There are reports "from abroad" that Marguerite Watson, the wife of Prince Charles-Philippe, Duke de Nemours, "is not a Duchess because she failed to conform with official regulations" following her marriage in England on Saturday. These reports, according to the Associated Press, have "caused great amusement in official circles and among the nobility."
Count Fleury, an authority on French titles, said: "The people setting that rumor afloat seem not to have heard of the French Revolution. The Third Republic never abolished titles, but the only interest it takes in them is to levy a fat tax when nobles want their titles verified."
"The American girl who married the Duc de Nemours is as much a Duchess as he is a Duke," said another member of the French nobility. "Nobody can change that since the de Nemours title is well enough established. It is curious that while so many spurious titles are going around unchallenged, a real one should be questioned when one happens upon it."
The marriage is legal, whatever the Duke's parents may think, "since the consent of parents is not absolutely necessary if the son demands consent, which is understood to have been the case with the de Nemours."
The Duke de Guise, who is the head of the family, is expected to have the last word regarding the marriage. Those who know him expect him to say, "Bless you, my children."
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