It’s a match made in minor royal heaven; complete with warring families, a threat of prison and even an Italian heiress known as “Barbie” — and it is all anyone can talk about on the Côte d’Azur.
Prince Christian of Denmark, second in line to the Scandinavian throne, and Princess of Chiara of the brilliantly-named defunct kingdom of Bourbon Two-Sicilies may be a mere 18 and 17 but there is already talk of engagements among some — perhaps overly hasty — royal watchers.
The two are family friends, with Chiara’s father — who takes the titles Prince Carlo of Bourbon Two-Sicilies and Duke of Castro — also the godfather of Prince Christian’s youngest sister Josephine.
But they are said to be in the passionate throes of a teenage romance, after being spotted getting handsy together on the circuit of the Monaco Grand Prix and on the beach in St Tropez.
Not for decades have two real-life royals been — possibly — having such a glamorous romance. And never before has it played out on social media.
While the Danish royals normally allow their good works do the talking, Chiara and her family are regulars on Instagram (where she has as her bio “See The Good In the World”) and on Tik Tok where they model their designer wardrobes and jet set lifestyles for thousands of followers.
Chiara, full title S.A.R. la Principessa Maria Chiara di Borbone delle Due Sicilie, Duchessa di Noto e Capri, has also been nicknamed “Barbie” by the Euro social set. But marriage to Christian would eventually make her Queen Chiara in the very distant future.
Hints have been dropped that it is something serious, with Chiara telling Italian newspaper Corriere, “We’ve known each other since we were little,” before revealing that she “hopes to meet Queen Margrethe soon.”
Australian magazine Woman’s Day even claims that Chiara has already met the indomitable Danish queen who is apparently keeping a close eye on her grandson and eventual heir.
Quite what she will make of Chiara and her family will be interesting to learn.
She has, after all, welcomed commoners into the family – Christian’s mother Mary, the Crown Princess of Denmark, is an Australian who met Frederik, the heir to the Danish throne in a Sydney pub when he was there to watch the 2000 summer Olympics.
Chiara, however, is very definitely a member of a royal family – even if it is a distinctly Ruritanian one.
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was the largest sovereign state in Italy before the country was unified in 1861.
The island of Sicily and a large area surrounding Naples were split between two crowns during the middle ages, and when the Spanish Bourbon royal family took over both kingdoms in 1816, it became the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
The Bourbons were deposed and exiled in 1861, meaning Chaira does not have her own palace, although the family are now regular visitors and treated as VIPs.
There is, however, a dispute over who exactly is head of the Bourbon Two-Sicilies family, something Queen Margarethe might want to take into account for her grandson.
Despite the lack of palace or lands, the family cannot agree whether Princess Barbie’s father, Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro, is the head of the royal house, or if it is his second cousin once removed, Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria. (Their more distant Bourbon cousins include Spain’s King Felipe VI.)
The Duke of Castro, Chiara’s father, has also only sired girls and he has said that he will change the family rules of primogeniture history by leaving his title to a woman – Chiara’s big sister Carolina.
Prince Carlo isn’t the only member to not get on with his family; her mother Camilla has fallen out with her sister over the family trust, and has even been threatened with prison.
Duchess Camilla, born Camilla Crocanai, is the daughter of the Italian actress Edy Vessel. When Camilla’s father died, her mother set up a trust fund for her daughters Camilla and Cristiana – while also instructing them to marry into royalty.
In 2010 Cristiana, whose marriage to a different Italian prince had lasted just four months, claimed the trust had been swindled out of $125 million and that the money had gone to Camilla.
Princess Camilla was threatened with jail for refusing to pay a $3million dollar fine from the court for failing to disclose details of her mother’s wealth.
Of course, warring relatives is something familiar to all royal families and Queen Margrethe may have some sympathy; earlier this year there was a very public fall out with her second son, Prince Joachim, and his children when she took away their titles. They have now settled in Washington D.C.
A marriage between these two families certainly would be an interesting match even if talk of an engagement does seem a little hurried for two youngsters who haven’t even started college.
“It is a summer romance between two friends,” said royal historian Marlene Koenig. “He isn’t even 18 and he knows he has a whole future which has been mapped out for him; the university, the military and it would be a huge surprise if anything serious came out of this. But it is fun to speculate all the same.”
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