Friday, April 23, 2010

Princess Marguerite weds






April 23, 1896

Princess Marguerite of Orleans, daughter of the Duke of Chartres, was married today in a religious ceremony to Marie Armand Patrice de Mac Mahon, 2nd Duke of Magenta,  son of the late Marie Edme Patrice Maurice de MacMahon, 1st Duke of Magenta.  former President of France.

The groom is known by his 3rd Christian name, Patrice.  He is a descendant of an Irish noble family that supported King James II during the Glorious Revolution in 1688.  James II, a Roman Catholic, fled to France with his second wife, Maria Beatrice of Modena, and their infant son.  After Parliament established the Protestant succession with King William II and Queen Mary (James II's elder daughter by his first wife, members of the Mac Mahon settled in France, where they received citizenship in 1749.

King Louis XV of France recognized the family's nobility with the issuance of a Letters Patent.

The present Duke's father was appointed as a Marshal of France by Emperor Napoleon III who also created him as Duke of Magenta in 1859.

The Roman Catholic wedding was celebrated in the chapel of the family's chateau at Chantilly.  The couple's civil marriage took place yesterday, according to the Chicago Daily Tribune.

More than 300 people were invited to the wedding, and were received by the Duke d'Aumale, reported the Times' Paris correspondent.  The guests included the Duke and Duchess of Chartres, the Prince de Joinville, the Princess of Coburg, the Count and Countess d'Eu, the Duke and Duchess of Alencon, the Duke de Penthievere, Prince Henri of Orleans, and Princess Waldemar of Denmark.  All the members of the Orleans family were able to attend the wedding, which was officiated by the Abbé de Beauvoir.  He delivered an address, where he "dwelt on the valour and patriotism of the Orleans princes." 

He also spoke, "of the bridegroom as following in the glorious footsteps of his father."

The newlyweds will be spending their honeymoon in Tunis and Algeria.

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