The Queen is Dead; Long Live the King.

 

The 80th Birthday of Princess Marion d'Orléans, Dowager Countess of La Marche

Thibaut, Marion, and Robert. Photo (c) Micheline PELLETIER/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images.

Today, Princess Marion d'Orléans, Dowager Countess of La Marche, celebrates her eightieth birthday.

Born on 4 September 1942 at Santiago, Chile, Marion Mercedes Gordon-Orr was the only daughter of James Gordon-Orr (1894-1973), an engineer, and Gertrude Mercedes Devia Hermosilla (1914-2003). Marion's paternal grandparents were Alexander Orr (1838-1919) and Clara Eliza Gordon (1858-1947). 

Thibaut and Marion shortly before their marriage, 1972.

In 1968, Marion first met Prince Thibaut d'Orléans, the youngest child of Prince Henri and Princess Isabelle, Count and Countess of Paris. At the time, Marion was working as an interpreter in Paris for an American firm. 

Thibaut and Marion.

The newlyweds.

On 23 September 1972 at Edinburgh, Marion Gordon-Orr, aged thirty, married Prince Thibaut, aged twenty-four. The royal couple celebrated their religious marriage at the private chapel of Cardinal Gray, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh. At the time, their union was not pleasing to the groom's father, and the Count of Paris forbade all family members from attending the wedding. Thibaut's sister Princess Claude, then still Duchess of Aosta, was his only sibling to go against the wishes of the Orléans patriarch, and she was present to celebrate Thibaut and Marion's nuptials. 

During their marriage, Thibaut and Marion travelled widely. They visited Peru, Colombia, and Chile, where Marion was born. In Marion, Thibaut found a soul who shared his love of the discovery of lesser-known peoples and their cultures. Between 1973 and 1974, the couple wrote six books in the Les Princes du sang series; these books detailed the fate of a fictional German princely family. The first of these books was published in English under the title A Castle in Bavaria. 

Marion, Thibaut, and their eldest son Robert.

Prince Thibaut and Princess Marion had two children, both sons and both born while Thibaut and Marion were staying with her mother in Edinburgh. Prince Robert d'Orléans arrived on 6 September 1976; Robert's godparents are Viscount Paul de La Panouse, one of his parents' dearest friends, as well as his aunt Princess Claude, Duchess of Aosta. Robert's birth led to a reconciliation between his father Thibaut and his grandfather Henri. Three years later, the family was completed by the birth of Louis-Philippe on 18 April 1979; his godparents were Count Charles of Bourbon-Busset and the infant's grandmother Madame the Countess of Paris. Tragically, eight-month-old Louis-Philippe died on 2 January 1980 from sepsis. The sudden and unexpected loss of Louis-Philippe, coupled with the brutally insensitive decision of his grandfather the Count of Paris that the young child could not be buried in the Chapel Royal of Dreux as he was not a dynast, was a blow to Thibaut and Marion. 

The Count and Countess de La Marche, 28 June 1981. Photo (c) AKSARAN/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images.

In the months following his son's funeral, Thibaut d'Orléans was imprisoned for eighteen months for complicity in the theft of works of art. The case caused a stir and the problems of the Count and Countess of La Marche made the way to the front page of many French newspapers. Thibaut was tied with an attempt to steal works of art by Suzanne Courty.

Marion with her son Robert at the funeral of her husband Thibaut, 1983. Photo (c) Getty Images / Alain Mingam.

After his release from prison, the Count of la Marche left France to organise safaris for tourists in the Central African Republic. Marion and their son Robert remained in France. On 23 March 1983, Prince Thibaut died at hospital in Bangui, in circumstances that have been considered by some to be mysterious. The prince was thirty-five years-old when he died. Thibaut's funeral was attended by most of the Royal Family of France; even the separated Count and Countess of Clermont and divorced Princess Claude and Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, came together to support Marion and her son Robert. 

Marion and Thibaut in Paris, 1977. Photo (c) AGIP / Bridgeman Images.

After the death of her husband, Princess Marion focused on the upbringing of their only surviving son, Robert. In 1999, after her brother-in-law Prince Henri succeeded as Head of the Royal House of France, Henri retroactively recognised Thibaut and Marion's marriage and, in doing so, Henri declared that their son Robert is a dynastic member of the royal house. Princess Marion lives discretely and quietly; however, on occasion, one can still spot her attending Orléans family functions. 

May Princess Marion be blessed with a very happy birthday!

A Surprise Royal Marriage: Dowager Princess Miriam of Turnovo Weds Prince Ghazi of Jordan!

Princess Miriam Ghazi, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad. Photo (c) RHC.

The Royal Hashemite Court issued the following communiqué earlier today:

The Royal Hashemite Court is pleased to announce the marriage of His Royal Highness Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad and Her Royal Highness Princess Miriam, Princess of Turnovo, on Saturday, 3 September 2022, in the presence of His Majesty King Abdullah II.

Their Royal Highnesses Prince El Hassan bin Talal and Prince Talal bin Muhammad attended the marriage ceremony.

The Royal Hashemite Court extends its sincere congratulations to His Majesty on this occasion, and wishes Their Royal Highnesses Prince Ghazi and Princess Miriam Ghazi a lifetime of happiness.

