Nam Phuong

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Empress Nam Phuong (lit. "The South") (1914-1963) was the wife of Emperor Bảo Đại, the last emperor of Vietnam.

[edit] Biography

She was born Marie-Therese Nguyễn Hữu Thị Lan on December 4, 1914, in Gò Công, Việt Nam to Pierre Nguyễn Hữu-Hào and Marie Lê Thị Binh. She was the granddaughter of Lê Phát Đạt (an Indochinese billionaire). She studied at the Couvent des Oiseaux in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.

On March 20, 1934, Emperor Bảo Đại married Marie-Therese, and then gave her the name Nam Phương on March 24 (The South). They had five children: Crown Prince Bảo Long born on January 4, 1936, Phuong Mai born on August 1, 1937, Phuong Lien born on November 3, 1938, Phuong Dung born on February 5, 1942 and Bảo Thang born on December 9, 1943.

Empress Nam Phương served as a member of the Reconstruction Committee for Việt Nam after the end of World War II.

In 1947, Empress Nam Phương left Vietnam with her children and lived at the Chateau Thorenz outside of Cannes, France. She died on September 19, 1963 from a heart attack, at Domaine de La Perche, Chabrignac, in France.