Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
The Wedding of the Prince Johannes of Thurn und Taxis and Countess Gloria von Schönburg-Glauchau (wearing Empress Eugénie’s Pearl Tiara) at Saint Emmeram’s Abbey in Regensburg, the massive Seat of the House of Thurn und Taxis, on this day in 1980. The couple had three children, Princess Maria Theresa, Princess Elisabeth, and Prince Albert. Prince Johannes was said to to be worth around $3 billion, and the couple enjoyed a lavish lifestyle in the 1980s. Princess Gloria came to be known as the ‘Punk Princess’ and ‘Princess TNT’ for her outrageous fashion and hairstyles. When Prince Johannes died in 1990, he left debts of $500 million, and Princess Gloria acted as the trustee for her underage son, selling off jewellery and other assets to preserve the family fortune, becoming a hugely successful businesswoman. Talking about her wedding, Princess Gloria said:
Usually you get married where the girl comes from, but since my father has only a villa in Munich (the Schönburg-Glauchau Seat of Schloss Rochsburg was on the other side of the Iron Curtain and not returned to the family until 1991), it was much nicer to do it at Regensburg. It was an incredibly grand party. Johannes’s friends came from all over the world. I wore a couture gown by Valentino, topped by Marie Antoinette’s diamond crown (she actually wore Empress Eugénie’s Pearl Tiara). It was really something to see. Half the Rothschilds were there, and then all those Prussian Counts and Barons covered with medals and Iron Crosses.”
May Prince Johannes of Thurn und Taxis and Countess Gloria von Schönburg-Glauchau live happily together forever
That was a whole lot of frills! Turned out Gloria was more than a ditzy blonde in the end though – good for her.
Lovely tiara – hate the overall look. It’s as if Gloria single-handedly invented the OTT eighties!