurn und Taxis Roman Catholic activists Széchenyi family German women philanthropists Women art collectors German people of Hungarian descent