There will no longer be a family Christmas around the Casiraghi matriarch. Fernanda Biffi Casiraghi died at age 99. Her grandchildren, Andrea, Charlotte and Pierre Casiraghi attended her funeral in Fino Mornasco, in the province of Como, accompanied by Princess Caroline of Hanover, for whom the disappearance of her mother-in-law brings back painful memories of loss of her husband, Stefano.
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Princess Caroline of Hanover in mourning after the loss of her mother-in-law
Fernanda Biffi Casiraghi experienced great joys and great sorrows. The matriarch of the Casiraghi, adored by all, died at the age of 99, in her villa in Fino Mornasco, in Lombardy, announces Corriere della Sera. On December 29, 1983, his son Stefano married Princess Caroline of Monaco. Princess Caroline, eldest daughter of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace, had already been divorced for three years from Philippe Junot.
Stefano Casiraghi and Caroline of Monaco had three beautiful children: Andrea (1984), Charlotte (1986) and Pierre (1987). The happiness was only short-lived. The three young children lost their father, the victim of a motorboating accident, on October 30, 1990, when Pierre was only 3 years old, Charlotte 4 years old and Andrea 6 years old. Andrea, Charlotte and Pierre will get closer to their grandparents, Fernanda and Giancarlo Casiraghi. Fernanda lost her husband in 1998 and had to face the death of a second son, Daniele, alone in 2016.
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Andrea, Charlotte and Pierre Casiraghi at the funeral of their paternal grandmother in Lombardy
This December 9, 2024, Andrea, Charlotte and Pierre Casiraghi attended the funeral of their paternal grandmother. Princess Caroline of Hanover, 67, was present alongside her children, who lost their last link with their paternal family. Princess Caroline remarried in January 1999 to Prince Ernst-August of Hanover, head of the royal family and claimant to the throne of the Kingdom of Hanover and to the throne of the Duchy of Brunswick. The couple had a daughter, Princess Alexandra, born in July 1999. Stefano's widow, Princess Caroline was therefore still considered Fernanda's daughter-in-law. This Monday, Pierre Casiraghi was accompanied by his wife Beatrice Borromeo, daughter of the Count of Arona, whose family also comes from Lombardy.
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Princess Caroline was able to rebuild her life, although the loss of Stefano will forever leave a wound in her heart. On July 1, 1992, Pope John Paul II finally granted the nullity of her first marriage, introduced at the Vatican in 1981. The next day, she asked the Pope for religious recognition of her second marriage to Stefano. The request will be completed in February 1993.
Marco, Fernanda's last living son and Princess Caroline's brother-in-law, explained to the Italian press the role his mother still played, despite her age, in reuniting her family. The family lives in the four corners of the world and Fernanda managed to bring together children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and spouses for special occasions like Christmas. Until three years ago, she still frequently went to Monaco to see some of her descendants. “Mom had great joys and great sorrows but she was a woman who grew up in times of war, capable of courageously facing life with its thorns…”, Marco explains.
Nicolas Fontaine
Editor-in-chief
Nicolas Fontaine has been a designer-editor and author for numerous Belgian and French brands and media. A specialist in royal family news, Nicolas founded the site Histoires royales of which he is the editor-in-chief. [email protected]
