Emmeram, in the German city of Regensburg, falls into the latter category. The ancestral palace—which adjoins a former Benedictine monastery dating from the eighth century and is said to be one of the largest private homes in Europe—has , square feet of parquet floors, an 18th-century rococo ballroom with foot ceilings, and clocks.
The place seems even smaller, the Princess claims, because of the open layout. Not that she has any intention of giving up the place. A widow and the mother of three grown children, Gloria, 50, usually lives alone during her New York sojourns, and she says she prefers it that way. She likes running her own errands—you might find her shopping for groceries at Garden of Eden on 14th Street—and has considered buying a motorcycle, like the one she has in Regensburg, for zooming solo around the city.
I am not an old lady yet. I like to be free. Freedom is a surprisingly new concept in the life of Princess Gloria, despite her well-known past as a madcap socialite. It was during this time that Gloria earned the nickname Princess TNT, with her multicolored hair, wacky couture outfits and outrageous antics, such as her barking-dog imitation, which she once performed on Late Night With David Letterman.
Her daughter Princess Elisabeth, a writer and editor based in London, says Gloria initially had some concerns about life in the downtown loft. In New York she becomes so much more adventurous and outgoing. We should go to confession. She bought an entire floor, converting two apartments into an open-plan, 4,square-foot space. While furnishing the place, she vowed to import as little as possible from Europe. I like to buy stuff that has lived.
That explains the mix of furniture and objects from the Forties through the Sixties, including many of her flea-market scores. Although she got some advice from friends, including production designer Kevin Thompson, Gloria did the apartment herself.
