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| SAR la Princesse Marguerite D’ORLÉANS, DUCHESSE DE NEMOURS née Marguerite Carrington Watson |
Well, this is to say that a portrait of the Duchess of Nemours (which, I am thrilled to write, I have recently acquired) will be relocating from France to the United States. The duchess was born Marguerite “Peggy” Watson on 12 February 1899 in Richmond, Virginia. In 1928, Peggy married Prince Charles-Philippe d’Orléans (1905-1970), Duke of Nemours: he was the only son of Prince Emmanuel, Duke of Vendôme, and Princess Henriette of Belgium, the daughter of the Count and Countess of Flanders and the sister of King Albert I of the Belgians. To state that Charles-Philippe’s parents were not initially pleased with their son’s marriage to Miss Watson would be a massive understatement.
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| Marguerite, Duchesse de Nemours, in the late 1920s. |
Peggy Nemours had a rather fascinating life. The details of her early life, her family background, and her marriage to a French Prince are likely enough to fill a small book. Peggy survived her husband Chappy by over two decades, and died in 1993, having lived well into her nineties. She will be the subject of an upcoming article in the European Royal History Journal…so stay tuned.
