# Princess Angela of Liechtenstein
**Princess Angela of Liechtenstein** (born Angela Gisela Brown in 1958) is a Panamanian-born former fashion designer who became a member of the Princely House of Liechtenstein through her marriage to [Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein](https://www.edgepedia.org/prince-maximilian-of-liechtenstein), the second son of the reigning [Prince Hans-Adam II](https://www.edgepedia.org/hans-adam-ii-prince-of-liechtenstein). She is described in multiple royal coverage outlets as the first woman of African descent to marry into a reigning European royal family.[1](https://www.tatler.com/article/who-is-princess-angela-of-liechtenstein) • [2](https://royalcentral.co.uk/europe/the-first-princess-of-african-origin-princess-angela-of-liechtenstein-88593/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1958 in Bocas del Toro, Panama; family of Afro-Panamanian origin moved to New York in her childhood[1](https://www.tatler.com/article/who-is-princess-angela-of-liechtenstein) • [3](https://www.infobae.com/america/realeza/2025/09/08/la-vida-poco-conocida-de-la-princesa-angela-brown-de-panama-a-la-realeza-europea/?outputType=amp-type) |
| Career | Studied fashion design at Parsons School of Design; won the Oscar de la Renta award in 1979; founded the label A. Brown and served as creative director at Adrienne Vittadini[1](https://www.tatler.com/article/who-is-princess-angela-of-liechtenstein) • [3](https://www.infobae.com/america/realeza/2025/09/08/la-vida-poco-conocida-de-la-princesa-angela-brown-de-panama-a-la-realeza-europea/?outputType=amp-type) |
| Marriage | Civil ceremony 21 January 2000 in Vaduz; religious ceremony 29 January 2000 at the Church of St Vincent Ferrer, New York[3](https://www.infobae.com/america/realeza/2025/09/08/la-vida-poco-conocida-de-la-princesa-angela-brown-de-panama-a-la-realeza-europea/?outputType=amp-type) • [4](https://royalwatcherblog.com/2019/01/29/wedding-of-prince-maximilian-of-liechtenstein-2000/) |
| Distinction | First woman of African descent to marry into a reigning European royal family[2](https://royalcentral.co.uk/europe/the-first-princess-of-african-origin-princess-angela-of-liechtenstein-88593/) |
| Wedding dress | Designed by the bride herself, a white gown with a bateau neckline and long sleeves, worn with the Kinsky Tiara[1](https://www.tatler.com/article/who-is-princess-angela-of-liechtenstein) • [4](https://royalwatcherblog.com/2019/01/29/wedding-of-prince-maximilian-of-liechtenstein-2000/) |
| Child | One son, Prince Alfons Constantin Maria, born 2001 in London[5](https://www.presseportal.ch/de/pm/100000148/100007473) |
| Titles | Princess of Liechtenstein and Countess of Rietberg, with the style of Serene Highness[6](https://www.modekoninginmaxima.nl/maak-kennis-met-angela-de-eerste-getinte-prinses-in-europa/) |
## Early life and design career
Angela Gisela Brown was born in 1958 in Bocas del Toro, a province in Panama, the daughter of Javier Francisco Brown, a businessman, and Silvia Maritza Burke. Her family, of Afro-Panamanian origin, moved to New York when she was a child, and she completed her primary and secondary education there.[1](https://www.tatler.com/article/who-is-princess-angela-of-liechtenstein) • [3](https://www.infobae.com/america/realeza/2025/09/08/la-vida-poco-conocida-de-la-princesa-angela-brown-de-panama-a-la-realeza-europea/?outputType=amp-type) A Panamanian newspaper report from the time of her wedding likewise states that she was born in Bocas del Toro but had lived in New York since childhood.[7](https://portal.critica.com.pa/archivo/01302000/f-noticia.html)
