Birthday of Prince Charles and Princess Catherine Napoleon

Prince Charles and Princess Catherine Napoleon, the twin children of Louis, Prince Napoléon and Alix de Foresta, were born on October 19, 1950.

Their father, Prince Louis, was the claimant to the Imperial Throne of France and was known as Napoleon VI among the Bonapartists. Their mother, Alix de Foresta, was born to Comte and Comtesse de Foresta. Although she was not born a Princess (the only consort of the surviving Imperial Line not to be born one), her family had been prominent nobles in Italy and later in France since the early 13th century. Following his father’s death, Prince Charles became the Bonapartist claimant to the Imperial Throne of France.

Charles Marie Jérôme Victor and Catherine Elisabeth Albérique Marie were born in Boulogne-sur-Seine and baptised at Saint-Louis-des-Invalides by Archbishop Angelo Roncalli, who would later become Pope John XXIII. They spent most of their childhood in Switzerland.

Prince Charles studied Economics at Sorbonne and is the author of several books and essays. He has worked as a financial planner, real estate developer and banker, and currently holds a position of a visiting professor of Foreign Policy at the American Institute in France.

In 1978, he married Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the daughter of Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Castro – pretender to the throne of the Two Sicilies. They had two children, Princess Caroline (born October 24, 1980) and Prince Jean-Christophe (born July 11, 1986) before divorcing in 1989. In 1996, Prince Charles married for the second time to Jeanne-Françoise Valliccioni, his long-time partner: their daughter, Sophie, was born before their marriage (on April 18, 1992). In 1998, the couple adopted their second daughter, Anh (born April 22, 1998).

There is a dynastic dispute between Prince Charles and his son, Prince Jean-Christophe: in his will, Prince Louis Napoléon bypassed his son as dynastic heir in favour of his grandson. As of now, however, the dispute appears to have only juridical importance, as Prince Jean-Christophe has personally never disputed his father’s Headship of the Imperial Family or engaged in any sort of public feuding. Prince Charles has declared that there will never be conflict between him and his son over the dynastic dispute.

Princess Catherine married Nicolo San Martino d’Aglie, Marchese di San Germano in 1974, The marriage was childless and ended in divorce in 1982. That same year Princess Catherine married her second husband, Jean-Claude Dualé. Their daughter, Charlotte, was born on October 13, 1983. Their son, Mario, was born on October 29, 1985.

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Tagged Biography, Birthday, House of Bonaparte, Prince Charles Napoléon, Princess Catherine Napoleon.

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