We haven't heard much about the royals of Liechtenstein. Most of them are low-key and rarely surfaced in the news headlines, so the recent wedding of its 16th in line to the throne sounded like an ultimate treat for royal enthusiasts.
Prince Josef-Emanuel of Liechtenstein, 32, tied the knot with Colombian socialite, Maria Claudia Echavarria Suarez on March 25, 2022 at the bride's home town, Cartagena de Indias, on the northern coast of Colombia.Â
The groom
Prince Josef-Emanuel is 16th in line of succession to the Liechtenstein throne. He is the youngest child of Princess Marghareta of Luxembourg and Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein, making him a close blood relative to both the royal court of Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Belgium.
Princess Marghareta and Prince Nikolaus are the only known dynastically equal marital union currently in Europe.Â
She is the daughter of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg and Princess Josephine-Charlotte of Belgium, and therefore a sister to Grand Duke Henri, and first cousin to King Philippe of Belgium.
Prince Nikolaus, the current non-resident ambassador of Liechtenstein to Vatican, is the younger brother of the reigning Sovereign of Liechtenstein, Prince Hans-Adam II.Â
Prince Josef-Emanuel attended military trainings at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, England, and joined the Irish guards. He represented his regiment during the Trooping the Colors of 2010 for the Queen's official birthday celebration.
He is now an architect and currently based in London.
The bride
Maria Claudia Echavarria Suarez, nicknamed Cloclo, is the daughter of a Colombian businessman, Chiqui Echavarria, who founded a prestigious event company in Colombia called Casa Chiqui.Â
She was born in Cartagena but lived most of her life in the Colombian capital of Bogota where she worked in fashion which led her to establish her own fashion company, Si Collective, promoting Latin-American fashion.
The wedding
Prince Josef-Emanuel's wedding is the first of a European royal this year. The lavish ceremony was held at the Iglesia de San Pedro Claver church in Cartagena, and saw the gatherings of Europe's most stylish royals and aristocrats.
Guests included the royals of Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and other royal friends and cousins like Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Prince Jean-Christophe Napoleon and his wife, Countess Olympia of Arco-Zinneberg, Prince Henri of Bourbon-Parma and Archduchess Gabriella of Hapsburg, the groom's maternal aunt, Princess Marie-Astrid, and husband, Archduke Karl Christian of Austria were also present.
The church ceremony was followed with a vibrant evening party in a courtyard garden with paper lanterns floating in the swimming pool, which added a magical backdrop of the night.
The criticism
However, the criticism came upon the controversial wedding gown of Ms. Echavarria as it was viewed as "too revealing" for a royal bride. No royal bride of a European prince, even in modern times, ever wore a low-cut bodice.
Well, we often saw royal brides walked-down-the-aisle almost covered in white cloth, lacey long sleeves and close-neck, with no room for the flesh to pop up.
This time, it was too much of a show of some fleshy appearance from Claudia's bosom part that made the royal observers choke in disbelief.
Did she receive any briefing on the type of gown a royal bride appropriately wore? This is the question asked by some royal fans.
The Colombian-born socialite cut an ethereal figure in a lacey, off-the-shoulder white dress designed by Esteban Cortazar with massive ballooned sleeves.Â
The dress also featured a low-cut corset with buttons going down the front and little bows tied on her shoulders.
However, it was the bodice design that caught the attention of royal watchers, calling it "too low, and too revealing" for a royal bride, with her breasts ready to pop-up in front. Some even called it the worst wedding dress of a royal bride in recent memory.
Despite this controversy, the couple and the royal guests appeared to be having a great night together during the reception. And Claudia is living every little girl's dream of becoming a princess in real life. She is now Princess Claudia of Liechtenstein.
He has two older sisters who married successively in 2021. Princess Maria Anunciata to Emmanuele Musini in June 2021 and Princess Marie-Astrid to Rafael Worthington in September 2021.
Prince Josef-Emanuel is just one of the many European princes in modern times who chose to marry a woman outside Europe, including his maternal uncle, Grand Duke Henri, whose wife is a Cuban.
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