Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau

Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau
Full name
German: Maria Felicitas Alexandra Albertina Assunta Anna Fernanda Beatrix Gräfin von Schönburg-Glauchau
Born(1958-08-15)15 August 1958
West Berlin, West Germany
Died27 January 2019(2019-01-27) (aged 60)
Munich, Bavaria, Germany
BuriedNorthern Cemetery, Munich
Noble familySchönburg-Glauchau
Spouse(s)Friedrich Christian Flick
(m. 1985; div. 1993)
IssueFriedrich-Alexander Flick
Maria-Pilar Flick
Ernst-Moritz Flick
Maria Carlotta Beatrice Hipp
FatherJoachim, Count of Schönburg-Glauchau
MotherCountess Beatrix Széchényi de Sárvár-Felsővidék

Countess Maria Felicitas von Schönburg-Glauchau (German: Maria Felicitas Alexandra Albertina Assunta Anna Fernanda Beatrix Gräfin von Schönburg-Glauchau; 15 August 1958 – 27 January 2019), also known as Maya von Schönburg, was a German socialite.

Early life and family

Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau was born on 15 August 1958 to Joachim, Count of Schönburg-Glauchau and his first wife, Countess Beatrix Széchenyi de Sárvár-Felsővidék.[1][2] Her father was the nominal successor head of the mediatized German comital Schönburg-Glauchau. Her mother is the great-granddaughter of the Hungarian social reformer Count István Széchenyi.

Maya was the sister of Count Carl-Alban, Count Alexander, and Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis. She was the half-sister of Countess Anabel from her father's second marriage to Ursula Zwicker.

In the 1960s, Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau's family moved to Togo due to her father's profession as a journalist and foreign correspondent.[3] They later moved to Somalia, where she was educated at an Italian missionary school in Mogadishu.[4] The family returned to Germany in 1970, residing in Meckenheim in the Rhineland. Following the reunification of Germany in 1990, her father reclaimed the family's estates in Saxony which had been taken by the Soviets after World War II.

Countess von Schönburg-Glauchau was the maternal aunt of Princess Maria Theresia, Princess Elisabeth, and Albert, 12th Prince of Thurn and Taxis.

Personal life

In 1985 Countess von Schönburg-Glauchau married Friedrich Christian Flick, founder of the Friedrich Christian Flick Collection and heir to the Flick family fortune.[5] They had three children: Friedrich-Alexander, Maria-Pilar, and Ernst-Moritz. They divorced in 1993.[6] She later had a daughter, Maria Carlotta Beatrice, with her then-partner Stefan Hipp.[7] The countess lived in Parkside House at Englefield Green, a former residence of Marilyn Monroe, before moving to Italy in 2011.[8] In 2012, she was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and moved back to Germany to receive treatment.[9]

A Traditionalist Catholic, Countess von Schönburg-Glauchau went on pilgrimages with her sister Princess Gloria to Santiago de Compostela Cathedral and Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, to which she partially credited with her recovery from cancer.[10] She stated in an interview with Die Welt that at Christmas time her family does not celebrate Santa Claus, instead choosing to celebrate the Christkind.[11]

The countess was in a committed relationship with former Sotheby's chairman Henry Wyndham.[10]

In 2008 Countess von Schönburg-Glauchau voiced her opinion on family life and a woman's role, stating that she believed women are meant to raise children and that mothers should not have careers.[12]

She was frequently photographed at fashion, art, and society events in Germany and in England.[13][14][15][16]

In 2013, Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau faced a tribunal in Reading, Berkshire, for the treatment of her former housekeeper, Teresa Filipowska, whom she had hired in 2008 while living at Parkside House. Filipowska alleged that she was fired for becoming pregnant without her employer's consent, and also claimed that she was overworked and mistreated by the countess.[17] The tribunal ordered the countess to pay Filipowska £19,000 on the grounds of unfair dismissal, sex discrimination, and unpaid wages.[18][9][8]

Death

Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau's lung cancer returned. On 27 January 2019 she died from complications relating to cancer while staying at her mother's home in Munich.[19][20][21][22][23] She was buried in Northern Cemetery in Munich after a Catholic funeral service was held at the Cathedral of Our Lady on 2 February 2019.

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels
  2. ^ "Trauer um die große Persönlichkeit". Gala. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  3. ^ a b Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels: Furstliche Hauser Band XIX. Limburg an der Lahn: C. A. Starke Verlag. 2011. pp. 365, 367, 369, 382–383, 385–386. ISBN 978-3-7980-0849-6.
  4. ^ Colacello, Bob (June 2006). "THE CONVERSION OF GLORIA TNT". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  5. ^ Stöcker-Gietl, Isolde (29 June 2011). "Flick-Spross mit Oberpfälzer Wurzeln". Mittelbayerische. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  6. ^ Cohen, David (25 November 1995). "Birth. School. Job. Marriage... Divorce". The Independent. Independent Print Limited.
  7. ^ "Hipp wieder bei Gräfin Maya". Hamburger Abendblatt. Funke Mediengruppe. 12 April 2005. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  8. ^ a b Brown, David (6 August 2013). "Housekeeper wins against countess who told her not to get pregnant". The Times. News Corp. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  9. ^ a b Silverman, Rose (5 August 2013). "'Intrusive' Countess told housekeeper she must not get pregnant, tribunal told". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  10. ^ a b "Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau Neues Leben, neue Liebe!". Bunte. Hubert Burda Media. 10 August 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  11. ^ von Taube, Dagmar (20 December 2008). ""Sex wird doch völlig überbewertet"". Die Welt. Axel Springer SE. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  12. ^ "Schwester von Fürstin Gloria "Sex dient der Fortpflanzung, nicht dem Vergnügen"". Spiegel Online. Spiegel-Verlag. 21 December 2008. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  13. ^ "Multiple Sclerosis Society's Halloween party". Tatler. Condé Nast. 19 January 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  14. ^ "Cartier's Enchanted Garden". Tatler. Condé Nast. 26 January 2000. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  15. ^ "Timothy Hatton office launch party". Tatler. Condé Nast. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  16. ^ "The Night Tatler Wore Pyjamas". Tatler. Condé Nast. 24 August 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  17. ^ "A victory for mothers, says housekeeper told not to get pregnant". Evening Standard. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  18. ^ Morris, Steven (5 August 2013). "Countess fired housekeeper over pregnancy, tribunal told". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  19. ^ "Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau: Schwester von Gloria von Thurn und Taxis ist tot". Abendzeitung. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  20. ^ "Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau ist tot: Lungenkrebs! Gloria von Thurn und Taxis trauert um ihre Schwester". News. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  21. ^ "Krebstod mit 60: Familie trauert um Schwester von Fürstin Gloria von Thurn und Taxis". Stern. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  22. ^ "Trauer um Glorias Schwester Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau". BR24. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  23. ^ Bäumler, Melanie (28 January 2019). "GLORIAS SCHWESTER MAYA VON SCHÖNBURG-GLAUCHAU GESTORBEN". TVA. Retrieved 28 January 2019.