The Family and Ancestry of Grand Duchess Maria Teresa

[Rayarena]

It's sad what Maria Teresa had to endure. I wonder if Silvia Sommerlath had to go endure the same. Then again, Gustav didn't have parents to contend with. I believe that they had passed away by the time that he was engaged to commoner Silvia. They probably would have objected to Silvia as well. But since Maria Teresa, look at all of the commoners who have married into royalty; in Holland: Maxima, in Norway: Mette-Marit and in Denmark: Mary. And I dare say that none of them are as aristocratic as Maria Teresa.

I wonder why the news reports only spoke of her as a rich commoner and never examined her background. While Maria Teresa, herself, didn't sport any titles of nobility, many of her ancestors did, and I would hope that that would have counted for something, but apparently it did not.

Here are Maria Teresa's ancestors:

1.-Lorenzo Montalvo
Valladolid 1er Count of Macuriges

2.-Ignacio Montalvo
1er Count of Casa Montalvo
(He married Maria Josefa O'Farrill y Herrera, granddaughter of the 4th Marquis of Villalta, on her mother's side)

3.-José Lorenzo Montalvo y O'Farrill
2nd count of Casa Montalvo
(He married Mª Micaela Núñez del Castillo y Espinoza de Contreras, daughter of the 4th Marquis of San Felipe y Santiago and 1er count of Castillo CON GRANDEZA. His mother, was a descendant of the 1er Count of Gibacoa. They are also of the Sotolongo family which is a very well-known and aristocratic name in Cuba).

4.-María Micaela Montalvo
(She married Joaquín Pedroso y Echeverría, great-grandson (father's mother) of the 1er Count of Casa Barreto)

5.-Mª Mercedes Pedroso y Montalvo
(was married to Antonio González de Mendoza. President of the Cuban Supreme Court)

6.-Julia González de Mendoza y Pedroso
(was was married to Melchor Batista y Varona, lawyer)

7.-Agustín Batista y González de Mendoza
(married María Teresa Falla y Bonet)

9.-Mª Teresa Batista y Falla
(married the wealthy landowner, José Antonio Mestre y Alvarez, who himself is a descendant of Lorenzo Montalvo, previously mentioned and of his son, José Rafael Montalvo y Bruñon, 2nd Count de Macuriges)

10.-Mª Teresa Mestre y Batista
(married Crown Prince Henri of Luxembourg).

 

[MAfan]

There is also a King in Maria Teresa's ancestors, a Spanish King in the XIII century...

 

[susan alicia]

But there is also a black slave in her ancestors I remember reading it when she got married in the Dutch newspaper Telegraaf. If you go far back enough all kinds of ancestors jump out.

 

[Rayarena]

I also remember reading that unsubstantiated allegation. Supposedly, on her father's side [not her mother's side], there is some remote black relative. But that has never been proven and sounds like the rumor that Queen Elizabeth II is part black through her ancestor Queen Charlotte.

 

[MamboQueen]

Would that be soooo bad? To have 1 black ancestor? Geez.

 

[Rayarena]

No of course not. There is nothing bad with that. Maybe she does have a black ancestor? My remark wasn't driven by prejudice or anything like that. It's just that people say so many things and most of the time, they are rumors. She certainly wouldn't be the only royal with a non-white ancestor. For instance, Argentine Maxima of Holland has an Indian ancestor and the younger Danish prince [forget his name] married [and is now divorced] a woman who is 1/4 Chinese.

Regarding blacks in royal families, one of the Princes of Lichtenstein married a black woman and Prince Albert of Monaco has a black son through his affair with an African woman.

 

[H.M. Margrethe]

No of course not. There is nothing bad with that. Maybe she does have a black ancestor? My remark wasn't driven by prejudice or anything like that. It's just that people say so many things and most of the time, they are rumors. She certainly wouldn't be the only royal with a non-white ancestor. For instance, Argentine Maxima of Holland has an Indian ancestor and the younger Danish prince [forget his name] married [and is now divorced] a woman who is 1/4 Chinese.

