Joan Dillon

Joan Douglas Dillon
Spouse James Brady Moseley
Prince Charles of Luxembourg
Philippe de Noailles, Duke de Mouchy
Issue Joan Dillon Moseley
Princess Charlotte of Luxembourg, Mrs Cunningham
Prince Robert of Luxembourg
Father C. Douglas Dillon
Mother Phyllis Chess Ellsworth
Born 31 January 1935

Joan Douglas Dillon (born New York City, US, 31 January 1935), Duchess of Mouchy,[1] is an American-born French duchess, first commoner to marry into the reigning dynasty of Luxembourg and former president of French Bordeaux wine company Domaine Clarence Dillon.

Biography

Joan Dillon is the daughter of U.S. Treasury Secretary C. Douglas Dillon and his wife, Phyllis Chess Ellsworth.[1] She came to live in Paris, France, with her family when her father became American Ambassador in the 1950s. She initially found work with the Paris Review.[2]

After her marriage to Prince Charles of Luxembourg she discovered an interest in wine and the family interest in Haut-Brion.[2] From 1975 to 2008, Joan Dillon held the presidency of Domaine Clarence Dillon.[3] Her husband, Philippe de Noailles, Duc de Mouchy, was general manager. Under their direction the company bought Château La Mission Haut-Brion, Château Laville Haut-Brion and Château La Tour Haut-Brion in 1983. In 2008 Prince Robert of Luxembourg, her son by her marriage to Prince Charles of Luxembourg, became president of Domaine Clarence Dillon.

Wine Enthusiast Magazine describes Dillon as "a larger-than-life lady, with an indefinable, cultured, mid-Atlantic accent."[2]

Family

She married firstly in Paris, France on 1 August 1953 James Brady Moseley (New York City, US 22 May 1931 – Boston, Massachusetts, US 9 April 1998), son of Frederick S. Moseley, Jr. and his wife, Jane H. Brady. They were divorced in Washoe County, Nevada, US on 12 December 1955; the marriage was annulled in Rome, Italy on 22 June 1963.[1] They had a daughter:

  • Joan Dillon Moseley (born 1954).

She married secondly on 1 March 1967 Prince Charles of Luxembourg (younger son of Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg) at the Catholic Church of St. Edward the Confessor in Sutton Park, Surrey, UK and, the marriage having been the first authorized of a Luxembourgeois prince to a commoner – by Grand Ducal decree issued 16 February 1967 – she was styled "HRH Princess Joan of Luxembourg".[1] He died in Imbarcati, Province of Pistoia, Italy, on 26 July 1977. They had two children:

  • Princess Charlotte Phyllis Marie (born New York City, 1967), married civilly in Mouchy, France on 26 June 1993 and religiously in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France on 18 September 1993 Marc-Victor Cunningham (born Harrogate, UK 24 September 1965), son of Victor Cunningham and wife Karen Armitage.[1]
  • Prince Robert Louis François Marie (born Fischbach Castle, Luxembourg, 1968), married non-dynastically (although his wife and three children would be elevated from countly rank to princely dignity 26 January 2004) in Boston, 1994 to Julie Elizabeth Houston Ongaro (born Louisville, Kentucky, US, 1966),[1] daughter of urologist and Harvard University professor Dr. Theodore Ongaro and wife Katherine Houston.[1]
    • Princess Charlotte of Nassau (born Boston, March 1995)
    • Prince Alexandre of Nassau (born Aix-en-Provence, France April 1997)
    • Prince Frederik of Nassau (born Aix-en-Provence, March 2002)[1]

She married thirdly in Islesboro, Maine, US on 3 August 1978 Philippe, 8th Duke de Mouchy (1922-2011). The marriage was without issue.[1]

Ancestry

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XVIII. "Luxemburg". C.A. Starke Verlag, 2007, pp. 83-84, 449-450. (German). ISBN 978-3-7980-0841-0.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Roger Voss (January 5, 2001). "Changing Landscape For The Dillons Of Bordeaux". Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  3. ↑ Matasar, Ann B. (2006). Women of Wine: The Rise of Women in the Global Wine Industry. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-24051-0.

External links