Rest In Peace: The Creative and Charismatic Countess Beatrice von Hardenberg, Former Duchess of Seville

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Countess Beatrice von Hardenberg

(1947 – 2020)

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On the morning of Friday, 13 March, Countess Beatrice von Hardenberg passed away in Marbella, Spain. She was seventy-two years-old. Beatrice’s death was announced by her daughter, Olivia, in the following message:

With great sorrow, I inform you that this morning my mother, Beatrice von Hardenberg zu Fürstemberg, died at the Quirón Hospital in Marbella due to cardiac arrest caused by the COPD disease that she suffered for years. Given the sanitary circumstances throughout the nation, her wake will be held in the strictest privacy. In these sad times for our family, we want to thank the hospital staff at all times, as well as the affection and dedication of all those who have taken care of my mother in recent times. We ask you to pray for her soul.

Death notice of Doña Cristina de Borbón y Hardenberg.
Appeared in ABC Madrid on 16 February 2020.

The countess died a month after her daughter Cristina, who passed away on 13 February in Madrid, aged just forty-four.

Countess Beatrice Wilhelmine Paula von Hardenberg was born at Donaueschingen on 28 June 1947 as the third child and second daughter of Count Günther von Hardenberg (1918 – 1985) and Princess Maria Josepha zu Fürstenberg (1922 – 2008). Beatrice joined two older siblings: Count Huburtus (b.1944) and Countess Christa-Maria (b.1945). Her parent’s fourth and final child, Count Günther, died the day after he was born in 1950.

Countess Beatrice von Hardenberg weds the Duke of Seville in 1973
Photograph (c) Keystone Press / Alamy Foto

On 7 July 1973 at Baden-Baden, Beatrice married Don Francisco de Paula de Borbón y Escasany (b.1943), Duke of Seville. The Duke and Duchess of Seville had three children: Oliva (b.1974), Cristina (1975 – 2020), and Francisco (b.1979). After sixteen years of marriage, Beatrice and Francisco divorced in 1989.

Countess Beatrice von Hardenberg and her mother Princess Maria Josepha zu Fürstenberg in 1998.
Photograph (c) Presse-Foto-Seeger

With an eye for fashion and design, Beatrice quickly carved out a career of her own. She became a driving force behind the creation of Vogue España. According to press accounts, Beatrice was well-loved by her peers in society. Due to her unique sense of style, Beatrice was known as “the hippy princess” by contemporaries in the 1970s and 1980s. Like her daughter Cristina, she was a lover of nature and creatures of all kinds: Beatrice was particularly partial to frogs.

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The former Duchess of Seville was extremely close to her three children. She enjoyed being able to spend as much time as possible with her grandchildren, the offspring of her daughter Olivia. Her family and their company seems to have been her greatest joy.

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May She Rest In Peace.