Regarding blacks in royal families, one of the Princes of Lichtenstein married a black woman and Prince Albert of Monaco has a black son through his affair with an African woman.

Are you thinking of Prince Joachim of Denmark ?

 

[Rayarena]

Yes, Prince Joachim of Denmark.

 

[MamboQueen]

I didn't mean to imply anyone was prejudiced
but it's just annoying that the media would resort to
using something like that (be it fact or not) to try
and incite outrage among people and worse yet, that it actually could.

Oh and Princess Angela (Lichtenstein) is actually Hispanic
she's from Panama, just has dark skin.

 

[Lalla Meriem]

Would that be soooo bad? To have 1 black ancestor? Geez.

I don't think it's bad. I don't even think anyone really cares....She was merely pointing out the diversity of the Grand Duchess' background not implying that she thought it was a detraction.

Um, but if you have 1 black ancestor doesn't that make all their ancestors also your ancestors thereby meaning she has many black ancestors?

I'm pretty sure that Princess Angela is actually Afro-Panamanian and not simply a Latina with dark skin. This was discussed a bazillion times before and after their marriage.

 

[MamboQueen]

I don't think it's bad. I don't even think anyone really cares....She was merely pointing out the diversity of the Grand Duchess' background not implying that she thought it was a detraction.

Um, but if you have 1 black ancestor doesn't that make all their ancestors also your ancestors thereby meaning she has many black ancestors?

I'm pretty sure that Princess Angela is actually Afro-Panamanian and not simply a Latina with dark skin. This was discussed a bazillion times before and after their marriage.

There's no such thing as "afro-Panamanian".
In Panama we do not sub-subcategorize at all, you either are
or aren't Panamanian, period, the term would actually be offensive.
For example if you're parents are from anywhere in the world but you were born in Panama, you are one of us, no hyphens. As far as Angela's particular ancestry, Panama is a melting pot there really wouldn't be a way to trace her back to Africa, I'd say the West Indies at best during the immigration that took place to build the canal.


I'm sorry this is taking place in this thread Ms. Moderator but it's where it came up, anyone who'd like to discuss this further, let's use
PM from now on please.

 

[jonnydep]

There is also a King in Maria Teresa's ancestors, a Spanish King in the XIII century...

which king ?.....so unlike you not to give details.....

 

[susan alicia]

spot the king must be a piece of cake in comparison to who of these people was a slave?

Ancestry of Maria Teresa Mestre, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

which king ?.....so unlike you not to give details.....

 

[iowabelle]

I think it is refreshing to have royals who don't have both parents descended from Queen Victoria or Christian whatever in Denmark. And it spares them the problems the Hapsburgs have suffered from. I enjoy learning about interesting family histories. And whatever MT's origin is, she has given this family some beautiful children, and that's what counts.

 

[MAfan]

I agree with you, altough I'm a fan of royal-royal marriages I must admitt that Maria Teresa is perfect for Henri, and that's the important. They have an happy familiar life (I hope) and that's better then to have married a royal but being unhappy...

 

[Rayarena]

Maria Teresa is a direct descendant of the 7th grandson of Pedro I de Castilla [Peter I of Castille].

Here is some information on this king: Peter of Castile - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As I've always said, it's amazing that so little has been said about her illustrious background. She has always been portrayed as merely a riche bougeoise, an upper middle class girl with no particular family distinction.

 

[iowabelle]

It would seem that many of the Latinas who have married into the royal families have interesting ancestors. Technically, I guess you could call Queen Silvia a Latina, but I was thinking of MT, Princess Rosario (allegedly a descendant of Moctezuma) and Marie-Chantal (who is a distant cousin of mine on both paternal sides but I find her Ecuadorian side more interesting).