Princess Miriam is the widowed daughter-in-law of King Simeon II of the Bulgarians. Prince Ghazi is the first cousin of King Abdullah II of Jordan. Although Prince Ghazi is of the Muslim faith, Princess Miriam is believed to have remained in the Orthodox faith.

Prince Boris, Princess Miriam, and Prince Beltran at the memorial to Prince Kardam, 2 September 2022. Photo (c) HM King Simeon II.

The day prior to the wedding, on 2 September (which is also Miriam's birthday), the princess and her sons visited the memorial erected near the Jordan River in memory of Crown Prince Kardam of Bulgaria.

Wedding of Crown Prince Kardam of Bulgaria and doña Miriam de Ungría y López in 1996

The Crown Princely couple with their first son Boris

Crown Prince Kardam and Crown Princess Miriam with their sons

On 2 September 1963 at Madrid, Spain, Dowager Princess Miriam of Turnovo was born as Doña Miriam Ungría y López, the daughter of Don Bernardo Ungría y Goiburu and Doña María del Carmen López y Oleaga (d.2019). Miriam has a degree in history and geography, with a concentration in art history, from the Complutense University of Madrid. She later studied gemology, jewellery manufacturing, wax molding, gemstone setting, and jewellery design at the University of Oviedo's European Centre of Gemology and Jewellery. Miriam created her own fashion line under the name "MdeU."

On 7 July 1996 at the Santos Andrés y Demetrio Orthodox Church in Madrid, Doña Miriam Ungría y López married Crown Prince Kardam of Bulgaria, Prince of Turnovo (b.Madrid 2 December 1962). Kardam was the eldest child of King Simeon II of Bulgaria (b.1937) and Queen Margarita (b.1935; née Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela). Prince Kardam and Princess Miriam had two sons, Prince Boris (b.1997) and Prince Beltran (b.1999), who were both christened in the Orthodox faith. On 15 August 2008, Kardam and Miriam were involved in a serious motor vehicle accident in Madrid: both the prince and princess sustained severe injuries. Miriam was able to recover from the incident; however, Kardam's condition and the traumatic brain injury from the accident had left him in a coma. Although she had remained a Roman Catholic when they married, Princess Miriam converted to the Orthodox faith as an expression of empathy to her husband and their family. Tragically, Crown Prince Kardam died on 7 April 2015 in Madrid; he had been in a coma for almost seven years. Kardam's death was an indescribable blow to his wife, their sons, and his parents and extended family. 

Prince Mohammad and Princess Firyal with their two sons, Prince Talal and Prince Ghazi.

The Prince of Wales and Prince Ghazi during a visit to Jordan of the British heir in 2013. Photo (c) Getty Images / Chris Jackson.

Queen Sonja and King Harald V of Norway with Prince Ghazi and Queen Rania of Jordan, 2021. Photo (c) Getty Images / Khalil Mazraawi.

On 15 October 1966 at Amman, Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad was born as the son of Prince Muhammad bin Talal (1940–2021) and his first wife Princess Firyal (b.1945; née Irshaid). Prince Ghazi's uncle was the late King Hussein of Jordan, and the prince is a first cousin of Jordan's current king, Abdullah II. Prince Ghazi attended Harrow School in the United Kingdom. He went on to graduate with a bachelors degree in comparative literature from Princeton University in 1988. Prince Ghazi obtained a Ph.D. in Modern and Medieval Languages and Literatures from Trinity College, University of Cambridge. His thesis was entitled "What is Falling in Love?: A Study of the Literary Archetype of Love." The prince holds the position of Chief Advisor to King Abdullah II for Religious and Cultural Affairs and Personal Envoy of King Abdullah II. Prince Ghazi has served as regent for the king in the past.

From their marriage on 4 May 1997 until their divorce in 2021, Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad was married to Princess Areej Ghazi (née Zawawi). The couple had four children: Princess Tasneem (b.1999), Prince Abdullah (b.2001), Princess Jennah (b.2003), and Princess Salsabeel (b.2014). On 18 May 2021, the Royal Hashemite Court announced that Princess Areej Ghazi's title had changed to Princess Areej bint Omar Al Zawawi. These sorts of announcements are typically used by the court to indicate a divorce, which was indeed the case with Ghazi and Areej.

Our best wishes to Prince Ghazi and Princess Miriam!

A Spectacular Spanish Saga: The Life of Doña María Luisa de Borbón, 3rd Duchess of Seville

Maria Luisa, Duquesa de Sevilla, in 1920. Photo (c) National Portrait Gallery.

Born at 1pm on 4 April 1868 at Madrid, María Luisa Enriqueta Josefina de Borbón y Parade was the first of three daughters of Enrique Pío de Borbón y Castellví, 2nd Duke of Seville (1848-1894) and Josefina Parade y Sibié (1840-1939). María Luisa's parents wed two years after her birth on 5 November 1870 at Pau, France; the marriage of her father and mother legitimised María Luisa. According to the text of a later lawsuit, it was posited that Enrique and Josefina waited to marry and disclose the existence of María Luisa, who had always lived with her parents, until after the death of María Luisa's paternal grandfather, Don Enrique María de Borbón, 1st Duke of Seville, in a duel with the Duke of Montpensier on 12 March 1870. 

María Luisa's grandfather Enrique with his four sons, the eldest being María Luisa's father.

