Town Hall, Bückeburg, June 28, 2007
Fürst Alexander zu Schaumburg-Lippe and Nadja Anna Zsoeks walked the short way from Bückeburg Castle to be civilly wed at the town hall of Bückeburg. They posed for photographers at the castle gate. With a few minutes delay they reached the town hall where tens of people were waiting to catch a glimpse of the couple. The groom wore a dark blue crayon-line suit with blue shirt and pink tie. The bride wore a light yellow chiffon dress with Godet-collar with on top a yellow coat. In a ceremony that lasted less than half an hour mayor Reiner Brombach married the couple in front of a few guests. Witnesses were Prince Maximilian zu Ysenburg und Büdingen for the groom and Vera Wagner for the bride. Outside the room where they got married the Schütte choir sang some gospels for the couple. Then the bridal couple left the town hall and posed at the balcony. Fürst Alexander shortly speeched and told the people outside: : “We hadn’t counted on it, that the Bückeburger would take part in our wedding so much. We are very, very grateful.” School children sang for them and they were presented by gifts from the people in town: a painting of the castle and a cheque for a good cause. After shaking hands with the public they walked back to the castle where they posed once more for the photographers. The mother of the groom, Fürstin Benita zu Schaumburg-Lippe, was taken back by car. She had an accident some months ago and has not completely recovered yet. In the afternoon the couple and guests had lunch at the Torschreiberhaus restaurant in Stadthagen.
Fürst Alexander zu Schaumburg-Lippe in 1993 married Princess Marie-Louise "Lilly" zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. The couple divorced in 2002, but has remained friends. They have a son, Hereditary Prince Donatus. Princess Lilly told the press that she is very happy that her former husband is happy again and that her son Donatus gets a new mother. She herself has remarried to Lambros Milona and has a daughter, Lana. Despite of it being his second marriage the groom he didn't mind having another grand wedding as his bride hasn't been married before and deserves to have her fairytale wedding. Bride and groom met via Internet. Dr. Nadja Anna Zsoeks, a lawyer specialised in trademark law, read about the case about who was allowed to use the Internet domain name www.schaumburg-lippe.de and got in touch with Fürst Alexander zu Schaumburg-Lippe. They started an intensive juridical dialogue about internet and trademark law. They discussed for about one year by email when Alexander asked Nadja Anna if they could meet. In the autumn of 2005 they met for the first time at the October Feast in München in the tent of Käfer. Soon they started a relationship and the engagement was announced in August 2006.
Just married!
The wedding had before been announced for Friday 29 June 2007, so I had booked my train ticket for Thursday morning. Only days before I found out the wedding was already to take place on 28 June. Luckily I had booked such an early train that I arrived just in time, one or two minutes before the bridal couple reached the town hall. Because of my luggage unfortunately I missed the opportunity to follow the couple quickly back to the castle. I met with royalty-watchers Stig from Denmark and Stefan from Germany who were staying in the same hotel between castle and church where I was staying. So after the bridal couple had gone inside the castle I checked in in the hotel. Afterwards, not knowing that the bridal couple had lunch in Stadthagen, we also headed for Stadthagen to have a look at the castle and the old burial church of the Schaumburg-Lippe family. If only we had known! We only read it in the newspaper the day afterwards. In the evening we made a walk through Bückeburg having a look at a castle - now a school - and some decoration at Bückeburg Castle. The local newspapers were quite full with news about the wedding by the way in the days before and after the wedding, so we bought quite a few of them.
Photos and Copyright: Netty Leistra and Stefan S. (the first picture)