Wedding of Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon, and Countess Olympia von und zu Arco-Zinneberg

The wedding of Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon, and Countess Olympia von und zu Arco-Zinneberg took place on Saturday, 19 October 2019 at the Cathedral of Saint-Louis des Invalides in Paris. Jean-Christophe is the head of the House of Bonaparte and Countess Olympia is the great-granddaughter of Emperor Karl I of Austria. The wedding drew a large amount of media attention due to the parallels between the match and that of their relatives, Napoléon Bonaparte and Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria in 1810.^{[1][better source needed]}

Engagement[]

The couple, fourth cousins, once removed, became engaged in January 2019.^[2] Jean-Christophe presented his fiancée with a ring containing a 40-carat diamond which had belonged to Empress Eugénie. In 2019, the ring, worth about £1 million, was stolen from an unlocked car outside the Hotel d'Aubusson in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was later recovered.^[3][4]

Despite the similarities to Napoléon and Marie Louise, they insisted their union was a love match. Jean-Christophe is the great-great-great-great-nephew of Napoléon while Countess Olympia is the great-great-great-great-grandniece of Marie Louise.^[5]

Wedding[]

Civil ceremony[]

The couple was married in a civil ceremony on 17 October 2019 at Neuilly-sur-Seine Town Hall.

Religious ceremony[]

The religious ceremony was celebrated on 19 October 2019 at the Cathedral of Saint-Louis des Invalides by Antoine de Romanet, Bishop of the French Armed Foreces.^[6][7]

Music selections included the Prince of Denmark's March by Jeremiah Clarke and Panis angelicus by César Franck.

Attire[]

Countess Olympia wore a fern-embroidered Oscar de la Renta gown with a custom capelet and cathedral veil. The gown was embroidered by 10 modistes over 1,440 hours.^[8] She wore a diamond bandeau tiara belonging to her maternal grandmother, Margherita, Dowager Archduchess of Austria-Este, and diamond and sapphire earrings which were a wedding gift to her mother when she married Olympia's father in 1980.^{[citation needed]}

Reception[]

That evening, a black tie reception was held at the Château de Fontainebleau^[1]

Guests[]

Relatives of the groom[]

• Prince and Princess Charles Napoléon, the groom's father and stepmother
• Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the groom's mother^[9]
• The Dowager Princess Napoléon, the groom's paternal grandmother
• The Duke and Duchess of Castro,^[10] the groom's maternal uncle and aunt
  • Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the groom's maternal first cousin
  • Princess Maria Chiara of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the groom's maternal first cousin
• Princess Anne of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the groom's maternal aunt

Relatives of the bride[]

• Count Riprand von und zu Arco-Zinneberg and Archduchess Maria Beatrice, Countess Riprand von und zu Arco-Zinneberg, the bride's parents
  • Countess Anna Theresa von und zu Arco-Zinneberg and Colin McKenzie, the bride's sister and brother-in-law
  • Countess Margherita von und zu Arco-Zinneberg, the bride's sister
  • Countess Maximiliana von und zu Arco-Zinneberg, the bride's sister
  • Countess Marie Gabrielle von und zu Arco-Zinneberg, the bride's sister
  • Countess Giorgiana von und zu Arco-Zinneberg, the bride's sister
• The Archduke and Archduchess of Austria-Este,^{[citation needed]} the bride's maternal uncle and aunt
  • Princess Maria Laura of Belgium,^[1] the bride's maternal first cousin
  • Prince Joachim of Belgium,^[1] the bride's maternal first cousin

Other royal guests[]

• The Grand Duke of Luxembourg,^[10] the bride's second cousin, once removed
  • The Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg,^[1] the bride's third cousin and his wife
  • Prince Félix and Princess Claire of Luxembourg,^[1] the bride's third cousin and his wife
  • Prince Louis of Luxembourg^[9]the bride's third cousin
• Archduke Carl Christian and Archduchess Marie-Astrid of Austria,^{[citation needed]} the bride's first cousin, once removed, and the bride's second cousin, once removed
• Prince Nikolaus and Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein,^{[citation needed]} the bride's second cousin, once removed, and her husband
  • Princess Maria-Anunciata of Liechtenstein,^{[citation needed]} the bride's third cousin
• Prince Jean of Luxembourg and Countess Diane of Nassau,^[9] the bride's second cousin, once removed, and his wife
  • Princess Marie-Gabrielle of Nassau^{[citation needed]}the bride's third cousin
• Prince Guillaume and Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg,^[10] the bride's second cousin, once removed, and his wife
• Prince Laurent of Belgium,^[9] brother-in-law of the bride's maternal uncle
• Archduke Simeon and Archduchess María of Austria, the bride's first cousin, once removed, and the groom's third cousin
• Prince and Princess Christian of Hanover^[1]
• Princess Beatrice of York and Count Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi^[10][9]
• The Crown Prince of Greece^[10]
  • Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark
• Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark and Nina Flohr^{[citation needed]}
• Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark and Marina Karella,^{[citation needed]} the bride's first cousin, twice removed, and his wife
• Princess Michel of Bourbon-Parma, widow of the bride's first cousin, twice removed
  • Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia^{[citation needed]}
• Princess Edouard de Lobkowicz,^[9] the bride's first cousin, twice removed
  • Prince Charles-Henri de Lobkowicz,^[9] the bride's second cousin, once removed
• Prince Philipp and Princess Isabelle of Liechtenstein^{[citation needed]}
• The Countess of Paris,^[9] wife of the bride's second cousin, once removed
  • Princess Antoinette of Orléans,^{[citation needed]} the bride's third cousin
  • Princess Louise-Marguerite of Orléans,^{[citation needed]} the bride's third cousin
• The Duke and Duchess of Braganza^{[citation needed]}
• Don Jaime de Marichalar y Sáenz de Tejada^{[citation needed]}
• Count Nikolai von Bismarck-Schönhausen

Other notable guests[]

• Stéphane Bern^[10]
• Edy Vessel, Countess Pierluigi Vitalini,^[10] mother-in-law of the groom's maternal uncle
• Joseph and Sabine Getty^[10]
• General Benoît Puga^{[citation needed]}
• General Jean-Louis Georgelin^{[citation needed]}

References[]