User:Princesstheodora

Princess Theodora von Auersperg (born May 28, 1962) of Austria is a royal beauty connoisseur, visionary, inspirational speaker, writer, entrepreneur, philanthropist and founder of the Princess Theodora line of beauty products. Princess Theodora von Auersperg is the daughter of Prince Anton Franz von Auersperg, the youngest son of Prince Eduard von Auersperg and Countess Sophie Clam-Gallas.

Based in Virginia Beach, VA, Theodora’s lineage can be traced back to the Auersperg family in Vienna, Austria. The Auersperg family traces its descent from Adolf I (von Ursperg), Lord of Auersberg (990-1060) taking their name from the castle of “Unter Auersprg” in Carniola. The title of Prince of the Holy Empire was extended to all descendants 1791. Members of the family bear the title of Prince or Princess von Auersperg with the attribute of Serene Highness (HSH).

As one of the notable families of the Austrian-Hungarian empire the Auersperg family belonged to the highest aristocracy in the Habsburg monarchy and the surname was identified with the great social and economic evolution which made this territory a landmark contributor to the development of the nation.

Today the Palais Auersperg, which was owned by the Auersperg family from 1777 –1944, is considered as one of the most important Baroque Palais in Vienna and carries on as a landmark hotel and venue for cultural and social events. Theodora is the daughter of her mother Dimitrinka Zwetanova Handjieva and Prince Anton Franz von Auersperg, the youngest son of Prince Eduard von Auersperg and Countess Sophie Clam-Gallas. Theodora was conceived as the result of an youthful extramarital affair, and the identity of her father was hidden from her until she was in her early 20s. She was officially acknowledged through court documents – legal adoption - as Prince Anton's daughter and became Theodora Princess von Auersperg on her 28th Birthday, May 28, 1990.

She attempted to embrace her lineage, but her newfound family in Austria treated her as the family’s black sheep. So, armed with an MBA from the University of Economics in Vienna, she left Austria to seek her fortune independently of her family. Nobility had been officially abolished by Austria’s government in the 1920s, though royal family members still used their titles and designations in polite society after World War II, so it was not as if the title came with any financial advantages or special privileges.

Theodora started out in International Banking at Bank Austria and continued her professional career in marketing. On a business trip to New York she met her husband Michel Pharaon and decided to stay in the United States. Theodora worked with renowned interior and furniture designer Mariette Himes Gomez in New York and moved on to work for the interior designer of the rich and famous, David Kleinberg.

After the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Theodora and her husband chose to leave the big city behind and moved to Virginia Beach, VA where they have been owning and managing commercial real estate and a couple of fast food franchises.

In 2009, Theodora became disillusioned with the beauty products available to women in the United States. According to statement made to the media in 2012, she never found a product that worked for her, and she was disheartened to discover that many American beauty products are tested on animals. She founded Princess Theodora’s line of beauty products, not tested on animals, and is currently in a mass market launch of the line in the United States.

She is also the founder of an animal rescue mission with the slogan 'Save a Soul'. Princess Theodora and her foundation invite you to ‘Save a Soul’. Will You Lend a Paw? According to her Web site, Theodora was moved to create the foundation after visiting an animal shelter and seeing the plight of the pets she found there. Save a Soul’s mission is to offer resource for the care and feeding of animals, by offering ten percent of the net proceeds from her beauty and skincare line and all net proceeds from the foundation's fund raising events and promotions toward charities that support the humane treatment of animals and animal rescue operations.

Lineage:

The Auersperg family traces its descent from Adolf I (von Ursperg), Lord of Auersperg (990-1060) taking their name from the castle of “Unter Auersprg” in Carniola. The title of Prince of the Holy Empire was extended to all descendants 1791. Members of the family bear the title of Prince or Princess von Auersperg with the attribute of Serene Highness (HSH). As one of the notable families of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire the Auersperg family belonged to the highest aristocracy in the Habsburg monarchy and the surname was identified with the great social and economic evolution which made this territory a landmark contributor to the development of the nation. Today the Palais Auersperg, which was owned by the Auersperg family from 1777 – 1944, is considered as one of the most important Baroque Palais in Vienna and carries on as a landmark hotel and venue for cultural and social events. Princess Theodora’s Father: His Serene Highness Anton Franz Prince von Auersperg Born: January 12, 1938 in Haindorf (former Cech Republic) – 2000 Full Name: Anton Franz Pankratz Maria Formosa Prince von Auersperg His Father: Eduard Franz de Paula Vinzenz Prince von Auersperg – born August 1, 1893 at the castle Weitwoerth near Salzburg – 1948. Son of: Dr. Eduard Prince von Auersperg – Lord of Weitwoerth. Mother: Princess Maria Schoenburg-Hartenstein. His Mother: Sophie Felicitas Maria Josefa Countess Clam-Gallas, born in Horn, Lower Austria – September 6, 1900 – 1980. Daughter of: Franz Count Clam-Gallas – Lord of Friedland. Mother: Maria Countess Hoyos-Spitzenstein – Horn, Lower Austria. Direct lineage to the Principality of Liechtenstein (mutual grand, grandparents with the current monarch of Liechtenstein) and therefore direct lineage to the Austrian Roman Empire (Empress Cita and Emperor Franz). Direct lineage to the British Royal House and several European Royal Houses. Direct lineage to Hetti Krupp (von Bohlen Halbach) – German Steel Industry – a cousin of his. Anton von Auersperg was married from 1966-68 to Erika von Scheven – born Aug. 22 1946 in Northeim, Hannover. Daughter of: Otto von Scheven and Margarete de Douai. From this marriage he had another daughter - Stephanie Eva-Maria Margarete Sophie – born August 3, 1967 – married Sept. 3, 1994 to Philipp Count von Waldenstein Wartenberg (born in Munich – July 13, 1965). Theodora was officially acknowledged through legal adoption as his daughter and became Theodora Princess von Auersperg on her 28th Birthday in1990. Princess Theodora was born on May 28, 1962 in Sofia, Bulgaria as Theodora Hristov and was raised there until the age of 8. Her parents as per birth certificate (Dimitrinka Zwetanova Handjieva and Hristo Simeonov Hristov, born July 5th, 1924 - 2000) moved with her to Vienna, Austria in 1970.

Princess Theodora’s Mother: Dimitrinka Zwetanova Handjieva Born: May 31, 1941 in Sofia Bulgaria Her Father: Zwetan Zwetanov Handjiev (Mother: Theodora). Although not considered nobility, which was only reserved to the family members of the Tsar, her father was a Member of the Cabinet of Tsar Boris the III of Bulgaria (The Bulgarian Monarchy and its lineage goes back to the Austrian-Hungarian Empire) – and a close political advisor to the Tsar. He accompanied Tsar Boris III on the legendary flight with Hitler – after which shortly the Tsar got ill and died – and the rumor has it that Hitler poisoned him on that flight. Theodora’s grandfather was politically very active and became in 1939 the leader of the Bulgarian Labor Movement/Union. In an act of rage, Theodora’s grandmother, also named Theodora, destroyed about 1,000 documents and photos (photos with Tsar Boris the III, numerous historical documents and photos of movements and demonstrations on the streets by thousands of workers carrying on large posters the photo of her grandfather). Once the Bulgarian Monarchy was abolished – and the Communist took over – her grandfather was one of the very few people close to the Tsar whose life was spared. All family properties and most personal belongings were confiscated and the family was declared an enemy to the Republic and so were his children. Her mother and her mother’s two brothers were forced to grow up under very modest circumstances and were not allowed to pursue a higher education. She became an elementary school teacher at the age of 19.