The paternal grandparents of María Luisa were Enrique María de Borbón (Infante of Spain from 1823-1848 and then from 1855-1867), 1st Duke of Seville (1823-1870), and Elena de Castellvi y Shelly-Fernandez de Cordova (1821-1863). María Luisa's maternal grandparents were Jean Parade and Geneviève Sibié. María Luisa's paternal great-uncle was King Consort Francisco de Asis of Spain, the husband of Queen Isabel II of Spain, and putative father of King Alfonso XII of Spain. 

María Luisa's father: Enrique, 2nd Duque de Sevilla.

María Luisa was followed by two younger sisters: Marta de Borbón y Parade (1880-1928) and Enriqueta de Borbón y Parade (1888-1967; married her first cousin Francisco de Borbón). For unknown personal and warped reasons, Josefina held a great disdain for her eldest daughter, María Luisa, and showed a marked preference for her second daughter, Marta, the first of Josefina's children born after she married Enrique. On the other hand, Enrique reportedly loved all of his daughters the same and, understandably, believed that his eldest daughter María Luisa should succeed him to the Ducado de Sevilla, while Josefina showed preference their second daughter Marta. King Alfonso XII of Spain felt concerned enough about the treatment of María Luisa by her mother that he had his cousin enrolled at the Colegio Santa Isabel in Madrid. María Luisa had initially expressed a desire to enter religious orders, which met with approval from her mother Josefina, as such a move would guarantee that María Luisa would not succeed her father to the Duchy of Seville, and thus pave the way for Josefina's preferred daughter Marta to become the Duchess. When Enrique's last and youngest daughter, Enriqueta, was born on 28 June 1885, the Duke of Seville took his eldest daughter out of school and became to introduce her to society, as he was now certain that María Luisa would very likely follow him to the Seville title. Josefina's meanness towards her seventeen year-old daughter accelerated after María Luisa left Colegio Santa Isabel to such an extent that after the family had gone on a vacation together during the summer of 1885, that when María Luisa had returned to Madrid, then the young woman make the decision to try to join a religious order, so as to escape from her mother's cruelty. Under the protection of Queen Regent Maria Cristina and King Francisco de Asis, María Luisa then went to an establishment in Lourdes accompanied by a nun of the same order that ran the Colegio Santa Isabel. Maria Cristina and her father-in-law Francisco paid María Luisa's fees at the institution in Lourdes; María Luisa was eventually compelled leave her noviciate owing to illness. From there, she moved to London where she lived at a Convent of the Assumption in Kensington Square, where she resided until her eventual marriage. 

Enrique, 2nd Duke of Seville, died on 12 July 1894 while on a ship in the Red Sea. A few weeks after her father's death, María Luisa married Juan Lorenzo Francisco Monclús y Cabanellas (1862-1918) on 25 July 1894 in London. Juan was the son of Francisco Monclús and Dolores Cabanellas.

On 12 September 1894, Josefina, Dowager Duchess of Seville, filed a lawsuit contesting that (1) María Luisa should not be allowed to succeed her father as Duchess of Seville, (2) that María Luisa's sister Marta should succeed to the dukedom, (3) that María Luisa should not receive any part of her father's estate, and (4) that Marta and Enriqueta should be the sole heiresses of the late duke. On 15 December 1894, the court ruled that all three daughters of Enrique, Duke of Seville, were entitled to equal shares of his estate. On 15 July 1895, María Luisa was legally acknowledged as the 3rd Duchess of Seville by the Ministry of Justice and by royal decree. 

The persecution of the daughter by mother did not cease. In March 1896, the Dowager Duchess of Seville brought another lawsuit wherein Josefina sought to completely destroy María Luisa's position. In her suit, Josefina asked that the courts nullify the judgement of 15 December 1894 in addition to declaring void the baptismal certificate of María Luisa. The desire of Josefina was to have her eldest daughter declared to be not only illegitimate, but also to allege that her eldest daughter was not the daughter of her late husband Enrique. The ultimate aim of Josefina's actions were to guarantee that her second daughter Marta would become the Duchess of Seville. 

The claims of Josefina, Dowager Duchess of Seville, were sensational and extraordinary. Josefina denied that she had given birth to a daughter on 4 April 1868 (her eldest daughter's date of birth) in Madrid. She claimed that she was still living in France, her country of birth, at the time. Josefina claimed that María Luisa had been born on 4 April 1863 in Paris, and that Enrique could not have been her father, as he was only fourteen years-old at the time. Josefina asserted that she and Enrique, after their 1870 marriage, had allowed María Luisa to adopt the Borbón surname; however, Josefina stated that the couple had only done this being mindful of the supposedly sad circumstances of the young girl, who had no other family. Josefina introduced into evidence letters allegedly from her late husband, in which Enrique claimed to only have two legitimate daughters, Marta and Enriqueta, and letters allegedly from María Luisa in which her daughter wrote that she had no claim to the Dukedom of Seville or to the personal fortune of Enrique. One of the letters provided read as follows: "Being ignorant of the lot that Providence has in store for me, and as it may be possible that my days are numbered, in order to safeguard the interests and rights of my beloved and unfortunate daughters Marta de Borbón and Enriqueta de Borbón, who are my only daughters and are legitimate, I entrust this writing to my beloved wife, Josefina Paradé y Libié, Duchess of Sevilla, so that upon my death she may defend the rights of the two beings whom I love so much.-Having had no children during the first years of our marriage and believing that, considering the time elapsed, we would never enjoy that happiness, at the request of my wife I decided to bestow my name upon and to have considered as my daughter a girl whom my wife had sheltered, who stayed in Paris under the name of María Paradé at the Bohnier boarding school and under the name of María Sevilla at the boarding school of Madame Jourdani and under the latter name in another school of Angulema until the day when she first bore my name, being thereafter considered as our daughter. Providence having been so kind as to give me on May 5, 1880, my adored daughter Marta and on June 28, 1885, my other much beloved daughter Enriqueta, the situation of my legitimate daughters, my true and only daughters, was critical in the face of the claims of the girl to whom, out of pity, I had given my name and by which she is known in the Royal College of Santa Isabel (Madrid); and although in a moment of folly I acknowledged her, I can not ignore the duty of a loving father, the voice of blood and of conscience, or the right that my real daughters have, so that nobody may claim what is theirs and so that they may know the truth.” This letter of Enrique, Duke of Seville, was later used in a case that appeared before the Supreme Court in Puerto Rico in which a man sought the annulment of his acknowledgement of a natural child. 

