The Wedding of HSH Princess Xenia of Croy and Guy delle Piane

There are weddings, and then there are royal weddings — those rare gatherings where the fabric of Europe’s oldest nobility and royalty comes alive once again under medieval arches, where history and beauty converge as naturally as silk and lace. Such was the case on 28 October 2024, when HSH Princess Xenia of Croy married Guy delle Piane in a ceremony that was both exquisitely traditional and warmly intimate, set against the pastoral splendour of in Dülmen-Karthaus, Germany. We take a look back at one of the most aristocratic weddings of the year.

The ceremony took place inside the Church of St. Jakobus, where white roses and myrtle framed the altar and the pews were filled with princes, princesses, and aristocrats from every corner of Europe. The bride, daughter of H.S.H. Rudolf Carl Rupprecht, Duke of Croy and the late Duchess Alexandra (née Miloradovich), wore a gown of cream silk.

Following the nuptial mass, the reception was held at the Wildpferdebahn, the Duke’s famed wild horse park, where guests toasted the couple under the soft autumn light. Later that evening, the celebrations continued at the family’s ancestral seat, Haus Merfeld, a Baroque estate surrounded by lakes and oak forest — the same house where Archduke Franz Ferdinand once visited on his final hunt before Sarajevo.

A Confluence of Dynasties

Princess Xenia’s lineage traces back to the Croÿs of Picardy, an ancient Franco-German house intertwined with Europe’s royal dynasties. Her husband, Nobile Guy delle Piane, hails from an Italian noble family of Genoese origin, marking a union that fuses Central European heritage with Mediterranean refinement.

The couple are already parents to a young son, Laszlo delle Piane, who stood proudly beside them during the ceremony — a living symbol of continuity between the past and the future.

HRH Duke Alexander of Oldenburg and Hereditary Count Ludwig von Waldburg zu Wolfegg und Waldsee

The guest list read like a continental directory of nobility and royalty, with representation from Britain, Denmark, Belgium, Italy, Bavaria, Austria, Portugal, Liechtenstein, France, Luxembourg, Spain, Brazil, and beyond

Among those aristocrats present that could be identified through official pictures, royal blogs and/or social media posts, as they left the ceremony or entered the reception that followed, were: Prince Luitpold and Princess Beatrix of Bavaria, accompanied by their sons Prince Karl and Prince Ludwig and daughters-in-law Princess Zugey and Princess Sophie-Alexandra; Prince Nikolaus and Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein, together with Archduke Carl-Christian and Archduchess Marie-Astrid of Austria; Princess Marie of France (now Liechtenstein); Prince Henri of Bourbon-Parma and Archduchess Gabriella of Austria, with Don Diego de Romay, Prince Henri of Ligne and Infanta Maria Francisca of Portugal; her brother, the Prince of Beira; Prince Nikolaus of Auersperg and Countess Claire d’Ursel; Casimir van der Byl; The Duke of Urach with his daughter; Prince Ferdinand and Princess Marie of Schwarzenberg; Prince and Princess zu Castell-Rüdenhausen; Duke Alexander of Oldenburg; the Count and Countess Stephan von Neipperg; Count Andreas and Countess Johanna Henckel von Donnersmarck; the Prince and Princess Salm-Salm; the Prince and Princess of Ligne, Prince Antoine and Princess Minthia of Ligne; Count François of Limburg-Stirum; and Prince Ferdinand and Princess Auguste zur Lippe-Weissenfeld.

TRH The Prince of Beira next to the Prince Rafael, Imperial Prince of Brazil, and Princess Marie of Liechtenstein (born Princess of France)

Duarte de Sousa Araújo Martin, his wife Infanta Maria Francisca of Portugal and the Prince of Beira (right), heir to the Portuguese throne.

Archduke Christian of Austria and Princess Marie Astrid of Luxembourg

The father of the bride, The Duke of Croy.

HRH Prince Henri of Bourbon-Parma and his wife, HI&RH Archduchess Gabriella of Austria

TSH Prince and Princess Henri of Arenberg

Count Lorenz von Merveldt and his wife, Countess Benedicta of Schönborn-Wiesentheid  & their new baby

Luitpold and Princess Beatrix of Bavaria with their son, Prince Karl, and his wife Princess Zugey after them. Behind the Bavarian royal family walk Princess Ludmilla Lobkowicz and Casimir van der Byl.

Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein and his wife, Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg, at the Duke of Croy’s wild horse park.

The bride, Princess Xenia of Croy at the Duke of Croy’s wild horse park

Don Diego de Romay and Prince Henri de Ligne at the Duke of Croy’s wild horse park.

The Duchess of Brissac, at the Duke of Croy’s wild horse park.

Members of the Croy family: Hereditary Prince Carl-Philipp, Prince Marc-Emanuel and Princess Delia (with their son, Prince Amedeo), Prince Heinrich and Princess Joana, Princess Anastasia, and Prince Alexander of Croy.

The ceremony was followed by drinks near the horse park, surrounded by the famous wild horses of the Duke of Croy.

As fireworks lit the Merfeld sky, guests raised their glasses to a union that embodied the best of Europe’s enduring aristocratic spirit: For Princess Xenia and Guy delle Piane, it was a day of splendour rooted in simplicity — and proof that, even in a modern world, some traditions are timeless.

The bride, Princess Xenia of Croy, and her now husband Guy delle Piane

From left to right: Count Giovanni Arlotta-Tarino, Count Don Nicolo dei Principi Corsini, Bride & Groom, Marquise Ugolino Bourbon di Petrella, and Prince Michele Bonanno di Linguaglossa

HSH Princess Marie Astrid of Liechtenstein, her daughter Althaea, and her mother, HSH Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein

Prince Lukas of Auersperg, who is married to HRH Princess Alice of Bavaria, followed by Countess Claire d’Ursel

The Duke of Urach and one of his daughters

The dinner after the ceremony.

H.S.H. Prince Ferdinand zur Lippe with the Marquise Negrotto-Cambiaso

Princess Lucrezia Colonna between the groom and her husband, Baron del Marmol

The Prince and Princess Francesco Caracciolo di Melissano e Scanno

TRH Prince Ludwig and Princess Sophie-Alexandra of Bavaria.