Princess Elisabeth of Thurn and Taxis

Princess Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis (Elisabeth Margarete Maria Anna Beatriz Prinzessin von Thurn und Taxis; born 24 March 1982) is a German journalist, author, socialite, and art collector. By birth, as the daughter of Johannes, 11th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, she is a member of the German princely House of Thurn and Taxis. Since 2012 Elisabeth has worked as a style editor-at-large for Vogue. A Catholic traditionalist, she has written as a columnist for Vatican Magazine and authored a book on Catholic spirituality called The Faith of Children: in Praise of the People's Devotion. She has been referred to in the press as Princess TNT, a nickname once associated with her mother, Gloria, Princess of Thurn und Taxis. Biography Early life and family Princess Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis was born on 24 March 1982 at Schloss Thurn und Taxis, a 500-room palace in Regensburg owned by her family, the Princely House of Thurn and Taxis. She is the second child of Johannes, 11th Prince of Thurn and Taxis and Countess Gloria von Schönburg-Glauchau. She has an older sister, Princess Maria Theresia, and a younger brother, Prince Albert, who succeeded their father in 1990 as the 12th Prince of Thurn und Taxis. Until 1918, the House of Thurn and Taxis held the rank of royalty in the German Empire, where they once owned the continental postal system as an Imperial fief. As they were required to intermarry with other reigning or once-reigning dynasties, Elisabeth's mother is of similar background. Through her father, she is a descendant of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, John VI of Portugal, Louis Philippe, King of the French and Charles IV of Spain. Through her mother, by birth a member of a mediatised comital dynasty, Elisabeth descends from the houses of the Russian princely families Golitsyn and Meshchersky and the German princes of Reuss. The House of Thurn and Taxis is one of Germany's wealthiest and most prominent families. From her maternal side, she is a descendant of the House of Schönburg. Her mother is the daughter of the politician and journalist Joachim, Count of Schonburg-Glauchau, as well as the sister of socialite Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau and author Alexander, Count of Schonburg-Glauchau, a grandnephew by marriage of Queen Elizabeth II. Through her maternal grandmother, Countess Beatrix Széchenyi de Sárvár-Felsővidék, she is a descendant of Count István Széchenyi.