Prince Jean Charles of Ligne-La Trémoïlle
Prince Jean Charles de Ligne de La Trémoïlle (16 June 1911 – 9 July 2005) was a Belgian nobleman and the son of Prince Henri de Ligne and his wife, Princess Charlotte de La Trémoille (1892–1971), eldest daughter of the 13th and penultimate Duc de Thouars.
Family Background
Although a junior member of the House of Ligne, he founded a distinct cadet branch of that princely family: At the death of his childless maternal uncle, Louis Jean Marie de La Trémoille, prince étranger and last Duke of Thouars in France, Prince Jean Charles kept alive one of the most distinguished names in French history by having his uncle's surname, "de La Trémoïlle", legally appended to his own in Belgium.[1][2]
The heir male (or, failing heirs male, the senior female) of this lineage is the primogeniture representative of the kings of Naples of the House of Trastámara, in dynastic descent from King Federigo IV, deposed and exiled in 1501, through Anne de Laval. Also, his paternal grandmother, Charlotte de Gontaut-Biron, was a direct descendant of James II of England and his illegitimate son, James Fitzjames, 1st Duke of Berwick, through her mother, Charlotte Marie de FitzJames, from the French branch of the descendants of the 1st Duke of Berwick.[3] Jean Charles was also the heir general or the senior most genealogical representative of King Charles VII of France, through his ancestor Anne de Laval who was a great-great-granddaughter of Charles VII in a female line. He also descends from Charles VII through his ancestor James II, who's maternal grandfather Henry IV of France was also a direct descendant of Charles VII of France.
Marriage and Children
On 11 March 1942, he married in Paris, France Maria del Rosario de Lambertye-Gerbeviller, daughter of Charles Edmond de Lambertye, Marquis de Gerbeviller. They had three children, all of whom married into princely families:[1]
- Princess Hedwige Marie (b. 1943); who married at Antoing, Belgium in 1966 Prince Charles de Merode (b. 1940).
- Prince Charles-Antoine Lamoral (b. 1946), who married firstly in 1971 Lady Moira Forbes, daughter of the 9th Earl of Granard and his wife, Marie-Madeleine de Faucigny-Lucinge;[4] after their divorce in 1975, he wed secondly at Neuilly-sur-Seine, France on 23 January 1976 Princess Alyette de Croy (b. 1951), from whom he was divorced in 2002. He has issue by the second marriage:
- Prince Edouard Lamoral Rodolphe, born in Paris on 27 September 1976, and wed at Antoing Castle 29 June 2009 to film actress (and god-daughter of Silvio Berlusconi) Isabella Orsini (born at Perugia 2 December 1974).[5]
- Princess Althea, (b. 12 May 2010)
- Prince Charles Lamoral Joseph Malcolm, born in Paris 25 February 1980, and wed at Antoing Castle 20 November 2010 to Ran Li (born in Guangdong, China).[6]
- Prince Amadeo Joseph Gabriel, (b. 12 June 2012)
- Princess Nathalie Marie (1948–1992); who married at Saint-Georges-sur-Loire, France in 1973 Prince Alain de Polignac (b. 1940).
His legal title and style in Belgium was: "His Highness Jean Charles de Ligne de La Trémoïlle, Prince de Ligne."
However, as the House of La Trémoïlle was also of princely rank in France, members of this branch are commonly referred to as Son Altesse Prince/Princess Firstname de Ligne de La Trémoïlle.[2]
References
- 1 2 Genealogishes Handbuch des Adels: Furstliche Hauser Band XIV. Limburg an der Lahn, Germany: C.A. Starke Verlag. 1991. pp. 495, 498–499. ISBN 3-7980-0700-4.
- 1 2 Hello!. "Fairytale nuptials for Prince Edouard de Ligne and his Italian actress love". Hellomagazine.com. 9 September 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ↑ "Charlotte de Gontaut-Biron". Genealogics. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
- ↑ Paul Theroff. "Faucigny-Lucinge". Angelfire.com. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
- ↑ Tamara Abraham (2011-05-12). "Kate Middleton and Isabella Orsini wedding dresses strikingly similar | Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
- ↑ "L’info sur lavenir.net – L’actu 24h/24, 7 jours sur 7 - Page de redirection". Lavenir.net. Retrieved 2014-04-21.