**Design work.** She studied fashion at the [Parsons School of Design](https://www.edgepedia.org/parsons-school-of-design) in New York, where she excelled and received the [Oscar de la Renta](https://www.edgepedia.org/oscar-de-la-renta) award; Infobae, citing Paris Match, dates the award to 1979.[1](https://www.tatler.com/article/who-is-princess-angela-of-liechtenstein) • [3](https://www.infobae.com/america/realeza/2025/09/08/la-vida-poco-conocida-de-la-princesa-angela-brown-de-panama-a-la-realeza-europea/?outputType=amp-type) After graduating she worked as a stylist for about three years, launched her own label, A. Brown, with investment partners in New York, and was creative director at Adrienne Vittadini, a small American label with a flagship store in Beverly Hills.[1](https://www.tatler.com/article/who-is-princess-angela-of-liechtenstein)
## Marriage
She met Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein at a party in New York in 1997. Maximilian, then working at the investment firm Chase Capital Partners and eleven years her junior, is the second son of Prince Hans-Adam II and Princess Marie of Liechtenstein.[1](https://www.tatler.com/article/who-is-princess-angela-of-liechtenstein) • [3](https://www.infobae.com/america/realeza/2025/09/08/la-vida-poco-conocida-de-la-princesa-angela-brown-de-panama-a-la-realeza-europea/?outputType=amp-type) The engagement was announced in 1999.[8](https://www.20minutos.es/gente/asi-sido-reaparicion-angela-liechtenstein-primera-princesa-afroamericana-monarquia-europea_6241400_0.html)
The couple married with the monarch's approval in two stages: a civil ceremony on 21 January 2000 in Vaduz, followed a week later by a religious ceremony at the Church of St Vincent Ferrer in New York on 29 January 2000.[3](https://www.infobae.com/america/realeza/2025/09/08/la-vida-poco-conocida-de-la-princesa-angela-brown-de-panama-a-la-realeza-europea/?outputType=amp-type) • [4](https://royalwatcherblog.com/2019/01/29/wedding-of-prince-maximilian-of-liechtenstein-2000/) Angela designed her own wedding dress, an elegantly simple white gown with a bateau neckline and long sleeves, and wore the Kinsky Tiara, a family piece set with diamond honeysuckle flowers.[1](https://www.tatler.com/article/who-is-princess-angela-of-liechtenstein) • [4](https://royalwatcherblog.com/2019/01/29/wedding-of-prince-maximilian-of-liechtenstein-2000/) Royal Central reports that the union drew negative remarks from some members of the royal family, though most welcomed the couple without prejudice.[2](https://royalcentral.co.uk/europe/the-first-princess-of-african-origin-princess-angela-of-liechtenstein-88593/)
Because Maximilian is not in the direct line of succession, the couple has lived a comparatively private life for royals. He studied business and has chaired LGT Group, the family's asset management and private banking group, since 2006, so the family's home is in Vaduz.[2](https://royalcentral.co.uk/europe/the-first-princess-of-african-origin-princess-angela-of-liechtenstein-88593/) • [9](https://www.gala.de/beauty-fashion/fashion/angela-von-liechtenstein--die-undercover-prinzessin-22283836.html)
## Family
The princely house announced on 18 May 2001 that Princess Angela had given birth that day in London to a healthy son, who was named Alfons Constantin Maria.[5](https://www.presseportal.ch/de/pm/100000148/100007473) According to Paris Match as reported by Infobae, Prince Alfonso holds a business degree from [Georgetown University](https://www.edgepedia.org/georgetown-university) and, since 2024, has worked as an analyst at Onex, specializing in financial-services investments, after earlier positions at TD Cowen in Leipzig and L-GAM in London; he stands seventh in the line of succession to the [Liechtenstein](https://www.edgepedia.org/liechtenstein) throne.[3](https://www.infobae.com/america/realeza/2025/09/08/la-vida-poco-conocida-de-la-princesa-angela-brown-de-panama-a-la-realeza-europea/?outputType=amp-type)
