⭐ ✅ Eine ganz besondere Dame: Prinzessin Hetty von Auersperg (1933-2019)

Prinzessin Henriette von Auersperg wurde am 2. September 1933 in Sankt Johann im Pongau, Salzburg, als ältestes Kind von Fürst Alois von Auersperg (1897-1984) und Gräfin Henriette Larisch von Moennich (1903-1994) geboren. Auf das kleine Mädchen, genannt „ Hetty “, folgten zwei Brüder: Fürst Alfred (1936-1992) und Fürst Luitpold (1937-1985). Für Hetty hielt die Zukunft viele interessante Erfahrungen bereit. Eine Zeit lang arbeitete die junge Prinzessin als Sekretärin.

Alfie von Auersperg und Sunny Crawford heirateten 1957

Sunny von Bülow

Am 20. Juli 1957 heiratete Hettys Bruder Alfred „ Alfie “ Martha „ Sunny “ Sharp Crawford (1932–2008), die Tochter des Energiemagnaten George Crawford. Sunny war Alfies Tennislehrerin in einem Schweizer Resort gewesen. Das Paar hatte zwei Kinder: Prinzessin Annie-Laurie „ Ala “ (geb. 1958) und Alexander (geb. 1959). Nach der Scheidung von Alfie und Sunny im Jahr 1965 zahlte Sunny Alfie angeblich 3,5 Millionen Dollar als Abfindung. Sunny heiratete 1966 Claus von Bülow (1926–2019), mit dem sie eine Tochter hatte, Cosima (geb. 1967). Hetty Auersperg wurde 1982 im Prozess gegen Claus von Bülow vorgeladen, der des versuchten Mordes an Hettys ehemaliger Schwägerin angeklagt war.

Bekanntgabe der Verlobung zwischen Arndt von Bohlen und Halbach und Prinzessin Henriette Artikel (c) The Pittsburg Press vom 23. Dezember 1968

Arndt und Hetty bei der Silvesterparty 1968 auf dem Kitzbüheler Anwesen des US-Millionärs Matthew Taylor Mellon

In December 1968, it was announced from Munich that Princess Henriette of Auersperg was engaged to Arndt von Bohlen und Halbach, who was considered West Germany’s most eligible bachelor as the heir to the Krupp arms dynasty. Four years younger than his betrothed, Arndt had been born on 24 January 1938 at Berlin as the only child of Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach (1907-1967) and Anneliese Bahr (1909-1998). Arndt’s parents had married in 1937 to the great disappointment of his paternal grandparents Gustav and Bertha Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach; Bertha especially considered the union a mésalliance – she offered Anneliese a significant sum of money to have an abortion when Bertha discovered her daughter-in-law was with child. In the face of such opposition, Alfried and Anneliese’s marriage quickly crumbled, and they divorced in 1941. At the time that Hetty and Arndt’s engagement was made public, it was reported that Hetty had been until then a particularly close, “seemingly permanent companion,” to Prince Johannes of Thurn and Taxis (1926-1990).

Hetty and Arndt at their civil wedding

The engaged couple at the pre-wedding press conference

The religious wedding of Arndt and Hetty at Schloß Blühnbach

The tall blue-eyed princess with blonde hair wed her “prince charming” in a civil ceremony on 1 February 1969 at Werfen bei Salzburg. The couple celebrated their religious wedding on Valentine’s Day 1969 (14 February) at Schloß Blühnbach, the Krupp property that was formerly owned by Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. The ceremony was Roman Catholic, the faith of the bride; Arndt was still Lutheran, though he converted to Catholicism later in life. Hetty let Arndt plan the entire ceremony, from choosing the 300 strong guest list to selecting the bride’s wedding outfit, a Pongauer Dirndl. Hetty was quoted as saying: “His taste is perfect. Leaving all major decisions to Arndt is the way we plan to run our marriage.” Amongst the guests were were members of the Liechtenstein, Furstenberg, Hohenberg, Hohenlohe, and Thurn and Taxis families – American actor George Hamilton was also present.

Arndt and Hetty at Gstaad

Hetty and Arndt beside the pool of their villa in Marrakech

The glittering princess with her husband

Arndt and Hetty

Aware of the nature of their marriage of convenience, Arndt and Hetty quickly and happily began living mostly separate lives. Hetty was drawn to the family’s thirty-four-room villa at Marrakech. Arndt preferred Palm Beach and then getting away to a little house on the Isle of Sylt, off the German coast. The couple would typically spent August to October of every year at Schloß Blühnbach, where they enjoyed hunting and entertaining their international set of friends. In a 1985 Palm Beach Post interview with Arndt, it was noted that “the Princess is an avid sportswoman, and when not in Blühnbach is on the ski slopes of Gstaad or St Moritz. Their mutual respect and compatibility permits them a personal freedom that has cemented a happy marriage of fourteen years! Each Valentine anniversary, the Baron deluges the Princess with her favourite flower…Lilies-of-the-Valley.” Arndt went on to say of his wife: “She is exactly the opposite of me. She likes skiing, golfing, all kinds of outdoor things. She very reluctantly goes to parties, I must say. You see, she’s very natural. She doesn’t wear lipstick or anything.“

The funeral of Arndt von Bohlen und Halbach

Aged forty-eight, Arndt died on 8 May 1986 in the intensive care unit of a private hospital at Munich. He had been suffering from lymph node cancer since 1979 and had dealt with cirrhosis of the liver as a result of his alcoholism. Not surprisingly, Arndt and Hetty never had children. A widow at fifty-two, Hetty never remarried.

Princess Hetty of Auersperg

Long after her husband’s death, Hetty granted an interview in 2012 with Express from her home at Marrakech. She recalled when she had initially met Arndt after she approached the Krupp heir for a job: “Why not marry me? You lead your life, and sometimes we bring ours together.” he responded. And, marry him she did. Hetty remembered: “I know of some marriages where the husband is homosexual or bisexual. That is not necessarily the worst thing. We had a partnership. Arndt was not jealous. I could do whatever I wanted. We were a good team. I really liked Arndt.”

Death notice of Henriette von Bohlen und Halbach (née Princess of Auersperg)

Hetty survived her husband by thirty-three years. Her nephew Prince Alexander of Auersperg and her nieces Princesses Ala and Cecile announced that their beloved aunt had died on 30 May 2019 at St Johann in Tirol. Hetty was eighty-five years-old.