Josefina's assertions were met with a declaration by the civil servant who authorised the baptism of her eldest daughter. The statement read: "In the city of Madrid, on 9 March 1878, I, Dr. Vicente de Manterola, Magistral Canon of the Holy Cathedral Church of Vitoria and Curate of that church of San Andrés in this said town, by virtue of authorisation granted by the Patriarch of the Indies, Military Vicar General and Senior Chaplain Priest of the Royal Palace, in a decree of 9 March, I solemnly administered the Holy Sacrament of Baptism to María Luisa Enriqueta Josefina, who was born in Madrid on April 4 of 1868, at one in the afternoon, and that the same day she was baptized by Dr. Gabriel de Usera y Alarcón, now deceased, as daughter of Don Enrique Pío María Francisco de Paula Luis Antonio de Borbón y de Castellví, Duke of Seville, and Doña Josefina Paradé y Libié; the first from Toulouse and the second from Argelés, both in the Kingdom of France; the paternal granddaughter of HRH Infante Enrique of Spain and Her Excellency Doña Elena de Castellví, Duchess of Seville; and on the maternal side, Messrs. D. Juan and Doña Genoveva; Her godfather was the Presbyter Pedro Lumbreras, Senior Lieutenant of the priest of this church, to whom I warned of the spiritual kinship and other obligations, and as witness was José Díaz y León; and I sign this, Vicente de Manterolas." María Luisa further countered her mother's allegations by submitting that she was indeed born in 1868 at Madrid, and not in 1863 at Paris. María Luisa noted her father's affection for her, and her mother's disdain for her after the birth of her sister Marta. María Luisa also submitted a letter from her father, which read: "My very dear daughter: Although in five days I will have the pleasure of hugging you, I want you to receive my thoughts tomorrow as proof of the true affection that I profess for you on the occasion of tomorrow, the 4th of April, being the anniversary of your birth. You are eleven years old, and I pray to God that for long and happy years I may receive your sweet caresses and tender hugs. I will write to you before I go to look for you, and I will finish today because of how busy I am. Receive a thousand hugs from your father, who always loves you the same. Enrique. Bordeaux 3 April 1879."

Josefina countered her eldest daughter's evidence by claiming that María Luisa had indeed been born on 4 April 1863 at Paris to Josefina, who had given her the name Maria Paulina. Josefina alleged that María Luisa had then been taken care of by an aunt of Josefina. Ultimately, the court ruled (1) that María Luisa was born in 1868 as the natural daughter of Enrique and Josefina, (2) that María Luisa had been subsequently legitimised by her parents' marriage in 1870, and (3) that María Luisa had the right to succeed to her father's title. 

In 1908, María Luisa and her husband Juan left their residence in Barcelona and took a house in London and a country house in Sussex. María Luisa was more commonly referred to as Marie Louise in the British press; she was also often accorded the style of Royal Highness and the title Princess of Bourbon - neither of which she legally possessed. The Duchess of Seville and her husband quickly joined and were accepted by British high society. In December 1911, the Duke Consort of Seville underwent a serious operation in London; Juan spent his recovery in a nursing home. In May 1914, several works of Pablo Antonio Béjar Novella, a painter for Spanish royals, were unveiled at Welbeck Gardens: the subjects of his brush were Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain, the Ambassadress of Spain, and the Duchess of Seville. The exhibition was visited by King Manoel II of Portugal with his mother Queen Amélie as well as Princess Beatrice of Battenberg.  Juan, Duke of Seville, joined the British war effort during World War I and served as a private in the Coldstream Guards. He was wounded in Rochdale, France, in December 1915. In April 1916, María Luisa met then-Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia (later King Alexander I of Yugoslavia) during a visit that Alexander made to London to increase awareness of the Serbian military efforts during the Great War. On 13 December 1918 in Shropshire, Juan Monclús y Cabanellas, Duke of Seville, died following an operation; he was fifty-six years-old. María Luisa was now a widow; she and Juan did not have children.

Enriqueta, Duchess of Seville.

On 2 July 1919, María Luisa ceded the Duchy of Seville to her youngest sister, Enriqueta. Their middle sister Marta waived her rights of succession. In 1907, Enriqueta had married her first cousin Francisco de Bórbon de la Torre (1882-1952); the couple had three children, thus securing the future of the Duchy of Seville. Enriqueta's grandson is the current Duke of Seville.

