The story of Ekaterina, Russian millionaire-turned-princess

The story of Ekaterina Malysheva (born in 1986) is something of a fairy tale. The story reaches its zenith in 2016 after a romance of five years, when this young Russian fashion designer gets engaged to Ernst August of Hanover (1983), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and heir to the prince of Hanover.

Born in Russia but raised in the Czech Republic, Ekaterina Malysheva (now known as Ekaterina of Hanover) comes from a very wealthy family. The mother of Katya (as she is called by those close to her) is a theater actress. Her father made his fortune through senior positions in the Moscow oil and gas industry.

When she was 19, she began her studies at the London College of Fashion. Her goal was to become an influential designer. It was on this occasion that she met her future husband.

Fast forward to 2016, Prince Ernest August of Hanover asked Ekaterina for her hand during a vacation in Greece, on the island of Spetses. She said yes and their wedding was celebrated in July 2017, in the Market Church in Hanover. At the time, it was a big royal wedding that got international attention.

Through this union, Ekaterina became a member of the European aristocracy. She's related to the royal family of Monaco because the father of her husband Ernst of Hanover has been married to the daughter of Rainier III of Monaco: Caroline of Monaco.

At her wedding, Ekaterina Malysheva wore an impressive 19th-century platinum and diamond tiara, owned by the Hannover family. Caroline of Monaco had also worn it on the occasion of the banquet before the wedding of Frederik of Denmark and Mary Donaldson in 2004.

The gesture of lending the tiara shows that the Grimaldis of Monaco and Ekaterina have a good relationship. Caroline of Monaco and her children were among the guests of honor at the wedding. In the photo, we see Pierre Casiraghi, the son of Caroline of Monaco, accompanied by his wife Beatrice and his sister Charlotte Casiraghi, during Ekaterina's wedding.

For this dream wedding, the Russian princess chose a dress made by hand in lace and precious stones. Long sleeves, voluminous skirt, and round neckline suited this young fashion designer perfectly.

Being a princess did not mean that she wanted to limit her career to accompanying her husband. In fact, Ekaterina Malysheva continues to run her fashion brand EKAT, which has very influential clients and is one of the favorite fashion houses of Poppy Delevingne and Sienna Miller.

The now Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg has continued her responsibilities at the head of her business while also raising three children.

Ekaterina and her husband regularly participate in charity events. They raise funds for the most disadvantaged.

On the occasion of their wedding, the couple asked the guests not to give them any presents but to donate money to the foreign refugees in Hanover.

"Coming to our wedding is the best gift you can give us," Prince Ernst told local media just before the royal wedding.

Ekaterina's bachelorette party was themed Andalusian. She has repeatedly said that she is a great lover of Spanish culture, and that is why she gathered her friends in Seville to celebrate a big 'flamenca fiesta' to say goodbye to her single life.

Photo: felderfelder / Instagram

Among the guests at the big party before the wedding were Ekaterina's best friends from Hanover and London, but also her sisters-in-law Alexandra of Hanover and Sassa of Osma.

Photo: nevadagrosa / Instagram

In 2018, Ekaterina of Hanover and Prince Ernest announced to Chantal of Hanover (pictured) that she was going to become a grandmother. The arrival of little Elisabeth then became a real social event.

The couple presented their first child by posing in this photo in her room at the Henriettenstift clinic in Hanover.

Official photo, Schloss Marienburg.

Ernst is the eldest son and heir of Prince Ernst of Hanover, the estranged husband of Caroline of Monaco. At the end of 2018, while Ekaterina Malysheva was pregnant with her second child, a public conflict appeared between Prince Ernst and his father. From the beginning, Ernst Sr. had not approved of the marriage of his son to the rich Russian designer.

In an interview for the German newspaper Handelsblatt, Ernst of Hanover declared that he was opposed to Ekaterina's arrival in the family because he wanted to "preserve the interests and assets of the House of Hanover, including cultural ones which have been his property since centuries". He implied that, in the event of divorce, the Russian woman would keep a large part of the Hanover heritage.

In this controversy, Prince Ernst has always positioned himself on the side of his wife and the family he founded. In March 2019, they had their second child, Prince Welf August.

In 2021, they discreetly had a third child, Eleonora of Hanover. The fairy tale of the young Russian Ekaterina Malysheva thus continues.

Photo: ahmedelalimakeup / Instagram

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