 

[susan alicia]

not that amazing, if you crisscross far enough we are all descended from a 14th century 7th grandson of someone blueblooded

Maria Teresa is a direct descendant of the 7th grandson of Pedro I de Castilla [Peter I of Castille].

Here is some information on this king: Peter of Castile - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As I've always said,

it's amazing

that so little has been said about her illustrious background. She has always been portrayed as merely a riche bougeoise, an upper middle class girl with no particular family distinction.

 

[Rayarena]

Iowabelle, who's Princess Rosario? I never heard of her. By the way, in mentioning latinas, you forgot to mention Maxima of Holland.

Susan alicia:

>>not that amazing, if you crisscross far enough we are all descended from a 14th century 7th grandson of someone blueblooded<<

I'm familiar with the concept of 7 degrees of separation. I know that if you go far off enough and you crisscross enough, we are all somehow related, but in Maria Teresa's case, she has a steady line of illustrious ancestors, that is to say Counts and Marquises who are her direct ancestors. We are not talking here about some fluke, some far off ancestors on some distant corner of her family tree. We are talking about direct descendants. We are talking about nobles and court grandees who had access to the king and queens of Spain. Under those circumstances, if she is related to a king, it's not that same as if the average person [i.e. someone who is a descendant of peasants as most of us are] is related to a king, because you just happen to go far off enough into his or her family tree.

 

[MAfan]

Iowabelle, who's Princess Rosario? I never heard of her. By the way, in mentioning latinas, you forgot to mention Maxima of Holland.

Princess Rosario of Bulgaria, Princess of Preslav, née Dona Maria del Rosario Nadal y Fuster de Puigdorfil, is the wife of Prince Kyril of Bulgaria, Prince of Preslav, a son of King Simeone II of Bulgaria and Queen Margarita.

 

[susan alicia]

all right, I thought it was the one link to a royal (am not big on looking at genealogy charts)

Susan alicia:

>>not that amazing, if you crisscross far enough we are all descended from a 14th century 7th grandson of someone blueblooded<<

I'm familiar with the concept of 7 degrees of separation. I know that if you go far off enough and you crisscross enough, we are all somehow related, but in Maria Teresa's case, she has a steady line of illustrious ancestors, that is to say Counts and Marquises who are her direct ancestors. We are not talking here about some fluke, some far off ancestors on some distant corner of her family tree. We are talking about direct descendants. We are talking about nobles and court grandees who had access to the king and queens of Spain. Under those circumstances, if she is related to a king, it's not that same as if the average person [i.e. someone who is a descendant of peasants as most of us are] is related to a king, because you just happen to go far off enough into his or her family tree.

 

[iowabelle]

Iowabelle, who's Princess Rosario? I never heard of her. By the way, in mentioning latinas, you forgot to mention Maxima of Holland.

Holy cats, how could I forget Maxima??!!

María del Rosario Nadal y Fuster de Puigdorfilais married to Prince Kyril, the second son of King Simeon II of Bulgaria. Apparently her maternal grandfather was also a Spanish count. Coincidentally, Prince Kyril's mother is also Spanish.

How do these Latina girls manage to land all these princes??

 

[Rayarena]

In Rosario's case, its not surprising, since who is most likely to associate with a blueblood, but another blueblood.

I did a Wikipedia search on her and apparently, she's a noble. He is what it says:

She is the daughter of Don Manuel Gómez-Acebo y Modet and Doña María de las Mercedes Cejuela y Fernández, and paternal granddaughter of the 3rd Marquesses of Cortina. Her parents were executed by the Spanish Loyalists in 1936 at the outset of the Spanish Civil War. On January 21, 1962, she married Simeon II of Bulgaria, the King of Bulgaria. Margarita is a first cousin of the late Luis Gómez-Acebo y Duque de Estrada, Viscount of La Torre (son of the 9th Marchioness and brother of the 10th Marquess of la Deleitosa), the husband of Doña Pilar, Infanta of Spain and 1st Duchess of Badajoz. She is styled by courtesy as Her Majesty Margarita, Queen of the Bulgarians.

