Juan de Bagration-Mukhrani

Prince Juan Jorge de Bagration-Mukhrani (born 18 August 1977) is a Spanish-born Georgian prince and member of the House of Mukhrani of the Bagrationi dynasty and a distant relation to the Spanish royal family.

Prince Juan de Bagration-Mukhrani
BornJuan Jorge de Bagration-Mukhrani
(1977-08-18) 18 August 1977 (age 47)
Madrid, Spain
Spouse
Florianne del Rio Thorn
(m. 2003; div. 2008)

(m. 2014)
IssuePrince Bagrat de Bagration-Mukhrani (b. 2021)
Names
Juan Jorge de Bagration-Mukhrani
HouseBagrationi
FatherPrince Bagrat de Bagration y de Baviera
MotherMaría del Carmen de Ulloa y Suelves

Early life and family

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Prince Juan Jorge de Bagration-Mukhrani was born on 18 August 1977 in Madrid to Prince Bagrat de Bagration y de Baviera and Doña María del Carmen de Ulloa y Suelves.[1] His paternal grandfather, Prince Irakli Bagration of Mukhrani, was exiled from Georgia during the invasion of the Red Army, living in Germany, Italy, and finally settling in Spain. His paternal grandmother, Infanta María de las Mercedes of Spain was a member of the Spanish royal family and the German House of Wittelsbach; she was the daughter of Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria, granddaughter of Alfonso XII of Spain, and niece of Alfonso XIII of Spain.[2] His maternal grandfather was Gonzalo Maria de Ulloa y Ramírez de Haro, Marqués de Castro-Serna, Count de Adanero.[2] Prince Juan's parents divorced in 2005 and his father remarried in 2009 to Françoise Cazaudehore. Prince Juan is a member of the House of Mukhrani, a branch of the Bagrationi dynasty that ruled Georgia from the Middle Ages until the nineteenth century, when Georgia was annexed into the Russian Empire.[3] The family was recognized as part of the Russian nobility until the rise of communism in Russia.

Prince Juan studied at Collège Alpin International Beau Soleil, a boarding school in Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland and was a schoolmate and childhood friend of Cayetano Rivera Ordóñez.[1]

Personal life

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Prince Juan met Kristine Dzidziguri, a Georgian model, in 2014.[1] They were married a few months later in a civil ceremony on 10 May 2014 in Ronda, Spain.[4] The couple began planning a religious ceremony but were delayed due to social and political conflicts within Georgia and because of Prince Juan's father's declining health. His father died on 20 March 2017, and the couple decided to mourn for one year before organizing a religious wedding ceremony.[5] On 2 June 2018 Prince Juan and Dzidziguri received a blessing from Ilia II of Georgia, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia. On 3 June 2018 they were married in a Georgian Orthodox ceremony at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta.[4][6] Their wedding reception was held at the Palace of Mukhrani.[7]

After their wedding the couple honeymooned in Indonesia,[8] where they attended the Tomohon International Flower Festival.[9][10] While in Indonesia they also made an official visit to the Agung Rai Museum of Art.[11][12] Later during their Indonesian tour, Prince Juan and Princess Kristine attended a gala lunch focused on establishing a cultural relationship between Indonesia and Georgia.[13]

Prince Juan is the founder of the Georgian Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes Georgian culture.[2][14] He has dual Spanish and Georgian citizenship.[6] In October 2019 he launched a wine brand called Prince Ioane Bagrationi wines.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "La boda rondeña del príncipe georgiano Juan de Bagration". abc.es. 9 May 2014. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  2. ^ a b c "Prince Juan and Princess Kristine Bagration-Mukhrani". georgianfoundation.ge. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  3. ^ "Prince George Bagration of Mukhrani". The Times. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  4. ^ a b "Royal wedding of Georgian Prince and famous model". GeorgianJournal. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  5. ^ "Juan Bagration-Mukhraneli, el español que protagoniza la otra boda real de 2015. Noticias de Casas Reales". vanitatis.elconfidencial.com. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  6. ^ a b "Así ha sido la boda de Kristine Dzidziguri y Juan de Bragation, primo segundo del heredero al trono de Georgia". us.hola.com. Retrieved 2018-11-06.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Le mariage du prince Juan Bagration-Mukhrani et Kristine Dzidziguri". Point de Vue. Archived from the original on 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  8. ^ "November Fashion Spread: Georgian Prince And Princess Bagration Mukhrani's Fairytale". Indonesia Tatler. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  9. ^ Manado Post. "Sedang Honeymoon, Prince dan Princess Georgia Jatuh Cinta Bunga Tomohon". manadopostonline.com. Retrieved 2018-11-06.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "Hadiri TIFF 2018: Pangeran dan Putri Georgia Tiba di Manado – BeritaManado.com – Berita Terkini dari Manado". beritamanado.com. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  11. ^ "NUSABALI.com - Prince and Princess Georgia Visited ARMA Museum of Ubud". nusabali.com. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  12. ^ "News Letter ARMA August 2018" (PDF). 2018-06-02. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  13. ^ "World News | Interview with The Royal Family of Georgia..." video.metrotvnews.com. Retrieved 2018-11-06.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ "Georgian Foundation". georgianfoundation.ge. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  15. ^ "Georgian royal family introduces new wine brand".