## Public profile and the Meghan Markle comparison
Princess Angela keeps a low profile, limiting her public appearances to official occasions and family celebrations, and has consistently declined interviews.[3](https://www.infobae.com/america/realeza/2025/09/08/la-vida-poco-conocida-de-la-princesa-angela-brown-de-panama-a-la-realeza-europea/?outputType=amp-type) • [10](https://www.oxforddawn.com/p/marriage-and-mixing) When Meghan Markle married Prince Harry in May 2018, commentators immediately noted the resemblance between the two wedding ensembles: both brides wore similar silhouettes with minimal jewelry, low buns with long veils worn toward the back of the head, and comparable tiaras.[1](https://www.tatler.com/article/who-is-princess-angela-of-liechtenstein) • [9](https://www.gala.de/beauty-fashion/fashion/angela-von-liechtenstein--die-undercover-prinzessin-22283836.html) The comparison renewed international attention on Brown, whom several outlets recalled as the first woman of African ancestry to enter a reigning European family, eighteen years before the Duchess of Sussex.[3](https://www.infobae.com/america/realeza/2025/09/08/la-vida-poco-conocida-de-la-princesa-angela-brown-de-panama-a-la-realeza-europea/?outputType=amp-type) • [11](https://www.revistavanityfair.es/realeza/bodas-reales/articulos/angela-de-liechtenstein-princesa-negra-europa/31250)
One of her rare public appearances came on 30 August 2025, when she attended the wedding of her niece by marriage, Princess Marie Caroline, in Vaduz.[3](https://www.infobae.com/america/realeza/2025/09/08/la-vida-poco-conocida-de-la-princesa-angela-brown-de-panama-a-la-realeza-europea/?outputType=amp-type)
## References
1. [Royally stylish: The Princess of Liechtenstein whose wedding dress might have inspired the Duchess of Sussex, Tatler](https://www.tatler.com/article/who-is-princess-angela-of-liechtenstein)
2. [The first princess of African origin: Princess Angela of Liechtenstein, Royal Central](https://royalcentral.co.uk/europe/the-first-princess-of-african-origin-princess-angela-of-liechtenstein-88593/)
3. [La vida poco conocida de la princesa Angela Brown: de Panamá a la realeza europea, Infobae](https://www.infobae.com/america/realeza/2025/09/08/la-vida-poco-conocida-de-la-princesa-angela-brown-de-panama-a-la-realeza-europea/?outputType=amp-type)
4. [Wedding of Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein, 2000, The Royal Watcher](https://royalwatcherblog.com/2019/01/29/wedding-of-prince-maximilian-of-liechtenstein-2000/)
5. [Pressemitteilung aus dem Fürstenhaus, 18 May 2001, Presseportal.ch](https://www.presseportal.ch/de/pm/100000148/100007473)
6. [Maak kennis met Angela, de eerste 'getinte' prinses in Europa, Modekoningin Máxima](https://www.modekoninginmaxima.nl/maak-kennis-met-angela-de-eerste-getinte-prinses-in-europa/)
7. [Panameña Angela Brown se casó con un príncipe, Crítica en Línea, 30 January 2000](https://portal.critica.com.pa/archivo/01302000/f-noticia.html)
8. [Así ha sido la reaparición de Angela de Liechtenstein, 20minutos](https://www.20minutos.es/gente/asi-sido-reaparicion-angela-liechtenstein-primera-princesa-afroamericana-monarquia-europea_6241400_0.html)
9. [Angela von Liechtenstein: Die Undercover-Prinzessin, GALA.de](https://www.gala.de/beauty-fashion/fashion/angela-von-liechtenstein--die-undercover-prinzessin-22283836.html)
10. ["What's in a name?" – Marriage and Mixing, Oxford Dawn](https://www.oxforddawn.com/p/marriage-and-mixing)
11. [Angela de Liechtenstein, la otra princesa negra de Europa, Vanity Fair España](https://www.revistavanityfair.es/realeza/bodas-reales/articulos/angela-de-liechtenstein-princesa-negra-europa/31250)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Government and public administration › Royal consorts and dynastic families › Non-reigning princes and princesses › Continental European royal relatives › German and Austrian royalty*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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