Princess Ira von Fürstenberg dead at 83: The actress was heir to the Fiat fortune

Many considered Princess Ira von Fürstenberg one of the original ‘it’ girls, a term defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as a “famous young woman who is known for going to a lot of parties.” The Princess, who passed away in Rome at the age of 83, was the the sister-in-law of fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg, renowned for the iconic wrap dress. The Princess first attracted attention at the tender age of 15 when she married Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, the founder of the glamorous and luxurious hotel Marbella Club, located in Marbella, Spain. According to The Times, “The previous year he had survived a plane crash when his flight from Paris went down in a field in Connecticut. While scrambling from the wreckage, he realised that he wanted to marry Ira, a family friend.”

As she was only 15, special dispensation for the marriage to go ahead had to be granted by Pope Pius XII. 300 people attended the wedding, including aristocracy and European royalty. She left her home by gondola in Venice for the church of San Sebastiano, the Princess was given a gift of a red Cinquecento by Fiat, the company that belonged to her mother’s family. After their wedding, the couple lived in Mexico and had two sons,  Christoph and Hubertus.

Princess Ira von Fürstenberg and Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg divorced in 1960 and the Princess went on to marry Francisco “Baby” Pignatari. The Vatican eventually annulled her first marriage. Thanks to a chance encounter with producer Dino De Laurentiis on a flight in 1966, he cast her in a James Bond spoof, Matchless, as he was reportedly captivated by the Princess’s looks. Princess Ira reportedly turned down the lead role in Barbarella. 

Princess Ira von Fürstenberg went on to model for Vogue and was close friends with Karl Lagerfeld but when he died, the pair reportedly were no longer speaking. She also became president of Valentino’s perfume business and lived at an apartment  in the Place Vendôme in Paris, where she had solid-gold bath taps. 

In the 1980s, she opened an antiques shop in London and it was thought that she would marry Prince Rainier of Monaco when his wife, former actress Grace Kelly passed away. Princess Margaret, the late Queen Elizabeth 11’s sister, reportedly said at the time, “Such a big girl for such a small country.”

To the outside, she lived a life of glamour, but the Princess had to endure tragedy, her brother Egon passed away in 2004 and only two years later, her oldest son, who was known as Kiko died. He passed away in a Bangkok prison after suffering from complications of diabetes. The Times reported that “he was being held for having forged a visa extension so he could attend a weight-loss camp.”

The Princess’s other son, Hubertus von Hohenhole, not only represented Mexico at skiing in the Olympic games, but was also a pop singer and used the names Andy Himalya and Royal Disaster. 

Hubertus has 12.9K followers on Instagram and in his profile describes himself amongst other things as a “6 time Olympian and a pop artist.” In 2023, Prince Hubertus whose full name is Prince Hubertus of Hohenlohe-Langenburg made his 20th appearance at an Alpine World Ski Championships, he was 64 at the time, and it would seem that was his last. Eurosports reported that Prince Hubertus said that “My wife thinks I’m completely crazy. She’s always afraid something will happen to me. You have to feel what your body is saying and then decide.”