Princess Angela of Liechtenstein

Princess Angela of Liechtenstein, Countess of Rietberg (born Angela Gisela Brown; February 3, 1958) is a Panamanian-American fashion designer and member of the Liechtenstein royal family.[1] She became the first woman of African descent to marry into a European royal family.[2] She married Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein in January 2000 and the couple has a son, Prince Alfons.[2]

Princess Angela
Countess of Rietberg
BornAngela Gisela Brown
(1958-02-03) February 3, 1958 (age 66)
Bocas Town, Bocas del Toro, Panama
Spouse
IssuePrince Alfons
HouseLiechtenstein (by marriage)
FatherJavier Brown
MotherSilvia Burke

Biography

Early life and education

Angela Gisela Brown was born on February 3, 1958, in Bocas Town, Bocas del Toro, Panama, to Javier Francisco Brown and Silvia Maritza Burke.[3] Her father is a businessman while her mother is a homemaker. Brown and her family moved to New York City, when she was five years old.[4]

After high school, Brown studied fashion at Parsons School of Design, where she received the Oscar de la Renta Gold Thimble Award and graduated in 1980.[5] She was a stylist for three years, the partnered with a firm in Hong Kong to create her own fashion label named "A. Brown".[5][6] She became a creative director for the fashion brand Adrienne Vittadini until September 1999.

Marriage and family

Brown met Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein, the second son of Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein, at a private party in New York in 1997.[7] In 1999, the engagement was officially announced of Prince Maximilian to Brown.[8] She married Prince Maximilian civilly on January 21, 2000, in Vaduz, Liechtenstein.[9] A week later, she married him religiously on January 29, 2000, at the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer in New York City. She wore a wedding dress that she designed herself and a tiara, an heirloom kept inside the House of Liechtenstein since 1870.[7] The couple has one son named Prince Alfons, who was born in May 2001, in the United Kingdom.

Countess of Rietberg

Since her marriage, Princess Angela participates in ceremonial events often with her son.[10] In 2006, she and her husband attended the wedding of Countess Elisabeth d'Udekem d'Acoz, the sister of Queen Mathilde of Belgium and Margrave Alfonso Pallavicini.[11] In 2015, she gave an interview about Panama tourism.[12] Angela and her family also spent time in Pedasí, Panama.[13]

Titles and styles

Styles of
Princess Angela of Liechtenstein
 
Reference styleHer Serene Highness
Spoken styleYour Serene Highness

Angela became a princess of Liechtenstein and Countess of Rietberg upon her marriage to Prince Maximilian. She was soon granted the style of Serene Highness.[14]

References

  1. Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XVI. "Liechtenstein". C.A. Starke Verlag, 2001, pp. 52-54. ISBN 3-7980-0824-8.
  2. 2.0 2.1 de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. Coutant de Saisseval, Guy. Le Petit Gotha. Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery, Paris 2002, pp. 632-634, 654-655 (French) ISBN 2-9507974-3-1
  3. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named ghda2.
  4. Fikes, Robert (September 8, 2020). "Princess Angela of Liechtenstein (née Angela Gisela Brown, 1958- )". Black Past. Archived from the original on July 2, 2022. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named blackpast2.
  6. Tregaskes, Chandler (June 12, 2020). "Royally stylish: The Princess of Liechtenstein whose wedding might have inspired the Duchess of Sussex". Tatler. https://www.tatler.com/article/who-is-princess-angela-of-liechtenstein. Retrieved September 3, 2020. 
  7. 7.0 7.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named blackpast3.
  8. Beeche, Arturo (2009). The Gotha: Still a Continental Royal Family, Volume 1. US: Eurohistory. pp. 38, 41, 43 50.14, 244. ISBN 978-0-977-19617-3.
  9. William Bortrick. "HSH Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein. The Royal Family of Liechtenstein. House of Liechtenstein". Burke's Peerage. Archived from the original on June 15, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  10. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named beeche2.
  11. "Angela von und zu Liechtenstein — Die Undercover-Prinzessin" [Angela of Liechtenstein — The Undercover Princess]. gala.de (in German). June 15, 2020. Archived from the original on July 2, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  12. "Panama Guide". World of Aerin. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022.
  13. Bercovitz, Vera (27 May 2018). "Angela de Liechtenstein, la otra princesa negra de Europa". Vanity Fair Spain. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022.
  14. "Hausgesetz des Fürstlichen Hauses Liechtenstein vom 26. Oktober 1993, Art. 2, Abs. 5" [House Law of the Princely House of Liechtenstein of October 26, 1993, Article 2, Part 5.]. Liechtensteinisches Landesgesetzblatt. Archived from the original on July 8, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.