Princess Míriam Ghazi of Jordan (born Míriam Ungría 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 specific interdisciplinary branch of mineralogy. Some jewelers (and many non-jewelers) are academically trained gemologists and are qualified to ...

and jewellery designer. She served as the Director of Fine Jewellery for the Spanish brand

Carrera y Carrera Carrera y Carrera is a Spanish jewelry company. Headquartered in San Agustín del Guadalix, Madrid, its origins date back to 1885 when Saturio Esteban Carrera opened a small jewelry workshop in the Barrio de las Letras. During the 1970s, his g ...

, 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 Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (, ; born 16 June 1937) is a Bulgarian politician who reigned as the last Tsar of the Tsardom of Bulgaria as Simeon II from 1943 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolished by a referendum, forcing Simeon ...

, she became a member of the

Bulgarian royal family The last Bulgarian royal family () is a line of the Koháry branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which ruled Bulgaria from 1887 to 1946. The last tsar, Simeon II, became Prime Minister of Bulgaria in 2001 and remained in office until ...

. After her husband's death in 2015, her son Prince Boris became the

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

to the defunct Bulgarian throne. On 3 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. He is a grandson of King Talal of Jordan and thus ...

, a first cousin of King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein of Jordan, 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 List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

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 (, UCM; ) is a public research university located in Madrid. Founded in Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's ...

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

University of Oviedo The University of 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 and Mieres. History Th ...

'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

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. is a Spanish department store chain founded in 1940 by Ramón Areces and César Rodríguez. It is the last such remaining in Spain and Portugal, and has been a member of the International Association of Department Stores 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. 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, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, in an

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

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 large teaching hospital in Madrid, Spain. It is a general tertiary hospital situated in the La Paz neighbourhood, an area in the north of the Spanish capital that takes its name from the hospital. It ...

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 is a district at the West End 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 the advent of the ra ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. On 3 September 2022, Miriam married

, a first cousin of King

Abdullah II of Jordan Abdullah II (Abdullah bin Hussein; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of the Hashemites, who have been the reigning royal family of Jordan since 1921, and is traditionally reg ...

, at Raghadan Palace and was given the title of Her Royal Highness Princess Miriam Ghazi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miriam, Princess Ghazi 1963 births Living people Jordanian princesses by marriage House of Hashim Dames of the Order of Saint Isabel Bulgarian princesses Princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha by marriage Duchesses in Germany 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