Austria's Princess Maria Galitzine has died at the age of 31. She is the daughter of Prince Piotr Galitzine and Princess Maria-Anna Galitzine, and her mother is the Archduchess of Habsburg.
In the obituary, her parents wrote:
“Our Maria passed away in the Houston morning of Monday, May 4th, 2020, from a sudden cardiac aneurysm. She was born in 1988 to Prince and Princess Piotr Galitzine in the city of Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. She returned with the family to Russia as a five-year old in 1993, attending the German School of Moscow. Upon graduation she moved to Belgium to attend the CAD school. Afterwards she lived and worked in Brussels, Chicago and Houston, specializing in interior design and furnishing.
"She had just founded a family with Rishi Roop Singh, a renowned Houston chef, and their two-year old son Maxim was the apple of her eye.
"She is additionally survived by her sisters Xenia Galitzine de Matta, Tatiana Galitzine Sierra and Princess Alexandra, her brothers, Princes Dmitri and Ioann and her parents, Princess Maria-Anna (born Archduchess of Austria) and Prince Piotr Galitzine. She was laid to her rest in the Orthodox section of Forest Park Westheimer Cemetery on Friday, May 8th, 2020.
Please keep Maria in your prayers."
Maria was born in Luxembourg and spent most of her youth growing up in Moscow. She attended the German School in the city, and following her primary schooling she attended the College of Art and Design in Belgium. She eventually began to work in the United States, and found jobs in Chicago and Houston.
Maria married her husband, Rishi Roop Singh, in 2017. Rishi is a chef in Houston. He previously worked as the executive chef for popular area eateries Boheme and Batanga. Maria and Rishi had a short relationship prior to their wedding, and they shared a 2-year-old named Maxim.
Maria was a descendant of the famous Habsburg dynasty in Austria, her ancestry going back to Emperor Charles I. However, her sister Tatiana once told the Houston Chronicle that the family wasn't particularly "royal" while growing up. "My life is completely normal unless we are invited to royal weddings. My mail sometimes says 'Princess Tatiana.' What was weird was when I went from 'Princess' to 'Mrs.' I had been a princess all my life."
The House of Habsburg, which is also known as the House of Austria, was one of the largest and most important royal families of Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was led by a member of the house from 1438 until 1740, and again from 1765 to 1806. The Habsburgs have also gone on to be kings of several European countries, including Hungary, Spain, and Portugal.
The House of Habsburg has famously had a "live and let live" mentality toward all, and that has caused many more narrow-minded and bigoted leaders to dislike the royal family. In particular, Adolf Hitler hated the family because they accepted everyone, regardless of ethnicity, religion, language, or culture.
