110 Years Since the Marriage of Prince Victor Napoléon and Princess Clémentine of Belgium

The Newlyweds: Prince Victor Napoléon and Princess Clémentine of Belgium

On Monday, 14 November 1910, Prince Victor Napoléon and Princess Clémentine of Belgium were married at Moncalieri, a picturesque village a few miles from Turin. Before the religious rites, the pair were wed in a civil ceremony by the Mayor of Moncalieri at the French Consulate. The religious ceremony uniting the couple took place in the chapel of Moncalieri Castle, built in the fifteenth century, which had been the home of the groom's mother Princess Clotilde of Savoy ever since she returned to Italy following the collapse of the Second French Empire. The Bishop of Biella presided over the Roman Catholic service. The witnesses for Prince Victor were his brother Prince Louis Napoléon and his cousin the Duke of Aosta; the witnesses for Princess Clémentine were Prince Ernest de Ligne, who represented King Albert I of the Belgians, and Archduke Friedrich of Austria. The imperial wedding was attended by the following esteemed personages: Archduke Friedrich of Austria; Princess Marie of Belgium, Countess of Flanders; Princess Stephanie of Belgium, Countess Lonyay; Prince Louis Napoléon; Princess Clotilde of Savoy, Dowager Princess Napoléon; Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Duke of Aosta; Princess Laetitia of Savoy, Dowager Duchess of Aosta; Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy, Count of Turin; Prince Luigi of Savoy, Duke of the Abruzzi; Prince Umberto of Savoy, Count of Salemi; Prince Tommaso and Princess Isabella of Savoy, Duke and Duchess of Genoa; and Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Princess Marie-Clotilde Napoléon

Prince Louis Napoléon

Princess Clémentine Napoléon with her children.
Photograph (c) National Portrait Gallery

At the time of their union, Prince Victor Napoléon was forty-eight years-old, and Princess Clémentine of Belgium was thirty-eight years-old. In 1912, the prince and princess welcomed their first child, a daughter: Princess Marie-Clotilde Napoléon, who was named after her paternal grandmother. In 1914, the couple were delighted with the arrival of their second child, a son: Prince Louis Napoléon. The imperial family lived in Brussels.

The Prince and Princess Napoléon

Princess Marie-Clotilde Napoléon and Prince Louis Napoléon