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Top left: Tatiana Galitzine at the "Habsburg Splendor" exhibition dinner with Andreas Möller's Maria Theresa as a Child, circa 1727. Collection Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Above: Galitzine in an Ellery dress and Viktor & Rolf shoes, both from Laboratoria. Pendulum necklace from Cheeky Vintage. Far left, above: Gyula Éder's Empress/Queen Zita and Crown Prince Otto Descending from the Imperial Carriage before the Coronation in Budapest on December 30, 1916, 1929. Collection Imperial Carriage Museum, Vienna. Below: Galitzine in Emilia Wickstead, from Laboratoria, net-a-porter.com. Her great-grandmother Zita of Bourbon-Parma was the last empress of Austria, with a reign that ended in 1918 after World War I. Zita and her family were forced into exile the next year. "I remember Zita as being very old;" says Galitzine, "she was in her 90s when I was born in 1984, and always dressed in black in honor of her late husband, [Emperor] Charles [I of Austria], who died at 34." Zita passed away in 1989, and Galitzine knows the story of her funeral as family lore that's been told time and time again. As it is relayed (and also originally reported by The New York Times in 1989), Zita was granted access back into Austria in 1982. Upon her death, at the request of the family, the Austrian government allowed her funeral to be held in the country, provided the family paid for it. Although thousands upon thousands turned out for the funeral procession to the Imperial Crypt under Capuchin Church, the reception toward her family and grandmother was mixed; they could feel dislike emanating from some bystanders. When the black imperial catafalque borrowed from the Museum at Schönbrunn Palace arrived at the crypt's door, the pallbearers knocked and, as is tradition, requested access by stating that Zita, Her Majesty the Empress and Queen, was seeking entry. The warden would not let them in, claiming he "did not know this person" until the pallbearers said, "We come with the sinful mortal, our sister Zita." It was a strong reminder that the family was no longer in power and, most importantly, that for Catholics, everyone is a mortal sinner in death and before God. Galitzine visited Austria in 2011 for the funeral of her great uncle, the former crown prince. Otto renounced his claims to the throne in order to be provided re-entry to Austria, which was granted in 1966 with the issuance of an Austrian passport. Thousands turned out for his funeral, which included a procession similar to her great-grandmother's. This time, attitude toward the family was much happier and altogether positive — a big change over the course of 20 years. ROYALS AMONG US Galitzine's mother, Princess Anna Maria Galitzine, was born in Belgium in 1954 as the eldest child of Archduke Rudolf. She possessed the title of archduchess but learned not to throw it around. Even though she was not seeking a noble match, she met her true love, Prince Piotr Galitzine, a descendent of the Russian aristocracy, at a bar in New York. They had six children — four boys and two girls. Tatiana, the second oldest, was born in California, where her father had formed a startup with an MIT professor. The Galitzines then moved to Luxembourg to expand the company. Soon afterwards, the company failed, and her father hoped to return to his native Russia after the fall of communism. As Russian aristocrats, his family members had been persecuted and some killed under the control of the communist regime, but Piotr still loved his homeland. The opportunity presented itself when a German pipe company sought to enter the newly opened Russian market, and the family moved to Moscow for 15 years. "At home, my father speaks Russian to us, the girls speak French to each other, and the boys speak German," Galitzine says. The children each posses the title of prince or princess, but do not use them in everyday life. Her older sister, Xenia Galitzine de Matta, and her younger sister, Maria Galitzine, live in Houston as well. Galitzine and her siblings were raised with a sense of duty towards and love for Austria and Russia, even though their families were not always welcomed; during the Olympics, they root heavily for both countries. She and her siblings and dozens of cousins were taught cautious behavior — no royal wild-child antics allowed. Being a Habsburg descendant means not doing anything to offend or embarrass the family name. "In Houston and in America, citizens grow up with the idea that charity is normal," she says. "In Moscow, philanthropy is neither taught nor encouraged due to communism." But she and her brothers and sisters were prompted by their parents to attend one highbrow concert or art event of their choosing per week. Joanne King Herring, a family friend, has been a big inspiration and mentor for Galitzine, especially in guiding her in philanthropic endeavors. MODERN LOVE It was a Saturday night at a stunning contemporary home in Boulevard Oaks, and the social gang was all there: Joanne King Herring held court in a back room with a few young gentlemen, Kathy and Marty Goossen surveyed the scene outside, and Princess Maria Anna Galitzine and Prince Piotr Galitzine mingled with guests in the massive living room with a soaring 34-foot ceiling surrounded by walls of glass. Family and friends make toasts to Galitzine and her fiancé — after all, it is their engagement party. Galitzine announced her surprising engagement to Guillermo Sierra, a Wharton grad from Mexico City, a few months earlier. It was a whirlwind romance: They had known each other only six weeks. Sierra works as an investment banker in an office next door to Galitzine's office at Gensler downtown. Both Sierra and Galitzine spend long hours at their respective jobs, and one day Sierra decided to strike up a conversation with Galitzine in front of her building. After a first date, they realized they had many of the same friends and had most likely been at the same parties on the same nights but never connected. "After our first date, I knew he was the love of my life and so did he, and he proposed shortly after," Galitzine says. "And I said yes straight away." The couple recently purchased the contemporary house — all glass and steel, per her style — as their first home together. They're in the throes of planning a grand wedding in New York next March. And so, a modern-day princess has found her prince. Above: After Bernhard Strigel's Portrait of Maximilian I, circa 1508. Collection Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. JENNY ANTILL CLIFTON / COURTESY MFAH. PORTRAIT COLLECTION KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM, VIENNA. Hungarian coronation attire of Crown Prince Otto, Galitzine's great-uncle, 1916. Collection Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Vienna Court carousel sleigh, circa 1740/1750, and harness, remade in 1814/1815. Collection Imperial Carriage Museum, Vienna. Charles, Zita and Crown Prince Otto in Hungarian coronation attire, 1916. The couple are Galitzine's great-grandparents, Prince Otto her great-uncle. Collection Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. APRIL | PAGE 21 | 2016