Royal Musings: Prince Jean Christophe Napoleon weds Countess Olympia

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Prince Jean Christophe Napoleon weds Countess Olympia

Prince Jean Christophe Napoleon, head of the Imperial House of Napoleon, and Countess Olympia von Arco-Zinneberg were Married today at Les Invalides. The bride is the third of six daughters of Count Riprand von Arco-Zinneberg and Archduchess Maria Beatrice of Austria, the eldest daughter of Archduke Robert of Austria and Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta. The bride is a great-granddaughter of Emperor Karl of Austria and the great-great-granddaughter of King Ludwig III of Bavaria. The latter connection is through her father, Count Riprand.

In an interview with The Times at the time of their engagement, Prince Jean-Christophe, a private equity fund manager, said: "It's a story of love rather than a nod to history. When I met Olympia, I plunged into her eyes and not into her family tree. Afterwards we were able to smile at this historical coincidence."

The guest list was a glittering array of European royals, reigning and not reigning, including Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, Prince Louis of Luxembourg, Prince Jean of Luxembourg and his wife, Countess Diane of Nassau, Prince Guillaume and Prince Sibylla of Luxembourg, Prince Philipp and Princess Isabelle of Liechtenstein, Princess Beatrice of York and her fiance, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Prince Charles Henri of Lobkowicz and his mother, Princess Francoise, the Duke and Duchess of Braganza, Prince Philip and Princess Danica of Serbia, Princess Philomena of Orleans and her two daughters, the Duke and Duchess of Braganza, Crown Prince Paul of Greece and his daughter, Princess Olympia, and his brother Prince Philippos and his girlfriend, Nina Flohr, Prince Laurent of Belgium, Prince and Princess Christian of Hanover. Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Parma and her son Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia, Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz of Belgium(uncle of the bride), Pr Princess Napoleon (the groom's grandmother), Prince Felix and Princess Claire of Luxembourg, Archduke Christian and Archduchess Marie Astrid of Luxembourg. Prince Nikolaus and Princesss Margaretha of Liechtenstein, and their daughters, Maria Annunciata and Marie Astrid (and their partners), Archduke Simeon and Archduchess Maria of Austria, Princess Marie Gabrielle of Nassau and her husband, Antonius Willms, Princess Anne of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and her children, the Duke of Croy, Princess Nora of Liechtenstein, Princesses Luisa Maria, Laetitia Maria and Elisabetta of Belgium, Duke Max and Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria, Princess Sarvath of Jordan, Prince Casimir and Princess Alana of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, Princess Mafalda of Hesse and Rolf Sachs, Archduchess Gabriela of Austria, Archduke Martin and Archduchess Katharina of Austria the Princess of Waldburg zu Zeil, Hereditary Count Alexander Fugger von Babenhausen, Prince Leopold of Baden, Prince and Princess Konstantin of Bavaria, Prince Manuel and Princess Anna of Bavaria, Sol and Luna de Medina y Orleáns-Braganza, Archduke Rudolf and Archduchess Marie Helene, Prince Jerome Bonaparte, Archduke Michael of Austria, Pieter Vincenz van der Byl, the Duchess of Segorbe, Archduke Carl Peter and Archduchess Alexandra, Prince Constantin of Nassau, Count Hans-Caspar of Toerring-Jettenbach, Count and Countess Andreas Henckel von Donnersmarck, Prince Joachim of Belgium and his girlfriend ,Victoria Ortiz Martínez-Sagrera, Count Guillaume de Dampierre, who came without his wife, Princess Alix de Ligne, who recently gave birth to a son, among others.

The witnesses for the wedding: Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two-Sicilies, Marc Noyer Maingard, and Countess Céleste de la Rochefoucauld. The Maids of Honor: Countesses Anna Theresa, Margherita, Maximiliana, Marie-Gabrielle, Giorgina of Arco-Zinneberg and Princess Maria Chiara of Bourbon-Two-Sicilies.

The bride also had five young bridesmaids: Countesses Olympia, Tatiana and Xenia von Coudenhove-Kalergi, Princess Gaia de Croy-Roeulx and Archduchess Anna-Astrid of Austria.

Prince Napoleon was supported by 23 groomsmen: Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Count Konstantin von Bismarck, Henrik Bee, Luc Bousuet, Arnaud Cabri-Wiltzer, Francesco Ciardi, Adam Demuyakor, Carlos Gome Gomez, Baron August von Haxthausen, Olivier Hervet, David Hess, Charles MacBain, Colin McKenzie (husband of Countess Anna Theresa), Julius Meinl, Alexandre Mulliez, Patrick Muuls, Julien Nakache, Nicolas Niarchos, Christos Lavidas, Prince Josef of Liechtenstein, Luis Rattenhuber, Prince Constantin of Schleswig-Holstein, Thomas Oswald Woloshyn.

Although Prince Napoleon's older sister, Princess Caroline, Mrs. Quérénet-Onfroy de Breville did not attend the wedding, his younger half-sisters, Sophie and Anh, were present, as was their father, Prince Charles Napoleon, who was not accompanied by his second wife.

The bride wore an Oscar de la Renta gown. The something borrowed the diamond and sapphire earrings, which were a loan from Olympia's mother, Maria Beatrice, who had received them as a wedding gift from her parents, according to noted jewelry expert Vincent Meylan. The tiara is also from the bride's mother's family. Olympia's aunt, Archduchess Isabella.

Prince and Princess Napoleon first met as teenagers when they were both guests at Prince Felix of Luxembourg's 18th birthday.

Prince Jean Christophe received an MBA from Harvard University. He is Private Equity with the Blackstone Group in London. Princess Olympia has a degree from Yale (BA in Political Science) and Columbia University (MA in Art History.)

The Polterabend was held the evening before the wedding. The dress code for this event was dirndls for women. The post-wedding ball took place at Fontainebleau.

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