Princess Xenia of Croÿ engaged to Nobile Guy delle Piane

Princess Xenia of Croÿ, the daughter of the 15th Duke of Croÿ and the late Duchess, is engaged to Nobile Guy delle Piane, a scion of an old Italian aristocratic family:

H.S.H. Princess Xenia of Croÿ is engaged to Nobile Guy delle Piane. The engagement took place at the Island of Elba, where the soon-to-be-married couple was on vacation at his summer house.

Born in 1990, Princess Xenia-Maria-Alexandra von Croÿ is the second child of H.S.H. Rudolf Carl Rupprecht, 15th Duke of Croÿ and his late wife, H.S.H. Duchess Alexandra, born Countess Miloradovich. The House of Croÿ is a family of European mediatized nobility, elevated to the rank of Dukes and Princes of the Holy Roman Empire and linked to most European sovereign houses. Xenia’s paternal grandmother was H.R.H. Princess Gabriele of Bavaria, fifth child of H.R.H. Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria and H.R.H. Princess Antonia of Luxembourg.

Born 1983, the Italian nobleman comes from the Delle Piane family, an old aristocratic family dating back XIII century from Genoa that forged influential statesmen, military officers, artists and clericals.  He is the first son of N.H. Giuseppe delle Piane and his late wife N.D. Stefania dei Marchesi d’Afflitto.  N.D. Stefania, first daughter of Marquis Francesco, belongs to the princely and ducal family d’Afflitto, one of the oldest aristocratic families of Italy, which claims St. Eustache (III century) as the mythological family founder and Leone, Duke of Amalfi (IX century) as the actual progenitor. Over the last millennium, the family has been granted more than fifty feudal titles.

Historically, the couple’s families crossed paths on multiple occasions. In 1516, William II de Croÿ was granted the Duchy of Sora along with the title of Baron of Rocca Guglielma for his services as tutor and adviser to Emperor Charles V. Coincidentally, an ancestor of the soon-to-be-groom,Count Michele d’Afflitto, used to bear the title of Lord of Rocca Guglielma only a few decades earlier; whereas Count Michele’s nephew, Duke Giovanni d’Afflitto, married Duchess Cornelia de Lannoy, a cousin of the aforementioned William.At that time, Archbishop Annibale d’Afflitto was spiritual tutor to King Felipe II of Spain, son of Charles V.

The young couple studies at Istituto de Empresa and ESCP. Both live and work in London in the impact investing space.

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