When you're the Count of Paris, it's understandable that your birthday celebrations might be a little more lavish than most. To mark his 60th, Jean de France gathered his nearest and dearest for two days of festivities in the heart of the medieval city of Carcassonne. Accompanied by his wife, Princess Philomena, the Count welcomed a litany of aristocratic guests to ring in the milestone decade.
The celebrations began with a special mass at the Basilica of Saint-Nazaire-et-Saint-Celse, during which Jean took communion, along with the rest of his family. Then, the group of esteemed invitees gathered in the beautiful gardens of the Hôtel de la Cité, for drinks and dinner under the setting sun. Among the guests were Jean and Philomena's six children, including Prince Gaston, Dauphin of France, who beamed as he embraced his father. The couple's daughters, Princess Jacinctha, Princess Louise-Marguerite and Princess Antoinette, played happily among the trees, while Louise-Marguerite cradled their youngest son, Prince Alphonse.
The Count of Paris also welcomed his sister, Princess Marie of Orléans, and her husband, Prince Gundakar of Liechtenstein, to the festivities. ‘He follows a very firm and strong line,’ the Princess told Point de Vue of her admiration for her brother. ‘He’s not someone who explodes or changes direction. Everything is very thoughtful. I am very proud of him.' The French ambassador to Monaco, Jean d'Haussonville, and his wife Maria-Magdalena, the sister of Princess Philomena, also joined in the party, alongside Count and Countess El Abra and Jean-Marie Musy, ambassador of the Order of Malta to Spain. Everyone cheered as, at the end of the evening, the Count blew out the candles on his spectacular cake, decorated with golden fleurs-de-lis.
The celebrations were far from over, however: the next evening, the group travelled to the Count's own home, 20 minutes from Carcassonne, to party the night away in a light-spangled marquee under the stars. A second cake – this time a tower of macarons – was brought in to the tune of ‘Happy Birthday’, before the Count gave a brief speech, thanking his guests for coming ‘to this little corner of paradise’ and reflecting on the bonds strengthened between them over the years. At the end of his address, he couldn't resist updating his party on the really important news of the day: Paris Saint-Germain's victory in the Champions Leage final (a match discreetly followed by the children on their iPhones).
It has been a busy year of celebrations so far for the Count of Paris, who is the head of the House of Orléans and descended from Louis-Philippe I. In January, it was announced that royal wedding bells would ring once again for Europe's great and gilded, as Princess Leopoldine of Liechtenstein, the Count's niece, confirmed that she was engaged to Bruno Walter Pedrosa João. The good news was announced by the soon-to-be bride’s uncle in a heartwarming Instagram post, in which he shared a photo of Princess Leopoldine, 34, with her new fiancé, on behalf of her parents.
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‘LL. AA. SS. Prince Gundakar and Princess Marie of and in Liechtenstein are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Princess Leopoldine, to Mr. Bruno Walter Pedrosa João,’ he wrote. Princess Leopoldine’s father, Prince Gundakar Albert Alfred Petrus von and zu Liechtenstein, is the eldest son of Prince Johann von and zu Liechtenstein and Princess Clotilde of Thurn und Taxis. While Prince Gundakar is 33rd in line to the throne of Liechtenstein, currently held by Prince Hans-Adam II, the country’s status as the only European nation to use agnatic primogeniture rules means that any woman, Princess Leopoldine included, can never inherit the crown.
While no date has been set for the bride and her Portuguese director groom, the family have certainly know how to make headlines when it comes to nuptials. When Prince Gundakar and Princess Marie tied the knot in 1989, she decided to host the big day at the summer seat of her mother, Duchess Marie Thérèse of Württemberg, rather than the preferred location of her father’s family, the Orléans Chapelle royale de Dreux. So enraged by this decision were her father and grandfather (who was, at the time, the Count of Paris), that they refused to attend the royal wedding.
Fortunately, the frosty atmosphere from the d’Orléans family did not impact the success of the union. Princess Marie and her husband went on to have five children: Princess Leopoldine, Princess Marie Immaculata, Prince Johann, Princess Margarete, and Prince Gabriel. Royal fans will no doubt wish the same happiness for Princess Leopoldine and her husband-to-be in their life together, and eagerly await the wedding – after all, the House of Orléans clearly knows how to party.
