⏰ L'80° compleanno della principessa Marion d'Orléans, contessa vedova di La Marche

Thibaut, Marion e Robert. Foto (c) Micheline PELLETIER/Gamma-Rapho tramite Getty Images.

Oggi la principessa Marion d'Orléans, contessa vedova di La Marche, festeggia il suo ottantesimo compleanno.

Nata il 4 settembre 1942 a Santiago del Cile, Marion Mercedes Gordon-Orr era l'unica figlia di James Gordon-Orr (1894-1973), ingegnere, e Gertrude  Mercedes  Devia Hermosilla (1914-2003). I nonni paterni di Marion erano Alexander Orr (1838-1919) e Clara Eliza Gordon (1858-1947). 

Thibaut e Marion poco prima del loro matrimonio, 1972.

Nel 1968, Marion incontrò per la prima volta il principe Thibaut d'Orléans, il figlio più giovane del principe Henri e della principessa Isabelle, conte e contessa di Parigi. All'epoca Marion lavorava come interprete a Parigi per un'azienda americana. 

Thibaut e Marion.

Gli sposi.

Il 23 settembre 1972 a Edimburgo, Marion Gordon-Orr, trentenne, sposò il principe Thibaut, ventiquattrenne. La coppia reale celebrò il loro matrimonio religioso nella cappella privata del cardinale Gray, arcivescovo di St Andrews ed Edimburgo. All'epoca, la loro unione non piacque al padre dello sposo e il conte di Parigi proibì a tutti i membri della famiglia di partecipare alle nozze. La sorella di Thibaut, la principessa Claude, allora ancora duchessa d'Aosta, fu l'unica sorella ad andare contro i desideri del patriarca di Orléans e fu presente per celebrare le nozze di Thibaut e Marion. 

Durante il loro matrimonio, Thibaut e Marion viaggiarono molto. Hanno visitato il Perù, la Colombia e il Cile, dove è nata Marion. In Marion, Thibaut ha trovato un'anima che condivideva il suo amore per la scoperta dei popoli meno conosciuti e delle loro culture. Tra il 1973 e il 1974, la coppia scrisse sei libri nella   serie Les Princes du sang ; questi libri descrivevano in dettaglio il destino di una immaginaria famiglia principesca tedesca. Il primo di questi libri è stato pubblicato in inglese con il titolo  A Castle in Bavaria . 

Marion, Thibaut e il loro figlio maggiore 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!