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Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon and Countess Olympia of Arco-Zinneberg recently gave an interview to journalist Vincent Meylan of Point de Vue. The article is accompanied by several lovely photos of the happy couple which were taken by Julie Piatti.
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| Prince Félix of Luxembourg in 2006 at the wedding of his brother Louis |
We learn that the prince and countess first met in Luxembourg at the eighteenth birthday celebrations of their cousin Prince Félix back in 2002. Jean-Christophe was fifteen, Olympia was fourteen. Over time, the couple developed a close relationship.
The news of Jean-Christophe and Olympia's engagement was made public in March of this year by royal historian Marlene Eilers Koenig. Jean-Christophe elaborates that he proposed to Olympia in January at Prangins, the residence of his grandmother Princess Alix Napoléon in Switzerland on Lake Geneva; the couple were walking in the forest near the lake as snow began to fall when Jean-Christophe popped the question. From a photograph in Point de Vue, we catch a glimpse of the stunning diamond engagement ring.
Speaking of the ring, it was the subject of quite an affair when it was stolen on 1 April in Paris from the prince's locked Mercedes. Jean-Christophe and Olympia were in the French capital with their parents: they were likely doing a bit of wedding planning. Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the mother of the groom-to-be, is the author of Votre Mariage Royal (Your Royal Marriage), published in 2006. Fortunately, the police recovered the ring a few days later when they arrested the culprit of the theft.
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| Cathédrale Saint-Louis des Invalides |
The future Prince and Princess Napoléon confirmed that they will be married on 19 October at Les Invalides. Olympia has already selected her wedding gown. The union of the Head of House Bonaparte and the Bavarian countess, whose mother is Archduchess Maria Beatrix of Austria, will surely be the wedding of the year in French society and royal circles.