Gloria, Princess of Thurn and Taxis

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Gloria and her late husband Prince Johannes
Gloria and her late husband Prince Johannes

Mariae Gloria Ferdinanda Joachima Josefine Wilhelmine Huberta, Princess of Thurn and Taxis (German: Gloria Fürstin[1] von Thurn und Taxis), born February 23, 1960 as Countess Mariae Gloria of Schönburg in Glauchau and Waldenburg (Gräfin Mariae Gloria von Schönburg zu Glachau und Waldenburg), daughter of Count Joachim and Countess Beatrix (born Countess Széchényi of Sárvár), is a German princess and socialite.

The mother of Albert, the head of the princely house of Thurn and Taxis, she controlled the $2 billion Thurn and Taxis fortune after her husband Johannes died in 1990. Johannes, born in 1926, married the penniless countess who had worked as a waitress.[2] The couple had three children:

  • Her Serene Highness Princess Maria Theresia Ludovika Klothilde Helene Alexandra of Thurn and Taxis, born November 28, 1980 in Regensburg
  • Her Serene Highness Princess Elisabeth Margarethe Maria Anna Beatriz of Thurn and Taxis, born March 24, 1982 in Regensburg.
  • His Serene Highness Prince Albert Maria Lamoral Miguel Johannes Gabriel of Thurn and Taxis, born June 24, 1983 in Regensburg, who succeeded his father in 1990 as Albert II, Prince of Thurn and Taxis.

Known as the punk princess and "Princess TNT", Gloria was an icon in the 1980s. She was known for her exuberant and lavish spending and whirlwind social life. However, on Johannes's death, the spending came to a halt as massive taxes were due on the estate he left behind.

In 2001, she was severely criticized for stating in a talkshow that the high AIDS-rate in African countries was not due to a lack of safe sex practices, but to the fact that "the blacks like to copulate ('schnackseln') a lot".

[edit] References

  1. ^ Regarding personal names: Fürstin is a title, translated as Princess, not a first or middle name. The male form is Fürst.
  2. ^ d'Elora, Camille. "Point de Vue", Gloria von Thurn und Taxis: La Mal Aimée, 31 January 1995, p. 5. (French) 

[edit] External links

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Persondata
NAME Fürstin von Thurn und Taxis, Mariae Gloria Ferdinanda Joachima Josefine Wilhelmine Huberta
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gräfin von Schönburg zu Glachau und Waldenburg, Mariae Gloria Ferdinanda Joachima Josefine Wilhelmine Huberta
SHORT DESCRIPTION German noble, socialite
DATE OF BIRTH February 23, 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH