Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon Turns 33

The Prince Napoléon

Jean-Christophe Napoléon

HIH Jean Christophe, Prince Napoléon, today celebrates his thirty-third birthday.

Princess Caroline Napoléon, Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon, and Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

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The prince was born on 11 July 1986 at Saint-Raphaël, Var, as the second child and only son of Prince Charles Napoléon (b.1950) and Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (b.1950). The couple were married in a civil ceremony only in 1978, much to the consternation of both sets of parents. Charles and Béatrice divorced in 1989. Jean-Christophe has an older sister, Princess Caroline (b.1980), as well as two younger sisters, Sophie (b.1992) and Anh (b.1998; adopted).

The engagement between Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon and Countess Olympia of Arco-Zinneberg was announced earlier this year. The couple are to be married in Paris on 19 October 2019. Jean Christophe works for The Blackstone Group, a private equity firm, in London; Olympia is an art historian.

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Royal British Engagement Interviews: A Filmography from The Princess Royal in 1973 to Princess Eugenie of York in 2018

Owing to the advent of around-the-clock media, members of the British royal family have sometimes given interviews to the press when their engagements were announced. Here one can find a compilation of clips of statements given by British royals after they became affianced. In 1973, The Princess Anne (The Princess Royal) and Captain Mark Phillips:

In 1981, The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer (The Prince of Wales and the late Diana, Princess of Wales):

In 2011, Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton (the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge):

In 2017, Prince Harry of Wales and Ms Meghan Markle (the Duke and Duchess of Sussex):

In 1986, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York:

In 2018, Princess Eugenie of York and Mr Jack Brooksbank:

In 1999, The Prince Edward and Miss Sophie Rhys-Jones (the Earl and Countess of Wessex):

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Princess Beatrice of York and Count Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi Out On The Town in London

Princess Beatrice of York and Count Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi were photographed yesterday evening (9 July) after leaving Annabel's in London. The pair have been in a relationship since late 2018. Beatrice and Edoardo attended the wedding of Beatrice's second cousin-once-removed Lady Gabriella Windsor and Mr Thomas Kingston in May 2019. 

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Count Edoardo "Edo" Mapelli Mozzi (b.1983) is the son of Count Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi (b.1951) and his first wife Nicola Burrows. Beatrice of York and Count Edo have increasingly been seen together in public since the beginning of this year. 

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On This Day In History: Michael Fagan Breaks Into Buckingham Palace And Meets The Queen

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Thirty-seven years ago today, on the morning of 9 July 1982, thirty-three year-old Michael Fagan (a depressed father of three whose marriage was falling apart) scaled the fourteen foot walls of Buckingham Palace and shimmied up a drainpipe: he then entered the palace through a window and somehow made his way into the bedroom of HM The Queen. Along the way, Fagan had broken a glass ashtray, cut his hand in the process, and was still carrying a piece of the glass when he entered the royal chamber.

The Queen was asleep and only awoke and became aware of Fagan's presence in her room when he moved a curtain. By all accounts, the Queen handled the situation with aplomb and a cool sense of calm. She used the telephone next to her bed to call for a policeman; when one did not arrive after six minutes, she phoned again. Her Majesty was able to get the attention of a maid who had been cleaning a nearby room, and, together, they took Fagan to a pantry on the pretence of finding Fagan a cigarette, which he had requested to calm his nerves. Next to arrive was a footman, who had been out walking the royal corgis - the Queen then had to keep her dogs away from Fagan, who was in a sufficient state of agitation. Finally, two policemen arrived, and Mr Fagan was arrested, not for trespassing, but for the theft of a bottle of wine. He went on to spend some time in a psychiatric hospital.

Report from The Guardian on 12 July 1982

The Fagan break-in lead to an extensive review of the security measures in place at Buckingham Palace by Scotland Yard. The text of the findings can be read at this link: TEXT OF SCOTLAND YARD'S REPORT ON JULY 9 INTRUSION INTO BUCKINGHAM PALACE

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Twenty Years of Marriage for Princess Alexia of Greece and Carlos Morales Quintana

On 9 July 1999, Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark (b.10 July 1965) wed Spanish architect Carlos Javier Morales Quintana (b.31 December 1970) at St Sophia Cathedral in London. Alexia is the eldest child of King Constantine II of the Hellenes (b.1940) and Queen Anne-Marie (b.1946; née Denmark). Carlos is the son of Luis Miguel Morales y Armas and María Teresa Quintana y González. The couple had announced their engagement on 20 March; Alexia and Carlos had met in Barcelona in 1998.

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After the Greek Orthodox religious ceremony, the 450 guests attended a reception at Kenwood House to celebrate the union of Princess Alexia and Carlos. According to the Times of London, three kings, eight queens, and eight crown princes/princesses were among the more than sixty royal attendees who joined in the festivities to mark the marriage of the eldest daughter of King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie.

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Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark and Carlos Morales Quintana have four children: Arrietta (b.2002), Ana María (b.2003), Carlos (b.2005), and Amelia (b.2007). The family lives in Spain.

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The Silver Wedding Anniversary of Prince Konstantin and Princess Maria of Bulgaria

Today the Prince and Princess of Vidin celebrate their silver wedding anniversary.

Queen Mother Giovanna of the Bulgarians with her grandson Crown Prince Kardam

Doña María Zurita de Borbón, Don Carlos Zurita y Delgado, Infanta Margarita of Spain, Don Alfonso Zurita de Borbón

Princess Clotilde d'Orléans and Monsieur Edouard Crépy

The Prince of Asturias and Queen Sofía of Spain

Prince Kubrat, Prince Kyrill, King Simeon, and Princess Karina of Bulgaria

On 7 July 1994, Prince Konstantin-Assen of Bulgaria (b.5 December 1967) and doña María García de la Rasilla y Gortázar (b.13 May 1970) were married at Madrid. Konstantin is the fourth and youngest son of King Simeon II of the Bulgarians (b.1937) and his wife Queen Margarita (b.1935; Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela). Maria is the daughter of Álvaro García de la Rasilla y Pineda and his wife María de Gortázar e Ybarra. The maternal grandfather of Maria, Princess of Vidin, was Manuel María de Gortázar y Landecho, IX Conde de Superunda.

Prince Konstantin-Assen of Bulgaria and with his mother Queen Margarita

Doña María García de la Rasilla y Gortázar with her father Don Alvaro García de la Rasilla y Pineda

The Prince and Princess of Vidin are the parents of two children: twins Prince Umberto and Princess Sofia (b.20 November 1999). Umberto's godparents are Ramon Ros Bigeriego and his grandmother Queen Margarita; Sofia's godparents are King Felipe VI of Spain and her grandmother doña María de Gortázar e Ybarra. 

The baptism of Prince Umberto and Princess Sofia of Bulgaria

The Prince and Princess of Vidin with their children

Princess Sofia, Prince Konstantin, Princess Maria, and Prince Umberto of Bulgaria

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Seventy-Fifth Birthday of Crown Prince Nikola of Montenegro

Prince Mihailo and Princess Geneviève of Montenegro

On 7 July 1944, Prince Nicholas (Nikola) Michael Francis of Montenegro was born at Saint-Nicolas-du-Pelem, as the only child of Prince Michael (Mihailo) of Montenegro and his wife Geneviève. Prince Mihailo (1908-1986) and Geneviève Prigent (1919-1990) had married at Paris on 27 January 1941. The pair were interned in Germany from 1941 until 1943 by the Nazis; when they were released, they returned to France, where their son was born. In 1947, Mihailo, Geneviève, and Nikola moved to Yugoslavia as Mihailo had accepted a position in Tito's Foreign Ministry - a position he left  in 1948. The family then returned to Paris, where Mihailo and Geneviève's marriage ended. 

Crown Prince Nikola of Montenegro

Upon the couple's divorce in 1949, their son Nikola was raised by his mother and rarely saw his father. Geneviève worked as an orthoptist and raised Nikola as a single mother at Trebeurden. In 1964, Nikola became a student at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris; in 1971, he obtained a diploma in Architecture and admitted to the Société Française des Architectes.

Crown Princess Francine of Montenegro

Crown Prince Nikola and Crown Princess Francine of Montenegro

Nikola and Francine of Montenegro with their children Altinaï and Boris

On 27 November 1976, Prince Nikola of Montenegro married Francine Navarro (b.Casablanca 27 January 1950), daughter of Antoine Navarro (1922-1989) and Rachel Wazana (1930-2011). Francine studied law and later worked for many decades as a designer at the fashion house that she co-founded, Petrovitch & Robinson. Nikola forged his career as an architect. Nikola and Francine have two children: Princess Altinaï (b.1977; married to Anton Martynov) and Prince Boris (b.1980; married to Véronique Haillot Canas da Silva). Crown Princess Francine passed away in 2008, aged fifty-eight.

Hereditary Prince Boris and Hereditary Princess Véronique of Montenegro with eldest daughter Princess Milena

Crown Prince Nikola of Montenegro with his daughter Princess Altinaï

The family returned to Montenegro in 1989 for the reburial of Nikola's great-grandfather and great-grandmother, King Nikola I and Queen Milena of Montenegro. In 2011, Crown Prince Nikola and his family were granted special status by the Montenegrin government; the legislation that was approved by the nation's parliament provides the family with an annual allowance as well as a residence in the country. Crown Prince Nikola now divides his time between Montenegro and France. 

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