 

[lyndaW]

Fireweaver posted this on 9/6/03:

"It would nevertheless be wrong to assume that the multicultural life of Grand Duchess Maria Teresa has all been plain sailing. Maria Teresa Mestre y Batista was born in Havana before the Cuban revolution and lived there until she was three years old. In October 1959, however, her parents José Antonio Mestre and Maria Teresa Batista-Falla de Mestre decided to leave Cuba and move to New York. However, the move from revolutionary Cuba to the USA did not remain the family's sole endeavour, and after six years in New York they decided to move again and settle in Switzerland. This meant that even the young Maria Teresa had to make the effort familiar to many immigrants of normalising her life in a new country. At the same time she adopted the right attitude towards settling into a new culture: "My parents taught me that one should always be optimistic about the future and not languish in nostalgia for a past that no longer exists.”

I believe this note by Fireweaver is the oldest thread in the Luxembourg page.

How is she related to the former Cuban Leader Batista ????

 

[Prince of Chota]

The Grand Duchess is NOT a relative of the President Batista (see page one of this thread).

Neither is she the only European consort (or monarch) of partial non-white ancestry (if that is in fact true). Even Silva Sommerlath has American Indian (Indigenous Brazilian) ancestry through her mother, Alice Soares de Toledo. However, unless someone manages to find evidence that GD Ma. Teresa actually has mulatto ancestry (which wouldn't make her mulatta--such is the complexity of the caste system), I think it's safer to assume that she is a criolla of spanish and Irish descent. Her darker skin tone may simply be attributed to Southern European genes (and if you're really into history, perhaps the Moorish origins of much of Spain).

 

[lyndaW]

The Grand Duchess is NOT a relative of the President Batista (see page one of this thread).

Neither is she the only European consort (or monarch) of partial non-white ancestry (if that is in fact true). Even Silva Sommerlath has American Indian (Indigenous Brazilian) ancestry through her mother, Alice Soares de Toledo. However, unless someone manages to find evidence that GD Ma. Teresa actually has mulatto ancestry (which wouldn't make her mulatta--such is the complexity of the caste system), I think it's safer to assume that she is a criolla of spanish and Irish descent. Her darker skin tone may simply be attributed to Southern European genes (and if you're really into history, perhaps the Moorish origins of much of Spain).

I only asked because of her last name Batista not exactly a common name, and they both came from Cuba, which is a rather small Island.

 

[Rayarena]

I found some interesting documentation which I include herein [PDF format] that looks at the former Queen of Belgium, Fabiola's ancestry and Maria Teresa of Luxembourg's ancestry, and they are---fascinately enough--- related. And this is not one of those silly genealogical studies that claim that this American president or that American president is related to the Queen of England through 1000 degrees of separation [sic].

Unfortunately, the document is in Spanish, but it seems that Maria Teresa who is a descendant of Creole aristocracy from Cuba's colonial past has ancestors in common with Fabiola who surprisingly enough has Cuban creole ancestors even though her family moved back to Spain where she was born.

Here is the link: http://www.genealogia.or.cr/flash/boletines/boletin076.swf

Once you get to the link, go to page 11: Parte B, Herrera y Tapia, Marqueses de Villalta.

 

[Shikha Pal]

Great Research Rayarena!

 

[Rayarena]

Shikha, thank you. And I looked at your Royal Blog. Good work! You did a good job of finding royal lookalikes! Yes, Maria Teresa does look like Rumpa Roy Chauhan (India"s first Perfect Bride)! [smile]

 

[rylt11]

Mentioning that MTeresa is related to Fabiola is interesting from another angle as well.

Isn't Fabiola the widow of King Badouin of Belgium, younger brother of Josephine, MTeresa's former mother-in-law?