Elegance is not to be noticed, but to be remembered.
Georgi Armani
Princess Marie, the consort of the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein Hans-Adam II, died Saturday, August 21, 2021. The Princess had been in poor health for several years and suffered a stroke earlier last week. She was 81.
The Liechtenstein royal family is discretion itself. Their country is a small principality, located between Austria and Switzerland, with fewer than 50,000 citizens. Prince Hans-Adam took over the regency in 1989, but we have not seen much of the couple in recent years. The Princess Consort had retreated from most public events when her husband handed the day-to-day management of the state to their oldest child, Hereditary Prince Alois, in 2004.
She was elegance personified. Born to Count Ferdinand Carl Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau and Countess Henriette in 1940, in Prague, she fled with her family from then-Czechoslovakia in 1945. They settled in Germany. Marie graduated from the University of Munich, worked as a commercial artist, and became engaged to Hans-Adam in 1965.
The couple was married in 1967, in a grand wedding. The Greek royals, including King Constantine, Queen Anne-Marie, Princess Sophia (later Sofia of Spain), and Princess Irene attended. The bride wore the family’s Hapsburg Fringe tiara.
They had four children, Hereditary Prince Alois , Prince Maximilian (married to Princess Angela), Prince Constantin, and Princess Tatjana. In addition to taking on patronages related to orthopedics, children’s health, and family support, Marie never lost her interest in design and remained an avid supporter of the arts her entire life.
She was a discreet presence in the royal world, and her elegance will be greatly missed by royal watchers.