Wednesday, November 9, 2011

A Royal Marriage that will unite four families





November 9, 1907

On November 16 at Wood Norton, in Worcestershire, where the exiled Duke of Orléans resides, he will give away in marriage his youngest sister, Princess Louise, to Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the widower of Infanta Mercedes of Spain, Princess of Asturias, eldest sister of King Alfonso.

This marriage will "constitute another matrimonial link between two of the several branches of the historic house of Bourbon"


, according to a report in the Chicago Daily Tribune.

Prince Carlos is about to "seek consolation for his bereavement in another matrimonial alliance."  He belongs to the Neapolitan branch of the Bourbon family.  He has a son, Alfonso, and a daughter, Isabel, from his first marriage, and his son was the heir presumptive to the Spanish throne until a few months ago when Queen Ena gave birth to a son.  But should anything happen to the infant Prince of Asturias, six-year-old Prince Alfonso would once again become the heir presumptive.

Members of the varied branches of Bourbon are expected to gather at Wood Norton to celebrate Princess Louise's marriage to Prince Carlos, who remains a member of the Spanish royal family.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the wedding will be attended by forty members of European royal houses, including the Queens of Spain and Portugal.  Wood Norton can house only fifty people, but "in six weeks temporary buildings have been erected, furnished and decorated from Paris and Rome."

The celebrations will take place over four days.   The "beautiful chapel" is one of the new buildings, as is a new "spacious banqueting hall," which cost more than $150,000.   The work has been done under the direction of the Duke of Orléans, "with the assistance of an eminent French architect and decorators from Paris and Rome."

The Duke of Orléans is making it "a point of honor" that his sister shall be married "with as much state as if she were really the sister of a reigning King."

No comments: