Not all royal families have a kingdom, but some appear to be.
This is the case of the Hannovers.
The heads of the Guelph house connect with a good part of the European kings and princes but, beyond seeing their names in the history of Europe books, right now they have little to say about any of their territories.
However, given their media presence and the fervor they unleash, they sometimes seem like kings more than princes.
At the beginning of July 2017, Ernesto de Hannover, son, then 33, was getting married in the German city that bears his name, with the Russian designer Ekaterina Malysheva, 30. The village took to the streets to receive the illustrious guests and enjoy the marriages of the person who has been the head of the house since 2004.
But, as a good aristocratic family, all that glitters is not gold.
The groom's father, the mediatic Ernesto de Hannover, did not appear there.
He was against the girlfriend, later wife, of his son: he feared that if they separated she would keep the goods of the house.
The war was served.
Ernesto Junior and Ernesto Senior don't get along.
Their personalities don't match.
While the father is a
bon vivant
, fond of earthly pleasures, alcohol, travel and expense, accustomed to being the cover of the means of the heart, his son is discreet and more habitual of the political or economic circles.
With just over 20 years he assumed the head of the house, with properties in Germany and Austria, and had to face a ruinous situation that few knew.
Apart from weddings, funerals or family events, it is difficult to see him at parties or public events.
Hannover, Malysheva - fashion designer and creator of a brand of jumpsuits worn by celebrities like Miley Cyrus - and her two children live between London and Germany, where they frequently go to handle matters related to their properties or the Duque de Cumberland, who heads and from which manages the family wealth.
His younger brother, Christian, lives in Madrid with his wife, Alessandra de Osma, so it is common to see families together, eating in a trendy place or walking through the Retiro park.
Ernesto Jr. also maintains a good relationship with his sister only on the part of his father, Alexandra, daughter of the aristocrat's marriage to Princess Carolina of Monaco.
The Hannovers and the Grimaldi are united by blood, but also by the same social circle.
The main problem around which Ernesto Jr.'s existence revolves is the same one that keeps him busy: his foundation, his possessions and his father.
Everything is linked.
In 2004 his father gave him the presidency of the Guelph house, a good part of his property and works of art, of which he auctioned part for 44 million euros to obtain liquidity, and the jewel in the crown: Marienburg Castle.
A place built from 1867, like a fairy tale, where both his parents, Ernesto and Chantal Hochuli, as he himself celebrated their marriages.
But also a sinister and dilapidated place.
An exceptional witness such as Queen Sofía defined it in one of her authorized biographies as "very medieval, inhospitable, fatal".
"It horrified me: it was gloomy, dark, with armor, with huge paintings, very high ceilings and very steep stairs," said the Queen Emeritus of Spain about the impression she had as a child.
"I did not like anything".
Alexandra, the shy and unknown daughter of Carolina de Monaco who yearns for "a normal life"
Christian, the son of Ernesto de Hannover who decided to live as a Spaniard
Nor does it seem that Ernesto Jr. felt comfortable when he discovered that the castle needed at least 30 million euros to remain standing, 60 to regain its shine.
The annual visits of 200,000 curious people to its 136 rooms, the paid weddings or the restaurant at 45 euros a menu were worth nothing.
Drastic measures were necessary.
Hence, in December 2018 he decided to sell it ... for one euro.
Something symbolic, it went to the State of Lower Saxony, which with a private company would inject the money necessary for it to resume its splendor.
In addition, the regional government bought another 100 works for a couple of million euros.
Ernesto Jr. himself acknowledged it: "I could no longer continue to bear the expenses."
The family accumulates, according to German media, 350 million euros, but the prince explained in
Hannoversche Allgemeine
that he never received assets, but that his father only gave him "agricultural and forest land" and that is why he saw the sale as "a good solution ”To conserve palace and inventory.
For this, a cultural foundation was also created that brought together 1,700 works of art from the place, and the regional government bought another 100 works for two million euros.
Of course, the father refused and tried to paralyze the maneuver.
Then a judicial battle started that does not stop.
"The sale is illegal and unworthy," he wasted no time in saying, showing that his anger went beyond the castle walls and penetrated to his son.
The aristocrat, who has just turned 67, has felt abandoned by his first-born, whom he accuses of not taking care of him in his worst moments.
A personal conflict that has remained stranded until a few days ago the alarm went off again in the judicial system.
The father decided to sue his son and demand five million euros, which is what he says he has without being his.
According to the Berlin law firm representing the father, the son has "gravely violated the legal rights and interests of the plaintiff" and accuses him of "ingratitude".
Ernesto Jr. only tries to prevent this personal fire from spreading through the media and claims that everything is "false."
"Understand that I do not want to comment on details out of consideration for my family, also for the protection of my father," he said cautiously to the
Bunte
media
.
He dismisses the claim as "insubstantial" and assures that the transfer of Marienburg "is legally secure" and the best solution.
However, the current situation of his father, with violent episodes and unexpected waste - he has just put his 150-square-meter villa in Frankfurt up for sale for 1.5 million euros - make Ernesto Jr. not take a step back .
So much so that he has sought an unexpected ally: Carolina de Monaco.
The young man has asked his father's wife not to divorce, so that he cannot remarry, have more children and further complicate the family legacy.
And the Monegasque princess has agreed.
Because in the end, among the royal families, they all play in the same league.
