European royalty and aristrocracy descended on Germany this weekend for the wedding of Prince Ernst-August Jr of Hanover and Russian fashion designer Ekaterina Malysheva. One person who was not in attendance? The father of the groom, Prince Ernst-August Sr.
It turns out the elder royal doesn't take umbrage with his son's choice of bride - but that the dispute actually bizarely boils down to property.
See, between 2004-2006, several castles belonging to him were deeded over to his son - now he is keen to protect them and keep them in the family.
'The decision was not easy for me because it concerns my son," he told Handelsblatt newspaper "But I am constrained to preserve the interests of the House of Hanover and the property, including cultural property, which has been its property for centuries. I continue to hope that my son will eventually think of the best interests of our family and yield. I am ready for discussion and reconciliation.'
In a case of history repeating itself, it turns out that his own first marriage was opposed by his father, way back in 1997. When that wedding ended in divorce, he went on to marry Princess Caroline of Monaco, although they have since separated.
While Ernst-August Jr's mother, Chantal Hochuli, was in attendance, his former stepmother was not - but his former step-siblings from Monaco were there, proving there's no bad blood in this dynamic at least.
Indeed, the Monaco contingent definitely brought the glamour, with step-sister Charlotte Casiraghi looking chic in a black and white dress coat and hat, Pierre Casiraghi's wife Beatrice Borromeo wearing a pale green floral tea-dress accessorised with a beige turban and belt, and Andrea Casiraghi's wife Tatiana Santo Domingo in a peach ensemble with floppy hat.
The bride wore a beautiful Chantilly lace, pearl-embroidered gown designed by Sandra Mansour. The two are friends from London, where Ekaterina has her own successful brand Ekat. She also wore a diadem from the Prince's family: first worn in 1913, it belonged to the daughter of Germany's last Kaiser.
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