Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia

Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia, Lady de Silva (born 28 November 1959) is an English businessperson specialising in etiquette and decorum courses. She is a member of the extended former Yugoslavian royal family.

Princess Katarina
Lady de Silva
Katarina in 2014
BornKatarina Karageorgevitch
(1959-11-28) 28 November 1959
London, England
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1987; div. 2010)​
IssueVictoria de Silva
HouseKarađorđević
FatherPrince Tomislav of Yugoslavia
MotherPrincess Margarita of Baden
House of Karađorđević

The Crown Prince
The Crown Princess

Extended royal family

Princess Linda

  • Prince Nicolas
    Princess Ljiljana
    • Princess Marija
  • Princess Katarina
  • Prince George
    Princess Fallon
  • Prince Michael
    Princess Ljubica
    • Princess Natalija
    • Princess Isidora
  • Princess Maria Tatiana
  • Princess Lavinia-Marie
  • Prince Karl Wladimir
    Princess Brigitte
  • Prince Dimitri Ivan

Princess Barbara

  • Prince Dimitri
  • Prince Michael
  • Prince Sergius
    Princess Eleonora
  • Princess Helene
  • Prince Dušan
    Princess Valerie

Princess Elizabeth

Early life

Katarina was born in London to Princess Margarita of Baden and Prince Tomislav of Yugoslavia.[1] Her father's dynasty having been deposed and banished from Yugoslavia after World War II, she grew up in exile, largely in England. She has one brother, Prince Nikola of Yugoslavia, and two half-brothers, Prince George and Prince Michael. She is a first cousin of Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia.[2] Her grandmother, Princess Theodora, Margravine of Baden, was the sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, late husband of Queen Elizabeth II. Princess Katharina is the senior female-line descendant of Queen Victoria, through the Queen's second daughter Princess Alice, who was the grandmother of Princess Katharina's great grandmother, Princess Alice of Battenberg.

Career

In 1978, Katarina was presented as a debutante to high society at the International Debutante Ball at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.[3] As of 2013, Katarina and former Royal butler Grant Harrold develop and sell etiquette and decorum classes.[4][5] In 2014, she became an ambassador for the Chinese tea company Yunnan Dianhong Group.[6]

Personal life

Katarina married barrister Sir Desmond de Silva on 5 December 1987. They had one daughter, Victoria Marie Esmé Margarita, born on 6 September 1991. They divorced on 6 May 2010.[1]

Charity work

In 2009, Katarina supported the charity Project Change: Bermuda to raise funds towards building a hospital and training medical staff in Burundi.[7] Katarina served as the president of the Guild of Travel and Tourism in the United Kingdom. She was a royal patron of the Queen Charlotte's Ball.[8] In 2013, she became patron of the Society of Genealogists succeeding Prince Michael of Kent.[9] In 2015, she became a trustee of the Katie Cutler Foundation, a charity in support of attack victim Alan Barnes.[10]

Honours

Ancestry

Katarina is a member of the House of Karađorđević. Through her father, Katarina descends from kings Nicholas I of Montenegro, Ferdinand I of Romania, and furthermore from Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, King Ferdinand II and Queen Maria II of Portugal, and Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.[12]

Through her mother, Katarina descends from Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden, kings George V of Hanover, Christian IX of Denmark, George I and Alexander of Greece, and Tsar Nicholas I of Russia.[13]

References
  1. Sampson, Annabel (11 January 2019). "Princesses in London". Tatler. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  2. Shaw (2007). Kidd, Charles (ed.). Debrett's peerage & baronetage : comprises information concerning the royal family, the peerage and baronetage (147th ed.). Richmond, Surrey: Debrett's. p. 99. ISBN 978-1-870520-80-5. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  3. "Top 5 Debutante Balls of the world". Guest of a Guest. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  4. "Traditional English afternoon tea". Kyrko Bladet (in Swedish). Vol. 3. 2013.
  5. "But can we say toilet? Princess Katarina cashes in on Downton class". Evening Standard. 9 July 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  6. Liu, Cecily (16 March 2014). "High tea the Chinese way". China Daily. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  7. Lagan, Sarah (22 April 2009). "Princess visits BDA to champion a noble cause". Bermuda Sun. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  8. Smith, Julia Llewellyn (1 September 2013). "Why today's 'debutantes' are having a ball again". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  9. "Society of Genealogists announces new Patron". Society of Genealogists. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  10. Robson, Ian (20 April 2015). "Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia becomes trustee of the Katie Cutler Foundation". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  11. "Crown Prince awards Royal Orders to Royal Family members". royalfamily.org. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  12. "Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia at Royal line of succession". royallineofsuccession.com. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  13. "Descendants of King Christian IX of Denmark". 8 June 2022. Archived from the original on 17 June 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
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