Former punk princess, now a devout Catholic, bonds with US Supreme Court justice

Washington: An eccentric German princess who evolved from a 1980s punk style icon to a conservative Catholic known for hobnobbing with far-right figures said this week that she hosted Justice Samuel Alito and his wife at her castle during a July 2023 music festival.

US Supreme Court justices have come under scrutiny and criticism in recent months for failure to disclose generous gifts and travel from wealthy supporters.

Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis told The New York Times that she viewed the justice as “a hero.”

Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis in one of the chapels inside her 500-room St. Emmeram Palace, in Regensburg, Germany.Credit: Ksenia Kuleshova/The New York Times

“He is pro-life in a time where the majority follows the culture of death,” she wrote in a text exchange with the Times. She then typed a skull emoji, adding, “Christians believe in life. The Zeitgeist is nihilistic and believes in destruction.”

The 64-year-old princess said Alito and his wife, Martha-Ann, are her “friends” and that after her castle festivities, the three attended the opening of the Bayreuth Festival, the world’s premier venue for the performance of Richard Wagner’s operas.

Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis in the St. Emmeram Palace, in Regensburg, Germany.Credit: Ksenia Kuleshova/The New York Times

The details of the princess’s gift and the justice’s travels emerged after Alito listed a $US900 ($1,330) gift of concert tickets on his annual financial disclosure form, which was released late last week.

The disclosure has prompted a new round of scrutiny of the justices, who have been in the spotlight after a series of revelations that some of them — most notably Justice Clarence Thomas — failed to report lavish gifts and travel from wealthy benefactors.

Alito was the focus of a ProPublica journalism consortium report for failing to disclose a private jet flight paid for by a conservative billionaire who later had cases before the court.

The jet trip was part of a luxury salmon-fishing vacation. Alito, in an opinion column in The Wall Street Journal before the article was published, maintained that he did not have a conflict in accepting the “hospitality” and that he was not obliged to disclose the trip.

In her punk era: Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis at the Waldorf Hotel in New York City, New York in 1987.Credit: Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Princess Gloria, who was once nicknamed “Princess TNT” for her explosive personality, has in recent years courted controversy in both the United States and Europe as a central figure among traditionalist Roman Catholics opposed to Pope Francis.

Her 500-room Bavarian castle in Regensburg, St. Emmeram Palace, home to an annual music festival, has also been floated by longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon as a potential “Gladiator School” for the theological and media training of traditionalist conservative Catholics hostile to Francis.

Princess Gloria did not respond to other questions posed to her, including how long she has known the justice and his wife; whether she paid for other parts of the Alitos’ travel, including transportation; and whether she has given the justice other gifts in the past.

Alito did not respond to requests for comment.

More details have emerged about the justice’s trip to the princess’s castle, including an interview with him by Christian Eckl, the editor-in-chief of a newspaper in Regensburg, who recognised the justice from reporting in the Times about the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. (Alito wrote the majority opinion in the case.)

Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito, centre, during a memorial service for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor at the National Cathedral in Washington in 2023. Credit: Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

In the 32-second video, Alito, with a beard and wearing a dark pinstriped blazer, spoke to an off-camera interviewer. The justice said the castle, seen in the background, was “amazing” and that he was looking forward to going to the Bayreuth Festival to see Wagner’s operas.

“I will enjoy it,” Alito said. “A friend of mine has waited his whole life to get tickets to go, and so it’s quite a privilege to be able to go.”

Alito did not say in the video which friend he was referring to, and he did not disclose any additional names on his annual financial form.

Eckl, who also spoke with the princess about her gift to the justice, described the festival as a mixture of classical music, jazz and rock. He said Elton John had performed there in a previous year.

A schedule for the July 2023 festival in Regensburg, a UNESCO World Heritage site built during the Roman Empire, featured an eclectic lineup, including a performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute, a children’s musical about “Germany’s most famous and cheeky little witch,” a Michael Jackson tribute show and an act called the Earth, Wind & Fire Experience.

Eckl also described controversies around the festival because the princess had invited “many right-wing guests.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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