María Luisa's sister Marta died on 19 March 1928 in Madrid. Marta was forty-seven years-old. She had never married and left no children.

Maria Luisa, Duquesa de Sevilla, in 1920. Photo (c) National Portrait Gallery.

In July 1929, Mr Frederick Dempster-Smith, a late resident of the Hotel Victoria in London and the Imperial Hotel in Bournemouth, left £5,000 (modern equivalent being £221,777) to María Luisa. Mr Dempster-Smith gave this bequest whilst "begging Her Royal Highness's gracious acceptance of such a sum as a slight token of gratitude for her unvarying kindness, consideration, and sympathy to me and my family for so many years." At some point, María Luisa moved back to Spain. In July 1934, María Luisa was a guest of Mrs Maurice Clayton in London; it was her first visit back to the British capital since the Spanish Revolution. At the end of her stay, María Luisa returned to Barcelona. 

The death notice of Doña Josefina, Duquesa Viuda de Sevilla.

On 20 October 1939, María Luisa's mother Josefina, Dowager Duchess of Seville, died in Madrid. Josefina was ninety-nine years-old. Despite the lengths at which the dowager duchess went to disinherit her eldest daughter, María Luisa was listed in Josefina's obituary as her daughter.

A copy of the portrait of Maria Luisa by Pablo Antonio Béjar Novella.

Doña María Luisa de Borbón y Parade, former Duchess of Seville, died on 10 June 1949 at Ciempozuelos, Spain. She was eighty-one years-old. María Luisa's death was not mentioned in the Spanish or British press, and for many decades the exact year and date of her passing were not known. Even her relatives, the descendants of her sister Enriqueta, were not certain of when the first Duchess of Seville in her own right had passed away. Royal researcher and author Netty Leistra, of NettyRoyal, found the particulars concerning the death of María Luisa in 2013. 

A Spectacular Spanish Saga: The Life of Doña María Luisa de Borbón, 3rd Duchess of Seville

Maria Luisa, Duquesa de Sevilla, in 1920. Photo (c) National Portrait Gallery.

Born at 1pm on 4 April 1868 at Madrid, María Luisa Enriqueta Josefina de Borbón y Parade was the first of three daughters of Enrique Pío de Borbón y Castellví, 2nd Duke of Seville (1848-1894) and Josefina Parade y Sibié (1840-1939). María Luisa's parents wed two years after her birth on 5 November 1870 at Madrid; the marriage of her father and mother legitimised María Luisa. According to the text of a later lawsuit, it was posited that Enrique and Josefina waited to marry and disclose the existence of María Luisa, who had always lived with her parents, until after the death of María Luisa's paternal grandfather, Don Enrique María de Borbón, 1st Duke of Seville, in a duel with the Duke of Montpensier on 12 March 1870. 

María Luisa's grandfather Enrique with his four sons, the eldest being María Luisa's father.

The paternal grandparents of María Luisa were Enrique María de Borbón (Infante of Spain from 1823-1848 and then from 1855-1867), 1st Duke of Seville (1823-1870), and Elena de Castellvi y Shelly-Fernandez de Cordova (1821-1863). María Luisa's maternal grandparents were Jean Parade and Geneviève Sibié. María Luisa's paternal great-uncle was King Consort Francisco de Asis of Spain, the husband of Queen Isabel II of Spain, and putative father of King Alfonso XII of Spain. 

María Luisa's father: Enrique, 2nd Duque de Sevilla.

María Luisa was followed by two younger sisters: Marta de Borbón y Parade (1880-1928) and Enriqueta de Borbón y Parade (1888-1967; married her first cousin Francisco de Borbón). For unknown personal and warped reasons, Josefina held a great disdain for her eldest daughter, María Luisa, and showed a marked preference for her second daughter, Marta, the first of Josefina's children born after she married Enrique. On the other hand, Enrique reportedly loved all of his daughters the same and, understandably, believed that his eldest daughter María Luisa should succeed him to the Ducado de Sevilla, while Josefina showed preference their second daughter Marta. King Alfonso XII of Spain felt concerned enough about the treatment of María Luisa by her mother that he had his cousin enrolled at the Colegio Santa Isabel in Madrid. María Luisa had initially expressed a desire to enter religious orders, which met with approval from her mother Josefina, as such a move would guarantee that María Luisa would not succeed her father to the Duchy of Seville, and thus pave the way for Josefina's preferred daughter Marta to become the Duchess. When Enrique's last and youngest daughter, Enriqueta, was born on 28 June 1885, the Duke of Seville took his eldest daughter out of school and became to introduce her to society, as he was now certain that María Luisa would very likely follow him to the Seville title. Josefina's meanness towards her seventeen year-old daughter accelerated after María Luisa left Colegio Santa Isabel to such an extent that after the family had gone on a vacation together during the summer of 1885, that when María Luisa had returned to Madrid, then the young woman make the decision to try to join a religious order, so as to escape from her mother's cruelty. Under the protection of Queen Regent Maria Cristina and King Francisco de Asis, María Luisa then went to an establishment in Lourdes accompanied by a nun of the same order that ran the Colegio Santa Isabel. Maria Cristina and her father-in-law Francisco paid María Luisa's fees at the institution in Lourdes; María Luisa was eventually compelled leave her noviciate owing to illness. From there, she moved to London where she lived at a Convent of the Assumption in Kensington Square, where she resided until her eventual marriage. 

Enrique, 2nd Duke of Seville, died on 12 July 1894 while on a ship in the Red Sea. A few weeks after her father's death, María Luisa married Juan Lorenzo Francisco Monclús y Cabanellas (1862-1918) on 25 July 1894 in London. Juan was the son of Francisco Monclús and Dolores Cabanellas.

On 12 September 1894, Josefina, Dowager Duchess of Seville, filed a lawsuit contesting that (1) María Luisa should not be allowed to succeed her father as Duchess of Seville, (2) that María Luisa's sister Marta should succeed to the dukedom, (3) that María Luisa should not receive any part of her father's estate, and (4) that Marta and Enriqueta should be the sole heiresses of the late duke. On 15 December 1894, the court ruled that all three daughters of Enrique, Duke of Seville, were entitled to equal shares of his estate. On 15 July 1895, María Luisa was legally acknowledged as the 3rd Duchess of Seville by the Ministry of Justice and by royal decree. 

The persecution of the daughter by mother did not cease. In March 1896, the Dowager Duchess of Seville brought another lawsuit wherein Josefina sought to completely destroy María Luisa's position. In her suit, Josefina asked that the courts nullify the judgement of 15 December 1894 in addition to declaring void the baptismal certificate of María Luisa. The desire of Josefina was to have her eldest daughter declared to be not only illegitimate, but also to allege that her eldest daughter was not the daughter of her late husband Enrique. The ultimate aim of Josefina's actions were to guarantee that her second daughter Marta would become the Duchess of Seville. 

The claims of Josefina, Dowager Duchess of Seville, were sensational and extraordinary. Josefina denied that she had given birth to a daughter on 4 April 1868 (her eldest daughter's date of birth) in Madrid. She claimed that she was still living in France, her country of birth, at the time. Josefina claimed that María Luisa had been born on 4 April 1863 in Paris, and that Enrique could not have been her father, as he was only fourteen years-old at the time. Josefina asserted that she and Enrique, after their 1870 marriage, had allowed María Luisa to adopt the Borbón surname; however, Josefina stated that the couple had only done this being mindful of the supposedly sad circumstances of the young girl, who had no other family. Josefina introduced into evidence letters allegedly from her late husband, in which Enrique claimed to only have two legitimate daughters, Marta and Enriqueta, and letters allegedly from María Luisa in which her daughter wrote that she had no claim to the Dukedom of Seville or to the personal fortune of Enrique. One of the letters provided read as follows: "Being ignorant of the lot that Providence has in store for me, and as it may be possible that my days are numbered, in order to safeguard the interests and rights of my beloved and unfortunate daughters Marta de Borbón and Enriqueta de Borbón, who are my only daughters and are legitimate, I entrust this writing to my beloved wife, Josefina Paradé y Libié, Duchess of Sevilla, so that upon my death she may defend the rights of the two beings whom I love so much.-Having had no children during the first years of our marriage and believing that, considering the time elapsed, we would never enjoy that happiness, at the request of my wife I decided to bestow my name upon and to have considered as my daughter a girl whom my wife had sheltered, who stayed in Paris under the name of María Paradé at the Bohnier boarding school and under the name of María Sevilla at the boarding school of Madame Jourdani and under the latter name in another school of Angulema until the day when she first bore my name, being thereafter considered as our daughter. Providence having been so kind as to give me on May 5, 1880, my adored daughter Marta and on June 28, 1885, my other much beloved daughter Enriqueta, the situation of my legitimate daughters, my true and only daughters, was critical in the face of the claims of the girl to whom, out of pity, I had given my name and by which she is known in the Royal College of Santa Isabel (Madrid); and although in a moment of folly I acknowledged her, I can not ignore the duty of a loving father, the voice of blood and of conscience, or the right that my real daughters have, so that nobody may claim what is theirs and so that they may know the truth.” This letter of Enrique, Duke of Seville, was later used in a case that appeared before the Supreme Court in Puerto Rico in which a man sought the annulment of his acknowledgement of a natural child. 

Josefina's assertions were met with a declaration by the civil servant who authorised the baptism of her eldest daughter. The statement read: "In the city of Madrid, on 9 March 1878, I, Dr. Vicente de Manterola, Magistral Canon of the Holy Cathedral Church of Vitoria and Curate of that church of San Andrés in this said town, by virtue of authorisation granted by the Patriarch of the Indies, Military Vicar General and Senior Chaplain Priest of the Royal Palace, in a decree of 9 March, I solemnly administered the Holy Sacrament of Baptism to María Luisa Enriqueta Josefina, who was born in Madrid on April 4 of 1868, at one in the afternoon, and that the same day she was baptized by Dr. Gabriel de Usera y Alarcón, now deceased, as daughter of Don Enrique Pío María Francisco de Paula Luis Antonio de Borbón y de Castellví, Duke of Seville, and Doña Josefina Paradé y Libié; the first from Toulouse and the second from Argelés, both in the Kingdom of France; the paternal granddaughter of HRH Infante Enrique of Spain and Her Excellency Doña Elena de Castellví, Duchess of Seville; and on the maternal side, Messrs. D. Juan and Doña Genoveva; Her godfather was the Presbyter Pedro Lumbreras, Senior Lieutenant of the priest of this church, to whom I warned of the spiritual kinship and other obligations, and as witness was José Díaz y León; and I sign this, Vicente de Manterolas." María Luisa further countered her mother's allegations by submitting that she was indeed born in 1868 at Madrid, and not in 1863 at Paris. María Luisa noted her father's affection for her, and her mother's disdain for her after the birth of her sister Marta. María Luisa also submitted a letter from her father, which read: "My very dear daughter: Although in five days I will have the pleasure of hugging you, I want you to receive my thoughts tomorrow as proof of the true affection that I profess for you on the occasion of tomorrow, the 4th of April, being the anniversary of your birth. You are eleven years old, and I pray to God that for long and happy years I may receive your sweet caresses and tender hugs. I will write to you before I go to look for you, and I will finish today because of how busy I am. Receive a thousand hugs from your father, who always loves you the same. Enrique. Bordeaux 3 April 1879."

Josefina countered her eldest daughter's evidence by claiming that María Luisa had indeed been born on 4 April 1863 at Paris to Josefina, who had given her the name Maria Paulina. Josefina alleged that María Luisa had then been taken care of by an aunt of Josefina. Ultimately, the court ruled (1) that María Luisa was born in 1868 as the natural daughter of Enrique and Josefina, (2) that María Luisa had been subsequently legitimised by her parents' marriage in 1870, and (3) that María Luisa had the right to succeed to her father's title. 

In 1908, María Luisa and her husband Juan left their residence in Barcelona and took a house in London and a country house in Sussex. María Luisa was more commonly referred to as Marie Louise in the British press; she was also often accorded the style of Royal Highness and the title Princess of Bourbon - neither of which she legally possessed. The Duchess of Seville and her husband quickly joined and were accepted by British high society. In December 1911, the Duke Consort of Seville underwent a serious operation in London; Juan spent his recovery in a nursing home. In May 1914, several works of Pablo Antonio Béjar Novella, a painter for Spanish royals, were unveiled at Welbeck Gardens: the subjects of his brush were Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain, the Ambassadress of Spain, and the Duchess of Seville. The exhibition was visited by King Manoel II of Portugal with his mother Queen Amélie as well as Princess Beatrice of Battenberg. Juan, Duke of Seville, joined the British war effort during World War I and served as a private in the Coldstream Guards. He was wounded in Rochdale, France, in December 1915. In April 1916, María Luisa met then-Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia (later King Alexander I of Yugoslavia) during a visit that Alexander made to London to increase awareness of the Serbian military efforts during the Great War. On 13 December 1918 in Shropshire, Juan Monclús y Cabanellas, Duke of Seville, died following an operation; he was fifty-six years-old. María Luisa was now a widow; she and Juan did not have children.

Enriqueta, Duchess of Seville.

On 2 July 1919, María Luisa ceded the Duchy of Seville to her youngest sister, Enriqueta. Their middle sister Marta waived her rights of succession. In 1907, Enriqueta had married her first cousin Francisco de Bórbon de la Torre (1882-1952); the couple had three children, thus securing the future of the Duchy of Seville. Enriqueta's grandson is the current Duke of Seville.

María Luisa's sister Marta died on 19 March 1928 in Madrid. Marta was forty-seven years-old. She had never married and left no children.

Maria Luisa, Duquesa de Sevilla, in 1920. Photo (c) National Portrait Gallery.

In July 1929, Mr Frederick Dempster-Smith, a late resident of the Hotel Victoria in London and the Imperial Hotel in Bournemouth, left £5,000 (modern equivalent being £221,777) to María Luisa. Mr Dempster-Smith gave this bequest whilst "begging Her Royal Highness's gracious acceptance of such a sum as a slight token of gratitude for her unvarying kindness, consideration, and sympathy to me and my family for so many years." At some point, María Luisa moved back to Spain. In July 1934, María Luisa was a guest of Mrs Maurice Clayton in London; it was her first visit back to the British capital since the Spanish Revolution. At the end of her stay, María Luisa returned to Barcelona. 

The death notice of Doña Josefina, Duquesa Viuda de Sevilla.

On 20 October 1939, María Luisa's mother Josefina, Dowager Duchess of Seville, died in Madrid. Josefina was ninety-nine years-old. Despite the lengths at which the dowager duchess went to disinherit her eldest daughter, María Luisa was listed in Josefina's obituary as her daughter.

A copy of the portrait of Maria Luisa by Pablo Antonio Béjar Novella.

Doña María Luisa de Borbón y Parade, former Duchess of Seville, died on 10 June 1949 at Ciempozuelos, Spain. She was eighty-one years-old. María Luisa's death was not mentioned in the Spanish or British press, and for many decades the exact year and date of her passing were not known. Even her relatives, the descendants of her sister Enriqueta, were not certain of when the first Duchess of Seville in her own right had passed away. Royal researcher and author Netty Leistra, of NettyRoyal, found the particulars concerning the death of María Luisa in 2013. 

Upcoming Grand Ducal Marriage in September!

Hereditary Prince Alexander and Hereditary Princess Hande of Mecklenburg. Photo (c) Grand Ducal House of Mecklenburg.

On 17 September 2022 at 11am, Hereditary Prince Alexander of Mecklenburg and Hereditary Princess Hande will religiously marry at the Stadtkirche in Neusterlitz.

