The Duke and Duchess of Vendôme: June 2009-

[Odette]

Let's not forget that the couple were married in a civil ceremony 2 months prior to the Church wedding.
According to what I read the baby is due in December.
Congratulations to the happy parents to be..

[iceflower]

Princess Philomena of Orleans and Prince Jean of Orleans visit
the Bonpoint boutique in Paris, France, September 29, 2009.

A paradise for mothers-to-be if you can afford it of course

On pic 1 it seems like they would leave it as a surprise if it's boy
or a girl, or maybe it's just as they don't want to share their secret


** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** Pic 3 ** Pic 4 **

[Marsel]

Maybe twins...

Wonderful pictures as usual, iceflower, thanks a lot!
It's always nice to see this couple. I like Princess Philomena comfortable maternity wear.

[rominet09]

I love to see that lovely couple too
I really hope the Duchess de Montpensier will see her grandchild

[Al_bina]

Thanks for the update of activities of Duke and Duchess of Vendome!
The couple looks happy. It is not surprising that Princess Philomena does not wish to reveal much information about her pregnancy. Pregnant women tend to become superstitious to a certain extent.

[Marengo]

Prince Jean will present his book, 'Un prince français' to the press on november 6th at the salle Rossini in Paris:

Présentation du livre du duc de Vendôme | Noblesse & Royautés

[Marengo]

Did anybody read this weeks Point de Vue?? They wrote about a rift between prince Jean and his father, the count of Paris. The duke of Vendome is angry about the remarriage and he also seems to have scars from the divorce in 1984. Apparently he has written a letter to his cousins, telling them to stay away from the remarriage of his father. After that his father wrote a letter to a magazine or newspaper, etc.

[maria-olivia]

Yes I read PdV , Prince jean send an e-mail (not a letter !)to his cousins. But the cousin who gave his e-mail to Stephane Bern = the press , is to blame.. sad story again and again.

To me the Count of Paris should not marry the same year as his son.

[Al_bina]

Who would blame Duke of Vendome for such actions? His frustration is totally understandable.

[JSP]

If he is frustrated, he should go to a shrink !

I understand he might feel the absence of his father when he was a child, but the man is 44 y.old.
It is recomendable that he would rally towards his mother, and take her side, but his comments were IMHO out of place.

He says his father's religious wedding was ridiculous and against the Church Laws.
Hello !
The Vatican just annulled the wedding between Jean's parents ?
Is such a fundamentalist religious like Jean criticizing the Vatican ?
"What God has united, let no man separate" - apparently the Vatican saw good reasons, after such long delay, to decide on Henri's favour.

[amedea]

I not only don't blame the DoV, but I am in some way happy that he didn't support his father's wedding, that I found unfortunate too. Jean demonstrate in this way also sympathy for his mother, who in my opinion is the real victim of the situation.

[Emeralds and Opals]

Revolution was a 'mistake' says French 'King' - Telegraph

[MAfan]

Well, at least in one thing Jean seems to be in accordance with his father: in disinheriting Prince François...

[maria-olivia]

Prince François doesn' t deserve your sentence MAfan.

[MAfan]

No, no, my sentence is not against Prince François; I know he doesn't have any fault...my sentence refers to the rift between Henri and Jean (and maybe other members of the Family).

[claypoint2]

For my part, I believe I understood your meaning, MAfan. You were not criticizing poor Prince François, but you were pointing out (with some irony) the fact that Jean may disagree with his father on many things, but somehow he doesn't mind having gained dynastic precedence. On that point he doesn't fight with his father.

As for their disagreement about the religious marriage of the Comte de Paris, I can honestly see things from both sides. What I find perplexing is the change in Jean's attitude. After all, Henri was invited and present -- along with his second wife -- at Jean's marriage to Philomena de Tornos in May. Henri's religious marriage had already been announced at that point... so why all the fireworks now?

As I've said elsewhere in these forums, the only (sad) reason that I can imagine for this change on Jean's part is his mother's illness. Perhaps the health of the Duchesse de Montpensier has taken a turn for the worse, and her son wishes to show solidarity with her? After all, her initial hospitalization took place on the eve of Jean's wedding -- the same wedding to which Henri & Micaela were invited & attended -- so perhaps Jean feels unconsciously guilty for his mother's illness. Of course, this is nothing more than pure speculation on my part.

[MAfan]

Yes, Claypoint2, you have understood what I mean; and I can add that the French Royal Family seems not to have clair ideas...
Btw, I wonder if the missed attendance to the last wedding of most of the members of the Royal Family was only due to the e-mail of Jean or also due to other reasons...

[Marengo]

Personally I find it rather odd that a 44 y/o man would rebel against his fathers remarriage after the father has been divorced for 25 (!) years AND the Vatican has annulled the first marriage. And it is even odder that this is played out in the open. As the count of Paris says, the duke of Vendome is forgetting who is the father and who is the son.

I also find it odd that the duke, who claims to be very religious, does not understand the basics of christianity: forgiveness, compassion and love. And the ten commendmends also have something to say about honouring your parents, both your parents.

ANother classic Orleans rift. Now if we figure out which cousin sent the email to STephane Bern (there was only one cousin present at the wedding I believe, so that seems pretty easy - esp. since that prince has frequent contacts with the press) the feud will be even bigger. Bravo prince Jean!

[amedea]

Between Catholics, like I am, it is not uncommon a certain unease about some marriage annulements such as the one of the count of Paris. While crowds of people work hard to go on with their marriages, it seems that if you are rich and barefaced enough to insist in church courts you finally get your annulement. I really don't know if this is the feeling of the Duke of Vendome, but I wanted to answer to people in this forum surprized at the idea that the duke could also criticize the second wedding of his father on religious purposes.

[Al_bina]

Originally Posted by Marengo

Personally I find it rather odd that a 44 y/o man would rebel against his fathers remarriage after the father has been divorced for 25 (!) years AND the Vatican has annulled the first marriage. And it is even odder that this is played out in the open. ... [snipped]

Marengo,
I have read your post multiple times and fail to understand whether you applaud Prince Jean's actions or castigate Prince Jean for somewhat childish behaviour. Although I think that Duke of Vendome has his reasons to be frustrated with his father's actions, I wish they maintained decorum.