Princess Maria Galitzine Dead at 31 From Cardiac Aneurysm

Maria Singh, née Princess Maria Galitzine, died days before her 32nd birthday of a "sudden cardiac aneurysm" on May 4, an obituary published by the Houston Chronicle has confirmed. The daughter of Prince Piotr Galitzine and Princess Maria-Anna Galitzine, neé Archduchess of Austria, died in Houston, leaving behind husband Rishi Singh and their 2-year-old son Maxim.

"Sadly, I can confirm that Princess Maria Galitzine Singh died on May 4, 2020, from a cardiac aneurysm," Suzanne Pearson, delegate of the Emperor Karl League of Prayer in the United States, told USA TODAY in a statement Friday, directing people to the obituary for the descendant of Emperor Charles I of Austria. (The Emperor Karl League of Prayer promotes the canonization of Blessed Karl of the House of Austria).

Maria was born in Luxembourg in 1988 and later moved to Russia with her family, attending school in Moscow and at the College of Art & Design in Belgium before building a career as an interior designer. Forging her way in life, Maria was also a descendant of Archduke Rudolf of Austria, the youngest son of Emperor Charles I of Austria. Rudolf himself worked on Wall Street as a junior executive and a bank director before his death in May 2010, marrying twice and fathering four children. The eldest of his children is the late royal's mother, born Archduchess Maria of Austria.

After graduating from school, she traveled the world, working internationally before marrying her husband, the executive chef at Houston's Hotel Derek, in September 2017. Most recently, she lived in Houston with her husband and their young son, whom the obituary referred to as "the apple of her eye." In addition to her husband and son, Singh is survived by her parents, sisters Tatiana, Xenia Galitzine de Matta, and Princess Alexandra Galitzine, and brothers, Prince Dmitri Galitzine and Prince Ioann Galitzine. Maria was laid to rest in the Orthodox section of Forest Park Westheimer Cemetery on May 8. The family is asking that in lieu of flowers, people plant memorial trees in her honor by visiting the Sympathy Store.

The new generation of royals has kept their life mostly private, with sister Tatiana telling the Houston Chronicle of her wedding, "My life is completely normal unless we are invited to royal weddings. My mail sometimes says 'Princess Tatiana'. What was weird was when I went from 'Princess' to 'Mrs.' I had been a princess all my life," she said.