Henri, Comte de Paris (1933-2019), Head of the Royal House of France, wives & family

[maria-olivia]

The conditions as Claypoint says were not diagnosed and Blanche came one year after François.. And this happened 40 years ago.. very very sad..

[claypoint2]

I agree, Maria-Olivia. I did a quick review of the medical literature, and it appears that the earliest papers on toxoplasmosis in humans date to 1965, or approximately three years after the birth of Princess Blanche. In other words, it was really not anybody's fault.... It appears that medical science was only beginning to come to terms with the disease in the mid 1960's, and it's very sad indeed to think of all the children (royal and otherwise) who might have been spared, and whose lives could have been fuller, if we had known earlier.

Cook, I.: Isolation of toxoplasma gondii from man. Med. J. Aust.1, 850–851 (1965)

Feldman, H. A.: A nationwide serum survey of United States military recruits, 1962. VI. Toxoplasma antibodies. Am. J. Epidemiol.81, 385–391 (1965)

Remington, J. S., Cavanaugh, E. N.: Isolation of encysted form of toxoplasma gondii from human skeletal and brain. New Engl. J. Med.273, 1308–1310 (1965)

Sheffield, H. C., Melton, M. L.: The fine structure of toxoplasma gondii. J. Parasit.54, 209–226 (1968)

Townsend, J. J., Wolinsky, J. S., Baringer, R. J., Johnson, P. C.: Acquired toxoplasmosis. A neglected cause of treatable nervous system disease. Arch. Neurol.32, 335–343 (1975)

[claypoint2]

At the risk of beating a dead horse, I wanted to correct some misleading information that I gave in my prior post. There were papers on congenital toxoplasmosis in Europe published as early as 1948, and there were several throughout the 1950's. However, I think that it's still fair to say that in the early 1960's the condition was not on the diagnostic radar of obstetricians or internists in the same way that it is now....

Ok, enough about this topic now!!

[vincent]

Stephanie,

As fahr as i know, and was told by the late comtesse de Paris herself, the handicapp on prince François was not obvious at all when he was born. Both children are not what we call today "trisomic". It was only when prince François was a few months old (about 5 or 6), that his mother and grand mother noticed something was wrong. And at that time, the comtesse de Clermont was allready pregnant with blanche.
I hope this is your answer.

[MAfan]

Princess Blanche was born 19 months after her brother François: so he had to be at least one year old if his mother and grandmother have seen something was wrong when his mother was already pregnant...

[claypoint2]

To clarify: Trisomy has nothing to do with toxoplasmosis. Trisomy is a genetic abnormality in which the person has a third copy of a given chromosome, instead of the usual two. For example, Trisomy 21 (where there is an extra copy of chromosome 21) is commonly known as Down Syndrome.

By contrast, toxoplasmosis is an infectious disease; it is acquired, and not a genetic disorder. But it is congenital -- meaning that it involves defects or damage to the fetus, some of which may not be immediately evident at birth but which are already present and may manifest later.

[claypoint2]

Originally Posted by vincent

Stephanie, As fahr as i know, and was told by the late comtesse de Paris herself, the handicapp on prince François was not obvious at all when he was born. Both children are not what we call today "trisomic". It was only when prince François was a few months old (about 5 or 6), that his mother and grand mother noticed something was wrong. And at that time, the comtesse de Clermont was allready pregnant with blanche.
I hope this is your answer.

Originally Posted by MAfan

Princess Blanche was born 19 months after her brother François: so he had to be at least one year old if his mother and grandmother have seen something was wrong when his mother was already pregnant...

In response to Vincent I would say that, if prince François had been adequately diagnosed when his abnormality was first noticed, then the comtesse de Clermont could have received antibiotics while she was pregnant with the princesse Blanche, and this might have avoided or minimized the damage to the second child.

But, then again, in response MAfan I would say that we need to be compassionate towards the family and the doctors, who at the time were probably doing the very best that they could with limited knowledge. Medical science had not completely figured out this condition in the early 1960's.

[Thribette]

I think the hypothesis of toxoplasmosis would be impossible, if not for one of the princes, at least for both.
Further, I have read a pair of times that they suffered phenylcetonuria, which in these times was not detected at birth (nowadays all babies are tested). A baby born with this genetic disease, if he follows a very strict diet, can grow normally. If he doesn't (if it is no detected, he will necessarily : simply eating milk, chocolate...) the phenylalanin he eats is toxic to his brain and he gets rapidly handicapped.

[rominet09]

I didn't know there was treatment available at that time, sorry !

[claypoint2]

Just curious: Why would the hypothesis of toxoplasmosis be impossible? It is an infectious disease, and statistics show that 65% of women in France have been exposed. (Nowadays, screening is routine during preganancy, but that was certainly not the case in the 1960's). On the other hand, phenylketonuria -- which in France has an incidence of 1 in 13,500 births -- appears less likely.

[claypoint2]

Originally Posted by rominet09

I didn't know there was treatment available at that time, sorry !

No worries! Completely understandable.

[MAfan]

But have some member of the Family talked about the ill troubles of Princes Francois and Blanche? Are there some "official" statements about that?

[claypoint2]

Originally Posted by MAfan

But have some member of the Family talked about the ill troubles of Princes Francois and Blanche? Are there some "official" statements about that?

Excellent question, MAfan. I don't know.

[Benjamin]

Update concerning Duchesse de Montpensier:

On the Franco-Iberian Royals Message Board, Guy Stair Sainty states that the Duchesse "has a serious cancer."

Perhaps this illness was the reason for the emergency surgery...

The Franco-Iberian Royals Message Board: Re: Duchesse de Montpensier

[Thribette]

Claypoint, once a woman has been exposed to toxoplasmosis before her pregnancy, she is protected, as well as all her later babies.
So, may one of her children have been exposed to this disease during the pregnancy, she would have been immunized and none of her further babies would have been sick.

[Pride&Prejudice]

Hi all,
Yes Thribette, that is right concerning one kind of toxoplasmosis. Maybe the duchesse de Montpensier has got the congenital toxoplasmosis, the the placenta was infected and the second (very close pregnancies) baby as well. I am just wondering if princess Blanche and prince François have exaclty the same desease ?

[claypoint2]

Originally Posted by Thribette

Claypoint, once a woman has been exposed to toxoplasmosis before her pregnancy, she is protected, as well as all her later babies.
So, may one of her children have been exposed to this disease during the pregnancy, she would have been immunized and none of her further babies would have been sick.

I suspect that she had the same low-grade infection throughout her two pregnancies and the period in between. (But of course this is speculation, as we cannot know for sure). If the condition wasn't diagnosed and treated, it could have continued undetected for a period of time. And remember that there are often no overt symptoms of toxoplasmosis in the mother, but that doesn't keep the fetuses from becoming infected.

[MAfan]

Any news about the health of the Duchess of Montpensier, after the health problems she had soon before the wedding of her son Jean?

[iceflower]

Prince Henri d'Orleans, Count of Paris, Duke of France
and Micaela Cousino Quinones de Leon, Countess of Paris,
Princess of Joinville at their summer residence in Palma de
Mallorca, Spain, August 26, 2009.
The couple, who was married in a civil ceremony in 1984,
is to celebrate their religious wedding on September 29th.


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

[queenofthelight]

The last photo is very tender, the two loving each other people.
Thank you, Dear Iceflower!