Princess Maria Theresia Thurn and Taxis (born Maria Theresia Ludowika Klothilde Helene Alexandra Princess Thurn and Taxis, 28 November 1980 in Regensburg), is a German forest and agricultural landowner and member of the former princely House of House of Thurn and Taxis. Along with her siblings, her family owns one of Europe's largest private estates. Maria Theresia rose to prominence in 2001 when she sued for compensation the publishing house Heinrich Bauer Verlag for publishing with the aid of a photomontage a claim that she was to be the future fiancee of Spanish crown prince, Felipe, Prince of Asturias.
Family
Maria Theresia is the eldest child and daughter of Johannes, 11th Prince of Thurn and Taxis and his wife Gloria, Princess of Thurn and Taxis (nee Grafin von Schonburg-Glauchau). Maria Theresia's family's lands form one of the largest private estates in Europe. After the death of her father in 1990, Maria Theresia was a joint heir, along with her sister Elisabeth von Thurn and Taxis and Albert, 12th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, to one of the largest privately owned forests in Europe, consisting of 36,000 hectares. She and her siblings are the largest private landowners in Germany.
Early Life and Education
Maria Theresia attended elementary school and secondary school in Regensburg where she lived with her family at Schloss St.Emmeram. To acquire her qualification for university entrance (German: Hochschulreife), Maria Theresia's mother shielded her from the German media by sending her to England to completed her secondary education. From 2002, Maria Theresia studied sociology, psychology, and communications in Madrid. Since 2004 she studied communications and media studies with a focus on film and directing in London.
Adulthood and Personal Life
In 2001, Maria Theresia was granted compensation from the Bauer Media Group upon her appeal to the Higher Regional Count of Hamburg due to fabricated photograph montages in their Neue Post magazine claiming she was to marry Felipe, Prince of Asturias.
On 13 September 2014, she married Hugo Wilson, a British artist based in London, at St. Joseph's Church in Tutzing, Germany
On 29 April 2015, it was announced that Maria Theresia and Hugo Wilson are expecting their first child. On 21 August 9:59am, Maria Theresia gave birth to a girl, named Mafalda Beatrix Maria, in London, England. A second daughter, Maya, was born on 22 September 2017.
House: Thurn and Taxis
Religion: Roman Catholic
Decorations
-Dame of Honour and Devotion in Obedience of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta (20 June 2009)
-Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Perfect Friendship
Title
28 November Her Serene Highness Princess Maria Theresia of Thurn and Taxis