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From her perfectly bouffant blonde locks to her beaming smile, Princess Camilla de Bourbon is a picture perfect princess.
The daughter of Italian film star Edoarda Crociani, she married Prince Carlo, grandson of Prince Ranieri, with whom she shares two daughters, Carolina and Chiara.
Both have proven to be rising stars on the social scene this summer – with rumours emerging Princess Chiara is dating Prince Christian of Denmark, while both Chiara and Carolina were papped strolling the streets of St Tropez.
It appears their love of royalty runs in the family – for Princess Camilla’s own mother, Edoarda, is believed to have been obsessed with marrying her children off to the sons of Europe’s Kings and Queens.
The obsession was so great that it was claimed Edoara had trapped her daughters in a ‘golden hell’.
Relations with Camilla’s family have far from eased since then – she spent a decade at war with her sister over their film star mother’s £100 million inheritance.
From her perfectly bouffant blonde locks to her beaming smile, Princess Camilla de Bourbon is a picture perfect princess.
According to her website, Camilla Crociani was born in Rome but when she was five years old, the family moved to Geneva.
Later on, the Princess completed her studies at Marymount High School in New York and attended New York University.
There she ‘always mingled in international circles and lived among people of different backgrounds, religions and beliefs, becoming open-minded and tolerant to the needs of others’.
She became engulfed in a family feud with her sister Cristiana after her Italian film star mother Edoarda Crociani set up a trust fund for the two girls.
Edoarda was believed to been obsessed with marrying her children into royalty.
Cristiana said that her mother pressured her into marrying Italian Prince Bante Boncompagni Ludovisi – a relationship that lasted only four months.
She also claims her mother refused to allow her to marry French entrepreneur Nicolas Delrieu.
The following year, Camilla married Prince Carlo, who 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 Princess is the daughter of Italian film star Edoarda Crociani, who left her £100 million fortune to her two children
Camilla has plenty of friends in high places, including Prince Michael of Kent (left) and Kylian Mbappé (right)
She went on to have two daughters, Chiara and Carolina with Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, grandson of Prince Ranieri.
Prince Carlo, who only has two daughters, then overturned centuries of male primogeniture and has stated his title will pass to his eldest daughter, Carolina.
In 2010, £100m of investments and art was taken from the Edoarda’s fund and transferred into her name – and Cristiana feared the cash was being given to her sister.
The socialite began legal proceedings in 2011, claiming steps were being taken to block her from inheriting the family’s estate.
But Princess Camilla has refused to disclose the location of valuables including a painting worth £49.9m – and has now been warned she faces a fine of millions.
The funds had been placed in a trust called the Grand Trust by Edoarda, then later removed.
Princess Camilla often shares ultra-glamorous photographs of her luxury lifestyle on her Instagram page
Among Camilla’s contacts and friends is President Donald Trump (pictured, with her two daughters and husband)
In 2017, the Royal Court ordered that the fund, which included valuable artwork, including a Gauguin painting insured for £49.9m, should be rebuilt.
In 2020, she appeared at the Royal Court on the Channel Island of Jersey for the latest hearing in a bitter ten-year dispute.
Princess Camilla was ordered to disclose details of her mother’s wealth to bank BNP Jersey, but the bank and the court were not satisfied with numerous submissions she has made using affidavits.
Advocate William Redgrave, acting on behalf of BNP, outlined that an example of assets not submitted was expensive jewellery owned by Edoarda.
He said: ‘She had not mentioned that her mother had valuable jewellery in her mother’s affidavit. There was no de minimis limit [minimum threshold] in the court order.’
Mr Redgrave outlined details of Princess Camilla’s lifestyle, highlighting photos taken with President Donald Trump at his Florida home and her appearance on the TV documentary ‘Inside Monaco: Playground of the Rich’.
Advocate Olaf Blakeley, acting on behalf of the princess, maintained that she did not know the location of many of her mother’s assets and had submitted items ‘highlighted’ as a priority.
Who are the ancient royal family of Bourbon-Two Sicilies?
The last King of Two Sicilies was Francis II, who was overthrown in 1860 and spent the remainder of his life in exile
The Royal House of Bourbon Two Sicilies – or Bourbon des Deux Siciles – is an ancient branch of the Spanish royal family which ruled parts of southern Italy for more than 100 years from 1734 to 1861. Its descendants still carry the name today, some 150 years later.
The line descends from Philippe de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV of France (1638–1715), who established the Bourbon dynasty in Spain in 1700 as Philip V (1683–1746).
In 1759 King Philip’s younger grandson was appanaged 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 the King of Piedmont-Sardinia and later 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.
Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, and Princess Camilla, Duchess of Castro, with their daughters Princess Maria Carolina, and Maria Chiara Di Bourbon-Two Sicilies,
The succession has been disputed since Ferdinand’s death in 1960 because he had six daughters and no sons to carry the family line. Both his nephew Infante Alfonso, Duke of Calabria, and brother Prince Ranieri, pictured, Duke of Castro, laid claim to the throne. This feud continues between their descendants today
The succession has been disputed since Ferdinand’s death in 1960 because he had six daughters and no sons to carry the family line.
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.
Chiara and Carolina are the daughters of Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, grandson of Prince Ranieri. The claimant on the other side of the family is Prince Pedro, Duke of Calabria, grandson of Infante Alfonso.
Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, grandson of Prince Ranieri, and his wife Camilla
Prince Carlo, who only has two daughters, has overturned centuries of male primogeniture and has stated his title will pass to his eldest daughter, Carolina.
Prince Carlo married his wife Camilla, daughter of Italian film star Edoarda Crociani, better known as Edy Vessel, in 1998 at Monte Carlo cathedral. Camilla’s sister Cristina revealed their mother was obsessed with her daughters marrying princes.
As Head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Carlo holds many honours, 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.
The family posing for pictures at the Influencer Awards in Monaco in 2019, with Chiara in a pink gown, Camilla in a grey number and Carolina in a rose gold dress
He said: ‘It would be quite wrong to say she failed to purge her contempt of court if she did not provide documents that are not in her power or possession.
‘It is my submission the vast majority of documents that were requested were provided by Princess Camilla and all those highlighted were provided.’
Commissioner Julian Clyde-Smith was sceptical that the princess was revealing everything she knew.
He said: ‘We have had not received any information about the Croci Group [the family business] or on Mdme [Edoarda] Crociani’s non-voting shares in the group.
‘The court believed [at the last hearing] that she knows where the Gauguin is. The way to purge the contempt is to tell us. And she has not done that.’
The Royal Court has also heard how Cristiana said her mother had a fear of being alone, and controlled her family through money.
She acknowledged that they led an extremely glamorous and luxurious lifestyle, but described it as ‘a golden hell’ because she had no independence or private life.
She claimed she was told not to turn up for family events, but her mother said she ‘disappeared’.
She married Prince Carlo, grandson of Prince Ranieri, with whom she shares two daughters, Carolina and Chiara
Cristiana Crociani, pictured with Prince Albert II of Monaco in 2010, launched legal proceedings in 2011, claiming steps were being taken to block her from inheriting the family’s estate
In 2021, she was ordered to pay the £2 million fine after being found guilty of contempt for refusing to reveal the location of her film star mum’s fortune.
Today Camilla and her husband Carlo 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.
Camilla is also active in charity work and gives her time to the Red Cross and UNICEF, as well as the Association Monaco Against Autism, Amitié sans Frontières et la Princess Grace of Monaco Foundation.
She campaigns against animal cruelty and is in charge of her own non-profit organisation, the Camilla of Bourbon Charitable Foundation, which works with the government in Mauritius to preserve its wildlife and promote sustainable development.
The couple are family friends with Christian’s parents Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik.
They’re also close to the scandal-ridden Prince Albert of Monaco and have spent a lot of time in Monte Carlo.
In recent weeks however, she has enjoyed a break with the first cousin of Queen Elizabeth, Prince Michael of Kent.
In recent weeks, rumours have been abound that Chiara is dating Prince Christian of Denmark – and he has even introduced the socialite to this grandmother, the Queen
Looking fashionable in a lilac shirt and blue shorts, while carrying a yellow baseball cap, George V’s grandson, 81, posed with Princess Camilla, for a holiday snap which she shared online, commenting: ‘Happy moments.’
The pair were joined at the beachfront gastro bar Le Club 55 by the Princess’s husband, Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro.
Also in Saint-Tropez were Camilla’s daughters, the Italian ‘It girls’ Princess Maria Carolina, and her sister, Princess Maria Chiara.
In recent weeks, rumours have been abound that Chiara is dating Prince Christian of Denmark – and he has even introduced the socialite to this grandmother, the Queen.
While the Danish royal family is yet to comment on the rumours, Chiara is not afraid to flex her connections.
‘The Bourbon family is related to almost all the royal families or former rulers of Europe, it’s a kind of big club,’ she said.
‘King Felipe VI of Spain, he is my father’s cousin and I am very close to the heir, Leonor, who, like me, loves sports and in particular women’s football’.
‘Then the Belgian royals were often our guests in the summer in Saint-Tropez… and one of my best friends is Alexandra of Hanover, Carolina of Monaco’s youngest daughter.’
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