Her Highness Hande, Duchess of Mecklenburg, Princess of Wenden, Schwerin and Ratzeburg, Countess of Schwerin, Lady of the Lands of Rostock and Stargard, Hereditary Princess, was born on 16 September 1992 in Tarsus. She is the daughter of Suphi Macit and his wife Cemile, née Uçar.
Early life
Hereditary Princess Hande grew up in the city of Tarsus in south central Turkey where she studied at the Tarsus American College.
In 2010 she moved to the Netherlands to study International Business Administration at the Rotterdam School of Management Erasmus University. After graduating in 2014 she remained in the Netherlands and subsequently became a Dutch citizen.
Career
In 2018 Hereditary Princess Hande co-founded the Luwia Yogurt company alongside her brother Kerem Macit. The Rotterdam based company produced homemade yogurt and labneh cheese. For her work with Luwia, Hereditary Princess Hande was a finalist at the 2019 Rotterdam Businesswoman of the year awards in the emerging talent category.
Since early 2022 Hereditary Princess Hande has worked as a business development manager for Projob Company Onboarding who support international companies in establishing themselves in the Netherlands.
Hereditary Princess
In December 2020 the engagement of Hereditary Princess Hande and Hereditary Prince Alexander was announced. In preparation for her marriage into the Grand Ducal House, Hereditary Princess Hande was baptised in the Roman Catholic faith and began to learn German.
The couple’s civil marriage took place in the great hall of the Mirow Palace on 17 June 2022. Their religious wedding took place in the city church of Neustrelitz on 17 September 2022.
Hereditary Princess Hande and Hereditary Prince Alexander live in Rotterdam. They have one son, Duke Leopold, born 2023.