A royal budding romance between Denmark's future King, Prince Christian, and Italian aristocrat, Her Royal Highness Princess Maria Chiara of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Noto and Capri, has been recently reported after they were seen together at the recently concluded Grand Prix in Monaco.
In a photo shared by Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the older sister of Princess Maria Chiara, Prince Christian can be seen standing closer to Princess Chiara.
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| Prince Christian and Princess Maria Chiara at the Grand Prix. Photo credit: Carolina de Bourbon Instagram |
The royal sisters are regular fixtures in Monaco's social circuit, with Princess Maria Chiara regularly taking part in sports events in the tiny principality.
Princess Maria Chiara also supports “Les Anges Gardiens of Monaco”, an association to help people in need in Nice, as well as the “Action Innocence Monaco” Association. She also takes part in the No Finish Line, a charitable event under HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco’s sponsorship in Monte Carlo.
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| Prince Christian with Princesses Maria Chiara and Carolina at the Grand Prix. Photo credit: Carolina de Bourbon instagram |
Seeing Prince Christian in Monaco in the company of Princess Chiara and Princess Carolina in a very public event such as the Grand Prix intrigued royal fans because he was there alone without any Danish royals accompanying him, thus, a dating rumor quickly spreads.
Prince Christian is said to have been smitten with the glamorous princess who is also a model and actress. They are speculated to be close because their parents are good friends, however, the Grand Prix in Monaco was the first time that the two were seen publicly together.
Prince Christian, who will turn 18 this coming October, is the eldest child of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, and currently stood second, just behind his father, in the line of succession to the Danish throne.
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| Princess Maria Chiara at Cannes Film Festival. Photo Credit: Chiara de Bourbon IG |
A Danish source seemed to confirm the dating rumor.
"Christian is just four months away from his 18th birthday and he’s interested in having a proper girlfriend, mostly to fend off wannabe fans, but he also likes the idea of having a real companion", a Danish source told Woman’s Day.
"Chiara ticks all the right boxes – she’s funny, intelligent, and very well connected via her social media". The source seemed certain the two are romantically linked, saying, "Christian is definitely taken with Chiara – it remains to be seen if she feels the same. For now, they get along well, both families approve and they have a lot of similar tastes in music, sports, and even film".
This dating rumor has not been confirmed by the Danish Royal Court, however, so it remains to be seen if their friendship will progress into something serious.
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| Photo Credit: Chiara de Bourbon IG |
It's been a long while since we heard royals from the reigning royal houses in Europe got involved in a romance with a fellow royal. So this news of Prince Christian of Denmark dating Princess Maria Chiara excites traditional royalists, who have been waiting for generations to hear about a real royal romance.
So who is this princess who captivated the Danish prince?
Princess Maria Chiara ticks all the boxes for an ideal royal girlfriend. She is from royalty and has been involved in charity work since her teenage years.
She is well acquainted with the royal lifestyle and her parents are close friends of Prince Christian's parents, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary. In fact, Princess Chiara's father, Prince Carlo, is one of the godparents of Prince Christian's younger sister, Princess Josephine.
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| Princess Chiara attends Chopard event. Photo credit: Chiara de Bourbon |
Princess Chiara is the youngest child of HRH Prince Charles (Carlo) of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, also known as Duke of Castro. He is the current Head of the disputed Royal House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies in southern Italy. Her mother is Italian heiress, Camilla Crociani, the daughter of Italian billionaire, Camillo Crociani, and former Italian actress, Edoarda Vessel.
Just like Prince Christian of Denmark, Princess Maria Chiara is from the upper class and used to attending royal and society events in Europe. In 2019, she attended, with her parents, the wedding of Princess Napoleon and Countess Olympia Arco-Zunneberg in France.
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| Princess Maria Chiara with her parents - Prince Carlo and Princess Camilla - and sister, Princess Carolina. Photo credit: Christophe Petit Tesson/EPA |
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| From left: Princess Carolina, Princess Camilla, Edoarda Crociani, Princess Chiara. Photo credit: Camilla de Bourbon instagram |
Prince Charles is a distant relative of King Felipe VI of Spain's paternal grandmother, Princess Maria de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. He is the great-great-great-grandson of Francis II, the last King of the Two Sicilies (Sicily and Naples).
The Italian noble family reigned over part of Italy until the Italian unification in 1861 and since then, the family has been without a throne, however, they are still regarded as royalty and regularly invited to royal events in the continent.
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| Prince Carlo's family in Paris. Photo credit: Camilla de Bourbon instagram |
Prince Carlo holds a claim to the now defunct throne of the former House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the Spanish royal family, which descends from the Capetian Dynasty and ruled over Southern Italy and Sicily during the 18th and 19th centuries.
The family has a glamorous lifestyle and lives between Monaco, St Tropez, Paris, and Rome. Princess Chiara was born in Rome, Italy on January 1, 2005.
According to her personal profile on her mother's website, she speaks, writes, and reads in six languages fluently (English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian).
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| Princess Maria Chiara of Bourbon Two Sicilies. Photo credit: Chiara de Bourbon IG |
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| Photo credit: Chiara de Bourbon IG |
She is also athletic, having won medals in judo contests and tennis at the Monte Carlo Country Club. She also plays the piano and likes swimming. The Princess loves fashion and is into modeling, photography, and painting and attends a drama school to study acting and dramatic arts.
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| Princess Chiara playing the piano. Photo credit: Chiara de Bourbon IG |
She is an Ambassador of the Passion Sea Project (a nonprofit organization internationally promoting the respect and preservation of our waters through education and creativity) and was decorated by the Monaco and Italian Red Cross.
Maria Chiara cares a lot about animals and nature, and adopted animals in danger from an animal welfare organization, and helped them with their recovery and well-being.
In 2014, Princess Maria Chiara made her film début in the movie “Grace of Monaco” which starred Australian actress, Nicole Kidman.
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| Princess Chiara for World Ocean Day. Photo credit: Chiara de Bourbon IG |
In November 2017 HRH Princess Maria Chiara completed an internship at the Monaco Red Cross, learning the first step in first aid. In the following year, she was awarded the “Blessed Queen Maria Cristina Award” for her international humanitarian support.
In April 2019, she completed an internship at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. According to her personal profile, the princess is very committed to animal protection. And visited the headquarters of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) France, in Paris, in order to develop together new humanitarian projects that can support animals as well as defend the environment.
Coincidentally, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark is the honorary president of the World Wide Fund of Nature and has been doing active campaigns for the organization in many parts of the world.
The Royal House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Here's something about this ancient royal house in Italy. The Royal House of Bourbon Two Sicilies - or Bourbon des Deux Siciles - is an ancient branch of the Spanish royal family that ruled parts of southern Italy for more than 100 years, from 1734 to 1861.
The line descends from Philippe de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV of France (1638–1715), the same branch that established the Bourbon dynasty in Spain in 1700 through King Philip V (1683–1746).
In 1759, King Philip's young grandson was gifted with the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, becoming Ferdinand IV and III (1751–1825), respectively, of those realms. His descendants occupied the joint throne (renamed Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1816) until 1860.
The family, then led by Francis II, was overthrown in 1860 by Italian general Giuseppe Garibaldi, who proclaimed a dictatorship on behalf of Victor Emmanuel II, the King of Piedmont-Sardinia and later the King of Italy. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the Kingdom of Sardinia were merged into the newly formed Kingdom of Italy.
The deposed Francis II and his wife spent time in Rome as guests of the Pope where they ran a government in exile. They left the city before it was occupied by the Italians in 1870. They led a wandering life from then on, living in Austria, France, and Bavaria.
Francis II died in 1894 and was succeeded by his half-brother, Prince Alfonso, who was in turn succeeded by his son, Prince Ferdinand Pius, Duke of Calabria. Both his nephew Infante Alfonso, Duke of Calabria, and brother Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro, laid claim to the throne. This feud continues between their descendants today.
Prince Charles (Carlo), Duke of Castro is the grandson of Prince Ranieri. The claimant on the other side of the family is Prince Pedro, Duke of Calabria, the grandson of Infante Alfonso of Spain.
As Head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Prince Carlo holds many honors, including Sovereign Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Saint Januarius, of the Two Sicilian Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George and Order of Saint Ferdinand and Merit.
Today, Prince Carlo and Princess Camilla are very active in promoting the cultural, artistic, historical, and spiritual identity of Southern Italy, according to their official website. They split their time between homes in Monte Carlo and Paris.
Princess Camilla and her daughters are actively campaigning against animal cruelty and the preservation of wildlife, promoting sustainable development, the same advocacy supported by Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.
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