The couple were civilly married on 17 June 2022 in the Great Hall in the Palace of Mirow. 

The hereditary prince and his fiancée at the Hermitage Amsterdam, August 2020. Picture courtesy of the Grand Ducal House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Hereditary Prince Georg Alexander of Mecklenburg was born on 17 July 1991 to Duke Georg Borwin of Mecklenburg (b.1956) and Duchess Alice (b.1959; née Wagner). Alexander has two siblings: Duchess Olga (b.1988) and Duke Michael (b.1994). Hande Macit was born on 16 September 1992 to of Mr Suphi Macit and his wife Cemile (née Uçar). Hande has one brother: Kerem (b.1987). Alexander and Hande live in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Alexander and Hande announced their engagement in 2020.

Noble Titles Linked to Franco Regime To Be Abolished By Proposed Law

 

Around thirty aristocrats will have their titles abolished by the Spanish Cortes if and when it adopts the Democratic Memory Law (Ley de Memoria Democrática). The text of the law was published in September 2020. At the time, Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo noted that the bill's sixty-six articles would honour the victims of the Franco dictatorship, while reaffirming the importance of democracy and ensuring reconciliation amongst Spaniards.

Here is the full text of the Ley de Memoria Democrática: https://www.mpr.gob.es/servicios/participacion/Documents/APL%20Memoria%20Democrática.pdf

Article 42 of the proposed bill reads: 

"Artículo 42. Supresión de títulos nobiliarios.

1. La persona titular del ministerio competente en la gestión de los asuntos relativos a los títulos nobiliarios y grandezas de España elaborará un catálogo de títulos nobiliarios concedidos entre 1948 y 1978, que representen la exaltación de la Guerra y Dictadura, y se procederá a su supresión.

2. Queda suprimida la Orden Imperial del Yugo y las Flechas."

This clearly indicates that the only noble titles which will be affected by this bill are those given to close associates of the Franco dictatorship. As it turns out, there are only thirty-three titles which are actually likely to be abolished. The following list was compiled by El Debate:

1. Duque de Primo de Rivera, con Grandeza de España.

2. Duque de Calvo Sotelo, con Grandeza de España.

3. Duque de Mola, con Grandeza de España.

4. Conde del Alcázar de Toledo, con Grandeza de España.

5. Conde de Labajos.

6. Marqués de Dávila y la Grandeza de España que se le une.

7. Marqués de Saliquet.

8. Marqués de Queipo de Llano.

9. Marqués de Alborán.

10. Conde del Jarama.

11. Marqués de Varela de San Fernando.

12. Conde de Benjumea.

13. Marqués de Somosierra.

14. Grandeza de España otorgada al Conde de Rodezno.

15. Marqués de San Leonardo de Yagüe.

16. Conde de la Cierva.

17. Marqués de Vigón.

18. Conde de Fenosa.

19. Conde del Castillo de la Mota.

20. Marqués de Suanzes.

21. Marqués de Kindelán.

22. Conde de Pallasar.

23. Marqués de Casa Cervera.

24. Conde de Martín Moreno.

25. Marqués de Bilbao Eguía.

26. Grandeza de España a Don Fernando Suárez de Tangil y de Angulo.

27. Conde de Bau.

28. Duque de Carrero Blanco, con Grandeza de España.

29. Señorío de Meirás, con Grandeza España.

30. Duque de Franco, con Grandeza de España.

31. Marqués de Arias Navarro, con Grandeza de España.

32. Conde de Rodríguez de Valcárcel.

33. Conde de lturmendi.

Source: Ley de memoria democrática - Esta es la lista definitiva de los títulos nobiliarios y grandezas que Sánchez ha suprimido con su ley de Memoria

The most prominent title which is likely to cease to exist is the Duchy of Franco (with Grandee of Spain), which was granted to Doña María del Carmen Franco y Polo (1926-2017) by then Prince Juan Carlos of Spain on 26 November 1975, six days after the death of Carmen's father General Francisco Franco. 

See here for the official bulletin concerning the granting of the Ducado de Franco: https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/1975/11/27/pdfs/A24781-24781.pdf

The current holder is Doña María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco (b.1951), 2nd Duchess of Franco. Carmen's eldest child and only surviving son is Don Luis Alfonso de Borbón y Martínez-Bordiú (b.1974; a pretender to the French throne; uses the title Duke of Anjou in that vein). If and when the law passes, Carmen, who now lives quietly in Portugal, will cease to be the Duchess of Franco, and the title will cease to exist forever. This will likely be a disappointment for her son Luis Alfonso, who would have been his mother's heir to the duchy. 

The only other title linked to the Franco family itself that will be abolished is the Señorío de Meirás. This title is currently held by Carmen's brother Don Francisco "Francis" Franco y Martínez-Bordíu (b.1954). However, even if Francis is deprived of the lordship of Meirás, he will still retain the title of Marqués de Villaverde, which he inherited from his father, Don Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú y Ortega.

For more on the Franco family's situation, there is this article: El ducado de Franco en entredicho: por qué Carmen Martínez-Bordiú no podrá hacer duquesa a su nieta, Eugenia de Borbón

When and if the above thirty-three noble titles are abolished, their former holders will only have recourse by going before the Tribunal Constitucional. This would be a rather difficult course of actions, as the former holders of the abolished titles will have to make the case as to why the original grantee was not associated with the Francoist regime.