| Pretender to the Throne HRH Crown Princess Marie Louise-Elisabeth of Kanjor | |
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| Biography | |
| Born | 3 June 2754, Rildanor |
| Died | 19 March 2810, Rildanor (aged 56) |
| Reign | Pretender to the Throne 3 October 2774 - 19 March 2810 |
| Predecessor | HRH King Albert III Monarchy Abolished |
| Successor | HRH Crown Prince Frédéric Pretender to the Throne |
| Consort | Patric Frédéric de Villiers |
| Issue | HRH Crown Princess of Kanjor |
| Imperial Dynasty | House of Orléans-Vasser |
HRH Crown Princess Marie Louise-Elisabeth (b. 2754 - d. 2810) was the Crown Princess and Pretender to the Throne of Kanjor. The daughter of HRH King Albert III and HRH Queen Consort Sophie of Pontesi, Marie was born amongst a period of uncertainty for her family. While her father had been ushered back to Kanjor and restored to the throne, the position for the family was vulnerable. With her father's dethronement when Marie was only 20, much of her life was spent outside of royal circles while also attempting to prepare for for an eventual return of the Monarchy. She died tragically in a yachting mishap at the age of 56, reinforcing rumours of the "Family Curse", following the tragic deaths of her great-grandfather and grandmother, and the mental instability of several other family members.
Early Life[]
HRH Crown Princess Marie Louise-Elisabeth was born on 3 June 2754 at the Château de Fontainebleau-Versailles complex in Rildanor as the Kanjorien branch of the House of Orléans-Vasser was in exile from Kanjor. As a young child, Marie enjoyed roaming the numerous gardens of the Royal estate which certainly contributed to her affinity towards the city of Afar and its many gardens. In Rildanor, the young Marie was taught numerous family traditions that were normally neglected in Kanjor aiding to her somewhat more traditional mindset than other members of her family branch. In 2758, when Marie was four years old, the family returned to Kanjor and her father regained the Throne.
Because of the time she spent in Rildanor in her formative years, Marie spoke French with a slight Rildannorien accent.
Education[]
In keeping with Royal tradition, Marie was educated by a governness as the family was in exile in Rildanor. Despite the exile of the Royal family she was groomed for when she would ascend to the throne. Upon her father's return to Kanjor, Marie attended the elite and private l'Académie Royale de l'Île de la Tondelle for both her primary and secondary education.
More like her father than her grandmother, Marie achieved fairly good marks in most subjects, but she excelled at the Humanities and Art. However, unlike her father, Marie did not engage in adverse party behavior and maintained a small circle of friends and dated infrequently. Several press reports testify that the King was very protective of his daughter, concerned at his behavior's influence on his children, which contributed to Marie's tame social life.
At seventeen she took the Brevet des cycles secondaire exams but scored only a mediocre 232 of a possible 300. Within the school year though, Marie earned enough credits and graduated with Dimplome du baccalauréat général but did not feel comfortable attending university or a grandes écoles. In 2772, Marie opted to attend two years of prepatory classes at her grandmother's alma mater Royale Classe Préparatoire aux Grandes Écoles de la Maison de Audierne to prepare herself for the difficult and rigorous classes of the Grandes écoles she felt she would assuredly attend.
University[]
Marie wished to pursue her interests in Art and design and was accepted to many of the prestigious universities and Grandes écoles of Kanjor; something the newspaper Grève Rouge and the other left-wing press would claim as another incident of favoritism to the Royal family. However, the Chancelier de Grandes écoles et Universités Pierre DeMerit strongly denied these accusations in a nationally televised news conference. As the accusations of favoritism in the education system had shown, there was a strong movement to rid the country of the Monarchy at this time even though many regular Kanjoriens objected to the use of the Princess' education for political reasons.
HRH Crown Princess Marie Louise-Elisabeth's official portrait for the Léopold Fondation.
Marie chose to earn a Art History Degree from the École Nationale Supérieure de la Dame de l'Afar but was unable to attend as the political situation for the Royal family deteriorated. Amongst fears of possible arrest and violence towards the Royal family Marie was pulled out of Afar and smuggled to Rildanor. However, the government stepped in and agreed to protect the Royal family from all violence and Marie was recalled to university as a private citizen.
Career[]
Marie's degree took four years after which she worked as president of the art and design section of the Léopold Fondation pour les Arts (Léopold Foundation for the Arts), which had been established by her great-grandfather as the Léopold Fondation pour les Arts de la Mode (Léopold Foundation for the Fashion Arts) to aid struggling designers and models but had now expanded itself to encouraging all forms of art and fashion.
Marie sat on the board of the Foundation until her death in 2810. Her role as President did not offer much need for the inference in its day-to-day operations. Given this, Her Royal Highness worked alongside Louis Renault in his haute couture fashion design bureau, Ancien Régime, based in Afar.
HRH Crown Princess Marie Louise-Elisabeth often spoke positively toward her work with Renault and the opporunities it offered her:
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«The work is going very well, I honestly do not believe that a better profession exists for me, let alone in the entirety of Terra. Ancien Régime allows me to work closely with clients of all shapes and sizes, which I thoroughly enjoy doing. But, of course, it allows me to be incredibly creative and there is a never a dull moment because of it.»
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Personal Life[]
During her secondary experience, Marie was kept on what some would claim a "short leash" by her father. However, upon entering university as a private citizen, and away from the watchful eye of her father, she became more open socially. Her first long-term relationship was with popular music singer Gerard Patric Dumas which ended abruptly in 2779.
At an art show in Afar in 2783, Marie met Patric Frédéric de Villiers, a Capitaine in the Troupes de marines, grandson of the famous two-time Légion d'honneur winner Capitaine Frédéric Phillippe de Villiers and descendant of the Duc de Villiers. The two dated for a several months and were married on 1 October 2784 at the Cathédrale nationale de Atyr.
Marie and Patric's first child, HRH Prince Léopold Alexandre Patric Frédéric was born 2 November 2786. It was around this time that the family decided to relocate to Rildanor, to be closer to family following their exile.
Marie suffered from black-outs and fainting throughout her life, which doctors attributed to a rare genetic disease. She was subsequently prescribed medication to keep the condition under control.
Personal Interests[]
In keeping with family tradition, Marie had a strong interest as a patron of the arts, especially fashion. She used her strong personality and family wealth and position in the Léopold Foundation to discover the newest and freshest visual artists and display their expressions in various shows throughout Kanjor, especially Afar, which was the Princess' de facto base of operations.
In breaking with family tradition, Marie's favorite sport is lacrosse, a holdover from the influence of her Rildanorien relations. In keeping with the trend, and much to the chagrin of her father, Marie supported her husband's Ligue Nationale de Rugby Union Sportive Deims (US Deims) rather than the family's Rugby Club Atyr (RC Atyr).
Death[]
While yachting with friends on Lac Genear in Rildanor, the 56-year old Crown Princess was involved in a yachting accident in which the yacht capsized. Marie was amongst three others who drowned in the accident. Her death caused a ripple throughout both Rildanor and Kanjor and many asserted that she was another victim of the "Family Curse".
| Preceded by HRH King Albert III |
Pretender to the Throne of Kanjor 3 October 2774 - 19 March 2810 |
Succeeded by HRH King Frédéric |
