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Tuesday, February 13, 2024

A royal engagement: Princess Charlotte of Nassau to marry

 

@HRH Princess Charlotte of Nassau - Instagram


On February 11, 2024, on top of a mountain in Gstaad, Switzerland,  Princess Charlotte of Nassau said yes to her boyfriend, Mansour Shakarchi.  They have been friends for more than 12 years. It was in October 2019 when Charlotte said she came out of "the friend zone" and realized she was in love with Mansour -- and he with her.

HRH Princess Charlotte-Katherine-Justine-Marie of Nassau is HRH Prince Robert of Luxembourg's only daughter and eldest child.   She was born on March 20, 1995, at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.     

Prince Robert of Luxembourg is the second child and only son of the late Prince Charles of Luxembourg (1927-1977) and Joan Douglas Dillon.   He is a grandson of the late Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg and Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma and is a first cousin of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg.    Joan Douglas Dillon (1935) has been described as "a larger-than-life lady, with an indefinable, cultured, mid-Atlantic accent."  She is the daughter of the late C. Douglas Dillon (1909-2003), who served as Ambassador to France and Secretary of the Treasury, during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations.

Clarence Dillon's paternal grandfather, Samuel Lapowski, a Jew, emigrated from Poland to Texas, where he established a dry goods business. He married Bertha Stenbock, the daughter of a Swedish immigrant.  The family became naturalized citizens.  Their children were raised in their mother's Lutheran faith.  In 1901, Samuel changed the family's surname to Dillon, based on his French maternal grandmother, Paulina, whose maiden name was Dylion.  C. Douglas Dillon was Samuel's grandson.

Three years after the death of Prince Charles,  Princess Joan married Philippe, 8th Duke of Mouchy (1922-2011).  She is now known as the Dowager Duchess of Mouchy.  

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Prince Robert married Julie Ongaro in January 1994 in Boston.  This marriage was non-dynastic.  Julie was known as Julie de Nassau and their three children were styled as Countess Charlotte, Count Alexandre, and Count Frederik of Nassau until November 27, 2004, when Grand Duke Henri issued a decree that elevated Julie to HRH Princess Julie of Nassau. The three children were granted the style and title of HRH Princess or Prince of Nassau.

Although Robert retains his right of succession, his children are not in the line of succession Luxembourg throne.  Prince Robert and his sister, Princess Charlotte, who lives in London, are invited to major Luxembourg royal events, such as a wedding, but neither carry out official duties.   


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Prince Robert is the president of Domaine Clarence Dillon,  the family organization founded his his great-grandfather, Clarence Dillon, in 1935. 

https://www.domaineclarencedillon.com/en/


Princess Charlotte also has American ancestry through her mother, Julie, whose father, Theodore is a urologist in Massachusetts.   Julie's mother, Katherine, is an artist who "creates exquisite porcelain masterpieces."

The late C. Douglas Dillon and his wife, Anne, built a summer home on Isleboro island in Maine, which remains in the family.  Prince Robert and his older sister, Charlotte, and their families spend the summers in Isleboro.   In 2019, Charlotte, who was named after her aunt and her great-grandmother, graduated from Tufts University with a  BA in International Literacy and Visual Studies.

Since 2020, the princess has worked for Chanel in London.  She is currently the Communication & E-Business executive for Fashion Marketing.   She is the first cousin of Louis Cunningham, who played Louis XVI in the recent mini-series, Marie Antoinette.

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2022/08/louis-cunningham-all-right-genes-to.htm


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The son of Marwan Mahmoud Shakarchi and Tatiana Frick, Mansour Nicolas Frederic Shakarchi was born in 1997 in Geneva, Switzerland.   Marwan has been the CEO  of MKS PAMP since 1983.   He attended the Wharton School of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Multinational Enterprises.  MKS PAMP is a "financial & physical trading service and operates a state-of-the-art precious metals refinery."

The firm was founded in Geneva in 1975 by Marwan's father, Mahmoud Kassem Shakarchi, who left Lebanon after the civil war.   Marwan married Tatiana (Tania) Flick, whose father, Hans-Wolfgang Flick was a Swiss financier.  Her grandparents, Hans Flick and Esther de Mülinen bought Domaine de Riencourt (Domaine A Villars), a Swiss winery, now run by Tania's brother, Philibert Frick.

Tania's other brother, Lancelot is the founder of Frick Capital, which started on Wall Street in 1999 and is now headquartered in Switzerland.

Mansour Shakarchi graduated from Harvard University in 2019.  He works in the mining and metals industry.

The date of the wedding has not been announced but one thing is for sure,  the bride will not have to worry about the wine pairings.

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