Theodora Sayn-Wittgenstein
| Princess Theodora | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Countess Nikolaus Bethlen de Bethlen | |||||
| Born | 29 December 1986 Marburg, Hesse, West Germany | ||||
| Spouse |
Count Nikolaus Bethlen de Bethlen
(m. 2018) | ||||
| |||||
| House | Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (by birth) Bethlen (by marriage) | ||||
| Father | Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg | ||||
| Mother | Countess Yvonne Wachtmeister af Johannishus | ||||
Princess Theodora zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (Theodora-Louise Victoria Juliana Yvonne; born 29 December 1986) is a German aristocrat and international relations professional. After completing a degree in international relations from the University of St Andrews in 2011, she worked in Jordan for a green energy firm owned by her father, Prince Ludwig Ferdinand zu Sayn Wittgenstein-Berleburg. In 2014, Wittgenstein was arrested in Scotland and charged with breaching of the peace aggravated by religious prejudice, two counts of physical assault, and an offense under the 2012 Police and Fire Reform Act after she took off her clothes, made racist, homophobic, and anti-Muslim remarks, and physically assaulted two security personnel during an Oktoberfest party. She was fined £1,000 by Dundee Sheriff Court. In 2020, her family used the European Union's Right to be forgotten law to have Google remove 197 links from their search engine in Germany that led to articles about her arrest.
Early life and family[edit]
Wittgenstein was born on 29 January 1986 in Marburg and is a member of the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, an old German noble family.[1] She is the daughter of Prince Ludwig Ferdinand zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Countess Yvonne Wachtmeister af Johannishus, a member of the Swedish nobility.[2][3] Her paternal grandparents were Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Princess Friederike Juliane of Salm-Horstmar.[2] She is a great-granddaughter of Richard, 4th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Princess Madeleine of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg. Wittgenstein is the younger sister of the journalist and writer Princess Anna of Bavaria, Prince Carl Albrecht zu Wittgenstein, and of the actor Prince August zu Wittgenstein.[2]
Education and career[edit]
Wittgenstein was educated at boarding schools in Switzerland and the United Kingdom.[2] She attended the University of St Andrews, where she earned a degree in international relations in 2011.[4][5] She lived in Jordan while working for her father's green energy firm.[2][4][6]
Personal life[edit]
On 21 July 2018, she married Count Miklós "Nikolaus" Bálint Béla Bethelen de Bethlen in a ceremony in Bad Laasphe, North Rhine-Westphalia.[2][7][8] She and her husband live on a property at Schloss Berleburg, her childhood home.[2]
Anti-Islam incident and arrest[edit]
In March 2014, Wittgenstein was arrested after taking her clothes off, making homophobic remarks, yelling racial slurs, and making anti-Muslim remarks towards Farah Jasmin Hussain, a first aid responder, at an Oktoberfest party for University of St Andrews students at Kinkell Byre.[4][6] She was put in leg restraints by police due to her aggressive behavior after she physically assaulted two members of staff.[4][6] She was taken into police custody and held for two days.[6]
Wittgenstein was fined £1,000 by Sheriff Mark Steward of the Dundee Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court.[4][9] She admitted to one charge of breach of the peace aggravated by religious prejudice, two counts of assault, and an offence under the 2012 Police and Fire Reform Act.[6][5] Wittgentstein's solicitor, Douglas Williams, said that she has a thyroid condition which may have contributed to her behavior.[6][5]
In 2020, the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg tried to make online reports of Wittgenstein's arrest disappear via the European Union's Right to be forgotten law.[10] Google removed nearly 200 links from its search engine about Wittgenstein's behavior at the Oktoberfest party and her arrest and fine.[10] The incident raised questions about who has the "right to be forgotten" by law.[10] In Google's bi-annual Transparency Report, where the company shares data about how governments and corporations make requests to the company, an entry in Germany was listed that included a "lawyer's removal request from a member of a German noble family" who was "prosecuted following a drunken night out in Scotland."[10] As an outcome of the request, Google removed 197 links following a preliminary injunction against a third party that the identifying content is illegitimate.[10]
References[edit]
- ^ Overkott, Jürgen (7 October 2013). "Wenn ein Wittgensteiner in die Wüste geschickt wird". www.derwesten.de.
- ^ a b c d e f g "German Princess Theodora Sayn-Wittgenstein marries". Express Digest. 22 July 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ "Od divje ĹĄtudentke do mirne neveste -". Slovenske novice. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Half Naked German Princess Theodora Sayn-Wittgenstein Arrested Over Racial Abuse At Posh Uni Party". HuffPost. 27 June 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ a b c "German princess fined for violent, drunken, anti-Muslim rant". Fox News. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f James Moncur (27 June 2014). "Boozy German princess fined £1000 after nearly-naked drunken rampage at posh St Andrew's party". Daily Record. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ "Princess Theodora Sayn-Wittgenstein of Germany weds in intimate ceremony". New Idea. [dead link]
- ^ "German princess says I do in royal wedding". 9Honey. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ Jaime Beatson (27 June 2014). "Drunk princess made racist comments and tried to strip". The Scotsman. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "A Princess Is Making Google Forget Her Drunken Rant About Killing Muslims". Vice. Retrieved 1 March 2023.